The One Video Game Feature Everyone Is Sick Of
Roguelikes and permadeath mechanics are so common in games today. Have they outstayed their welcome?
They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If this is the case, social media users around the world are surely humbled when their joke is copy-and-pasted by thousands of others. Rogue, too, must be feeling like an absolute rockstar just now.
There are certain genres and tropes that the gaming industry just can’t seem to let go of. Metroidvanias. Battle royales. Open-world exploration titles with survival elements. That retro pixel art aesthetic so many games are lumbered with these days. Then, of course, there’s the roguelike.
Fans of these genres have an absolute bounty of riches to choose from, which is all well and good, but even some of the most committed fans have to admit that market saturation breeds contempt.
Roguelikes tend to have a lot of the common traits that dedicated gamers prize the most: freedom to customize builds, a steep challenge, that just-one-more-run factor. They also, however, usually boast one of the most divisive features in video games: permadeath.
Here are some of the best examples of the genre, how they employ permadeath, other titles that have adopted the system and the challenges this tricky mechanic brings to the table.