I've only just seen your request for descriptions, sorry about that! Here's an updated list with a few additions that have come to mind. As per last list, some push the brief a little but I'm trying to include more non-roguelikes. Hope it's useful 100 Rogues - A charming visually-polished roguelike with a lot of character but not without issues. Asterogue - Action real-time roguelike with melee/gun combat. Intense but doesn't skimp on the loot and strategy. Baroque - The Dark, Twisted Fantasy - Incredibly daunting and uninviting (especially the price) but console-quality 3D roguelike with some amazingly creative loot (Flasher jacket that turns your attack into a harmless self-exposure and armour made of glass that breaks on first hit etc.) Boson X - Runners are all technically random, but this one creates a wonderful platforming world that feels unique and full of character Cardinal Quest - Another very competent roguelike. Controls can be divisive but regardless, it's a faithful and reliable experience with a free Kongregate version online Cavern - One of my favourite roguelikes, bordering between the retro ASCII versions and the more modern takes. Perfectly balanced, wonderful world and loads of discoveries to be made Command Crisis: Callsign - A surprisingly decent shmup with a randomised mission mode and enemy formations. Overlooked but a free version is available to trial. Dungelot - Minesweeping roguelike with a board-game feel. Tactical turn-based battles whilst uncovering squares of a tiled dungeon with permanent upgrades and multiple playable characters Dungeon Plunder - Roguelike with a slot machine combat mechanic. Absolutely brilliant game with a free trial version. Completely deceiving with how much depth, strategy and gameplay a game of chance could offer Empire: The Deck Building Strategy Game - As with most 4X games, the world is randomised but throw in a deck-building element, vicious AI and a need to keep moving make this different every game. Heroes of Loot - The result of Gauntlet and The Binding of Isaac's affair. Fast-paced twin-stick Action-RPG with beautiful pixel visuals. Multiple characters and progressive dungeon difficulty adds a lot to the randomised levels Hoplite - One of my favourite all-time games. Chesslike roguelike with absolutely no patience for sloppy tactics. Some of the most challenging achievements too that unlock in-game perks. Amazing! Isle of Bxnes - An indie gem that combines a heritage system, brutal difficulty, resource management, stunning pixel art, freedom to explore a randomly generated world and permadeath. Another unmissable action roguelike King of Dragon Pass - Slightly cheating but it's quality earns it a mention. A 4X civilisation management Choose Your Own Adventure with so many possible outcomes and decisions that no game is ever alike. Slightly intimidating for some but incredibly well designed. Legends of Yore - A simple but nonetheless recommendable roguelike. A free and generous trial version is available but I'd easily recommend it to any fan of the genre MicroVentures - Unbelievably completely free with no ads or IAPs. Made by the 9th Dawn devs and one of my favourite roguelikes out, especially with the randomised missions, stories and levels. Oozes charm and gives so much content it puts paid games to shame Mysterious Castle - A tactical team-based roguelike which has had a bumpy history. The strategy, playable character variety and interesting world makes it more than deserving of a mention though Ninja Hero Cats - Watered down Bastion visuals and Quadropus Rampage gameplay. It's a very competent free action roguelike with an emphasis on agility and skills rather than loot. Overlooked but decent. Octagon - Another endless runner with great character and a world you won't forget. You might get used to certain segments but a little random hole will kill your over-confidence quickly Quadropus Revenge - Another free action roguelike that puts paid models to shame. A ridiculous variety in loot, great humour, unique visuals and a real "one more go" feel Rebuild - Zombie survival strategy/sim with a randomised city and cast. Can get very intense and brutal but totally immersive and addictive. Rogue Miner - Roguelike with a light crafting system and a 2D MineCraft touch. Explore hundreds of mines from a large overworld, finding materials to upgrade your pickaxe and weapon. Has some light puzzle elements too Rogue Ninja - A by the books roguelike with a ninja theme. Doesn't excel in any particular category but it more than suffices in each area, sometimes it's nice to have a reliable safe option sometimes. Solomon's Keep - The game that stole my life for a while. Twin-stick action roguelike with random levels and skills. Each starting skill changes the gameplay a fair bit and the skills offered on levelling up even more so. An absolute classic that is rightfully revered. Space Croissant - I prefer it to bit Dungeon for the slightly faster gameplay. It's a Binding of Isaac roguelike with masses of loot and fast-paced room clearing. Simple to control but not without some reliance on tactics Starborn Anarkist - The levels may not be randomised but the enemies are and it's a fantastic game so I wanted to sneak it in. Twin-stick shooter where destroying enemies rewards you with spaceship parts to build Lego-style onto your ship between games. The randomly-constructed boss megaships are terrifyingly impressive. Worm Run - Platformer with randomised levels where you have to outrun an all-devouring monster. There's a surprisingly large variety of level formations yet they never interfere with the fluid gameplay
@Pete - how is Rebuild? I've read that once you have a strategy down, the game can get it pretty repetitive and easy
Thanks Pete! In retrospect, I should have IMed you or something to get your attention! I've added your games to the list in the first post, some of them were already there (like 5-6 of them) but the rest went in. WE got quite the list going I've spent more time playing Meltdown and I may have made a mistake in buying it. I noticed the difficulty spiked quite rapidly and when I died it prompted me to buy IAP. Strange as the game has a base cost I wasn't expecting this kind of freemium stuff. I really do hate IAPs that aren't additional content.
Added to the list and I see they have a free version to try out the battles, so I'll give that a spin for sure!
Btw Pete, I also love Solomon's Keep. I played it tons since original release, before it even had IAPs. Wish they'd make a sequel of this but with expanded Gameplay. Are there any action roguelikes that even compare to it?
I have to be honest, I've finished one playthrough and absolutely loved it and then put it in my folder of games that I'll never delete. Haven't got round to another few plays to see if that's right but I could see how it would be - a bit like Hoplite really; if you're not interested in trying new strategies then you could definitely fall into a routine - depends what kind of a player you are I suppose! I didn't actually even know they added IAPs, I did my playing before then too. Solomon's Boneyard was a nice distraction and there's a planned sequel but that's looking like vapourware. I can't really think of any games close to it, Quadropus Revenge and Heroes of Loot are brilliant but they don't hit that magic spot that SK did. I've got a couple of new roguelikes that I'll play through and add if they're good enough and that's ok!
Rebuild is awesome, you control survivors scavenging around a zombie town. Really worth getting. It's got a good emphasis on exploration and after a while you can see threads that might lead to different endings and have to make decisions towards one or the other.
I don't think this one has been mentioned but Trial by Survival is a good permadeath procedurally generated game. Not quite a RL but it's a pretty decent top down survival game with the above mentioned RL elements.
Added both rebuild and trial by survival. The latter looks really good, have you guys spent a lot of time with it? Is the freemium stuff overdone or? BTW been playing the heck out of Pocket RPG. Are there any more really well made action/RPGs like this (other than dungeon hunter) that are NOT freemium?
Trial By Survival has one of the best IAP implamentations i've seen on a freemium game. For free, it has timers, and a lot of ugly things a usual freemium game has, but with the premium unlock IAP, it removes all those, including the timers, and gives you a fully paid enjoyable premium game. As for premium action RPG titles, have you checked out Swordigo? Then i highly recommend these too: The World Ends With You Bastion Oceanhorn Heroes & Castles (the premium version)
I've read a few reviews of TbS and it sounds good. I don't mind a one-time payment of $4 for the premium IAP as long as I don't hit another paywall or anything. I'll try the free version first because there have been a few complaints about the controls. I don't know Swordigo, but I'll check it out for sure!
I'm releasing a game this month that might interest anyone checking out this thread. It's a rogue-like / RTS combination called Rogue Resources. I'll be putting up an info post and trailer this week hopefully
For sure, ReadySetRetro.com is the site, it will be updated with a trailer later this week. @ReadySetRetro on Twitter A few spots available for beta testers too BTW, PM me for details
Added rogue resources and word up dog. Any others that aren't on the list? Remember the key here is games with procedurally generated content (random level generation).
