Roguelike and roguelite are interchangeably used to describe games with permadeath and procedurally generated maps, but there is a distinction.

The last several years of gaming have seen the increasing popularity of run-based games, from Slay the Spire to Hades. These games are sometimes interchangeably referred to as either "roguelikes" or "roguelites," but the two terms actually have mechanically distinct definitions.

The genre of "rogue" games derives its name from a fairly early video game, also called Rogue. The 1980 release challenged players to retrieve an amulet from the end of a dungeon, but also featured permadeath. If a character died, the player had to start the game completely over, with none of the weapons or other upgrades they managed to collect along the way. What's more, the dungeons were procedurally generated, meaning that every run was different, forcing players to explore a new map and adapt to new circumstances.

Many games over the years have borrowed elements from Rogue, resulting in the creation of the roguelike genre of games. But although roguelike has become a bit of a catch-all term, a 2008 development conference created the Berlin Interpretation and defined roguelikes as having eight specific design tenets: random map generation, permadeath, turn-based combat, grid based movement, complexity to allow multiple solutions, non-modal so that all actions can be performed at any time, resource management, and hack 'n' slash combat. In order for a game to qualify as a roguelike based on the Berlin Interpretation, a game must meet all eight criteria.

What is a Roguelite?

Because of the stringent rules laid out by the Berlin Interpretation, most popular Roguelike games are more properly referred to as roguelites. roguelite games utilize some, but not all of the design elements of Rogue as the foundation for their gameplay. Permadeath and procedurally generated maps are still crucial to a roguelites design, but many games have added new spins to the genre. A number of roguelites have introduced a mechanic of carry-over progression to eventually make runs easier and allow players to go farther. Hades, for instance, contains certain resources that don't reset on death that are used to buy permanent upgrades to the character.

Whether or not a game strictly qualifies as a roguelike or the more loosely defined roguelite, the subgenres have created a space for a wide range of games and play styles. For every action-driven roguelite like Dead Cells, there's a turn-based card battler like Monster Train. Procedurally generated maps allow for a game to create a fresh challenge every time a player starts a new run, inviting them to try their skills once more as they die, die again.

Next: Slay the Spire Board Game Kickstarter Announced for the Spring

Source: RogueBasin