Roguelike vs Roguelite – What’s the Difference?

Way back in 1980, a video game was released that would inspire not one but two separate genres that continue nearly 40 years later. Rogue was developed by Michael Toy and Glenn Wichman and was one of the earliest examples of a dungeon-crawling computer game. Its use of procedurally generated dungeons and power ups that could be collected along the way made each playthrough different and unique, while its permadeath feature ensured that every choice the player made was critical to their success.

Since then, two genres of games have sprung up that build on the legacy that Rogue started. Both Roguelike and Roguelite games draw inspiration from the original; in fact, many gamers use the two terms interchangeably, but there are some important differences to keep in mind.

Roguelike vs Roguelite – What’s the difference?

There is a fair bit of crossover between these two genres, with the main difference being how closely they adhere to the original formula laid out in Rogue. This formula includes:

Permadeath – Once a character is killed, it is gone forever. That includes not being able to reset the game to a previous save file to bring a character back.Procedural Generation – Dungeons are created at random, making each playthrough different.Random Items – Items that are picked up as the player progresses through the game are randomly dropped, meaning that there is an element of luck involved in getting items that work for your playstyle.Turn-based Combat – The original Rogue consisted of unforgiving turn-based combat.

Fans of the genre will debate endlessly where certain games stand on the spectrum, but there isn’t a hard and fast rule on what separates the two. Roguelite merely refers to games that have fewer of the mentioned

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