Grats, I always really liked Skirmishers, but I could never beat Insane with them (or with.... anyone else). Good to know it's at least doable, and thanks for repping us.
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Roguelike - Embrace the dnmRoa
- Thread starter melodiousmowl
- Start date
Grats, I always really liked Skirmishers, but I could never beat Insane with them (or with.... anyone else). Good to know it's at least doable, and thanks for repping us.
Looking forward to getting Shiren on Switch tomorrow. Been a minute since I put serious time into a Chunsoft Mystery Dungeon game, but they're what got me to explore the genre in the first place with the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games and Torneko's Adventure. I've been spoiled by the sprawling PC roguelikes so some of the Chunsoft MDs are a little too restrictive for me now (though the polish and ease of play are top notch), but from what I can tell Shiren has always been the most complex of them, so it should be a good time.
I've picked up Dead Cells recently through Game Pass. I've managed to only defeat the Concierge once so far and it was cause all my items were his weaknesses (wolf trap + turret). He went down real easy just that once. I've went up against him with a wolf trap + oil grenade, but I trampled. How do you guys go about beating him with efficiency, so I can be sure I'll pass him on each play through.
With that said, I'm absolutely loving it. Some playthroughs I can go a few biomes without even being touched. Then I begin to slip up and get knocked around.
With that said, I'm absolutely loving it. Some playthroughs I can go a few biomes without even being touched. Then I begin to slip up and get knocked around.
For me it was the original Chocobo's Mystery Dungeon games on PSX, both of which I braved in Japanese. They're easier than other roguelikes including their other games, and I was a massive Final Fantasy fan back then coming from the SNES games, so they were the perfect introduction for me. :)
Dude...I can't -stop- playing it. I hate it! Actually...I love it. But I'm sooo bad at it. Getting better tho.
Curious what people's lesser known standouts are for this years roguelites/likes - we all know about your Hades/Noita/Spelunkys/Risk of Rains.
Personally, I had fun with I, Dracula Genesis which committed itself to be a 90s twin stick isometric shooter. Nothing stellar, but I appreciated how dedicated the devs were in the process of making it.
Scourgebringer, Crown Trick , Slashers Keep and Until You Fall are all on my radar. Anything else I should be looking at?
It's definitely got content - 100's of enemies/spells/biomes to discover. You also have vanilla mode, nightmare, and mods to tinker with.
Personally, I had fun with I, Dracula Genesis which committed itself to be a 90s twin stick isometric shooter. Nothing stellar, but I appreciated how dedicated the devs were in the process of making it.
Scourgebringer, Crown Trick , Slashers Keep and Until You Fall are all on my radar. Anything else I should be looking at?
It's definitely got content - 100's of enemies/spells/biomes to discover. You also have vanilla mode, nightmare, and mods to tinker with.
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I'm wondering the same. On release it seemed like the consensus was that the concept was cool but the game itself was a bit undercooked. Has that changed significantly?
The core loop -> go through biomes -> defeat the boss is the same, although the boss has been reworked. What's changed is the spells and wands you have access to , and the enemies you encounter. There are alternate biomes and side areas to explore, with secrets to uncover. It's very much a Spelunky game, but far more freeform and far less punishing (the combat can get hard though)
I'd say the one area I was hoping to see improvement was how the UI presented information to the player while building wands, because its very overwhelming and can detract from the experience of spelunking. That hasn't changed sadly.
Interesting, thanks. Just added it to my wishlist (which is already 100+ games long and like 70% rogues :D).
I personally consider I, Dracula the best roguelite release of the year. Nothing really come closes to it when it comes to the sheer variety it offers and it's the only serious contender against gungeon/isaac since forever in the twin stick shooter category.
I kinda enjoy Cavity Busters because i like the disease mechanic (basically relics with pros and cons, that you can in most case heal at an npc to only keep the positive aspect). I think the dev make serious efforts in adding interesting items rather than just stat upgrades ones and i have no idea how he manages to keep releasing weekly updates, it's really incredible how invested he is in his game.
Fury Unleashed is also pretty good if you enjoy game like contra and the likes. I really didn't expect much of it but i couldn't stop playing until i finished the last difficulty.
I really enjoyed Undermine on Gamepass recently, not sure if that's old but check it out if you haven't.
OP
OP
im considering updating the op with something like a consensus top 10 roguelikes for the year. thoughts?
I recommended ToME to my friend yesterday and spent an hour last night rereading about some of the classes I never unlocked. Itching to jump back in after I burn some of my backlog.
That would be a great idea! I love roguelike games but i didn't play many new ones this year. Also I will buy a switch at yhe end of the year for my kids and would love to play some roguelike games on it, of course Hades will be the first that i will buy!
This video helped me a ton with being better about the 'syntax' on my wand construction. no spoilers - uses spells from the first area to demonstrate spell combination mechanics.
Thank you, this has been quite helpful in terms of having me understand the trigger spells better :)!
So, like Isaac then? This is something that takes a lot of creativity to pull off over the long haul.
I really liked I Dracula Genesis as well. Looking at the art style initially was kind of off-putting, but playing the game takes that all away. It feels like a rogue-lite straight from the snes or N64, along with the cool music. Plays really well.
Undermine was great as well, and I've put a few hours into Scourgebringer also, it's tight gameplay keeps you coming back.
This looks awesome - are all of the maps small like that or are there more open areas?
I'm the opposite in re the art. I loved it from the moment I saw it. Really does a good job mixing retro zany with modern quality.
I just started this 20 minutes ago, so far it's very charming. I would recommend skipping the beginners house as Koppa explains a lot and thehelp menu is detailed.
Someone should make an OT for this!
*triggered* by wandering flying things.
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There's no ghost mechanic in Noita, maybe just a wandering enemy?
Nope, you right, wandering flying enemies repeatedly coming in when I was looking at stuff in the Tab menu. It was happening all the time in the area I was in so I figured it was some mechanic that I didn't remember from the last time I played. Just played another game and no intrusions now. I'll edit out my post a little.
Thanks :)
To those playing Shiren, anyone know what's the difference between the warehouse and the storehouse?
One has wares, and the other has stores. Duh. :)
(Sorry, I had to. I haven't played this Shiren, and don't remember the difference from the previous ones if they were there.).
LOL.
I'll probably never use them, but I'm just a bit confused as why there are two different storage that probably serves the same purpose. If it's explained in the game, I must've missed it.
I bought it way back when and never saw what some loved about it. It is varied, but doesn't seem to do any one thing particularly well.
I like the dev and am SUPER glad he got his game back from Shrapnel. We tried to warn him when he partnered with them, but he was so surprised by their offer that he took it. I have no idea how Shrapnel is still around, honestly. Probably nothing more than selling their back catalog for a handful of sales a year.
You might have noticed that your movement is grid-based in the warehouse. The warehouse puts you in dungeon mode so you can interact with your items in a safe environment. If you leave items on the floor, they will stay there when you return. The storehouse is just your typical menu-driven storage system like a bank.
Always a good read, and of course it seems like 1.0 is still at least a year away, even though the game is now deemed "done."
Very much looking forward to Beta 11.
Yeah, I noticed that. I guess that's basically it then.
Also, a funny thing happened. I threw a pot in the warehouse (I think it was either an ordinary pot or preservation pot) and it flew right past the walls and disappeared. LMAO. This was on the PC version. Haven't tried those types of pots on the Switch version, but I did throw a presto pot (pot that transforms items) and the pot broke on the wall.
I sold all those items after playing around in the warehouse, btw.
I had the link in the post, the build is: https://te4.org/characters/106938/tome/b125cfd6-3a74-410f-91c5-c2f167b30fdc
Which I heavily based on the build of this player: https://te4.org/characters/17149/tome/09531760-3faa-42a7-8147-b20ac26d46c7
The one unusual (for me) thing I did was getting two inscription slots first and opening up new category (Poisons) only with the 3rd category point. I did it for variety's sake but it ended up working out pretty nicely. Going that route gave me plenty of time to put a lot of points in defensive talents that become even better with Adept prodigy as my 1st one. I also used decent (200+ damage) acid wave rune for a while for that instant AoE damage as my damage wasn't the highest mid-game, disarm was a bonus. Had to skip a few bosses due to not enough burst, but you do that plenty of times on Insane difficulty. And it's not like you skip them for good, a few levels later all 4 or 5 randbosses I couldn't kill on the 1st try were cleared. The difference is I never felt threatened myself by those bosses I couldn't kill so I could always retreat or even just not pay attention to them as I move further into the area/dungeon, as at that point (~late 20 - early 30 levels) I was super tanky.
The warehouse allows you to manage your inventory a bit by using pots etc. to synthesize stuff and do other things. The storage facility allows you to sell items directly from its menus if you want. I usually just store all and then withdraw or sell stuff i want or don't need.
If you threw something and it passed through a wall you probably have a bracelet on that allows your thrown items to pass through enemies. It's a useful item if you want to affect multiple enemies with the effects of seals or grass.
I hate rogue lites, roguelikes, rogue likes and I even hate that the makers of these games can't decide on a common way to call them.
But there are few exceptions.
Enter the Gungeon is great. One of the best Bullet-hell games and arcade games I have played.
Hades is this years true GOTY. Absolutely amazing action and art direction and storytelling through death and runs.
Enter The Breach is such a simple and yet deep game. It reminds me of Chess in every single good way.
Slay the Spire is brutal with it's runs but it forces you to get better. You can't play it and be stuck. You just get better. Awesome game.
I have played some that I didn't enjoy
Darkest Dungeons
Crypt of the Necrodancer
Binding of Isaac
Downwell
But I have for some odd reason learned to really enjoy roguelites. Dunno what happened.
So tell me based on these what should I get next? I have Star Renegades waiting on my Switch, which is my main platform, but PC or XSX is ok too.
But there are few exceptions.
Enter the Gungeon is great. One of the best Bullet-hell games and arcade games I have played.
Hades is this years true GOTY. Absolutely amazing action and art direction and storytelling through death and runs.
Enter The Breach is such a simple and yet deep game. It reminds me of Chess in every single good way.
Slay the Spire is brutal with it's runs but it forces you to get better. You can't play it and be stuck. You just get better. Awesome game.
I have played some that I didn't enjoy
Darkest Dungeons
Crypt of the Necrodancer
Binding of Isaac
Downwell
But I have for some odd reason learned to really enjoy roguelites. Dunno what happened.
So tell me based on these what should I get next? I have Star Renegades waiting on my Switch, which is my main platform, but PC or XSX is ok too.
Roguelikes and roguelites are two different genres of games. Roguelikes follow the original rogue design closely while roguelites just incorporate some elements. It's not that complicated. Compare ToME vs Binding of Isaac.
I would say, that roguelites isn't a genre to define a game by - its really about the moment to moment gameplay. You'll realize most of the games you listed can't be lumped into the same genre. What makes rogues exciting for me is about having that power progression, having to make meaningful choices and being resourceful to beat the odds.
I didn't actually know that definition and the destinctive differences of those terms.
I had absolutely stupid predetermined detest against roguelites before I actually got to play some good ones. Which is why I would love to get some new recommendations.
I recently enjoyed Griftlands from Klei - its another deckbuilder, but set in a scifi universe. The most intersesting aspect in how it differentiates itself from Slay the Spire is that its contained in a sort of RPG structure - you have status and relationships with factions and your actions can impact outcomes outside of the combat. Kill a merchant for example, and then you'll find all the shops raising their prices on you.
Scourgebringer is pretty sick.
Nova Drift is really fun for that Geometry Wars vibe.
Vagante is really fun.
Some more "traditional" roguelikes on Switch are Darkwood, Shiren the Wanderer, and Chocobo's Mystery Dungeon. I enjoyed all of them but Shiren the Wanderer is by far my favorite, and it's also the most traditional of these (though Chocobo also has the traditional aspects it moves a bit too slow for me to really recommend it.)
Darkwood isn't so traditional but it has good atmosphere. Though the controls leave a lot to be desired IMO. They are also on PC if you'd rather play there.
Griftlands looks really good. I remember seeing this on some Switch Nindie presentation maybe but it's not on eshop.
Thanks. Scourgebringer looks really nice. Bought that one.
Thanks. Shiren definitely looks intriguing. Darkwood is definitely not for me because of the horror elements.
To expand on the above explanation (and yes, the nomenclature is horrendous, and not widely agreed upon), by the most common definition of these terms, roguelike is a genre (like "fighting game", or "first person shooter"), while roguelite is a characteristic (like "multiplayer", or "turn-based"). For example EtG is a twin-stick shooter (genre) that happens to have a roguelite characteristic, just like it has a multiplayer characteristic. Into the Breach is a tactics game (although I can also see the case for "puzzle game") that also happens to have a roguelite characteristic.
Now, based on your likes, I would highly suggest to check:
- Hand of Fate 2, because you liked Slay the Spire. An incredible game where the deckbuilding part is actually the overarching structure rather than the run structure; that is, you make a deck before starting each run, with your deck including not only equipment cards but also quests and encounters. Completing these quest cards unlock more cards, e.g. the next step of the quest, for future runs. The combat is actually action-based and somewhat similar to Batman Arkham games. Available on PC and Switch.
Faster than Light (FTL), because you liked Into the Breach (same devs, you'll even find interface similarities). A multimillion seller and one of my favorite games ever, roguelite or otherwise; it puts you in command of a spaceship jumping from sector to sector, fighting other ships, and upgrading your ship. The most interesting characteristic is its micromanagement of the crew: you don't control the ship directly; you control your crew and move them around your ship to man stations, put out fires, repair hull breaches, fight off invaders, etc. Available on PC and iPad.