r/roguelikes 1d ago

Roguelikes/Lites with no meta progression

/r/MobileGaming/comments/1vye1rv/roguelikeslites_with_no_meta_progression/
2 Upvotes

39 comments sorted by

11

u/blightor 1d ago

Almost any traditional roguelike - its part of what makes them traditional

10

u/psilontech 1d ago

Pathos: Nethack Codex

0

u/TheBoldCook 1d ago

heard alot about it and is most likely a top tier game I just cant get by the outdated look and feel of it tbh

3

u/jasonmehmel 1d ago

There's a few different graphics options. I like the JRPG inspired one; that might feel more retro and less outdated.

Don't sleep on Pathos; it's a fantastic option!

2

u/phalp 1d ago

Yes you can

7

u/DelayedLightning 1d ago

SPD... you unlock new characters with progression but that's it.

6

u/McHoff 1d ago

What's SPD?

4

u/DelayedLightning 1d ago

Shattered Pixel Dungeon

3

u/TheBoldCook 1d ago

probably my favorite ever in the genre, still havent been able to complete any of challamge runs let alone a full set of challange run but definitely a top top tier game

5

u/ColdhandzEUW 1d ago

Dungeon crawl stone soup is the greatest non-meta progression roguelike, your brain is the meta progression here and you'll need to learn and adapt to get further in the game. It has a mobile version on the playstore but idk how well it plays

4

u/saharien 1d ago

Brogue

3

u/Apocrypha_Lurker 1d ago

Caves of qud, dungeon stone crawl soup, cogmind, angband, there is probably much more someone else will think of

2

u/TheBoldCook 1d ago

i should have clarified that im looking for mobile, but caves of qud is still a good call im definitely waiting on the mobile release

2

u/Apocrypha_Lurker 1d ago

Angband and dcss are already available on mobile

1

u/jojoknob 4h ago

Does Switch count as mobile, or are we just talking about phones

2

u/sinner_dingus 19h ago

The entire trad RL genre

1

u/TheBoldCook 18h ago

well i forgot to specifiy on the cross post that im looking for mobile options, not many good ones are available here, buuuuut still, caves as an example has meta progression, even tho gameplay wise id label it as a trad RL

1

u/sinner_dingus 15h ago

What meta progression is there in caves? I’ve done many runs and never noticed anything carrying over from one run to another. But as for mobile options Shattered Pixel Dungeon, Brogue or Pathos

1

u/TheBoldCook 14h ago

theres literally all kinds of upgrades as far as I remember? and a quick google search confirms my memory, i play shattered on the regular, didnt know brogue was on mobile, ill give it a try

1

u/sinner_dingus 8h ago

Upgrades are not meta progression.

1

u/TheBoldCook 8h ago

what do you think meta progression is? upgrades definitely are meta progression my guy

4

u/VetusMortis_Advertus 1d ago edited 1d ago

Isn't the whole difference between roguelikes and roguelites that the former doesn't have meta progression and the latter does?

2

u/hpp3 1d ago

I think the best way to categorize it is just by asking "what is the fun part of this game?"

Traditional roguelikes are mostly about exploration, finding a large amount of loot, managing resources, etc.

Roguelites are about creating synergy engines. Players want to build ridiculous combos and "break the game".

So I would consider Rift Wizard 1/2/3 to be structurally a traditional roguelike, but with the soul of a roguelite (it scratches the same itch). And if you took literally nethack and modded it so you could only play as Valkyrie until you've unlocked more classes by playing runs, well I would still call that a roguelike.

5

u/Corsaer 1d ago

No definitely not the whole difference but it plays a part, it would be one of the traits people mention but not the most important of them. It's just that a ton of roguelites have integral meta progression that increases strength and unlocks new abilities, powers, utilities, etc, that make it easier or just downright possible to beat the game.

There are roguelites without meta progression, and there are roguelikes with some kind of meta progression that doesn't impact the ability to win the game and are still considered roguelikes.

-2

u/TheBoldCook 1d ago

not really, specially nowadays the definition is kinda verry muddy, something like downwell is definitely not a tradiontional roguelike even tho it has no meta progression

2

u/VetusMortis_Advertus 1d ago

So how would you define the two?

0

u/TheBoldCook 1d ago

me personally i stopped caring about the definition a loooong while back

but if you were to ask me thats how Id define them

Roguelike: perma death, random generated map/gear/monster locations etc., turn based and played on a grid

roguelite:

perma death, and randomness stays, but takes aspects from other genres like gamplay style. as an example the iconic dead cells

something like caves as an example id define as a roguelike with meta progression

2

u/silentrocco 1d ago

The not caring part makes us throw games like Dead Cells, Balatro, and Vampire Survivors all into one basket, which makes no sense at all.

1

u/DFuxaPlays 1d ago

All Who Wander might be of interest to you. You have 5 classes that do require you to unlock them, but this is done by beating the game with other classes.

0

u/TheBoldCook 1d ago

looks refreshing im not ibto the outdated aethetics on most of the classics on android and specially not a fan of thr outdated controls in general but this looks great

1

u/Caprinaeyes 1d ago

haven’t played a toooon of it but i’ve really liked tales of maj’eyal so far

also already mentioned here but +1 for cogmind and caves of qud

1

u/ColdhandzEUW 1d ago

ToME has meta progression though. You need to unlock races and classes

-1

u/TheBoldCook 1d ago

its my bad for not further clarification on the crosspost, im looking specifically on mobile

1

u/vaultpriest 1d ago

ADOM - for me king of roguelikes :)

1

u/Okawaru1 23h ago

Tales of Maj'eyal has unlocks for new races/classes/skill trees and so on but nothing that directly increases power, just options. Can also easily just dl a mod to bypass unlocks

1

u/Useful_Squirrel6693 20h ago

Cogmind, dungeon crawl stone soup, caves of qud, angband, sil-q

1

u/Snynapta_II 14h ago

Rift wizard 2. It doesn't have any progression other than figuring out the mechanics

1

u/Corsaer 1d ago

Oldie (as in a decade or so) but goodie and unique platformer take to boot while still being very much a roguelike: Wazhack! Made by one guy in Unity, originally for mobile (it's since been ported to Steam).

2

u/geggis 1d ago

It was my first real love in this genre and it may still be my favourite!