I came to this game from such old greats as Angbang (and its variants), ToME, and Nethack. If you want something that's a bit prettier but still keeps the hardcore roguelike formula alive. This is a great choice. Metaprogression exists in the form of crafting recipes that persist through runs, and through what you learn along the way. After a few runs, you'll start figuring out which enemies are going to use psionics on you and be able to identify them offscreen from their sound. You'll develop strategies to keep your equipment intact as long as possible. You'll get a sense of how to cover a level in as few movements as possible to preserve your hunger bar. It's a fantastic game if you're up for the challenge, though, for me at least, Galaxy won't update it properly. Still, my game works. Note, there is very strong RNG in this game, but there are also systems to mitigate it. If you get a bunch of items that would be VERY strong on a different character, but useless on your own, there are chests every five floors that you can deposit those items into. You can then start a new game at THAT level, and be able to access all the contents of the chest. This enables you to build up a solid storehouse of food/ammo/weapons from runs where the RNG is being a bit too cruel so that you can have a leg up on a run of your choosing. That being said, you're going to die a lot. This is a hard roguelike. Still, it's not impossible and there are people who can routinely beat it at the hardest difficulties. It's a matter of learning and strategy (and some RNG). Totally worth if you like the art style and the gameplay.
