MischiefMaker: I don't get the reflexive roguelite hate. It's just a scaffold for the rest of the gameplay.
You have action roguelites, puzzle roguelites, tactical roguelites, exploration roguelites, FPS roguelites, RPG roguelites, strategy roguelites, citybuilding roguelites, and so on. To say that Roboquest and Against the Storm are the same kind of game because they both use the roguelite format is ridiculous!
The gameplay is the meat, but you're turning it down because you don't like the kind of plate it's being served on.
from my perspective:
i like and want persistence. i like and want to explore a game at my own pace. i like and want for there to be plot.
a LOT of the time. [cf: hades, for example] - roguelites and roguelikes are just not interested in any of that stuff.
they're very much about that try, try again loop that often leads towards a design that doesn't carry very much forward [except knowledge of the systems and game]. with systems that support that kind of gameplay, it's often also difficult to build plot into the game.
i mentioned, too, that i like exploring and playing at my own pace. very often, the roguelite/roguelike formula is counter to that. you're playing at the pace the developer intends. you cannot get to being broken and overpowered UNTIL you learn what the developer intended for you to learn along the way. there's no [or often, no easy] way to build a way through the wall the game presents. it's just a wall. you just have to climb over it.
all of this does not feel remotely fun to me. you like it? that's awesome! and i hope you enjoy this game! but it leaves me cold.
now, imagine that there's a glut of this style of game [which there is.] here, we've basically arrived at our destination. i would LIKE a game like this. [specifically, i can see it tying into a thing i appreciate from a historical perspective: ancient rome and their games/the coliseum.] but unfortunately, this isn't that game, because it has that roguelike/roguelite sensibility as it's design philosophy.
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having said all that, again: i think it's a neat idea. and i hope it sells well and i hope the developers keep at it. i LOVE indie games and i want them to succeed.
edited to add: quite specifically: i want them to do well on gog, so we get more interesting indie games that are drm free.