One game that I’ve been keeping tabs on as it nears release on PC is Townsfolk, an adorable-looking roguelite city builder with a harsh survival twist that arrived on Android and iOS devices last year.
Developed by Short Circuit Studios for PC (Win), there’s a newly released demo out now on Steam that shows off what Townsfolk is all about: growing your community, managing an economy, and trying to keep disaster at bay.
Given that the game has already appeared on other platforms, you won’t be surprised to hear that the demo is actually really polished, with an engaging tutorial already in place to teach you the ropes and get you over those early game hurdles.
As for me, I’m here for the lovely pixelated visuals, which I think work really nicely with the hex-style game board that you play on. In fact, the overall aesthetic looks sweet and completely belies the challenging nature of the game.
Finally, publisher Snapbreak sent over the following trailer for the Townsfolk demo, which I’ve added below for your viewing pleasure.
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In an effort to tempt you into clicking deeper into our web of rogues, moving forward, we’re going to try something a little different, and after the upcoming advert for NordVPN, you’ll find a new feature: Rogueliker’s Hall of Fame. But first, here are a load of mega awesome roguelikes and roguelites, almost 40 of them, in fact.
Still with us? Ok, the Hall of Fame below highlights arguably the best game from each sub-category in the article linked directly above; however, each of these standout games is reinforced with another article about even more titles, whether they be turn-based roguelikes or first-person shooters.
Finally, if you’d prefer everything split into individual platforms, we’ve got you covered, too, although be warned, those lists don’t go into as much detail:
First, let’s establish the parameters for inclusion. We can answer the question of “what is a roguelike?” by telling you about the game that started this whole party. Rogue is a turn-based RPG with procedurally-generated content and permadeath. The genre has exploded in a hundred different directions since then, but all of the games on this list retain one or two core features that first appeared in Rogue back in 1980.
The best turn-based roguelikes: Caves of Qud | There are some seriously incredible turn-based roguelikes out there. Of all the modern games, these are the closest to the original Rogue.
Awesome first-person rogues: Gunfire Reborn | We almost went with Blue Prince for this spot, but most people checking out first-person rogues probably want to wield a gun, you know?!
Cool roguelike deckbuilders: Balatro | Sorry, Slay the Spire fans, but this poker-solitaire deckbuilder has stolen Mike’s heart and won’t give it back.
Exciting roguelike platformers: Spelunky | Now, don’t get us wrong, Dead Cells is an incredible game, especially with all the DLC switched on. But when it comes to impact, you just can’t beat Spelunky.
Amazing action-roguelites: Hades 2 | And finally, let’s wrap things up with our favourite of them all, There’s no beating the original Hades, although Hades 2 comes pretty close!
