Roguelike Games: 5 Elements of Roguelike Video Games

Roguelike video games are typically action-adventure games in which you, as the player, must restart gameplay from the beginning each time your character dies or fails to meet the main objective. While the term “roguelike” originated as a way to discuss games that are similar to the 1980 game Rogue, debates persist in the gaming world to determine what actually qualifies as roguelike.

Roguelike games can be either single player or multiplayer (also called co-op, which is short for co-operative), but the more exact definition of a roguelike game is fluid depending on who you ask. This has resulted in the subgenre “roguelite” or “roguelike-like” for games that have many of the same gameplay elements as roguelike games with the exception of one or two characteristics.

Roguelike games, which take their name from the 1980 game Rogue, originally began as a subgenre of role-playing games (RPGs) and turn-based strategy games. Rogue, created by programmers and game developers Glenn Wichman and Michael Toy, allowed players to control a knight and explore randomly generated dungeon chambers (in the spirit of Dungeons & Dragons campaigns) and search for the Amulet of Yendor.

Much like Dungeons & Dragons, Rogue was a hardcore turn-based game in which players could take their time plotting out their next move as they worked through a mystery dungeon. This was important because an in-game death meant returning to the very beginning of the game, losing all progress and starting anew with nothing. It’s a similar mechanic to permanent death in Dungeons & Dragons (or just D&D), which necessitates a player creating a new character if their player dies in combat.

Wichman and Toy also drew influence from text-based adventure games like 1975’s dnd and 1976’s Colossal Cave Adventure. Their idea—to create a story-based, dungeon crawl, platform game that could randomly generate and surprise even them, as its creators—led to decades of roguelike games.

In 2008, at the International Roguelike Development Conference which took place in Berlin, a definition was created around canon roguelike games ADOM, Angband, Crawl, Nethack, and of course, Rogue. These traditional roguelike elements, referred to as the Berlin Interpretation, have since been the most important when defining the genre:

1. 1. Random environment generation: In order to increase replayability, the world is randomly generated, also called procedural generation (created based on an algorithm rather than manually). While the physical appearance of monsters in the game is fixed, their placement within the game is random, as are the placements of items.
2. 2. Permadeath: When you die in a playthrough, you start over from the first level. The random nature of the environment should keep this aspect of the game enjoyable rather than punishing, as it might feel in platformer games, for example, which feature levels where the characteristics do not change from gameplay session to session.
3. 3. Grid-based and turn-based: The world exists on a uniform grid of tiles, similar to a D&D game board, with players and monsters each taking up one tile. The game is also not time-sensitive, and each in-game command corresponds to a single action or movement. This also means the game should be non-modal, with all actions available at any point in the game, rather than restrictive of advancing movements to one mode and battle actions to a separate mode.
4. 4. Complexity: Common goals should have several possible solutions, an aspect that is strongly connected to the non-modal aspect of these games. This also means that resource management is crucial as you’ll have limited resources and multiple uses for those resources. Additionally, you must carefully re-explore dungeon levels to re-discover items every time you start a new game.
5. 5. Hack and slash: In this “player versus the world” type of game, killing many monsters is a key aspect of the gameplay.

There are also additional “low value” factors that are discussed in debates as to what games truly qualify as roguelike and what titles should be in the subgenre “roguelite” or “roguelike-like,” such as a player’s ability to control only a single playable character; the requirement of the player to learn specific tactics to progress; and in-game monsters operating with mechanics that are similar to those of the player.

Roguelite games, like Spelunky (2008) and FTL: Faster Than Light (2012), kept game design aspects like permadeath and random levels but also incorporated aspects from other game genres. Spelunky added in concepts from 2D platforming games, as opposed to the top-down dungeon-crawling nature of many roguelike games, while FTL left the dungeon crawler behind for a space chase through a randomly generated galaxy.

The Berlin Interpretation, as defined at the 2008 International Roguelike Development Conference, measures games against the original Rogue game developed by Glenn Wichman and Michael Toy. However, roguelite games can be seen as a natural evolution of the genre. Here are some notable roguelike and roguelite video games you can try:

1. 1. Spelunky (2008) and Spelunky 2 (2020): Spelunky is considered one of the most influential roguelike games. Originally released as freeware for the PC, the game pays homage to Spelunker (1983) and emphasizes the roguelike idea that literally anything in the game can kill you. Spelunky 2 sees you playing as the daughter of the original game’s protagonist, who is searching for her missing parents on the moon. Platforming (navigating obstacles in levels) and problem-solving skills are key as you work your way through hazard-filled caverns.
2. 2. The Binding of Isaac (2011): Blending the roguelike genre with shooters, this game has gained a cult following over recent years and is considered one of the best roguelike games. Following a child making their way through procedurally generated caverns, this difficult but rewarding game has dozens of passive and active power-ups that enable gamers to experiment as they push toward the end.
3. 3. FTL: Faster Than Light (2012): In this sci-fi game, you’re being chased by evil rebels while facing hostile aliens and executing life-and-death decisions. The game’s decision-based story and real-time combat require you to equip your spaceship with the best crew, weapons, and upgrades as you attempt to defeat the enemy mothership.
4. 4. Slay the Spire (2017): This single-player card battler takes aspects of “choose your own adventure” games to create an action-oriented experience. The variety of potential card combinations gives each run an air of unpredictability as combat mechanics go out the window. A deck-building game, it features four classes, requiring you to build a better deck with each run.
5. 5. Dead Cells (2017): Featuring thirteen levels, each with handcrafted assets, and four bosses, Dead Cells sits somewhere between a roguelike and a Metroidvania (an action-adventure subgenre that is a portmanteau of the game names Metroid and Castlevania). Combining permadeath and complex level design, this game requires you to make split-second decisions as you use an expanding arsenal of weapons to take down enemies. The ability to carry some upgrades across runs will let you feel like you are constantly progressing.
6. 6. Hades (2018): Created by Supergiant, this game is a showcase for the narrative potential of the genre. You play as Zagreus, son of Hades, trying to escape hell in a different spin on the permadeath aspect of roguelike games. Though every death puts you back in your home, your conversations with the varying cast of characters continue to progress, keeping interactions fresh even after your failed attempts to beat the game.

Systems, such as PC, Nintendo, iOS, Android, Playstation, and Xbox, all have their own slight nuances to the original Rogue concept. Further honorable mentions for their unique contributions to the genre include Rogue Legacy, Nethack, Darkest Dungeon, Diablo, Downwell, Enter the Gungeon, Risk of Rain 2, and Into the Breach.

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