ROGUE DECLAN, winner of the AmiGamJam, 90%+ scoring in ZZap and Amiga Addict, is now available in fantastic boxed editions from @polyplay including CD32 with an all-new CDDA soundtrack.
You know, given how well #Balatro is doing, I'd wager that a #RogueLite version of #Scrabble where you attack enemies by spelling out incantations could be popular.
Mechanically, you could probably design a better game with quarto pieces or arbitrary symbols but I think being able to sell it as "Roguelike Scrabble" and creating that avenue for domain knowledge transfer are too big to pass up.
One of the new Weapons for Rocket will be a Slowdown Bomb. Fire it off to slow down your enemies. Just look how slow they are! Also, check out that shield effect. 🚀☄️
Ever wondered what a roguelite game with a AAA budget and development studio would be like? Well this week our episode on Returnal is your answer!
Winner of 4 BAFTAs including 2022's game of the year award, it's a visual and storytelling powerhouse. But what mysteries does this alien planet hide and why is there a mysterious human farm house here?
I just watched Dangerously Funny play the demo for a new #RogueLite called Dungeon Clawler. You play as a rabbit-like plushie doing the Slay the Spire dungeon crawling thing. But the unique gimmick for the game is that you pick your actions with a claw machine grabber.
Between DF's play through and some of the screenshots, it looks like it affords some interesting design space. The size and shape of items determines how easy it is to pick up and how much other stuff you can do with the same pull. Different claws, more pulls per turn, and perks for only pulling certain combinations of stuff pulled together all give a lot of design space. The previews also show how enemies can interfere by adding fluff to the machine, filling it with fluid so some stuff floats, or changing the floor of the machine. DF also accidentally did some out of turn shenanigans when a hammer got stuck on the lip of the prize redemption thing then knocked it over later without using a claw which is either intended high level play or a physics exploit that leads to unintended strats—either would be cool.
It'll be a while before it launches for real but it's worth checking out the demo since it's free anyway.
This week we're putting the bullet into bullet hell with the hit SHMUP roguelike shooter Star of Providence!
Originally titled "Monolith", this NES-inspired modern retro shooter has it all: ghosts, mages, cybernetic constructs, giant spinning razor weapons, and of course: a talking cat.
If you're into the new #survivor-like #games, #manic is an awesome addition to the category, a #roguelite / OG #GTA like game. Great fun and a huge amount of replayability.
A time travelling robot is never late. Nor it is early. It arrives precisely when it means to! This week is the second great roguelike by Subset Games: Into the Breach! A bug-punching, timeline jumping, city saving tactics puzzler sure to tickle that brain of yours.
We are taking listener requests for an upcoming episode as well! Reply below with suggestions!
Nightmare Reaper is a dark and gritty retro-inspired first-person shooter that blends classic '90s FPS action with modern looter-shooter and rogue-lite mechanics.
You play as a disturbed patient trapped within the twisted depths of their own nightmares. Battle hordes of grotesque demons across sprawling, procedurally generated levels while amassing a mind-blowing arsenal of weaponry. Each run unlocks new abilities, upgrades, and secrets.
I didn't check it out sooner because the art style turned me off
Even if you've played a bunch of #BulletHeaven#RogueLite games created in its wake, it's worth trying out
Seriously, I just noticed it was free with Play Pass and figured I'd give it a shot. Even though I've seen a bunch of people play it before, I didn't realize just how well the game is able to manage the player's stress and engagement. On my third run, I noticed just how much they tuned enemy and health spawns in response to stuff like your current health and how much you're moving. But, unlike what 99% of tech companies do with that power, the devs want to use those levers to maximize fun. I feel like I'm always on the edge of my seat moments from death even when I'm comparatively safe until the game wants a lull of letting me feel powerful before a sudden wall of a boss.
I used to run a lot of #DnD. I was good enough at it that people told me they made decisions about which cons to go to based on wanting to play at my tables (few compliments have ever made me feel that good). So when I say that it's hard even for experts to manage player engagement this well, I mean it.
#Prototype continues at a clipped pace. Killing monsters now gives you coins. You can see the day number (increases each death) and coins (total) each round, according with a summary of coins gained when you died.
I'm not one for "New Year's resolutions", but I am one for overly ambitious projects.
For 2023, Project365 is "One New Game Per Day".
Given that I have 634 unplayed games in my Steam account and {mumble} unredeemed bundle Steam keys, there's a reason my unplayed collection is tagged "Pile of Shame".
I'll pin this to my profile, and give a brief summary here each day (or x, if I miss x days due to work or stuff).
I'll play 15-30 minutes of (at least) one new game I've never played before (or played less than 15 minutes of). I'll give every game at least 15 minutes, even if I hate every minute of it.
I'm also open to suggestions; if you reply to this thread with a game, I'll schedule it, or tell you what I thought of it.
One of the things that's come up is that I have a bunch of games that I've played once, and not touched again.
February 24, 2024 - Day 420 - NewPlay Review
Total NewPlays: 456
Game: Neoverse
Platform: Steam
Released: Feb 19, 2020
Installed: Feb 1, 2024
Unplayed: 23d
Playtime: 34m
Neoverse is a 3D-ish rogue-lite deckbuilder.
It didn't get off to a good start. There are three main characters, all women. The opening cutscene seemed to be entirely about them engaging in various battles aimed at the male gaze.
One of the main characters featuring in the game art is a character wearing a skintight silver bodysuit, viewed from behind and below the waistline, with her butt being the focal point.
As for the game itself? Nowhere near that. It's set in a multiverse, where you and two other characters need to enter universes to fight a series of staged battles to unlock more cards and save the universe(s) through card battles.
As rogue-lite card battlers go, Neoverse is (just barely):
February 25, 2024 - Day 421 - NewPlay Review
Total NewPlays: 457
Game: Black Book
Platform: Steam
Released: Aug 11, 2021
Installed: Feb 2, 2024
Unplayed: 23d
Playtime: 43m
Black Book is a rogue-lite deckbuilder RPG.
Black Book is set in 19th century Russia, and is a card-battler/RPG built around Slavic folklore.
You play a woman who lives with her uncle, whose betrothed husband-to-be seemingly unalived himself.
Not willing to accept this, she seeks out and makes a deal with the devil to become a witch, and seeks to break the seven seals on a tome given to her by her uncle, which may contain the power of something which can save him from Hell.
The "cards" in this case are spells within a spellbook; it feels much like a very dark Slay the Spire, with an RPG layered over the top.
However, the devs have layered an incredible amount of Slavic folklore into the RPG side, which (due to my upbringing) left me feeling a little bit uncomfortable.