author: Mateusz Zdanowicz
Risk of Rain. Top 13 Roguelike PC Video Games
Table of Contents
This is the game for you if:
- you expect a ton of items and upgrades;
- you like tough fights;
- you handle pressure well.
The shooter Risk of Rain 2 was released in 2019 on Steam. But today, we will focus on the first game which started this excellent series. Especially since the gameplay in the sequel is practically identical to the original, except that the first game is a 2D pixelated arcade game, while the second offers full 3D.
The best thing about Risk of Rain is the challenging enemies. Even if you do well at the start, you'll still have to work hard in the end – the difficulty level increases with time. This puts pressure on the player. After defeating a boss, is it best to move on to the next stage or spend a few moments searching for additional items? And there are plenty of those here. Often we end the session with several dozens of various items that turn our hero into a deadly killing machine - flying and setting enemies on fire. As we progress, we unlock new classes with different play styles, which is an extra motivation.
Crypt of the Necrodancer
This is the game for you if:
- you like rhythm games;
- you're looking for imaginative evolutions in roguelikes;
- you have a dance mat.
Various roguelike games have tried to spice up the traditional formula with an original setting or a dose of humor. Crypt of the Necrodancer focuses on music - it's the core of the whole game. It is one of the only few rhythm roguelikes, originating from turn-based representatives of the genre, but forcing you to move and attack enemies according to the rhythm. On the PC, you can use your own music library, which automatically makes the PC version the best of all available.
The emphasis on rhythm completely changes the face of the game. Crypt of the Necrodancer appealed to many players who either had never played classic roguelikes before or were not particularly fond of them. And all thanks to a specific dynamic and an unusual mix of genres, but also its content. The developers have prepared many types of enemies, weapons, and upgrades - in this aspect, the game is not worse than the "real" roguelikes. An unusual and great addition is that you can play it using a... dance mat. Finally, you can use it for something more than free-to-play dance games. And there's nothing like burning some calories while exploring monster-filled dungeons.
Rogue Legacy
This is the game for you if:
- you like arcade rouguelikes;
- you expect an unusual character progression system;
- you appreciate retro-style visuals.
Another arcade roguelike with platform and some metroidvania elements. We explore a huge castle as successive descendants of the first hero. The successors inherit some of the characteristics of their ancestors and keep access to certain improvements in a base -this gives you a sense of progress, which is always welcome in these kinds of games (even if traditionalists may look at such progress with some distaste). The gameplay, however, focuses mainly on fights, which are very demanding. The battle system is simple, but the slightest mistake can cost you a lot.
You will die many times - at least until you learn all the behavior patterns of all the enemies. However, throughout the game, you feel that success and good results depend on your skill - and not on whether you found a spectacular upgrade or a spell. Even when you don't find any impressive items, you don't need to feel powerless, although the challenge will be a bit greater. The graphic style may not be impressive today - it's simple pixel art, but the most important thing is that the presentation is neat. Anyway, what matters is that the game is extremely engaging.
