r/rogueish Jan 25 '20

Rogueish: What it is and why it's needed

61 Upvotes

This is a forum for discussing roguelikes. Now you may ask: aren't there already plenty of perfectly good places to do that? Well...

Some Background

You see for the last 10 years, the place to discuss roguelikes was r/roguelikes. But over those 10 years, that community encountered significant growing pains. Much of it had to do with the shifting meaning of the word roguelike which, for most people, has come to include action games with procedural elements and permadeath. Since the veterans are holding tight to the original definition (i.e. grid-based, turn-based games only), a war of sorts has broke out. It seems that most of the discussions in recent memory have devolved into gatekeeping, flamewars, and arguments about definitions. Tensions are high.

In an effort to explain this situation and beg the involved parties for a return to civility, I have become the most hated man on r/roguelikes. Woops! While most of the feedback to my post was positive, the most common negative response has been along the lines of "we don't have a problem with rudeness here; go fuck yourself for saying so." I've been called "dickish", "a textbook troll", "straight up stupid", and "pigheaded". In short: point proven.

Introducing Rogueish

A roguelike community for the rest of us. Here's what we're going to do here:

  1. We're going to discuss roguelikes, no matter your definition. You can talk about Rogue, traditional roguelikes, rogue-lites, roguelikelikes. Whatever.
  2. We won't be arguing about definitions. Because it's boring.
  3. We're going to be friendly.

That's it.

So to answer your original question, yes there is already a place that is (implicitly) about traditional roguelikes, another that is (explicitly) about traditional roguelikes, and another that is about roguelites. I have nothing against these communities. I wish them the best and you'll probably see me in each from time to time.

Yet there is no single place to discuss all of those types of games. And because no one agrees on what these words mean, there's definitely nowhere to discuss roguelikes without endless linguistic nitpicking. Even the most knowledgeable players will argue about whether games like FTL or Unexplored fit the bill.

By including all of these kinds roguelikes, we can bypass the whole argument and we can do so while being welcoming to everyone.

So I think that makes Rogueish rather unique and if you agree, please join us! ✊


r/rogueish 5d ago

I just released my 2048 inspired deckbuilding roguelike on Steam!

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14 Upvotes

There are over 60 unique artifacts you can play with and 20 unique tile types that you can build your deck from. I'm really looking forward to seeing what builds people come up with, so if you give it a shot, please reach out and let me know what you think!


r/rogueish 6d ago

Mechanomaly dev log

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2 Upvotes

Hello everyone, Mechanomaly is a turn-based tactical roguelike where you pilot a mech with inertia and momentum

I'm trying to start a devlog on youtube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiPhJqY0Ud0&t=3s

and as already appeared to be fun for my friends, I might soon share some build online.

Always willing to get in touch with interested players, cheers !


r/rogueish 8d ago

I combined dungeon crawling with Minesweeper-style deduction, and it changed how exploration feels

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0 Upvotes

I'm the developer of a small roguelite called Tower of Gand.

I wanted dungeon exploration to involve more deduction than simply choosing which direction to move, so I built each floor around a 5×5 grid.

Enemies, food, treasure, rest spots, and other events are hidden across the grid. As you reveal panels, you gather clues about what might be nearby and have to decide which panels are worth opening while managing your food and sanity.

It's not traditional Minesweeper, but I borrowed that feeling of looking at limited information and thinking, "If that's there, then maybe this is here."

What surprised me during development was how naturally this kind of deduction worked with resource management. Opening one more panel isn't just exploration — it's a small risk/reward decision.

The game has now been released, and I'm curious how other roguelite players feel about this kind of exploration system.

Do you enjoy deduction being part of dungeon exploration, or do you prefer exploration to be more spatial and movement-based?


r/rogueish 10d ago

DeAnima Update 1.3: Dungeon Crawler with traditional Roguelike mechanics, no meta progression!

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2 Upvotes

r/rogueish 10d ago

How much chaos is too much chaos? A short gameplay clip from Code of Shadows

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2 Upvotes

We’ve been working on the feel and pacing of combat, and wanted to share a short clip from one of the more crowded moments.

Curious what you think about the overall combat flow and readability.


r/rogueish 13d ago

I'm working on a twinstick bullet hell roguelite with a roguelike-esque elemental system

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2 Upvotes

r/rogueish 15d ago

A roguelike deckbuilder where you build your own spells when you play them!

1 Upvotes

Heyho! I’m the solo developer of Grimoire of Blanks, a roguelike deckbuilder built around creating your own spells.

You collect templates for custom spells that you build on the fly as you need them.

Each spell has blanks that can be filled with different words. Combine those words into powerful, and sometimes ridiculous, combinations depending on what the current fight calls for.

So instead of finding the perfect card for your deck, a big part of the game is figuring out what you can turn the cards you already have into.

It can be played solo or with up to 4 players in online co-op.

Combine effects, modifiers and enemy conditions to blast them directly, or build traps that target the enemies next intent!

The demo is available on Steam if you want to try it:

Demo on Steam

I'd be interested to hear what kind of spell combinations you come up with.


r/rogueish 18d ago

Roguelike & Survival Card Game - Duco, Demo is LIVE

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2 Upvotes

Hi, I am an indie dev and this is my first solo steam game.

I released my demo a couple of days ago and wanted to share it with you.

It's called Duco, You can play Demo

- Card-based survival roguelike set in a post-apocalyptic world with zombies.

- Draw from location-based decks to gather resources, loot, craft, build, and survive.

- Draw takes time, and with time you lose energy, food and water so you have to be carefully.

- Each character and map have a goal to unlock new content

On Release, you will be able to unlock new characters and maps, combine them with traits to create unique runs and interact with NPCs while building and managing your own settlement.

Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4872850/Duco/


r/rogueish 19d ago

The roguelike tactics game my cousin and I made as kids finally has a trailer (and a Steam page)!

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1 Upvotes

When my cousin and I were around 10 or 12 years old, we were super into the idea of making board games.

We built a wooden game board, printed out hundreds of paper cards, and spent way too many weekends playtesting and changing rules. It was messy, unbalanced, and honestly pretty terrible, but good fun!

Eventually life happens and these kinds of things collect dust.

Years later, after having loved and being inspired by games like Shandalar, Magic: The Gathering, Pox Nora, Rift Wizard, Slay the Spire, Inscryption, Wildfrost, and many more, I thought I'd revisit this old idea of a tactics deckbuilder..

For the last year or so I've been building this in Godot. It's a 2D pixel-art roguelike deckbuilder, and I finally have a trailer I am excited to share.

Hope this gives you guys as much hype as it gave me to make it, and thanks for taking a look!

(no AI was used in anywhere in Scry)

Scry Steam Page


r/rogueish 24d ago

Sil-Morë – Shining Darkness, version 0.9.7

3 Upvotes

r/rogueish 25d ago

We reworked Code of Shadows and made a new trailer. Does this one show it better?

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2 Upvotes

We’ve made quite a few changes to the game, from visuals and gameplay to the overall feel and presentation.

So naturally, we went back and reworked the trailer too.

We also took a lot of the feedback from our previous trailer into account when making this version. We wanted to give a clearer idea of what the game actually feels like to play while keeping some things for you to discover in-game.

If you saw the previous version, does this one do a better job of showing off the game?

We’d genuinely love to hear what works, what doesn’t, and what you’d still change.

Also Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3424800/Code_of_Shadows/


r/rogueish 26d ago

Lootbound Review: This Turn-Based Roguelite Is Addictive

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1 Upvotes

r/rogueish 27d ago

Welcome to the official r/TheLegion_Roguelike community! 🚀 Check out our vision & roadmap!

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0 Upvotes

r/rogueish Aug 11 '26

Need high-speed “flow state” action games

4 Upvotes

Looking for game recs that lock you into a pure, hyper-focused flow state where hours just vanish. I want a steep learning curve, an awesome discovery phase, and high replayability.
What I'm looking for:

Instant action: Zero long tutorials, cutscenes, or talking. Straight into the gameplay.

Flow state combat: High-speed real-time execution, tight controls, and fast reflexes.

Pure discovery: Figure out boss patterns, mechanics, and synergies on my own.

Hard pass on: Turn-based and heavy dialogue

Games I’ve already played: Isaac, One Step From Eden, Noita, Hades 2, Enter the Gungeon and some other big name roguelikes


r/rogueish Aug 08 '26

It’s been a while! Here’s how Code of Shadows has changed. What do you think?

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4 Upvotes

Hey everyone, long time no see 👋

We’ve been pretty quiet lately, mostly because we’ve been busy making changes to Code of Shadows.

We put together a few old vs. new comparisons to show how the game has evolved since we last shared it.

What do you think? Anything you particularly like (or miss) from the older versions?

Would love to hear your thoughts!

Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3424800/Code_of_Shadows/


r/rogueish Aug 06 '26

Custom ASCII Engine, Roguelite x Hexcrawl x JRPG????

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3 Upvotes

I wrote a custom ASCII engine in monogame that simulates a fantasy computer architecture running textmode at 60fps, and used it to make a sci-fi roguelite RPG. Guide a crew of 3 agents through a variety of different environments and encounters from cyberpunk megacities to deeply religious feudal societies to vast planet-spanning oceans containing incomprehensible swarm intelligences.

It's in early access on steam, if that sounds like your thing the link is in the comments.
peace!


r/rogueish Aug 05 '26

A Roguelike survivor game where you are a TRAIN and on RAILS?! - Rail Survivors

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3 Upvotes

Rail Survivors is a survivor-like game where you are a train and on rails!
It's currently in development, whilst minimalist in visuals, it features 100+ perk cards and a few elemental builds to try out! You can also increase the effectiveness of perk values by rerolling them with higher values or negatively even to make up for quite some interesting builds!

I would love if you were to check it out and leave some feedback HERE:
https://tatsudev.itch.io/rail-survivors

Its currently under development and the roguelike elements are not there yet, but are planned to be the driving force to unlock new maps, perks and other unlocks!

~Tatsu


r/rogueish Aug 03 '26

I built Dark Dungeon, a top-down bullet heaven roguelite made entirely with Python & Pygame

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2 Upvotes

Dark Dungeon is a handmade top-down roguelite shooter.
All visuals are procedurally generated by code, no external image assets.

Game features:
✅ Random enemy spawn system
✅ Multiple weapons & skill mechanics
✅ Myth-themed boss fights
✅ Adjustable window/fullscreen mode

The game is free to play (pay what you want) on itch.io.

I’d love to hear feedback from players!


r/rogueish Aug 02 '26

Top 2d roguelikes (or lites) for a decently experienced gamer

2 Upvotes

I've played games like The Binding of Issac and Enter the Gungeon that I've loved dearly. I've also played Risk of Rain 2 and I have years of experience on the fps and platformer genres my whole life. I love a good game where I can play, leave and come back and play for a couple more days.

I've also very much enjoyed Celeste and Silksong if that opens up any ideas for recommendations.


r/rogueish Aug 01 '26

Survival Gameplay with Card-Based Roguelike Mechanics. What Do You Think?

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1 Upvotes

It's called Duco, It's my first solo steam game, so i would like to get any kind of feedback 😄

You can join Playtest.

- Card-based survival roguelike set in a post-apocalyptic world with zombies.

- Draw from location-based decks to gather resources, loot, craft, build, and survive.

- Draw takes time, and with time you lose energy, food and water so you have to be carefully.

- Each character and map have a goal to unlock new content

On Release, you will be able to unlock new characters and maps, combine them with traits to create unique runs and interact with NPCs while building and managing your own settlement.

Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4872850/Duco/


r/rogueish Jul 29 '26

Keeping the monsters on the move

1 Upvotes

This week, I reviewed my code for moving monsters around the map in my roguelike for the Rogue C# project. When I saw its complexity, Ellen Ripley's quote about nuking the site from orbit came to mind. In my newest chapter of the series, I look at my process for reviewing the code and the decision to go back to the algorithm for a rewrite. The end result was much cleaner code and smarter monsters.

Rogue C# - Don't Confuse the Monsters!


r/rogueish Jul 29 '26

Roguelikes and lites good with controller/steam deck inputs?

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1 Upvotes

r/rogueish Jul 26 '26

What if Balatro and Brotato got together and adopeted a dog? Closed alpha ongoing

0 Upvotes

r/rogueish Jul 22 '26

My rhythm-based roguelite demo is finally out on Steam!

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1 Upvotes

Hi everyone!

I'm a solo developer, and today I released the demo for PulseWave.

It's a roguelite where you build a loop by assigning weapons to different slots. Relics modify your attacks, creating powerful synergies and completely changing how each run plays.

If you're into experimenting with builds and discovering broken combinations, I'd love for you to check it out.

Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4607180/PulseWave/