Unique Death Mechanics in Roguelike Games, Ranked

Players haven’t truly played a roguelike if they haven’t died. This is a genre that thrives on difficulty, where the punishment for underestimating an enemy or simple bad luck is often severe. The most severe, arguably, as punishments don’t really get much worse than death, and video-game punishments don’t get much worse than losing progress. Whether players are gluttons for punishment, or the tight, cohesive game design that goes into roguelikes just appeals to them, this genre of games is constantly booming, especially among indie developers.

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Even if it’s an inherent draw to the genre, however, dying can become tedious after a while. Games often get around this with engaging combat to keep people coming back for more, or a story where death is woven into it, so there’s an ‘in-universe’ explanation for a character dying and coming back. There are some games, however, that create unique mechanics that help give death some more identity. These games in particular have interesting death mechanics that in some way push the player ahead or work in some way besides simply starting from scratch at the beginning.

7

Tales of Maj’Eyal

Adventurer Mode Makes Death A Warning

Systems

Released

December 31, 2012

Developer(s)

TE4

Publisher(s)

Netcore Games

Among some of the best open-world roguelikes available to date, Tales of Maj’Eyal is an indie passion project that’s bloomed into one of the most expansive and content-filled roguelikes on the shelves. The most basic sword-and-board style warrior in Tales of Maj’Eyal has more depth and customization than the average mage in many other RPGs, and it keeps this level of depth without sacrificing its approachability.

This is best seen with its most popular difficulty mode, Adventurer Mode. When a player dies in Adventure Mode, they lose one of their lives, but are able to continue playing. These lives are limited, and players only gain one at set level intervals that grow more distant as the character’s level grows higher, meaning that the spirit of a roguelike is remarkably well-intact despite the slightly more accessible gameplay.

6

Shiren The Wanderer: The Tower Of Fortune And The Dice Of Fate

Classic Mystery Dungeon Mechanics With A Twist

Released

July 26, 2016

OpenCritic Rating

Strong

What makes Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate so interesting among mystery dungeon titles is the difference between the things that remain and the things that reset upon death. This game series is nothing short of a staple within the mystery dungeon genre, though most mystery dungeon games outside of Pokémon tend to be rather obscure.

Unlike most instances of death in mystery dungeon games, which result in the player losing all their items, money, and in Shiren’s case, levels, there are a few mechanics that work in this title to soften death’s blow. Companions, who have many unique perks that aid Shiren, don’t lose their levels if players die and they’re still alive. Weapons can also be marked so they can be found again in subsequent runs with their upgrades intact.

5

Bad North

Death Might Just Make The Next Run Easier

Bad North

Released

August 20, 2018

ESRB

T For Teen // Blood, Violence

Developer(s)

Plausible Concept

OpenCritic Rating

Fair

Squad leaders in Bad North are the lifeblood of the game; they are who the players directly command to get into positions, with their soldiers trailing behind them. The initial squad leaders that players will unlock, while quirky little randomized dudes with plenty of personality, don’t actually do much in terms of bringing anything else to the table.

When players unlock new personality traits in a run, however, it gives them incentive to return after dying, as they can start a new run with a leader that has a special effect, such as a high move speed or a larger squad.

4

BlazBlue: Entropy Effect

Death Provides A Unique Opportunity To Enhance Further Runs

Systems

Released

February 14, 2024

Developer(s)

91Act

OpenCritic Rating

Mighty

Few games hold the same kind of atmosphere and tone as Blazblue: Entropy Effect. Players who love JRPGs and cyberpunk-styled titles will be right at home with this roguelike, but what really makes this game pop is the modular nature of death.

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When players die, they’re able to take back with them two of their acquired mode buffs to be implemented at the beginning of the next run, allowing for freedom of customization to characters and runs that makes death feel more like an opportunity than anything else.

3

Sifu

Failure Is Just Another Part Of The Story

Released

February 8, 2022

Developer(s)

Sloclap

OpenCritic Rating

Strong

As far as roguelikes go, Sifu is incredibly unique and well worth giving a shot, even if fighting games are not usually your cup of tea. The punchy, incredibly tacticle combat style that lets players really feel every punch delivered and received makes the game incredibly satisfying.

Beyond this, being defeated in Sifu, ‘dying’ in a mechanical sense, is by no means the end of the story. ‘Death’ in this sense lets players start again, this time as an older, wiser martial artist. They will have less overall HP, but compensating for this, they are able to dish out more damage with their attacks.

2

Hades

An Addictive And Inspiring Roguelike

Released

September 17, 2020

OpenCritic Rating

Mighty

Moreso than perhaps any other game on this list, Hades is a game where players can actually look forward to death. Death means returning to home in order to spend used up resources on new gear and perks.

Returning home also means progressing relationships, furthering the story, and overall rerolling certain features of the subsequent dungeons, which could provide players with even more things to do on their next return home.

1

Rogue Legacy 2

Death Builds Up A Legacy

Released

April 28, 2022

Developer(s)

Cellar Door Games

OpenCritic Rating

Mighty

Rounding out this list is an incredibly popular title that brings all the charm and procedural narratives of Crusader Kings 3 to the world of roguelike, dungeon-delving platformers. This is an unabashedly delightful game that has an incredibly compelling death mechanic.

When players die, they continue on in the next generation as the previous hero’s child, increasing the prestige of their bloodline, inheriting certain treasures and traits, and overall continuing on the legacy of a bloodline that grows with each death.

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