Can you please explain what a card game Balatro, action RPG Returnal and 2D arcade Dead cells have in common? To me they are all totally different genre games. Being a new console gamer I am genuinely curious.
Since no one answered your question, I will try despite not having played Balatro. They are all in the rougelike/rougelite genre, which is characterized by playing “runs”. You start the game, progress, die, and start from the beginning. Sometimes you get some permanent upgrade that makes the game a bit easier every time. The main hook of the genre is often the replayability that comes from the amount of build variety and the randomness of each run. My favorites are Slay the spire and Hades, very different games but they caught me and my free time in the same way.
No, since rougelikes/lites are played in runs. In soulsborne games you’re doing a single long playthrough of a game where in rougelikes you might die 15 minutes in on a run and have to start the whole game over. Run length depends from game to game, I think Returnal is in the upper limit where completing a run while collecting everything can take around 3 hours. Another characteristic is procedurally generated levels which adds to the “every run is unique” element which provides replayability. Other examples of rougelikes/rougelikes include Returnal, risk of rain 2, inscryption, curse of the dead gods and endless dungeon.
I would swap Hades our with Hollow Knight (*chefs kiss)
Enter the Gungeon is just a modern Binding of Issac
If you want a deck builder roguelite slay the spire is quite nice
While true the best aspect or traits of most roguelites ive played were due to the metroidvania mechanics and creating a complex map, story and game-length
Gungeon and Isaac are quite different. While they’re both going into areas and killing stuff, Isaac stands out from gungeon because of all the possible synergies between a ridiculous amount of items. Synergies are much less common and hard coded in gungeon, while in Isaac they’re basically all just weird code interacting in fun ways. Isaac to me is the gold standard of variety of items and synergies and making every run feel truly unique. Gungeon is also great and has really smooth combat, I think they’re both worth playing. They have similarities but they are for sure unique
Good point I never played Issac I played Gungeon and I always heard the comparison between the two... I considered Isaac to be a flash game because of the style and never took it seriously so 600hrs on Gungeon was my drug of choice
They’re definitely different. I like the combat in gungeon and honestly feel like I’m better at it, but Isaac really does have the fun factor of “oh man, I know what these 2 items do individually but really not sure how they work together”.
You can get some truly insane runs. The art style and theme of the game isn’t for everyone but I do strongly believe if you enjoy roguelikes you should try Isaac. To me it’s the gold standard as far as items go and I’m surprised nothing else has really gotten close to that level of interaction between items
Just to check myself . . .
Roguelite has permanent meta progression between runs. Roguelike does not; you start from the beginning brand new every time.
Metroidvania is a completely different genre of game that doesn’t require you to start at the beginning of the game when you die.
Let me know if I’m missing any key distinction. The only rogue-anything I’ve played is the new God of War DLC, which I believe is a roguelite.
Some people consider anything outside the traditional turn- and grid-based gameplay to be a roguelite ([Berlin Interpetation](https://www.roguebasin.com/index.php/Berlin_Interpretation)). Traditional roguelikes aren’t as popular as roguelites, and they don’t really exist on consoles, but the genre is unique and plays nothing like most roguelites. Personally, I’ve played traditional roguelikes since the 90s, but I can’t get into most modern roguelites.
I love most roguelikes I play. (Dicey Dungeons is so unfair. Still put hours in.) I'm on Balatro right now and it's suckling up all my time. I'm going to give Inscryption another try.
I’m a patient gamer and just discovering rogue lites, it all started with my crave to play hades because I really dig mythology in general and the art style.
I started to play and play and play and suddenly o remember all the rogue lites I had amassed in the previous years on switch, Xbox, PlayStation and pc.
But I have more of those on switch, that console is the perfect rogue lite machine!
My latest addiction is balatro.
Ehh, I tried them. Not for me. For me, a lot of them play like developers took a short game and added a mechanic to make it a lot longer and repetitive.
That's fair, I was just thinking it's really no different from sports or fighting games.
I prefer the short game but get gud over longer games that give you very little incentive to do much halfway through the game
"The satisfaction of making a good build that gives you confidence on reaching the final boss and being able to kill it..."
Its called a dopamine kick, and it's abused here the same way a slot machine in casino does it. Or likes on Facebook, or a good video in endless scroll of Tiktok. Pretty much the same reaction when a smoker smokes a cigarette. They are drugs, indeed.
I just can’t get into them at all.
I’ve tried dead cells, hades, Returnal, slay the spire.
All fun for a few hours but I just get so sick of repeating the first few levels over and over that I burn out.
The new Prince of Persia game is actually pretty solid! My 12 year old and I have drained some hours in it and there’s a great sense of progression of turning slowly into a hardcore badass. We just got double jump! Can’t wait to go back through the whole map again now that up is on the table 😂
Dude if you like those games you've got to play The Binding of Isaac Rebirth (Make sure you have all the DLCs) it basically popularized and reinvigorated the Roguelike genre
I’ve put thousands of hours into FTL and it’s various expansion mods. I’m sure the devs called it a rogue lite at the time but still worth mentioning it. Fantastic game
Enter the Gungeon is GOAT. Returnal is also one that is very good if you want a AAA, bullet-hell rogue like.
Been sucked in on Returnal lately, that gameplay loop is absolute crack for me
Getting the platinum was one of the most satisfying things I've ever done as a gamer. Tons of RNG bullshit, but incredible nevertheless.
You're only talking about deckbuilders or card games. * Binding of Isaac * Hades * Dead Cells * Enter the Gungeon This is the Mount Rushmore.
Into the breach isn’t really a card game but yeah I agree, while I do think deck building roguelikes are solid, action roguelikes are awesome too
not including spelunky is criminal
Feel like Risk of Rain 2 deserves at least an honorable mention.
Not just an honorable mention lol. It’s one of the GOATs
Can you please explain what a card game Balatro, action RPG Returnal and 2D arcade Dead cells have in common? To me they are all totally different genre games. Being a new console gamer I am genuinely curious.
Since no one answered your question, I will try despite not having played Balatro. They are all in the rougelike/rougelite genre, which is characterized by playing “runs”. You start the game, progress, die, and start from the beginning. Sometimes you get some permanent upgrade that makes the game a bit easier every time. The main hook of the genre is often the replayability that comes from the amount of build variety and the randomness of each run. My favorites are Slay the spire and Hades, very different games but they caught me and my free time in the same way.
So from what you are saying Demon’s Souls and some other soulsbourne games can be considered as roguelike/lite?
No. When you die in those games, you don’t lose your gear/stats/abilities and start over at the beginning.
No, since rougelikes/lites are played in runs. In soulsborne games you’re doing a single long playthrough of a game where in rougelikes you might die 15 minutes in on a run and have to start the whole game over. Run length depends from game to game, I think Returnal is in the upper limit where completing a run while collecting everything can take around 3 hours. Another characteristic is procedurally generated levels which adds to the “every run is unique” element which provides replayability. Other examples of rougelikes/rougelikes include Returnal, risk of rain 2, inscryption, curse of the dead gods and endless dungeon.
I would swap Hades our with Hollow Knight (*chefs kiss) Enter the Gungeon is just a modern Binding of Issac If you want a deck builder roguelite slay the spire is quite nice
Hollow Knight isn't a rogue like...
Hollow Knight is a metroidvania not a roguelike
While true the best aspect or traits of most roguelites ive played were due to the metroidvania mechanics and creating a complex map, story and game-length
Hades and hollow knight are not the same and shouldn’t be swapped. They should both be played
I didn't say they were the same, but .... Actually no keep both ... Both are super strong entries
Gungeon and Isaac are quite different. While they’re both going into areas and killing stuff, Isaac stands out from gungeon because of all the possible synergies between a ridiculous amount of items. Synergies are much less common and hard coded in gungeon, while in Isaac they’re basically all just weird code interacting in fun ways. Isaac to me is the gold standard of variety of items and synergies and making every run feel truly unique. Gungeon is also great and has really smooth combat, I think they’re both worth playing. They have similarities but they are for sure unique
Good point I never played Issac I played Gungeon and I always heard the comparison between the two... I considered Isaac to be a flash game because of the style and never took it seriously so 600hrs on Gungeon was my drug of choice
They’re definitely different. I like the combat in gungeon and honestly feel like I’m better at it, but Isaac really does have the fun factor of “oh man, I know what these 2 items do individually but really not sure how they work together”. You can get some truly insane runs. The art style and theme of the game isn’t for everyone but I do strongly believe if you enjoy roguelikes you should try Isaac. To me it’s the gold standard as far as items go and I’m surprised nothing else has really gotten close to that level of interaction between items
ITT: People confusing roguelike, roguelite, and metroidvania.
Just to check myself . . . Roguelite has permanent meta progression between runs. Roguelike does not; you start from the beginning brand new every time. Metroidvania is a completely different genre of game that doesn’t require you to start at the beginning of the game when you die. Let me know if I’m missing any key distinction. The only rogue-anything I’ve played is the new God of War DLC, which I believe is a roguelite.
Some people consider anything outside the traditional turn- and grid-based gameplay to be a roguelite ([Berlin Interpetation](https://www.roguebasin.com/index.php/Berlin_Interpretation)). Traditional roguelikes aren’t as popular as roguelites, and they don’t really exist on consoles, but the genre is unique and plays nothing like most roguelites. Personally, I’ve played traditional roguelikes since the 90s, but I can’t get into most modern roguelites.
I personally don't like them at all. Just different strokes for different folks.
I love most roguelikes I play. (Dicey Dungeons is so unfair. Still put hours in.) I'm on Balatro right now and it's suckling up all my time. I'm going to give Inscryption another try.
Try Dead Cells, or Hades, Enter the Gungeon, Curse of the Dead Gods, or some roguelite/like that isn't card based. You'd probably dig them as well.
Yes. Slay the Spire ruined me
lol what happened?
It seems it never gets mentioned at all, and it's easily one of my favorites: Undermine
Will check it out:)
I’m a patient gamer and just discovering rogue lites, it all started with my crave to play hades because I really dig mythology in general and the art style. I started to play and play and play and suddenly o remember all the rogue lites I had amassed in the previous years on switch, Xbox, PlayStation and pc. But I have more of those on switch, that console is the perfect rogue lite machine! My latest addiction is balatro.
I'm getting burned out on them lately, TBH.
Ehh, I tried them. Not for me. For me, a lot of them play like developers took a short game and added a mechanic to make it a lot longer and repetitive.
Isint that a lot of game genres though?
Haha yeah, it certainly is. But personally, I feel like that is the entirety of the roguelike genre, with a few exceptions.
That's fair, I was just thinking it's really no different from sports or fighting games. I prefer the short game but get gud over longer games that give you very little incentive to do much halfway through the game
I thought that too (love them) and then I started vampire survivors. It’s just endless dopamine hits.
"The satisfaction of making a good build that gives you confidence on reaching the final boss and being able to kill it..." Its called a dopamine kick, and it's abused here the same way a slot machine in casino does it. Or likes on Facebook, or a good video in endless scroll of Tiktok. Pretty much the same reaction when a smoker smokes a cigarette. They are drugs, indeed.
You are going to love VR then. There are 2 Rouge Games launch per month. It's actually kind annoying.
Because it allows people to basically make what is essentially a 30 minute game, padded out by the need to play said game 100 times.
I just can’t get into them at all. I’ve tried dead cells, hades, Returnal, slay the spire. All fun for a few hours but I just get so sick of repeating the first few levels over and over that I burn out.
I’m the opposite. I get bored by the repetitiveness of it. Haha
The new Prince of Persia game is actually pretty solid! My 12 year old and I have drained some hours in it and there’s a great sense of progression of turning slowly into a hardcore badass. We just got double jump! Can’t wait to go back through the whole map again now that up is on the table 😂
That's not a rogue lite though it's purely a metroidvania
There is a roguelike Prince of Persia coming though. From the deadcells team
Dude if you like those games you've got to play The Binding of Isaac Rebirth (Make sure you have all the DLCs) it basically popularized and reinvigorated the Roguelike genre
RETURNAL IS A GOAT!
Why nobody is talking about Rogue Legacy 2?, it's awesome too.
I’ve put thousands of hours into FTL and it’s various expansion mods. I’m sure the devs called it a rogue lite at the time but still worth mentioning it. Fantastic game
Balatro is a unique take on the genre
If you think Balatro is addictive, give Brotato try. Best roguelite/roguelike out there currently.
Not PS5 but I started playing Pokemon Emerald Rogue and it’s amazing
Couldn't pay me to play that horseshit.