Roguelike-like on strike
I’ve been slacking a bit lately. My excuse is that I’ve been playing some really interesting games.
Let’s start with Breath of Death VII: The Beginning. I got it along with Cthulhu Saves the World, but wanted to play the weaker thing first. Both are retro-style hack&slash RPGs with a healthy dose of humour. In Breath of Death VII you take control of a skeletal knight DEM in a post-apocalyptic world populated by undead. You assemble a party, kill monsters and save the world (sort of). It was fun, althought the fighting became a bit tiresome at the end. Still, Cthulhu is supposed to be even better. Both games cost almost nothing, so get them!
Next up: Spelunky. I stumbled upon it while reading old Rock, Paper, Shotgun archives. It can be described as a roguelike-inspired platformer. Like randomly-generated dungeons, death lurking everywhere and fiendish difficulty? Enjoying being eaten alive by man-eating plants, shot to death by angry shopkeepers, mauled by cavemen, exploded, crushed, torn by spikes and traps? Get it! It’s free! Spelunky features nice pixel art, great music and is a work of just one man: Derek Yu. Bonus: if you’d rather watch other people being mutilated by this game, see this. It’s hilarious.
Finally, there is The Binding of Isaac. I’ve heard about it before, but thought that its arcade-shootery action isn’t for me. Boy, was I wrong. I got myself Voxatron at the Humble Bundle, and a day later they added Isaac to the package. Now I had no excuse to try it. It’s a grotesque-themed twin-stick shooter mixed with a roguelike. You play as Isaac (or other unlockable characters) journeying through a randomly-generated basement filled with his personified childhood fears. Gather (random) powerups, collect unique items, kill (lots of) stuff. It’s weird, it’s fun, it’s addictive. I needed all my willpower to stop myself clicking that “try again” button. Get it!
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