A Bunch of Supposedly Fun Roguelikes — Part 1

So many roguelikes… but where to start?

I don’t know what it is with roguelikes these days, but the genre is becoming increasingly popular as the years go by. One recent roguelike, Cult of the Lamb, is incredibly hot right now and proves that the genre will not die anytime soon. I’m not entirely sure when this fad began. Still, most people will probably say something like, “it started with The Binding of Isaac”, a game that came out roughly a decade ago, and that statement proves true when you consider how iconic the game is. I remember playing it when it came out, and back then, I had no idea what a roguelike was, so I didn’t quite understand that this was a new genre. All I could recognise was the grotesque imagery present in the game. Long story short, I dropped it after an hour or so.

I have constantly been searching for more roguelikes to play, and there is a surprisingly good number of roguelikes out there for anyone to enjoy. However, many roguelikes differ in style and niche, which means that not every roguelike will be enjoyable to someone who enjoys the genre. For example, I don’t enjoy Darkest Dungeon, even though it’s highly popular with many other people. But the convoluted gameplay and lack of flashiness made me realise that this particular roguelike is not for me. But that’s ok because I like plenty of other roguelikes so much that I will never have the time to discover them all, at least not in their entirety.

So, as I continue my never-ending adventure for more roguelikes (and they are definitely never-ending), I want to talk about the roguelikes that I like, some you’ve heard about, and some you haven’t. But what is it that makes them so fun? Well… the virtually endless variety of scenarios that one can create in roguelikes, thanks to each game having so much random content, there is just so much to discover; although having to replay the same levels over and over can become tedious, no matter how varied the arsenal is. But what did I like, or better yet, why did I like these roguelikes?

Arboria

Arboria is an underrated roguelike. It had some interesting worldbuilding and aesthetics, and the gameplay isn’t half bad, if not too reliant on a skill-based system. It has the player assume control of a troll warrior, and every time you die, you control a different troll. However, the combat feels a bit repetitive. There doesn’t seem to be much variety, even though one can progressively improve their chances of success the more they play the game, the same as every other roguelike, basically, aside from the early 2000s vibe that the game projects (to me, at least…I don’t know why), I didn’t feel like there was enough to sustain me with the game to keep on playing it. I mean, it’s still fun in its way, but what I like in roguelikes is the colourful variety of options one can discover, and there doesn’t seem to be enough of it in Arboria.

Atomicrops

Atomicrops is very similar in its combat to Enter the Gungeon (which, spoiler alert, I will talk about later on in the article). However, what is distinctly unique about Atomicrops that sets it apart from the rest of the genre is the incorporation of a farming simulator. You have to kill baddies while simultaneously tending to your potatoes and all the other vegetables and whatnot. Despite its distinction, it doesn’t catch the attention of many, but I still like it, and that’s what counts. However, I must say that the game is challenging and could use some quality-of-life improvements. Aside from that criticism, if anyone wants a roguelike that forces their brain to stay active, this would be a challenge you do not want to miss.

Risk of Rain 2

This game is relatively new and one that I particularly like because of how chaotic it can get. You assume control of one of many characters, each with their abilities and skills, and you run around on a 3D plane shooting bad guys. The more time you waste, the harder the game gets, and it gets tough to the point that if you don’t die a couple of hours into the game, you are most probably invincible at that point. There are many explosions, and this game is incredibly enjoyable, even among roguelikes. I like this so much that I can’t decide if this is my favourite roguelike or if it is the next one on this list… which I will talk about now.

Enter the Gungeon

I like this game so much that even six years after purchasing it, I still play it, albeit with reduced frequency. There are just so many guns to discover and so many different varieties that’ll make you stick to this game for a long time, especially if you’re into dungeon-crawler-like games. The gameplay in this game, which is mostly just shooting everyone, is so intricate and varied that I constantly have to check relevant information to understand if I’m doing it right. Enter the Gungeon is genuinely my favourite roguelike ever… I think.

In Conclusion…

So yeah, roguelikes are fantastic, and I just realised I want to talk about more roguelikes that didn’t make it into this article, so I think I’ll split the subject into parts. Then hopefully, I can cover more of these.

There’s still so much to talk about… and I don’t know when it will end.

By the way, I’m aware that I said “like” one too many times… but I meant it.