Roguelike and Rogue lite are two words of similar sound that are often confused. Both coined to describe games that follow a specific game pattern, but both are quite different. Video game fans have discussed a lot about these definitions, with some discomfort when you call a Rogue lite a Roguelike game. Everything can be very confusing, so here is the difference between Roguelike and Rogue lite Games.

• What is a Roguelike? Answered
• What is a rogue lite? Answered
• Do people agree on a Roguelike definition?

What is a Roguelike? Answered

Rogue is a text-based game of the year 1980 with images represented in ASCII characters. It involved levels generated by procedures and had a permanent death. In addition, it was a role-playing game with a grid system for movement and combat. Several other games would imitate this popular style, such as Hack, Net hack and, a little more recently, Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup, released in 2006, which had updates in 2022.

Image Source: Pixel Games United Kingdom

A 2008 Roguelike developer conference established a more rigorous definition known as the Berlin Interpretation. This definition is somewhat vague, since it defines a set of characteristics that have the rogue likes that measure how Roguelike is a game comparing it with a five-game canon: Adam, Ang band, Crawl, Net hack and Rogue. This definition speaks of non-modality, where the game only has one single way (way of combat, for example), and other ideal elements such as exploration, resource management and complexity.

There are other popular definitions, such as the previous definition of Rogue temple. Some definitions are much harder and require that a game has a complete list of elements, including an inventory and random combat system. However, in general, the four key elements in which the definitions are agreed are procedure levels, permanent, grid-based combat and shift playability.

What is a rogue lite? Answered

Rogue lite is a much more complete genre that includes games that have permanent death and procedure levels. It was coined when the term Roguelike was used to refer more widely to games that did not necessarily resemble Rogue. Games like FTL that have elements of Berlin’s interpretation, but were not exactly as Rogue in addition to those elements, were called Rogue likes. As a result, a new term was created.

Image Source: Supergiant Games

Rogue lite is now a very broad genre, which covers the same design of design vocabulary as the open world. Games like Hades and Slay The Spire are Regulates, but not rogue likes. Unlike the term Soulike, which is a category with more specific connotations, the regulates are very different from each other.

Do people agree on a Roguelike definition?

Getting all people in accordance with a definition is quite difficult in the real world, and in the world of video game discussions, it is almost impossible. It is especially interesting when a curved ball is thrown into the mixture, such as Dwarf Fortress, a game with ASCII graphics like Rogue, but fundamentally more a colony simulator.

Another very debated topic is whether metaprogying prevents a Roguelike game from being a true Roguelike. The new definition of a Roguelike in Rogue temple argues that having clean executions is a central aspect of what makes a Roguelike.

In general, a safe rule is that any game that only has permanent death and procedure levels is definitely a rogue lite, at least. If you do more things similar to Rogue, such as turns fighting or grid-based combat, then you will get a true Roguelike experience. That, in general, is the main difference between a rogue lite and a Roguelike. To get more information about Regulates and Rogue likes, do not hesitate to navigate the links below.

Related Posts

• 20 Best Roguelike Games