#Rogue-lite

[knightoflodis]

Why am I starting to like rogue-likes? Seriously. I have always disliked them in the past. I don’t like permadeath and losing my progress. But I am finding myself getting a bunch of them. I think part of it is that they are kind of quick and you don’t need as much dedication to them. You just go for a run and that’s it. Easy to pick up no matter how long it’s been. Don’t have to do as much planning. Now. Granted I prefer some over others. I think I like the quicker ones also like when it doesn’t feel as bad when you lose. Also. Having the ability to go back up to full health pretty easily makes me feel better while playing. Then I don’t have to sweat small mistakes as much. Absolutely love Sky Rogue and how you get full health between each “mission”. Very nice.

Edit: oh. Rogue likes remind me of classic arcade games a touch. Especially Sky Rogue. I do enjoy classic arcade games.

[indelibleevidence]

It doesn't matter how many times I see 'roguelike' or 'rogue-lite' in descriptions for games - I'll forget what that means every fucking time.

[maxinesophiawolff]

Battle Shapers Early Access!

It was such an honor to be able to work as one of the writers on Metric Empire's robot-blasting, banter-filled, Rogue-lite, FPS, Battle Shapers!

Take back the city of New Elysium! Defeat the snarky Overlords! Kick it with your best friend, Meemo.

The game is really, really fun! Check it out on Steam!

[capsulecomputers]

Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons Review

Developer: Secret Base Publisher: Modus Games Platforms: Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Windows (Reviewed), PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Switch Release Date: 27 July 2023 Price: $24.99 USD

Double Dragon Gaiden delivers a decent, albeit flawed, beat ‘em up experience. Its rogue-lite mechanics are, indeed, very light; they don’t do enough to mix things up in a way that justifies their inclusion. It can still be a pretty good time especially when it’s played in co-op.

[cookiethiefem]

Game Suggestions #4

Still got more games to suggest, and today is a game in the ‘My Organic Garden’ series, The Sealed Ampoule ! A dungeon-crawling game where someone buys a used Dungeon, and has to figure out the mystery of why someone was killed in there. Not to mention gathering Alchemical ingredients to pay off what she spent on the dungeon, and to upgrade herself. Your main goal is to Domesticate the Dungeon, so that you can get ingredients easier.

[marvalouslynerdish]

Worship - Official 'Initiation to the Eldritch Arts' Gameplay Overview T...

[somerandomg33k]

Scheduling update

I will post this now and again tomorrow. No Social Justice Alchemy tomorrow. Some of us are taking a sick day. The Patron show will be postpone until next week. I am fine. And I will be streaming tomorrow to my Twitch and YouTube channel doing my 50th month Streamiversary stream. Nothing special. Just going to be playing a lot of rogue-lite games.

[blink-slam-studio]

Mana Spark (Switch) Review - Should You Buy It in 2024

An Entry Point For Rogue-lites

A while back I was trying to convince a friend of mine to play Risk of Rain 2. “Yeah man, you run around the stage, gather up a bunch of random items, fight a boss, then move to the next stage. The game ends when you die. Then you do it all over again from the start!”. I feel like I summarized the gameplay loop pretty succinctly and beamed a big smile at him, thinking how could he say no to that. “Wait, you lose everything when you die?” he asked. “Yeah, then you do it again!” I replied. His face gave away what he was thinking. I could tell he was unimpressed. “I don’t want to lose my stuff when I die.” he said. I then spent another ten minutes or so spinning my wheels trying to explain how this was different from other times you lose your gear in games, and that dying was half the fun. I somehow managed to convince him to pick up the game (which he ended up loving) and after he played it a bit it all made much more sense. 

I thought about that conversation a great deal while I played Mana Spark. I’m sure that if I handed this game to my friend that I could have avoided a lot of the confusion of explaining a rogue-lite, while also convincing him of the genre’s merits. That’s what I think Mana Spark’s biggest asset is. 

Mana Spark condenses many of the aspects of Soulslike and rogue-like and keeps what works. Combat is king for any souls-like game, and Mana Spark does a good job of simplifying it without losing too much fidelity. Your weapon of choice for a good portion of the game will be your trusted bow and arrow. It will do decent damage to small enemies, but will require multiple hits on tougher foes. Your biggest weapon, however, is your muscle memory; enemies follow predictable patterns and learning how each one attacks will serve you well. Mana Spark also builds onto the combat, making enemies responsive to their environment. For example, the simple Goblat enemies are fragile enemies that shoot slow, easy to dodge projectiles. If a Goblat finds a Grey Wolf or a Wild Boar they won’t hesitate to hop on its back, creating a much more difficult enemy to take down. 

The souls-like combat sits inside of a rogue-lite framework. Each time you play the game (“run”) there will be slight, but impactful, differences that will change some aspect of your character and how the game plays out. No two runs will be exactly the same as both items and stage layout will change. This variation keeps the game fresh and adds a lot of longevity. There is a surprising amount of depth gained from the meta-progression that is available through your encampment (where you will go in-between runs). Different characters that you recruit along the way will show up and provide various upgrades and buffs that will help get you closer to beating the game. This is done by collecting currency called “runes” in your runs. This is one of two currencies in the game, but is the only one that can be stored for use outside of a run.

The game does have its limitations, though. Mana Spark has a standard price point of $9

.99, which isn’t an outrageous price. The ten dollar price point sets Mana Spark at the same level as fully fleshed out, classic indie rogue titles such as Risk of Rain and Spelunky as well as overall picks like Terraria and Undertale. I think I would feel more at ease if this game was around the five dollar mark, which seems to be a more fitting weight class for it. Mana Spark does have a consistent track record of being on sale, which is a bit of a saving grace. I picked up the game at $1.99 which is a great price for it. 

My biggest gripe with Mana Spark is a flaw in the game loop. Traditionally, after defeating a boss there is a moment of respite. A time to gather your thoughts, check your gear, heal, etc. At the very least you can save your game. Mana Spark eschews this dynamic and chooses to throw the player right back into the Buried Tunnels, which they will need to fight through to reach the next rest area. I’m sure this will become trivial as players gain more experience and can clear the stage without much hassle but it can be a major roadblock.

This formula creates a “feel bad” scenario. The boss you have just defeated has rewarded you with the same amount of runes you would have gotten from the starting area ten times over. I mistakenly assumed that I would be able to put this new loot towards my camp as I had unlocked the Turret in a previous run and was eager to unlock it. I was low on health and excited to get to the rest area only to find that I would have to fight my way through a massive stage filled with enemies and more rooms than I had ever seen. I promptly died and lost everything. 

Dying in a rogue-lite shouldn’t feel bad. As I explained to my friend, dying is a large part of the rogue-lite experience. What keeps death from “feeling bad” is that the meta-progression is in my skill as a player, and not always about what I unlock in the game. I found an item in the game (Turret) that I wanted to unlock. In an ideal world, finding the Turret would have unlocked it. In Mana Spark, finding the item is only half of the battle as you must also gather enough runes to purchase the item from the blacksmith. Because the rest area is placed poorly, I am incentivized to grind the first two stages for one or two runes and then promptly die to get back into a run to do it again. 

There is an obvious solution: move the rest area one stage backwards. If a player defeats the boss, they should be able to secure their reward. Simple as that. There is another more nuanced answer. I said that in an ideal world finding the item should unlock the item. Mana Spark already has a built-in upgrade system. If a player finds the item then it should be unlocked at the blacksmith, but it doesn’t need to be very good yet. In this scenario, the player gets to use the item they found, engages with the upgrade system that is already in place, and the developer can keep their level layout. Or just let me keep my runes. That works too.

Performance: The moment-to-moment gameplay is sharp and responsive. I think that things move a little too fast at times and can become hard to see, but this is usually after the stage has been cleared so it is mostly a non-issue.

Music: The music largely contrasts the gameplay. Even though the combat on screen might be chaotic, the music over top of the gameplay is calm and relaxed. It’s a nice fit.

Art Style: Character models are minimalist pixel designs that showcase just enough character to make them identifiable. 

Game Length: A person could reasonably beat this game in ten hours but because Mana Spark is a rogue-lite there is increased replayability.

Should you buy Mana Spark?

Mana Spark is an entry point into the rogue-lite genre. If you have played other rogue-lites then this game won’t necessarily be for you as it doesn’t do anything other games haven’t already done. This is a game for somebody who is completely new and is looking to enter the genre at a reasonable price. Mana Spark goes on sale frequently and can be picked up for around two dollars. I would highly recommend this game at that price point.

[sonsofks]

Explorando Emociones: The Land Beneath Us Presente en el ID@Xbox Game Demo Fest de Invierno

Una Aventura Mitológica y Estratégica que Desafiará tus Habilidades en el Universo de Annwn. El sello editorial PID Games se une a FairPlay Studios, un estudio independiente de desarrollo de videojuegos originario de Tailandia, para presentarte una combinación única de rogue-lite y dungeon crawler por turnos. Sí, suena complicado, pero espera a conocer The Land Beneath Us, un juego que tiene sus…

[theindieinformer]

Cross Blitz Impressions: Charting The Course

Cross Blitz is out in Early Access today on Steam. Find out why it's a great card game and worth your time to sink into before it's finished here:

[kaneda18]

An install, an uninstall, a return and finally an uninstall: My time with Slay the Spire

It’s been quite the journey. Not the worst turn, It took me a long time to play Slay the Spire. I have never been that interested in card games or deck building, so while I had seen the game being played, I never felt the urge to play it myself. Even watching the game was limited to a speedrun or two. The main reason I played it was that it was a PS+ freebie. I got two runs out of it. I felt…

[doubtful-player]

[LEGACY] Receiver 2

#DoubtfulPlayer #Sunday legacy upload. Today's #GameReview is #Receiver2 by @Wolfire. A #simulation #fps #shooter #indie #realistic game, released on #Steam, and given to me by #keymailer. The #repost of this #review is available now on our website.

I first went into Receiver 2 thinking that this was a first-person shooter game like any other, I was wrong. I’d read the blurb on how it teaches you vaguely how a vast array of guns work, in the most “This Does Not Qualify As Actual Gun Training” way as possible, but still thinking it was a progressive game. I was also wrong. You start off by getting this pistol, which it tells you how to fire…

[linuxgamenews]

Odinfall the epic and action-packed game has a Demo

Odinfall rogue-lite twin-stick shooter game has a playable Demo on Linux via Proton with Windows PC. Ember Paw' diligent work and steady effort have yielded remarkable results. Working to make its way onto Steam Early Access. Introducing ODINFALL, the epic and action-packed game that combines Vikings, gods, and futuristic mayhem. Ember Paw and Fireshine are releasing a new trailer for this upcoming release, and it's already causing a buzz. So if you're a fan of intense battles and thrilling adventures, it is worth playing. Picture a world where the Viking gods are causing chaos and destruction. Well, ODINFALL takes you right into the heart of this apocalyptic setting. The game follows a group of Norse warriors who are eager to stop Odin, the king of gods, from setting off a second Ragnarok - the end of the world. So it's up to you to save the day. As you embark on this daring mission, you'll be able to choose from different characters with unique abilities. Want to be a powerful Cyberserker who can punch gods? Or maybe you'd prefer the Gun Gnome, armed with massive guns that are twice their size? If that's not your style, how about playing as a Viking Moose and trampling your foes? Either way, the choice is certainly up to you.

ODINFALL - Gameplay Trailer

ODINFALL is a furiously-fast twin-stick roguelite, which means you'll have to move quickly and think on your feet. With procedurally-generated levels, no two playthroughs will be the same. You'll also have the change to upgrade your character, discover crazy weapons, and customize your loadout. Since you have a wide range of modifications. The possibilities are endless, so get ready for some wild and unpredictable action! One of the most exciting aspects is the combat in this rogue-lite twin-stick shooter. You'll engage in intense twin-stick shooting and melee battles. Where your skills will be put to the test. The enemies you'll face are not just ordinary foes—they are crazed AI robot gods! So, get ready to unleash your wrath and show them who's boss. To get a taste of the ODINFALL experience before its official release, there's a playable demo available on Steam. Do keep in mind the developer is aiming at Proton and Steam Deck support. Since GameMaker Studio 2 is being used for development. So Linux players will be able to jump into the game and get a sneak peek at the fragnarokking world that awaits you. And if you like what you see, you can add ODINFALL to your Steam Wishlist, so can get notified of the Early Access release. In summary, ODINFALL is an upcoming rogue-lite twin-stick shooter that combines Vikings, gods, and intense action. You'll join a group of Norse warriors on a mission to prevent a second Ragnarok, battling crazed AI robot gods along the way. With fast-paced combat, outrageous weapons, and endless customization options. ODINFALL is due to be an unforgettable experience. Coming to Linux and Steam Deck via Proton with Windows PC.

[operationrainfall]

REVIEW: Monster Menu: The Scavenger's Cookbook

Title Monster Menu: The Scavenger’s Cookbook Developer NIS Publisher NIS America Release Date May 23rd, 2023 Genre RPG Platform Switch, PlayStation 4|5 Age Rating Teen Official Website When I first saw Monster Menu: The Scavenger’s Cookbook, my first impression was this was going to be one interesting game. There hasn’t been a game in a long time with grid based combat, survival and…

[beastgamerkuma]

Trinity Fusion Early Access Trailer

Good morning gamers. Welcome back and happy to see you here. Today is a new day with a new game announcement of Trinity Fusion. This new Action Rogue-like is a Metrodivania-style game which means massive replay value. Let’s check out the latest Early Access trailer.  (more…) “”

[cookiethiefem]

Streaming schedule~

Gonna try drawing something later, and definitely gonna find a game to suggest. But, for now, here’s my streaming schedule! Unsure if anyone on Tumblr would be interested, but hey, worth trying:

The background is made by @pocketyhat , and the badly-added schedule format was made by me~