Hello all, this is the first post in a series of posts I'll be making weekly to drum up some diverse discussion relating to all different aspects of gaming. I figured I would start with what I know, and so the first topic is thus: roguelike games. (If you think any of the below description is wrong or misleading, let me know - that's part of the discussion!)

The name of this genre is derived from the game Rogue, released in 1980. The exact definition of a roguelike has been a topic of discussion for a long time, but the core tenets are usually agreed upon to be random/procedural generation and permanent death (no saving and continuing a run, you have to start over). Many roguelikes have an additional increased focus on collecting items and assembling a "build" over the course of a run. A "pure" roguelike is often claimed to have no meta-progression (that is, no procedural unlocks) and focus more on the journey than the destination - seeing how far you can get, or how high a score you can achieve, rather than reaching a distinct victory condition (not that these games don't have victory conditions, but that it isn't the end-all-be-all). The secondary term "roguelite" is often brought out to describe games that deviate from this. Additionally, the term "traditional roguelike" is sometimes employed to indicate a more strict adherence to the older style of this genre, with grid-based dungeon crawling and high complexity. Ultimately, as with a lot of genres, pinning down a 100% ironclad definition is near impossible, but most people that like this type of game could tell you the general "vibe" at a glance.

Here are some questions and subtopics that I encourage people to discuss:

What are some of your favorite examples of roguelike games?
What roguelike games do you think stand out in terms of defying the conventions of the genre?
Do you find there to be a meaningful difference between the usage of "roguelike" and "roguelite" nowadays? Which do you prefer? Where does the "traditional roguelike" fit into this?
Do you continue to play roguelike games after reaching the "end" / reaching 100% completion? Why, or why not?
What other genre do you most often enjoy seeing paired with roguelike?
Is any game with procedural generation and a run-based structure a roguelike, or is there more to it? Where do you personally draw the line?
What have been some of your best runs across all roguelike games? What's been memorable?
Are there any upcoming roguelike games you're excited for?

Also feel free to bring up anything you like related to the topic! If you have suggestions for future discussion topics, leave them in the suggestion thread.

Additional Resources

Steam listings for Roguelike
Steam listings for Roguelite
Wikipedia page for List of Roguelikes
Roguebasin, a wiki dedicated to roguelikes (specifically traditional roguelikes)
~~List of all Weekly Discussion Topics~~ (this is the first one, be patient!)

(page 2) 50 comments

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[–] Katana314@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I haven’t really liked any Roguelikes, and that includes all-star Hades.

It mostly just feels like repeating the same thing. In some cases, eventually and with much skill you can gather a build that actually changes the dynamics of the game a bit - but until then, it usually just functions as a brutally hard version of some genre you’d normally enjoy, where every little mistake you’d shrug off now becomes a long-term debilitation you have to worry about.

Hades’ assist modes weren’t even giving progress fast enough - it requires you to die many times before giving you anything that might actually improve your odds at any of the boss fights.

So far, the only Roguelike I’ve enjoyed is Backpack Hero. It’s on the easier side, and plays very much in promotion of getting you your OP build options with relatively little time spent.

[–] TheSpookiestUser@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I have Backpack Hero, and while I do enjoy it I feel like runs can become too static (at least with the starting character) - you get your OP build, and getting to that point is pretty fun, but then you can just coast with that for a long time, maybe forever. The other characters and their gimmicks/playstyles help alleviate this problem at least.

[–] MisterBigFart@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Rimworld is life.

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[–] Lord_Logjam@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

Hades is potentially my favourite game of all time. For me to absolutely nails this style of game by perfectly weaving in a compelling narrative to the rogue mechanic. It's also gorgeous with the most ridiculously tight gameplay.

Honourable mention to Enter the Gungeon, haven't seen that mentioned yet. Very fun game.

[–] Wodge@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

Is Remnant 2 a roguelike? Pretty sure it is.

Fantastic game, played it a fair bit since launch so I know most of the encounters in the N'Erud place, so I join random players in the other areas hoping to learn those encounters and get some sweet, sweet plunder.

[–] zecg@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

My top picks are Synthetik, Dead Cells and Nova Drift

[–] Boiglenoight@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

Synthetik is so much fun. I don't know many people who play it though or know of it.

[–] curryandbeans@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

I started playing roguelikes with flash Binding of Isaac I bought for 99p in a steam sale, pre-Wrath of the Lamb. I'm still playing Rebirth and its expansions well over a decade later. I'd describe it as the perfect game. Why it shines as opposed where other great roguelites don't is because of how the items interact with each other. The interaction is key. It's still pure joy to walk into a room and absolutely melt everything in a second because of a synergy you've never seen. And now I think about it, what really makes the roguelike genre a favourite of mine is where every run is a challenge from the game: break me. I'd point at Noita as another game with this philosophy. Being given a random selection of tools and trying to cobble them together into something unstoppable.

[–] moipe@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

Dawncaster is a fun deckbuilder one, better than Slay the Spire to me.

SFD is a fun tactics one that I just started playing.

[–] GreenAlex@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago

I love roguelites and the genre melding you can do with them. I've been searching for one that competes with Risk of Rain 2 for me. I've played all the big ones but none have had the same staying power.

The biggest bummer for me is Dead Cells. For most of the run, I slaughter. First two original bosses I can pretty consistently no-hit. Then I get to the hand of the king and die in about 5 seconds every. Single. Time. It's 100% a skill issue but I feel it just asks so much of me compared to the rest of the game on the same difficulty, and I'm only on boss cell 1. I've even gone I to the training mode vs him and his tells paired with my time to respond just have not clicked.

There's also Enter the Gungeon. I also have struggled with it but actively plan to get back into it to work through it.

Lastly, shutout to Dicey Dungeons. It's lesser known and I think everyone should play it.

[–] SadTrain@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

I've been having a lot of fun in Halls of Torment lately. The updates and patch notes are promising for an early access game.

Then I play a TON of Slay the Spire.

[–] Duenan@aussie.zone 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Hades is probably one of my most played ones of recent time.

This has become one of my favourite genres and I own a good number of them.

I’d like to mention Dreamscaper and One Step from Eden as notable ones.

Monster Train as well because of how unique it is.

[–] Boiglenoight@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

No Rogue Legacy love? I played the heck out of that one on both PC and PS4. The 2nd one is good as well, but it hasn't grabbed me quite like the first.

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