Roguelites deconstructed

This is a longread article aimed to spotlight most roguelike/lites' game design fundamentals without getting too deep into hp/dps balance, difficulty curves etc. Just some interesting notable stuff specific to RLs.

I've been knee deep in roguelike games for three months now. While I've dabbled in them before (completed Rogue Legacy and Slay the Spire at launch), my interest deepened last fall after redownloading Darkest Dungeon for the third time, only to despise it within half an hour (again). This prompted me to finally sift through what's considered normal in this genre versus outright player torment. I delved into my backlog, bolstered it with Steam sales, and thoroughly immersed myself in titles like Rogue Legacy 2, Inscryption, Dead Cells, Hades, Children of Morta, Cult of the Lamb, Witchfire, Risk of Rain 2, and Returnal. It's time to pinpoint the allure of these games!

The essentials

Firstly, let's define the term. Without delving into the forty-year history of the term's evolution from roguelike to roguelite and back, let's focus on the current understanding: a roguelike is characterized by randomly generated game circumstances with each new playthrough. This can include level architecture, traps, monsters, bosses, loot, and narrative episodes, among other aspects. The genre is irrelevant: there are shooters and roguelike shooters, party RPGs and roguelike RPGs, as well as action adventures, platformers, tactics & strategy games, puzzlers, and even citybuilders. Thus, roguelike is rather a method of presenting the game, its gameplay mechanics, and story fragments (which often drive not just the game itself but also modes like New Game+).

The essence of the format is adding a significant random element to the difficulty curve. While this generally follows the usual progression (later-level weapons and upgrades are more potent, as are the enemies), the disparity between the player's power and the monsters' strength grows over time. Initially, during exploration and learning, the player significantly outmatches the enemies, but monsters eventually become stronger, turning the game into a brutal challenge. Occasionally, a stroke of luck in the middle of the difficulty curve grants the player a sudden burst of power (e.g., a fortunate synergy of upgrades and weapons), allowing them to obliterate everything in their path, though these segments are short-lived, and the aforementioned disparity inevitably arises, albeit less severely towards the end. The key difference from traditional games is that, thanks to the "lite" aspect of modern roguelikes, this challenge curve is slightly pushed back with each run, regardless of how randomness affects gameplay.

Moving from the general to the specific, the foundation of any roguelike includes two modes: meta — the metagame (a hub from which each run starts) and core — the main gameplay loop (run itself).

Metagame

In true, hardcore roguelikes, this concept doesn't exist, as each run starts from scratch and ends with the definitive, irreversible death of the character. Each new game is a completely fresh adventure, and the only "meta" progression a player can improve is their personal gaming skill. However, modern roguelikes like The Binding of Isaac and FTL: Faster Than Light, while sticking to the classics, have opened the door slightly, allowing players to unlock more starting character/ship options through progress in any game session. The diversity of unlockables serves as motivation.

Today, even the most "hardcore" roguelites offer much more in terms of options. In Dead Cells, you can upgrade the number of health potion uses, starting gold, and loot variety. Card-based roguelikes may reward a run with a new card in the roster or even a whole new game mode. In Hades, there's a "mirror" with two branches of passive skills significantly increasing success chances. In the Rogue Legacy series, you upgrade a castle, positively affecting dozens of game and hero parameters, shifting the balance towards blatant grinding (which is a mechanic on its own).

This significant departure from the old ways attracts a broader audience that lacked patience to memorize FTL's hyperjump options or the dexterity to handle bullet hell in Isaac. No longer must players fret over a well-assembled build failing due to a silly mistake or just missing a couple of hits to defeat a boss. Now, players not only gain valuable experience for themselves but also resources for upgrading the metagame, which, in turn, increases the chances that the next run will be the one where the boss finally falls.

The metagame is divided into two key gameplay aspects: permanent and pre-build.

Metagame - Permanent In most roguelikes, what players extract from the core gameplay is what they invest in future success in meta. Upgrading characteristics and starting resources, increasing the chances of certain drops, expanding the pool of possibilities, and modifying the rules for room generation — all benefit the future runs. In some games, the permanent aspect is so crucial that it significantly outweighs the core gameplay in the Player Motivation Scales. For instance, in Rogue Legacy 2 or Children of Morta, it's nearly impossible to defeat the first boss on the first run — the hero is just too weak. However, all found gold is invested by the player in defense and attack stats for all future heroes (and the chance to earn even more gold in the next run), resembling typical Action-RPGs but with gold instead of XP.

Besides passive stat upgrades, there are mechanics akin to Metroidvanias: once a player finds a new tool, it remains with them in future runs (RL 2, Dead Cells, Returnal). Usually, this tool is necessary for progressing to the next levels (biomes), although there are exceptions — like in Dead Cells, where new tools simply provide access to previously inaccessible caches, functions or optional game worlds.

Metagame - Pre-build

A crucial part of any roguelike, regardless of the permanence in gameplay, is build construction. It begins in the metagame, where the player can choose weapons (DC, Hades), character class (RoR2), equipment (RL), a useful artifact (Hades), a balanced buff (CotL), starting cards (Inscryption), etc., before a run. Pre-build composition depends on the player's goals: to progress as far as possible in general, achieve a specific target (like challenges in RoR2), or extract as much useful material for the metagame as possible.

Pre-build options are limited at the start but expand as the core is mastered. This is a vital layer of the metagame, directly affecting the player's efficiency in the main cycle.

Core (Main Cycle)

Regardless of genre, modern roguelikes feature certain rules and mechanics in the main gameplay: biomes, path choices, qualitative improvements, currencies and trade, loot selection, trade-offs, curses, puzzle and challenge rooms.

Biomes

The main cycle's content is usually divided into biomes, split into levels, which can also be divided into sub-levels (Children of Morta). Each biome not only has a unique visual environment but also its own enemies, traps, tool mechanics, and even specific loot. This approach is not unique to roguelikes; biomes with their features existed in the first Metroid (1986), but in roguelikes, they serve one of the main purposes — illustrating the increased difficulty. Balancing this challenge is a separate issue: some games manage to impart educational value to each biome (Hades), others force players to struggle in the first world until they build their skill enough to breeze through the rest of the content twice as fast (Returnal), and some concentrate all the evil designs towards the end (RL2, RoR2).

Obviously, randomness plays a huge role in the success of biomes, but we'll get to that.

Path Choice

Roguelikes are about constant choice making, and the key player decision is the path. In some games, it's a journey between events (card-based roguelikes and Cult of the Lamb), in others, it's choosing the next room. In Hades, the player sees a fork of 2-4 options with difficulty and rewards indicated. From each Dead Cells biome, you can proceed to one of the next two. In Returnal, you can return to any room within a biome, and in Rogue Legacy, to any biome at all, with interesting implications for such unprecedented freedom (see the end of the article).

Quantitative Improvements

For constructing a core build, blueprints and materials are needed: various aspects of the main hero and ways to upgrade them. If it's a weapon, then it's upgradeable (Hades) or replaceable (Dead Cells, Returnal, CotL); if it's health — an extension of the maximum value is expected. But there are unique features distinguishing each game on the list. In Dead Cells, both aforementioned layers are upgraded simultaneously — after finding a scroll, the player chooses one of three classes related to their abilities and weapons, boosting both attack power and maximum health at the same time. In Returnal, there are separate "healers" and "boosters" (fill three boost slots to gain a max health increase), but if the player has 100% health, then "healers" turn into "boosters," so successful survival leads to increased survivability. In Rogue Legacy 2, several mechanics described above are combined: once or twice per biom the player chooses either to mend the health or to increase the max HP, but at the cost of significant damage. In Inscryption, as in any deckbuilder, balance between the number of cards, their cost, and power is crucial—for this, cards can be "stitched" together, transferring their properties from one to another or sacrificing them in exchange for a bonus.

Qualitative Improvements

While attack power and health represent a generally understandable and linear growth of the player's strength, the artifacts provide more variety in build construction. Two additional sideways hits, depending on the player's goals and situation, can be much better than just double damage straight ahead. Having a powerful long-range attack can be critical for the survival of a hero armed only with a sword. Even such a silly thing as dealing a tiny amount of damage upon landing after a jump or dash turns out to be not only an aid against small monsters but also speeds up room clearing from destructible objects (they might contain gold or health!).

Artifacts possess various effects, either unconditional or activated under certain circumstances. It's a common story when the player's damage increases depending on their health state, or an effect activates the moment any consumable item is used.

Puzzle and Challenge Rooms

Roguelikes' dynamics are based on risk and expectation management on the player's part. Each time, choosing a path, the player opts for a potential reward for overcoming the obstacles on that path. Optional rooms with puzzles (usually traps that need to be overcome with minimal health expenditure) offer a chance for a prize, but only if the player demonstrates wit and dexterity. Another option is challenges, where enemies suddenly appear, and the player must fend them off as quickly as possible (Hades), or when these enemies are stronger and more numerous (Returnal). Here, everything the player has learned in the game comes into play to win and earn the deserved prize.

Note that in some games, challenges occur mandatorily (like Returnal in the penultimate biome, some forks in Hades, ghosts in Witchfire), momentarily raising the difficulty curve and frustrating players accustomed to playing cautiously and conservatively, accumulating strength before facing the boss.

Currencies and Trade

One of the classic ways to provide players with choice is to allow them to accumulate currency during a run and periodically offer something to buy with it (typically also randomly generated): teeth in Inscryption, gold in Dead Cells, Risk of Rain 2, and Slay the Spire, obols in Returnal and Hades, soul crystals in Children of Morta. Soft currency doesn't carry over beyond a run, but the reverse is easy; in many games, there's a "golden start" upgradeable in permanent or pre-build, saving a portion of what the player earned in the previous run or a fixed amount.

Trade is usually limited to choosing from several lots from a merchant, available 1-2 times per biome. An interesting exchange mechanic (besides opening loot boxes for money and purchases in vending machines) in Risk of Rain 2: a 3D printer on the location allows exchanging a random owned item for the one the printer can print. This can be done as many times as desired, turning all items into a pile of copies of the same item (in RoR2, their effects accumulate).

Besides "soft currency," there's "hard currency," needed for upgrades in the metagame. About five currencies in Hades, coins in RL and CoM, ether in Returnal, crystals in Witchfire, etc. — this is the most valuable thing you can take from a run in case of death because hard currency doesn't disappear and helps build that very springboard for better and further runs.

Loot Choice

As mentioned, choice is the key meta-mechanic of roguelikes. In the case of loot, it's also a double-edged sword: if the balance is right, the player will be biting their nails, choosing between a weapon, skill, or upgrade. And if there are additional restrictions — for example, in Hades, choosing Daedalus' gift, fundamentally changing the build, is only possible three times per game, and each time it's a different offer — then one can sit for several minutes, weighing the prospects in each case. In Rogue Legacy 2, most core upgrades are limited by the "resolve" limit (weight of artifacts, exceeding which starts penalties), and the choice is made on two planes: what fits the current build better, and whether this choice will drag me down. In Dead Cells, the choice is constrained by upgrading one of three directions and matching the fresh find to this upgrade. In Risk of Rain 2, there's no such problem at all, hoovering up gear is one of the game's foundations.

Trade-offs

The main goal of any player choice is to balance between the risk they take on and the reward they receive. In most of the mechanics described above, there's an element of randomness: yes, the next room will have Darkness drops, but you don't know what kind of enemies and traps are in it (Hades); you pass, wiping sweat from your forehead, a particularly nasty puzzle room, but the hard-won chest doesn't contain any new rune (Rogue Legacy 2); you cross yourself and open a chest with a high chance of catching a curse, and out falls a weapon a level lower than yours and with completely unsuitable perks (Returnal).

So, to spare the player's nails and nerves, game designers sometimes use the trade-off mechanic: offering a clear penalty in addition to a clearly described bonus. Everything's fair, everything's clear: you'll hit across half the map, but you can't use dash. You'll deal more damage, but if you try to pick up an item, you'll take damage yourself. You'll survive a lethal hit, but immediately after, your maximum health will decrease by a quarter. In some games, trade-offs are configured in advance for the sake of balance, but, for example, in Returnal, parasites randomize both parts of the trade-off, and moreover, you can even get rid of unwanted parasites in two not very convenient ways later. This adds tactical depth: while I'm beating monsters and clearing rooms, the reduced damage from weapons doesn't bother me much, but before the boss, I'll go and replace this parasite with something less critical. In Risk of Rain 2, items with trade-offs are placed in a separate category of cool artifacts, they are not often encountered, and there's not much to think about — you have to take and remember the drawback.

Cursed Items

A popular mechanic in roguelikes, varying from "nah, forget it" to "no biggie, I'll carry it without problems." It can be said that this is a special case of trade-off, but with a mandatory element of risk. The curse mechanic is divided into two parts: in the first, the player suffers a penalty until they fulfill the conditions for its removal; in the second, they enjoy the risk-earned bonus. An important decision point — whether to take it or not — depends on progress. The further into the run you encounter the source of the curse with an enticing reward, the higher the risk of ending the run prematurely.

In Dead Cells and Rogue Legacy 2, the conditions are harsh: kill a certain number of enemies or find an item, but while the curse lasts, the player dies from one hit (though the item activates immediately, no need to wait). In Returnal, the penalties are softer, but the task may turn out to be non-trivial (try to kill two monsters at the same time in an already cleared biome!), in Hades — just survive a few rooms. In Witchfire, the essence of curses is not disclosed, leaving the player to figure out the threat themselves.

The Joy of Roguelikes

From the mechanics described, it seems that roguelikes are kind of "soulslikes," but instead of regular frustration from defeat, you'll get upset less frequently but more intensely. Among the common elements is the learning curve (better known as git gud), which starts from the very bottom and gradually climbs up until the player learns to beat the game on the highest difficulty with their eyes closed, making all choices in milliseconds. Watch roguelike streamers: they keep a matrix of probabilities, item synergies, ideal development of the chosen pre-build, frame data of enemy and boss animations, and a bunch more they had no idea about when they just started playing.

Right git gud: you beat the first boss on the 3-4th attempt and fall at the second or before reaching it because you need to learn new things — mobs, traps, environment, tools (Hades, Dead Cells).

Wrong git gud: you spend a long time on the first location to learn the rules, maximize and randomize the right artifacts, weapons, and parasites, and then rush the first act entirely, all three biomes one after another (Returnal, Witchfire).

The pleasure from such games comes at the moment of understanding how a particular mechanic works; when you overcome an obstacle that seemed completely insurmountable before; build a strategy against a particular enemy. A good roguelike perfectly combines the player's skill requirement and randomizers. Skill can carry a boss from the first run, and randomness can generate an uber-build, compensating for a lack of experience. Eventually, you'll still die, but valuable information about the boss's mechanics or how well a combination of artifacts works will stay with you forever. Thanks to this knowledge, percepting of the game effectively change, and most importantly—you'll want to apply this knowledge as soon as possible. This effect is well known to any 4X strategy player, but here it's called slightly differently: ONE. MORE. RUN.

I realized this especially well when I found myself starting to play Hades at eight in the evening, and suddenly it was two in the morning. It turned out that for the last hour and a half, I had been convincing myself to do just one more run.

P.S. About the Open World

A feature of roguelikes with an open biome and without time pressure is that any choice can be postponed until moving to the next biome. For example, in Rogue Legacy 2, I didn't touch the choice between health and maximum health until the threat of death arose. Then I would go back and choose health. Once I had cleared all biomes, all that remained was to collect maximum health from all such sources to maximize my chances before the boss. Similarly, with artifacts—I'd rather go further and see what else is offered than choose right now.

In Returnal, it's a similar story: there's no point in replenishing health if the risks are low, but at the end of the biome, you'll want to collect all the green pluses in the most optimal way so that they turn into a maximum health replenishment. And at the same time, play around with parasites and curses, leaving this management for the end.