The Magic of Rogue-Likes or What I’m Writing to Avoid Playing More of Them

Lately I have been a little obsessed with Dicefolk, an indie rogue-like that just launched on the Nintendo Switch after releasing on Steam earlier this year. In trying to remove myself from doing “just one more run,” I’ve tried to take a step back and do some thinking and some writing. I’ve had the idea for some kind of article about rogue-likes for a while now. This could be the year of “the run” in video games. Why is every showcase crammed with rogue-likes? Why are rogue-likes creeping into triple A games as DLC?

Rogue-like has practically become a worn out phrase when talking about video games. There is no lack of great examples, even just this year. Hades 2 is maybe one of the biggest, with Balatro taking off earlier this year too. There’s my personal favorite Dicefolk, and within the last year huge PlayStation Studios games like The Last of Us Part 2 and God of War Ragnarok added rogue-like modes as DLC. If that’s not enough rogue-like for you, there’s plenty to look forward to. Hyper Light Breaker launches this summer in early access as does Dead Cell’s developer’s next game Windblown. Slay the Spire 2 was recently announced, and there’s several indie titles on my wishlist like Tears of Metal, Tenjutsu, and Wizard of Legend 2.

Why is this genre so popular? And why is it sticking around rather than getting worn out? Probably because there are a lot of talented independent developers working on cool original ideas. But I’m also happy to dive deeper.

At its core, a rogue-like game is centered around going on “runs.” These runs are fated to end in some way. In a game like Cult of the Lamb you go out on runs and when The Lamb dies you return to the settlement, continue building, upgrade your abilities, and prepare for the next run. Other rogue-likes, like Darkest Dungeon 2, will only end a run when the player characters die. But even in these kinds of rogue-likes, typically the player still unlocks rewards as some kind of progress. This can be anything from new items to use, new playable characters to try out, or new areas to explore. But the most important thing to obtain is always knowledge.

Few runs may end in complete victory, but each run gives the player a better understanding of what they better on the next attempt. This measurable progression, this acceptance of failure as its own kind of success, is at least part of what makes rogue-likes special to me.

From another perspective, rogue-likes can also be perfect for people who don’t have time to game for hours on end. As people get busier and busier and huge big budget games ask for more and more time, it’s not always easy to find time for every game you want to try. Just look at the site you’re reading this on. It’s built on the concept of finally getting around to great indie games I didn’t have the chance to play. I (sometimes) get paid to write about video games (not yet on this site), but I still can’t play everything I want to.

Many rogue-likes let players jump right into the action with relatively little expositions compared to other games. Of course there are tutorials and it always takes some time to learn to play, but once learned, rogue-likes can offer quick and exciting bursts of gameplay even if someone has been playing for years. This leads me to the other huge feature that makes rogue-likes unique: replayability.

You might wonder to yourself, is Super Mario a rogue-like? Mario runs forward, jumps on a few goombas, but then misses a jump and starts from the beginning. You may not hold onto items, but it’s all about learning what to expect and knowing what to do. Sounds pretty similar. But what makes a rogue-like different from an action or adventure game, is randomness. In a game like Risk or Rain 2 or Vampire Survivors you can prepare and have some idea of what to expect, but never exactly. Every run is different. The first, the second, the tenth, and the thousandth. This gives many rogue-likes endless replayability because players can always find something new.

Rogue-likes are not necessarily appealing for their sprawling narrative or huge world to explore. They have fun and strategic gameplay elements that reward a player that learns and prepares well each time.

It’s also for this very reason that they can be hopelessly addicting. So please, be careful out there. If you’re feeling tired or frustrated, it can be good to take a break from the next run of Enter the Gungeon or Gunfire Reborn. Sometimes when I come back with a fresh head and a new perspective, I play the best Into the Breach of my life.

Thanks for reading, and for all the rogue-like fans out there I hope you appreciated the many name-drops (or game-drops?) in this article. If I didn’t mention the one you’re obsessed with I’m sorry, there’s too many great rogue-like games out there. But you should let me know what I missed in the comments because maybe I haven’t heard of it and it would become my next obsession.

Oh, and Spelunky.