Hack, slash, die, repeat: The most repetitive genre of video games

By ANDREW JUAREZ
The Tower

Roguelikes have seen an extreme change and has become one of the most influential genres of video games in recent years with many popular titles entering players' libraries.

From the inception of the genre with the1980’s Rogue: Exploring the Dungeons of Doom, from which the genre gets its name, roguelike games are characterized by permadeath, meta progression, and procedurally generated levels.

Simply put: When you die you start over and can have some permanent upgrades in between. Although you will also hear “Roguelite” to describe the genre, the two terms are almost interchangeable as of late. For simplicity's sake we will be using the term “Roguelike” to describe any game where when you die you start over from the very beginning and you go through mostly procedurally generated levels.

Now without further ado, let’s unpack my list of the top 10 roguelikes of all time.

10. Inscryption (2021)

A card game set in a gritty cabin, the story follows your journey to be released from the cycle you’ve been put in. It’s mainly a deck-building card game but it can also stray from the formula it made for itself. Adding some RPG (role-playing game) elements, there are some puzzles and horror and elements that really work for the game's atmosphere.

9. Enter the Gungeon (2016)

A traditional dungeon-crawling bullet-hell roguelike that more than other roguelikes emphasize the gun play over “I win buttons” that most roguelikes in the bullet-hell genre seem to have. Enter the Gungeon uses a “twin stick” style where a character can move and aim separately. Enter the Gungeon uses the subgenre well and it adds to the overall flow of the game.

8. Cult of the Lamb. (2022)

One of the most refreshing takes on the roguelike genre in recent years. It really does it all – adventure, action-rpg combat, and camp management. If you’re looking for a jack of all trades this is the game for you. The combat is simple but engaging but the main appeal is the cult aspect in which after every run you gain more followers and can basically play God in the form of a stubby little sheep.

7. Darkest Dungeon 2 (2023)

From a decent game to one of the best, the Darkest Dungeon series has been through it all. Darkest Dungeon 2 is one of the best party builder roguelike games ever made. After the midness of Darkest Dungeon 1 the sequel improved in every way. From making it more replayable, to making it more beginner friendly, it has made the biggest glow up of all the roguelike games.

6. Dead Cells (2018)

Winning “Action Game of the Year” the year it came out in 2018; Dead Cells is known for its 2D pixel art metroidvania style as well as the side scrolling hacking and slashing gameplay. In Dead Cells you play as “The Prisoner” an amorphous blob of slime that dies and regenerates. As you progress through the stages you find out more about who you are and where you are.

2018 | Rewind | The Game Awards

5. Slay the Spire (2019)

While waiting for Slay the Spire 2 we should talk about just how amazing deckbuilding games work with the roguelike formula. The game also has an amazing difficulty system in which after you beat all three acts with one character you “ascend” with that character up to 20 times adding modifiers that make the game more difficult from lower health to enemies having more health.

4. The Binding of Issac: Rebirth (2014)

The godfather of all twin stick top-down dungeon crawler roguelikes. The newly revived interest in roguelikes seems to stem from the Binding of Isaac series. Over the years it’s gotten many remakes, but the best would have to be rebirth. The general gameplay flow doesn’t get repetitive since there are so many characters to choose from.

3. Balatro (2024)

The game that really should win “Game of the Year” this year. An intuitive deck builder with the inner workings of poker. Playing different joker cards for special effects. Winning by gaining a certain amount of poker chips. The game has amazing progression feeling like you’ve accomplished something after every run.

2. Risk of Rain 2 (2019)

The sequel to Hopoo Games’ “Risk of Rain” went from a 2D side scroller to a 3D run and gun with linear progression scaling with the time spent in the game. Every run is different and no matter how close your items may be, the run will always end up differently. The main driving force of Risk of Rain is its diverse cast of characters. The base game has 11 characters and each DLC adds three characters, and the game has two DLCs; so, there is lots of variety.

1. Hades (2020)

Hades is the winner of “Game of The Year” in the BAFTA awards and “Action Game of The Year” in the Game awards. The pinnacle of the hack-and-slash roguelike genre, Hades portrays you as “Zagreus,” the son of Hades, who is trying to escape the underworld to reach Mount Olympus. Zagreus contacts the other Greek Gods, and they offer help in the form of “Boons,” which grant special effects that help in your runs. The general gameplay loop is varied since Supergiant (the developers of Hades) decided to test out procedural narrative storytelling in the form of a roguelike.

After every few runs or accomplishment, you’ll be given more context on the larger goal and plot. The currency system also grants players access to more weapons and abilities. While there are less permanent currencies like Charon’s obols (the standard gold coin for each run) there are also permanent currencies like Chthonic keys or Darkness. The game also has many ways to engage in the general gameplay loop. Hades has six options for weapons, and each comes with its own unique play style and basic and special attacks and its own “Unique Aspect,” which is a hidden phrase into the lore and story behind the weapon. You also have the option to have “Companions” or “Legendary Keepsakes,” which grant you a certain ability and only have a limited amount of uses per run.

There are so many nuances in the interactions between weapons and boons there is an unlimited amount of fun you can get from the game. Hades will get a sequel soon moving on from Zagreus’ with the same complexity of the original. Hades is one of the best games of all time and was a big reason for the recent resurgence of roguelike games. The game holds up against most major games today and aged well. Hades 2 will change the landscape in the same way Hades did a few years ago. While you wait for Hades 2 to come out, play Hades again. There are still so many replayable aspects about the game even after beating the main story that it’s worth going back to even if you beat the game. And if you haven’t, then play it now; it’s the perfect time to get into it.