What's Going On? Roguelikes and Like Other Stuff

What’s Goin On!? will be a regular feature around these parts. Regular, as in me posting, on a whim, a veritable smorgasbord of thoughts and quick reactions to games I’ve been playing lately as well as other assorted ideas I’ve had. Beware!

What’s on my mind?

I’m an eXplorminator!

First, I should mention that I’ve signed on in (maybe in blood, I’m not sure yet), as a staff writer and contributor to eXplorminate. eXplorminate is a group of 4X and strategy game enthusiasts that endeavor to bring the 4X gaming community together as well as provide regular content in the form of reviews, previews, articles, podcasts, youtube videos, and … you get the picture. It’s a great group with an active Steam community. If you are interested in strategy games (aren’t we all here?) and 4X games in particular, it’s worth checking out the group.

So far I’ve written a review for the second Age of Wonders III expansion, Eternal Lords, as well as a comprehensive review of all of Age of Wonders III, with the patches and both expansions in effect. Spoiler - I think it’s one of the finest strategy games in recent memory. I love it, and it remains one of my most played games in years (over 400 hours!). In terms of this blog, expect to see a number of articles, reviewers or otherwise, cross-posted between here and eXplorminate.

Now, on to the games!

What’s on my screen?

Roguelikes ...

I’ve been slowly dabbling in the world of roguelike games. For the uninitiated, here is my (and only recently initiated) understanding of roguelike games: At their core, roguelikes are role-playing games that combine (1) procedural world generation with (2) character permadeath and (3) turn-based tactical/strategic gameplay. The Three Moves Ahead (3MA) podcast, which focuses on strategy games, recently had a great episode covering Roguelikes, touching on their history, major design underpinnings, and how the genre is diversifying and merging with other genres.

In many ways, Roguelikes are a throwback to the earlier days of digital gaming - the era where throwing your controller into the wall in utter frustration and contempt at your own inability to play well was common place. You see, we’ve become “soft” in a lot of ways, with games getting dumbed down and holding our tender pawns ever more firmly. A lot of mainstream games have shifted away from offering a rigorous challenge in favor of giving the player some streamlined and homogenized experience. So many games aren’t a question of “IF” you can beat it but “WHEN” you can beat it - keep playing and you will win.

Roguelikes drag you screaming in the other direction. And some of them can be manically frustrating. But the point is to focus on player skill and demand more careful consideration of moves and options, also reminding you that one misstep can send you packing on the permadeath train and force a total restart. Do or do not, there is no saving.

A gentle introduction to the genre can be had in the mobile game Hoplite, which has been painfully addicting for me. Basically, you are a little Greek/Roman soldier navigating a hex-based dungeon in true roguelike fashion (randomly generated floors, turn-based, permadeath). You have a few different moves (stab, lunge, leap, throw spear, block) at your disposal and these can be augmented at shrines on each level to become more powerful. This is good because each successive level of the dungeon is filled with more and more dudes wot need slayin’. There is a simple feat-based achievement system that unlocks stronger abilities to boot. I think Hoplite’s charm, which is central to good roguelikes, is that the tension mounts and mounts the further you go as the stakes get higher and higher. One miscalculation or rash decision can ruin your entire run. It’s frustrating but it’s also liberating - you can’t get too attached to your little dude because it’s all just a fleeting moment.

Another roguelike I’ve been dabbling with is Crowntakers, on mobile platforms and also Steam (PC). Here you have a central character that you navigate through a series of procedurally generated zones (forests, cities, etc.) acquiring better gear and picking up a motley crew of indispensable companions. It has an FTL-like “better hurry the hell up” mechanic in that the more days that pass the stronger the opposition gets on your way to reach the castle and reclaim your birthright. So you can’t be lingering too long in each zone. When you encounter hostiles, the game switches into a tactical level, turn-based (and hex based) battle zone. The tactical combat has some surprisingly deep mechanics to it, like flanking and attacks of opportunity, which reminds me a lot of Age of Wonders 3. Of course, it’s all permadeath if your main character dies. Overall, Crowntakers a beautifully executed game and, unless you play on the cheater mode, devilishly hard (I’ve never made it past the halfway mark!).

Two others I’ve dabbled with include DoomRL and Brogue. DoomRL sent me into a nostalgia spasm. It’s a traditional (and free!) roguelike that hijacked art and sound assets from Doom (yes the shooter) and crafted a new and painful way to experience the Doom-ness. Brogue is an ASCII based roguelike (going even more traditional) that has an iOS port. I’ve just tinkered with it for a few minutes, but now it’s gnawing at me! Too many games!

... and Roguelike-likes?

The 3MA podcast raised the point that a lot of games are incorporating “roguelike elements” into their designs. Maybe it’s permadeath (XCOM for example), or procedural world generation (Terraria, Minecraft), or turn-based mechanics (Banner Saga and so much more). Personally, I think this represents a shift in the collective psyche of a lot of developers and gamers. Which is to say that they are getting a bit tired of the shock-and-awe grandeur that AAA games present as the epitome of awesome gaming. They want to go back to smashing controllers/mice/keyboards against their walls/desks/monitors; back to “games” and not “narrative experiences.” Of course, a lot of developers try to do a little bit of both - and that’s where it gets interesting.

One game that I’ve played a lot recently is This War of Mine. I expect I’ll do a proper review in time, but for now I’ll describe it as this: Basically, you are tasked with orchestrating the survival of a group of survivors that have taken up shelter in a bombed-out house in a city ruined by war. The setting is suggestive of an eastern block country, although the time period and details of the war itself are vague. During the day, the survivors need to craft-up all manner of objects for survival. And under the cover of darkness at night, you can send off one lone individual to scavenge/trade/steal/kill for raw ingredients needed to fuel your survival-crafting.

This War of Mine is an absolutely brutal, crushing, and depressing reminder of the civilian costs and realities of war, so often overlooked in the dramatization of it all across our media. You need to survive for 40-50 days, and despite having run the gauntlet a number of times I haven’t yet managed to reach the end. Plenty of moral and matter-of-survival type decisions loom over your every moment of the game. It is challenging; and one botched night of scavenging can send you on a downward spiral of starvation, sickness, predation, depression, suicide, and ruin. Yeah, it’s grim - but it is so well executed and nuanced that it keeps me coming back. It's been out on PC for a while and rumor has it that it's coming to iOS soon.

Another game, on a far more whimsical and comedic note, is Sunless Sea. This is perhaps best understood as a roguelike-like bastardization of FTL and King of Dragon Pass. It’s a narratively rich game about trying to accomplish some choose-your-own-adventure-selected goal and then sailing your ship, replete with supplies, upgrades, and a hearty crew, around an undergound sea that is supposed to be some part of a sunken, lovecraftian England. It’s a quirky and odd game, and despite the dire and gloomy setting manages to be lighthearted and deadly serious at the same time. It’s a great presentation. I haven’t played it enough yet to really get into it, but what I’ve seen so far has been perfectly engaging. Turn off the lights, put on the headphone, and grab the helm. Or something ...

What’s on the Queue?

So many games … so little time. In terms of roguelike’s I’m itching to try out Tales of Maj’Eyal, which has been touted as a pretty solid roguelike set in a Middle Earth-like setting complete with Gandalf-like characters. I hear it’s coming to mobile platforms, and ideally I’d like to wait until then. It’s free to download direct from the developer or you can purchase it (cheaply) through steam.

Another more recent entry, in the roguelike-like category, is Invisible Inc - which is from what I can gather also an XCOM-like tactical game, but with a focus more on stealth and all-things cyberpunky. It has a slick aesthetic, reminding me a bit of The Incredibles movie - which is one of my favorite pixar movies incidentially. I’m hoping to try that out.

Massive Chalice, from Doublefine, was also released recently. This is similarly an XCOM-like, roguelike-like game that merges a fantasy-themed tactical battle game with a dynasty, bloodline management sim. Sounds cool on paper, although the reviews have been pretty varied. I’m assuming its one of those games that some are going to love and others are going to loathe. Just like all the other games.


What’s on my table?

Let’s see. Most of my tabletop gaming recently has been with my daughter and two nephews (ages 4 and 6). They’ve all taken a liking to King of Tokyo - and who wouldn’t really? For me, it pulls at the rampage heartstrings, bringing a secret smile to my face whenever I pull it out. Gosh, I still remember feeding coin after coin into the Rampage arcade machine inside the ill-fated Boblo Island ferries. Oh Bobblo, where art thou? The kids love King of Tokyo too. Giant monsters? Crazy powers? Die rolling? Smashing helicopters? Trash talking? Yes to all of the above. Ding, ding, ding - we have a winner!

I also have a review copy of the second edition of Evolution, from Wits & Wagers designer Dominic Crapuchettes and publisher North Star Games. I haven’t yet had a chance to get it to the table, but it strikes me as a pretty interesting special powers card game that pulls at a different set of strings: my inner biologist. I’ve been on the lookout for a game that provides a compelling model or simulation for ecological processes, and this one seems to be the top contender so I’m keen to try it out. NoHighScores legend Michael Barnes recently wrote a nice review describing the game and the thematically well-adapted gameplay that comes out of the experience. Till I get my own thoughts pulled together, Barnes will have to do.

My wife and I continue to play Carcassonne: Hunters & Gatherers, often a few times a week. A Z-Man reprint landed recently so the game is once again available to the masses, which is a good thing. Of course, I still haven’t played the original Carcassonne or it’s 9-million expansions, but frankly there isn’t anything more I want out of the H&G version - it does things well and is balanced. Don’t mess with a good thing, eh?

What’s on the Forecast?

My great eye is drifting more toward kid-friendly games, as I endeavor to instill a healthy appreciation for games in my budding, underage gamer group. I’ve been reading Mouse Guard to my daughter and nephews, and given their interest in HeroQuest, I think Mice & Mystics could have a glorious future around the home. I’m thinking of picking up the base game and sneaking it out to the family cottage. Then I’ll turn on my secret weather machine so that rain pours and we’re stuck inside said cottage … playing games!

Martin Wallace is also issuing a 2nd edition of A Study in Emerald, which has me chin scratching. Of course, the likelihood of getting it to the table anytime soon, should I purchase it, is worryingly slim. But everything I’ve read about the game makes me think it would be stupendous if I could manage to rally the troops for an evening of gaming bliss. We shall see.


What else is on my mind?

I should mention that I’ve been afflicted with a curse, and that curse has a name. This curse is named IsThereAnyDeal.Com. It’s a horrid site where you can create a wishlist of games (and even more horrifically import an existing wishlist from Steam or other services) and have it a watch out for deals across a wide range of digital distribution platforms of your choosing. It’s like those big blowout sales that claim to “save you money” despite the fact that they end up compelling you to purchase stuff you never would’ve bought in the first place - and thus end up being the exact opposite of saving money.

The result of this curse is that I’ve purchased a bunch of games through Humble Bundle’s recent sale (among others). Do I dare go on? Yes I dare: Wargame: AirLand Battle, Wargame: Red Dragon, Borderlands 2, Halfway, To the Moon, The Last Federations last expansion, Pandora, Pandora Expansion, assorted Europa Universalis IV DLC, Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion, Star Drive 2, Star Ruler 2, make it stop ….

We’ll touch on all of that in the next installment of What’s Going On?! Until then, enjoy the music:

That's a wrap!