Five Rogue Video Games You Need To Own
Rogue games are a breath of fresh air among heavy-loaded role-play dungeon crawlers. They allow you to enter dungeons and clear bosses while leveling up your character but without the need of sinking in half your day to the grind. With Rogue games, you can take your time and grind at your own pace. Most of them have a similar gameplay style. One where you enter the game and do your best to gather the resources and skills you need to eventually take yourself to the next stage. It’s simple and it’s addicting which is why players enjoy immersing themselves in this kind of game.
Risk of Rain 2 – Developer: Hopoo Games
Risk of Rain 2 puts you on a desolate planet and forces you to explore and adapt to progress through the story. Every time you play Risk of Rain 2 you start with nothing but the abilities that your class has. There are plenty of classes to choose from and a lot more to unlock through different in-game tasks. It allows you to bring up to three friends with you so you can all explore together. It’s something that makes Risk of Rain 2 even more addictive than it already is. As you progress through the story the enemies will get harder but the items will also get better. The game world is also on a difficulty timer so the longer you take to get to the next stage then the harder the game will become. This makes every play through different and exciting. One playthrough will have you running to the end boss in under 10 minutes while another will have you exploring 30 minutes in fighting off lasers and floating eyes hoping to get to the teleporter and live long enough to activate it. It’s a fun time and it’s fun to complete all the objectives and unlock all the characters.
Rogue Legacy – Developer: Cellar Door Games
Rogue Legacy is a game that sends you to your family’s old castle to reclaim it back from skeletons, evil eyes, and a multitude of other beasts that are threatening every corridor. Rogue Legacy is addictive because every time you walk into that castle you start from the beginning, but each run allows you to gather gold and buy different upgrades, spells, and abilities. The whole idea that you’re a descendant of every knight that has gone in before you is such a clever idea and it helps add to the charm and story of Rogue Legacy. Every time you die, your character is recorded in the family tree and you’re able to look back to see what class they were and just how they ended up dying. It feels like you’re avenging them all as you inch closer to discovering the truth about the castle. There is a lot of content here as well.
Darkest Dungeon – Developer: Red Hook Studios
Darkest Dungeon is one of the profound games on this list because it deals with some pretty dark themes. It tackles the psychological toll that a quest could have on adventurers and how it can stress someone out to the point of being unable to move because the emotions they are feeling are just that overwhelming. Yeah, sounds pretty intense right? The gameplay itself presents you with turn-based combat and dungeon exploration mechanics. You can choose who you will be sent into the cave and outfit them with different upgrades. But carefully because there is a chance you can lose that adventurer in the next expedition. You can recruit different kinds of adventurers each with its own advantages and disadvantages. With each mission, you can gather resources to improve the town and your recruits. The art style is beautiful and fits the dark tone of the series extremely well. The goal is similar to Rogue Legacy where the reason you are recruiting and training these adventurers is so that they can recover your ancestor’s estate. The estate itself holds many mysteries and secrets and it’s fun uncovering the story.
Enter The Gungeon – Developer: Dodge Roll
Enter the Gungeon is another dungeon crawler but this time with bullets. It follows a group of misfits that you need to lead to the Gungeon’s Ultimate Treasure. The ultimate treasure is a gun that can kill into the past, but to get to it you’ll have to loot and shoot. Dodge roll and flip. Do everything you can to stay alive because it’s going to be a tough journey. What’s cool about Enter the Gungeon is that you can team up with other players in co-op which is something, not enough of these games do. Which they should because as you can see two of them are on this list. Gungeon also allows you to choose your own Gungeoneer, each of them has their own story and lingering feelings they wish to correct with the Ultimate Treasure. The Gungeon itself is a constantly evolving fortress with beautifully crafted rooms that are procedurally generated to ensure that players have a unique experience every time they enter it. With every victory, the Gungeon will become more difficult.
Slay The Spire – Developer: Mega Crit Games
Slay The Spire is unlike any game on this list. It’s a rogue game but features a deck-building style of play. So unlike other games, where you progress you are trying to level up your characters and abilities, Slay the Spire has you collect cards that will fit your playstyle and mold. There are multiple characters here as well that you can use to help decide what sort of playstyle you want to achieve. Relics also add to the dynamics and allow you to gain strong powers but at a cost. With over 300 cards, 200 different items, and a ton of different enemies, Slay the Spire is a game that keeps on giving. It’s also a fan favorite in the mod community which is always a fantastic thing because it opens up even more replayability. If you’re looking for something that is different and slightly addicting then look no further.
