Poking around the guy’s website [0], I’m not surprised his sales are so dismal- it’s a very earnest description of a project its developer obviously likes, but which he describes in terms of other, pre-existing games and game-styles (e.g., metroidvania, roguelike, procedurally generated, crafting, etc)... which reads as “a mashup of other games you’ve already played.” The one differentiating bit, that it’s a metroidvanian roguelike that can be played in the browser is buried a ways down the page (after a paragraph about how skillfully it’s coded- good on you, but players don’t care.)

If he really wants a commercial success, my guess is that he would be well advised to make a concerted, well-advertised run at the in-browser gaming market, and try to find ways to monetize that (likely by scummy micro-transactions.) His chances still wouldn’t be good, but perhaps better. (Getting on the front page of HN is a pretty good tactic too, though. : ) )

[0] Well, I spent about ten seconds reading the site’s front page, but that’s probably more than most of his hits did.