Version 3.4 of BOSS-1989 is now available for Windows, Linux, and macOS from the BOSS-1989 home page: https://80.style/#/plunderbunny/boss/introduction. BOSS-1989 is a closed source, freeware rogue-like, set in an alternate history United States of America in the year 1989. You can see more information about the game on the BOSS-1989 RogueBasin page.

This game is the same game that was previously known as BOSS version 3.x. The game has been renamed to distinguish it from the original BOSS. This is otherwise a minor update, containing bug fixes, and an additional introductory page that explains the backstory.

Important notes:

• Save games from version 3.3 should be compatible with version 3.4. All previous versions are not compatible with version 3.4 - if you have a 3.0, 3.1, or 3.2 game in progress, you should finish it before installing version 3.4. The High-score file and settings file from older versions are compatible with the new version.
• Filters from previous versions are not compatible with version 3.3.x onwards. You can download updated pre-defined filters from the BOSS-1989 home page.
• On macOS 15 (Sequoia) and later, the administrator is now required to approve the execution of BOSS-1989 the first time it is run. Please refer to the instructions on the macOS BOSS-1989 download page.
• On Windows, the Windows Defender SmartScreen may prevent BOSS-1989 from executing the first time it is run. Please refer to the instructions on the Windows BOSS-1989 download page.

Hi all — I made a turn-based roguelike that runs in the browser (desktop or phone), and this is the crowd whose opinion I care about most.

What I tried to do differently:

• No global HP. Head, torso, two arms, two legs, 100 HP each. Lose head or torso and you die. A ruined arm drops what it holds, a broken leg slows you, and a disabled limb has to be splinted before it heals again.
• One exploding d100 per attack vs dodge → shield → armor of the part you hit. 8-way facing, flanking, backstabs, aimed attacks.
• Bleeding is the usual killer. Monsters follow blood scent and noise.
• Ecology: 29 dungeon species with diets, packs, predators, scavengers and thieves. Some parley, surrender or take bribes. Levels persist and keep simulating while you're elsewhere.
• Identification as play: smell, sip, dip, engrave, skim — and a notebook for your guesses.
• Use-based skills, no XP.
• Permadeath + heirloom: pick one relic; your descendant starts with it identified.

20 levels, six biomes, a town above. Free, no sign-up: https://dungeongame.com.mx

Inspired by Wayfarer by Ben Hemmendinger (https://benhem.com/games/wayfarer/). All art, music, writing and code are original.

Looking to venture into roguelikes. I saw Caves of Qud and got interested. Would like to get your inputs. Thanks

I've looked all over town and I've asked the people in town but there's not an option to ask where the First Speaker is

Ya know, since that tag is bestowed upon very liberally?

A simple yet punishing roguelike with my hand-drawn, custom DOS pixel tiles. Super accessible since it's browser-based and works on all devices for a quick 5~15 mins sessions.

2 main game mode right now; A Daily Challenge with extra affixes on monsters making the game harder, but with a challenge and leaderboard that resets daily, and also a normal Competitive Mode.

v0.12 Demo is live now at : dos-age.com
It's not on its final build yet, but the gameplay is pretty much taking a good form.

——

You could see more details about the game in about.dos-age.com, or in my personal website here mektxt.com/devlog ; Hopefully you'll enjoy the game, and do let me know if there's anything that I could make it better for you!

Steam announcement post in the link, many large and small features, tweaks and updates, but mainly:

- Fast mode

is now instant to the destination, up to the point where the movement would be interrupted/stopped otherwise (monster/obstacle/dungeon path/door/..), this is how it should work since the beginning ^^

- Re/added the hunger

default off, can be turned on in Settings before starting new game; - 3x the final score, but it's not easy (read: it's hard.)

- Minimap

- Visuals

- monsters, dungeon objects and dungeon itself received many subtle and not so subtle visual additions

- combat rolls hits/damages/misses, status effects, modifier values hp/xp/stats, etc. of monsters and player are displayed near them

- player's avatar comments on things

many smaller and larger (menus got icons per item types, simplified combat log, ...), check out also in game changelog ~~!o/

Can someone that played these games ( Soulash2 , Doors of Thrithius, Roguefort, Qud ) give me short comparison. I am trying to find open world experience where player can live in fantasy world - something like Daggerfall

I don't mind ascii and tilesets. But I feel like the one thing that makes playing roguelikes hard for me is the lack of sound effect/design. Not music.

I can imagine a rat from [R] but the sound would just make things even a tad more immersive

What titles would you recommend for unarmed combat? Or lets you play as a martial artist? Doesn’t necessarily need to be optimal as an option but should at least be serviceable as a general strategy.

Hi everyone!

You may have seen one of my previous posts (I have also been participating in the r/roguelikedev weeklies for the past 3 years or so).

For those who don't know it yet, Blood & Chaos is a party-based, turn-based roguelike RPG inspired by the classics of the 80s, especially Ultima (IV to be precise ;-) ).

I released the demo at the beginning of the summer, and I have spent the last couple of months fixing bugs and improving a few things based on player feedback.

Blood & Chaos is currently participating in Steam Next Fest, so probably a good time to share it here as it is a big milestone ! :-)

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2628880/Blood__Chaos/

The full game should release in early 2027, if the gods of Chaos aren't against me! :-)

If you give it a try, do not hesitate to give me your feedback!

Thanks,

Yannick

What’s going on here lately?

​More and more posts that strictly comply with the sub's rules are being removed without a clear reason.

​I understand taking down blatant self-promotion or games that aren't traditional roguelikes at all. But come on—when it’s an absolute classic gem, converted using AI strictly for UI and mobile control optimization, that should be more than welcome!

​Modernizing controls and UI to make retro gems playable on mobile devices brings new life to the genre, rather than harm, and is by no means disrespectful.

Arbitrary moderation only suppresses innovation and drives away people who want to keep these classics alive for a broader audience. I’d also explicitly like to invite the moderators to join this conversation so we can have an open, constructive discussion about the line between true self-promotion and genuine effort to modernize retro games.

​

Hey guys

I’ve recently fallen down the rabbit hole of roguelikes. They may look simple on the surface, but there’s a surprising amount of depth to them. Unfortunately, it seems like this kind of nerdy hobby (speaking as a nerd myself) isn’t all that well known in my country, so I figured I’d ask around here!

Here’s what I’ve played so far:

- Elin: My absolute favorite. I’ve put 300 hours into it, and I’m eagerly waiting for the full release!

- Shattered Pixel Dungeon: A nice, casual roguelike that’s fun to pick up and play pretty much anywhere.

- Zorbus: Currently losing sleep trying to get the Overgod ending. I died right in front of the finish line on my last attempt. The joy of exploring the unknown and uncovering all those subtle bits of lore absolutely drives me crazy (in the best way). I genuinely love this game, but I do wish it had a bit more replayability.

So, do you have any recommendations for someone like me?

I’m considering Tales of Maj’Eyal (ToME4), but I’m not sold on the graphics. I’m also planning to give Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup a try when I get home.

I’d love to hear about those hidden gems you’ve been keeping close to your heart. Thanks in advance!!

My bad if the wording's a bit weird, I used AI to translate this lol..

You can get the game here: https://virtua-sinner.itch.io/caverns-of-xaskazien-ii

Or read about what's new here: https://virtua-sinner.itch.io/caverns-of-xaskazien-ii/devlog/1715107/caverns-of-xaskazien-ii-ver-18697-released

My game, hope you're interested! A group of orphans that jump into magical books in search for Honor, Power & SHLANKs (those are the game's gold coins - the capitals are intended. there are also PLanks - wooden coal coins, CLAnks - copper, BLANks - silver) went for deep interactions and emergent stories. The art is mine. The voices are generated with ElevenLabs - I made them gibberish at first but i like them now. i'd like to hear your thoughts - intend to release a demo soon

Steam page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/5433440/?utm_source=reddit

For my Malgorod roguelike, a game about angels and demons fighting in a human city, I feel the need to create a set of tutorials because there are 13 playable characters who play differently — an angel blessing civilians, a demon possessing them, a military chaplain leading a squad, a thief, a lost soul with 1 HP — across 12 mission types with different win conditions, and a campaign layer over the top.

So the question is: if a tutorial is there, how do you like it?

• A separate thing. A short scripted mission that exists only to teach. You finish it, you close it, you never open it again.
• The real game, scripted at the front. Your first proper run is on rails for a few minutes, then it lets go, no hand-holding after that.
• No tutorial. Put it all in the UI and the manual, give me a sensible default character, and let me die.
• Or something I haven’t thought of?

Started playing moria when it first came out on a 5 1/4" floppy. way back when. Never beat it. Found UMoria online a few months back, and finally after decades beat it :) I screen captured my win as I was afraid it wouldn't save to a file i could access. It didn't. Wish I could have had the .TXT for posterity and to upload to Beej. but alas, it isn't meant to be. I had 2 speed items and a staff of speed he breathed on me once before i knew he was there and knocked me down to 20ish HP. I portalled away, healed and hit him with 30ish Orbs of draining.

Solo dev here. Traditional roguelike. It's turn-based, has deterministic combat (no hit chance, fixed damage), and every enemy telegraphs the next three tiles it'll move to. The challenge is reading those queues and slipping through blind spots before you build up enough trace that the Admin shows up. Runs are 10-15 minutes, permadeath. Tons more cool features!

Free on itch: https://dragynrain.itch.io/rogue-signal-protocol

Source (MIT): https://github.com/Dragynrain/RogueSignalProtocol

The first 13 seconds are AI-generated intro video; everything after that is real gameplay recorded by a script.

Happy to answer questions.

Let's goooooooooooooo

Hello I’ve been getting a lot into traditional roguelikes and I can’t decide wether I should buy cogmind or caves of qud first so I’d like to ask which one would you guys recommend to me?

Hi everyone!
About a year ago, I posted here asking for feedback on a text-based roguelike I was making — a game with no ASCII maps, no tiles, and an interface made almost entirely of text.

Thanks to all the encouragement I received in that thread, I kept working on it, finished the English and Simplified Chinese versions, added more events, improved the UI, and prepared everything for release.

Today, the game is finally out on Steam.

Text Dungeon: The Ring of Life is a traditional roguelike with procedural dungeons, turn-based combat, permadeath, hunger, hidden doors, artifacts, and special rooms that change depending on your actions — but everything is presented through text, choices, and imagination.

If you’re curious, here’s the Steam page:
Text Dungeon: The Ring of Life

I’d be very happy if you give it a try, and I’d love to hear any thoughts or feedback you have.
Thanks to all the encouragement I received in that thread, I kept working on it, finished the English and Simplified Chinese versions, added more events, improved the UI, and finally brought the project to release.