Displaying items by tag: Roguelike

Combining the best of adventure and management, Moonlighter is an enjoyable title that is sure to make you smile and get you hooked right away.

Headup Games and Big Moustache Games announce their cooperation on Grimmwood, a challenging social multiplayer RPG experience, blending elements of survival, roguelike and exploration.

Slash enemies, puzzle through dungeons, and become the hero of legend in The Swords of Ditto, the innovative indie action RPG clothed in Zelda garb.

ROCKFISH Games launch the long-awaited EVERSPACE™ Hardcore Mode as a free update on Xbox One and the Windows 10 Store, upping the stakes and challenging even the most talented pilots. The brand new Hardcore Mode gameplay trailer shows what it has to offer.

Hand of Fate 2 brings the greatest strengths of its predecessor back in this sequel. Innovative gameplay combines action RPG combat with roguelike progression and deckbuilding, and small quality of life issues in the controls do little to detract from the masterful storytelling of this title.

With many weapons, unlocks, and even co-op play,  The Walking Vegetables has a high chance you will replay it over, and over... and over. It’s a great game all-around, especially if you are interested in a cheap alternative to therapy because your mom forced you to eat her vegetable casserole, even though you told her you hated carrots. The Walking Vegetables takes the best aspects of any top-down shooter, and gives it the 80s-cocaine-treatment that it needed.

Although Pylon: Rogue provides fun, the lack of upgrades that carry over, aside from unlocking more items, may deter players. Enjoyment might diminish after so many runs, depending on what you’re looking for in a title, but that’s simply the nature of the genre. However, if you like roguelikes, such as The Binding of Isaac, and enjoy difficult titles, you’ll likely enjoy this.

While there are some pitfalls, the Asura: Vengeance expansion packs enough content to satisfy returning players and entice new ones. New game mode adds an addictive alternative to enjoy the game and compete on the leaderboards, and survival mode packs the punch that pushes the expansion over the edge. Though the new additions might not further expand the audience of this title, existing fans of the game and genre will be satisfied with the new content – and even more satisfied with the word: “free.”

Niche – a genetics survival game is a species sim with roguelike progression, played in turns on a hex grid. It includes enough novelty to charm fans still searching for the children of Creatures or Spore, but gambles with repetitive and predictable gameplay. It's as likely to frustrate you as it is to relax you, and small annoyances tip the scale in favor of the prior. Approach with reasonable expectations about its depth and variety, and you'll raise your chances of garnering an enjoyable experience.

A Robot Named Fight truly makes a name for itself with everything it does. While not an overly plot-driven title, the story behind it all is a fascinating and fun take on a classic, which is then delivered in such a beautifully retro vessel that it is hard to believe you are playing it on a PC in your own room and not a coin-operated console at your local penny arcade. A Robot Named Fight is fast fun, a perfect way to spend five minutes or an hour and a half, and a perfect staple for anyone’s gaming library.

Tangledeep is like the platonic ideal of RPGs: it has everything you want in a dungeon crawling roguelike without all the mess of outdated graphics or frustrating UI. This gem evokes memories of 16-bit Super Nintendo RPGs from back in the day. Do yourself a favor, grab Tangledeep before it gets more popular, and just try it for a couple twenty hours. Did I mention there’s great replay value?

Imagine the year is 2089 and the Cold War never ended. You would, of course, be a burly, time-traveling cyborg-agent who goes to dance clubs to flirt with and/or kill other burly men, right? Of course you would; the self-described tech-noir All Walls Must Fall is so chillingly accurate that an alternate history textbook could be written based off of it.

There are noticeable problems that detracted from the enjoyment of Rezrog: especially the mana consumption/potion issue. Despite the issues, Rezrog is an engaging experience in its current state, if you stray away from problematic classes and can avoid a glitch mid-run until the bugs are all worked out — but, the frequency that a glitch occurs makes the title borderline unplayable. This RPG shows promise, and it’ll be great, a go-to, even, once fixed.

What The Long Journey Home lacks in originality in its gameplay, it makes up for with realism in its characters and extensive narrative. It draws the player into a harsh, unforgiving universe that is as strange as it is beautiful. Wit, skill, and determination are needed to survive, but even with these, success is not guaranteed. Gamers who enjoy a challenge and the thrill of the unknown will get the most out of The Long Journey Home.

Dead Cells is not only for those who yearn for a Castlevania-esque side-scroller, but also for any who love rogue-lites or side-scrollers with RPG elements. Dead Cells holds its own; it’s great, and it’s certainly promising with the content already offered. The developers have plans to introduce even more content down the line after release, such as more levels, bosses, and a stats feature. Although there are some hiccups in its current state, it’s dubious that these could become issues down the line, given the active developers. The difficulty, combined with the upgrade system, makes this release a solid choice for both the most experienced and novice players alike.

Yet another rogue-lite glorifying the genocide of the pirate race, Flinthook’s clever controls and mechanics bring challenging gameplay that requires practice to make perfect. Procedurally-generated levels and progression through death ensure a unique experience, reinforced by pleasing visuals and an equally accomplished soundtrack. All will find themselves motivated to keep playing, and lovers of the genre will surely appreciate the twists that successfully make Flinthook a unique experience in a saturated market.

For the King is a strategic RPG that features procedurally generated maps, so each playthrough is palpably different from the last. However, the randomness dampens appeal as the results are frequently unforgiving or unjust. The hit to replayability is a shame, as this title has much to offer to the patient – or the masochists. Diehard RPG strategists, however, will appreciate this title.

Although the concept of a procedurally-generated skill tree is unique and broadly appealing, Asura's roguelike genre, where nothing carries over from one run to the next, does not enjoy widespread favorability. But, though the potential audience is limited, the title flawlessly executes what it sets out to accomplish: the variability from one run to the next keeps us playing, along with the collector-perfectionist appeal of trying to unlock everything this title has to offer.

Orbiz Early Access shows promise, and with some minor clean-up here and there, it could be the top-down retro zombie shooter of top-down retro zombie shooters. With its distinct graphics and soundtrack, Anoman Studios has created a title worthy of hardcore gamers looking for a difficult challenge while still appealing to the more casual players who want to have a fun time together surviving little worlds of zombies.

XenonValkyrie is a project that held many promising ideals.  It sought to be the synchronized combination of a platforming shooter, rogue-like, and Metroidvania game, but couldn't quite live up to its potential.  It had too much on its plate, and the result was a disjointed and buggy mash of disconnected aspects of many genres.  Pile that on top of balance, design, and control issues and you get a game that is unfairly difficult and lacks truly elaborate content.  Nevertheless, the game is still somewhat enjoyable, if you have a knack for the brutally challenging and are willing to invest a lot of time and tolerance to unravel what it does have to offer.