Roguelike games are one of the most addictive genres out there; there’s nothing more fun than challenging the same dungeon or boss rush with new and improved skills and weapons. But many games that use the roguelike genre’s “looping” structure are heavily focused on combat. Cozy roguelike Grimoire Groves strives to be the opposite: a completely combat-free roguelike game. However, when developer Stardust began working on Grimoire Groves, they encountered several challenges while innovating in the genre.
Game Rant spoke to Grimoire Groves lead designer and Stardust founder Tabea Iseli about the struggles and triumphs of making a roguelike game that did not rely on combat. They explained that the team chose a roguelike because it was a genre they all enjoyed, but decided early on to move away from the grim dungeon settings and constant fighting common in such games. They also explained how the game added farming simulator elements, a deeper story, and more NPC dialogue and storylines as a result of community interest.
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The Developers Had To Start From The Ground Up
“A lot of people on our team really love roguelike games,” Iseli explained, “but they are…often very dark. You’re in a dark dungeon, slaying monsters and demons and stuff like that.” The Stardust team immediately knew they wanted to move away from that, quickly settling on the idea of a roguelike with zero combat. They described it as a “game design challenge,” as they soon realized that many elements of the genre were fundamentally incompatible with the game they wanted to create:
“And through the challenge that we had, where we wanted to remove combat, there were a lot of things that players are used to that we had to remove and rebuild from scratch. We had to kind of build our very own language on how we audiovisually communicate to players what’s actually happening on the screen.”
When creating Grimoire Groves, the team couldn’t rely on ludic literacy—the audience’s ability to understand and analyze games—and had to create brand-new systems. One example Iseli provided is that they didn’t want character sprites to flash when they got hit because it seemed too violent for the world they wanted to create. Instead, they had to develop an entirely new system where players are surrounded by a glowing aura when engaging with plant creatures, with sparkles, bubbles, or clouds appearing if the plant’s abilities affect the player in any way.
The Result Is A Truly Cozy Roguelike With Farming Elements
The result of creating a combat-free roguelike is a colorful, cozy world where players grow and interact with unique and adorable plant creatures while investigating the mystery of who stole the Rainbow Socks. It features a roguelike-inspired gameplay loop in which players forage for new plants and materials; each time they visit the forest, the layout has changed, much like a traditional roguelike dungeon.
In addition, Grimoire Groves’ team added farming sim elements, a cooking mini-game, and deeper storylines for NPCs, including the ability to build houses for some of them. Iseli explained that these changes came as a result of interacting with the game’s fan community via Discord and Kickstarter. “We figured out that people who are interested in our games also really like farming games. We felt like adding some farming game elements to the game would work out pretty well with our concept, but also with the people that want to play our game.” Ultimately, these elements “help[ed] a lot with bringing familiarity to the game,” pairing well with everything the team had to design from scratch to make an experience that feels both familiar and new to its players.
Casual
Roguelike
Action
RPG
Adventure
- Released
-
March 6, 2025
- Developer(s)
-
Stardust GmbH
- Publisher(s)
-
Wings, Stardust GmbH
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