Rogue-like games are video games in which you're meant to lose often, and when you do, all (or most) of your progress is lost instantly. There's usually also an element of randomization so you can't use all of your prior knowledge nor can you directly follow a guide, so it's never as easy to progress as "last time I could have benefited from having a ranged attack option, so I'll get one this time" and building a strategy is harder because "last time the blue potion made me reduce my max hp, but next time it could very well give me enhanced criticals instead". The pros and cons of this kind of game are many, but they generally boil down to whether you perceive instant loss (and fairly rapid replacement) of everything you've accomplished in a video game to be a good philosophy or a bad one, since at the very most the only progress saved will be something achievement-like or a simple unlock of a new upgrade to maybe be randomly scattered in a future attempt. It always feels like an exciting new game, but it also never feels like a familiar old game (at least not as quickly). How do you feel about rogue-likes, or that gaming philosophy in general? I've played three rogue-like games, and have had good experiences with all of them. There's Binding of Isaac, which is like old-school Zelda games' dungeons; 20XX, which is like Mega Man X4-X6; and Pathos, which is a smartphone-optimized variant of Nethack (maybe the oldest modern video game), and lately I'm playing that one almost daily. And all of these had their rogue-like elements make the game even more fun for me! Zelda dungeons get redundant and linear, I've memorized most Mega Man X levels, and I'm always cautious when using an item in Pathos because I never know if an armor cursed or blessed not and it's always a surprise if a potion is actually a poison.
Man oh man. I personally love rogue like games. They're a ton of fun, and have almost infinite replay potential (pretty sure there is already a word for that, but I don't know it). A few of my personal favorites are: The binding of Isaac, Rogue Legacy and Welcome to the gungeon (pretty sure there's more, but I can't name them from the top of my head).
This is a genre I have limited but positive experiences with, because I am very big on grinding for progression. One of my absolute favourites is Zettai Hero Project: Absolute Victory Unlosing Ranger vs. Darkdeath Evilman (yes, that really is the title) which was basically a love letter to Tokatsu/Power Rangers shows with a solid localisation and obscenely addictive gameplay where the constant death is actually worked into the plot and is basically required in order to progress: it takes the biggest potential negative about the genre and turns it into a positive, rewarding experience. There was also the spiritual sequel The Guided Fate Paradox on PS3 (begging for that to come to Switch in the future...) which I adored, although this was more for its gameplay than its premise - it was absolutely brutal and yet very rewarding. Also, the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon games, which in my opinion are better than the core franchise. No Pokémon title has topped Blue Rescue Team for me yet (the Explorers games would have if they'd had Friend Areas, though) and this is a series I desperately wish to see a continuation of, because the gameplay works SO WELL with Pokémon. Aesthetically it's fantastic, and there is actually far more strategy to these games, as item use is limited. Sure, the story experience is easy, but those optional dungeons...well. But it's a formula that seems to work naturally with NIS' titles I think, which at their best focus on very grindy gameplay (see: Disgaea, a.k.a. the pinnacle of SRPGs) that typically gets quite punishing if you don't get on top of it fast, but reward you immensely for that grind. The issue I have with a lot of the hybrid rogue-likes is that they are generally punishing for punishment's sake, which has very limited appeal and application: once you learn an enemy's attack patterns, or where the best items/weapons are, the game becomes boringly easy. Games like Darkest Dungeon and Rogue Legacy have very specific exploits you can utilise to utterly eliminate the challenge, and that doesn't really sit very well with me. It feels more like a shortcut, whereas grinding to strengthen your character is more of a natural process to me.
The only rogue-like that I've ever played was Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team, which was fun but also gets kind of annoying and boring easily. I just don't really have much interest in the genre.
