A Bunch of Supposedly Fun Roguelikes — Part 3

The continuation of the continuation of the last thing I did (and the titles are getting worse)

This week was a doozy, and I don’t mean that in a good way. I spent too much time researching roguelikes nobody has heard of with the hope that if I talk about them, at least one person will be made aware of their existence. I procrastinated too much; the result is that it’s already next week, and I haven’t reached my weekly quota yet… but who cares! I do what I want with the stuff I write, and nobody can tell me otherwise… at least, that’s what I assume.

My point is that I am going to talk about more roguelikes, regardless of whether people have heard of them or not. On the upside, I’m nearing the end of this endeavour, and it is bound to end after two more entries, including this one.

By now, you already know what a roguelike is since this is the third part of the series, and I assume if you’re reading this, then you also read the first two parts. So let me just get to the roguelikes I’m going to talk about…

Neon Abyss

Neon Abyss, at first glance, seems like a typical action roguelike, and in some ways, it is. Its gameplay is somewhat similar to Enter the Gungeon (except that Neon Abyss is 2D) in that it is action-packed, and you collect guns and whatnot. However, Neon Abyss offers just enough variety to sustain players long enough to discover something interesting. I haven’t gotten there yet because I was in such a hurry to play as many roguelikes as possible in a short amount of time. I understood that Neon Abyss is better than the typical action roguelike, but it doesn’t offer anything too special. It could still be worth your time if you give it a chance. The point is, it’s not terrible.

Going Under

What I really enjoyed about Going Under is its presentation, ranging from its colourful yet minimalist character design to its pleasantly euphoric soundtrack. There are some story bits too, but I’m not quite sure how interesting that part is. I suppose that if I have any criticism towards the game, it lacks diversity regarding its items and powerups because, for roguelikes, this game barely has any item variety at all. The combat is intuitive, though, in that you run around, pick whatever weapon is on the floor or wall, and then proceed to bludgeon the enemy to death, but that’s pretty much all there is to the combat in this game, and that somehow still manages to make it fun. I should note that the most interesting feature is the ability to crawl under tables and use them as cover, but that’s the only cool mechanic there is in the game.

Doomsday Hunters

Doomsday Hunters is a bit esoteric in that it doesn’t do much to stand out, and it looks like a game for the Gameboy Advance (ah… good times). It also comes off as a game that tries too hard to be like Enter the Gungeon. However, the game succeeds in executing its simplicity in that it’s just fun to go around, collect weird weapons and then use them to blast the enemy into bits. Also, this game has an interesting character design but not so much that it would convince you to play it more than you should. But yes, this game is simple, and that’s what’s cool about it. Also, there is a lot of stuff to discover even though the game is still in early access, so take heed (early access is kind of a problem).

Cult of the Lamb

Cult of the Lamb is a game that I have once talked about, and I may or may not have mentioned that it’s actually quite fun (I can’t remember), if not for the repeating crashes, that is, (but that’s what happens when you don’t have the budget to buy a new PC.) Nevertheless, I have since fixed the problem, and I can tell you that this game has a lot of depth to it, ranging from its action mechanics to micromanaging the cult, and there is honestly so much to do and discover. So, if you haven’t had the chance to play it, then you should probably do so now. This is one roguelike you do not want to miss.

In Conclusion…

And with that, I conclude another entry in the Random Roguelike series, which is due to end with the next one, which could be very soon, and no one is more excited than me to finish it. I know I said I would cover as many roguelikes as possible, but truth be told, there don’t seem to be that many that are interesting, even though there are a lot of roguelikes out there. I find myself only enjoying a small selection compared to how many roguelikes there are now. But that’s ok because the few we have is already enough, considering the amount of replayability these games have.

Anyways, the next entry will all be about new roguelikes or those coming out soon, but that’s all I can spoil about part 4… which will be the last part of this series… hopefully.