Tales of Maj'Eyal

I tried the game for one hour before buying it directly frome te4.org. This game is an amazing roguelike, don't be fooled by the mediocre graphic. Behind that lies a fantastic roguelike - a total underdog. The tactical depth is unmatched by any roguelike i've encountered yet: with runes, infusions, charms, wands, special abilties from gear and a wide range of skills for every class (and race), the arsenal of skills and tactics you'll encounter in Tales of Maj Eyjal is large, yet easily accessible due to good descriptions for every skill and ability. Unlike other roguelikes, this one is a fair game. Because of the large freedom of skills and buyable abilities (runes and the like that work like spells) you have a lot of abilities to deal with difficult and dangerous situations. As in any other roguelike, you will still die a lot but you will find that these deaths are mainly because of one's own mistakes and you'll learn to master this game with every death you take. There are two unlockable races, a dozen of unlockable classes and a bunch of classes are available at start. The classes play very differently and really demand a different playstyle which makes a new start even more fun, interesting and challenging ;) I've probably sunk more than 40hours in the game now and haven't finished it with even one class yet - which shows just how much content and fun you get for a few bucks. Grab it, beat it, love it!

I cannot praise this game enough, seriously. It applies a classical roguelike format in extremely interesting ways that you never expect. I love the concept of incorportating aRPG, tactical turn-based, and rogue into a super compilation that does not feel like any other game I've played before. The act of purchasing the content will help go towards introducing newer content or what I would hope to be improving graphics, not that I have a problem with the 8bit type sprite environment. You are given multiple difficulties, incredibly inventive classes, fun races, randomly generated dungeons/enemies/gear/environment. Every play through is completely different from what it was the last time. This can work for and against you as some runs are easier, while others feel impossible. Some classes and races synergize far more than others, but that is not an indication that you couldn't play however you enjoy. My advice to those making their first attempts at this wonderful game. 1) Don't grow complacent, while many enemies feel weak the bosses will usually knock you down a peg. 2) Avoid opening anything with a "prompt" asking if you wish to do so, as these are usually traps with a chance to obtain better loot at the cost of fighting enemies likely twice your level. 3) Read guides: Not with the intention of a copy/paste build, but for a sense of direction as to where the class could fit into your personal play-style. 4) Take a break! This is important, because you are going to experience death and consequently frustration (as this is a roguelike, death is permanent). Take a breather now and then with the purpose of preparing yourself for the next adventure. 5) Learn. Take mental/physical notes of what you did wrong or why things went south. Did you not invest enough into gap-closers and CC? Maybe frontloading Strength wasn't the best idea when you need some points for Dex based unlocks as well. 6) Have fun. This is simply a game and the purpose of such is entertainment.

One of the best games on GoG, and probably the single roguelike that does the best job of maintaining the classic style while offering pretty graphics and a usable mouse-driven interface. (Keyboard works, too!) Game is written in Lua (with some C), and is open source, available at GitHub. There is also a central server which gives you some goodies if you've bought a copy, so it's not like there's no selfish reason to buy it. (Plus, it's very affordable and DarkGod did good work.) Anyway, if you have an idea for a roguelike but have little interest in making one from scratch, consider a ToME module. The base game is also very enjoyable, and DarkGod plans more official modules for the future.

This is one of those quaint games that reminds me of the old ASCII based rogue games of the 80's & 90's like Angband. Lot's of character styles to choose from (more open up as you play further into the game) and great lore. I found this originally by looking for the original Angband game, but am quite happy with this!

It hast everything a roguelike needs to have. And it its veeeery addicting. Download the demo from their page at te4.org and give it a go.... and if you like it BUY IT. I tried it for 3 hours :)