I’ll accept metroidvania because it’s specific enough to differentiate it from “combat sidescroller” without using too many words, but when it gets too wordy that’s silly.
“Roguelike” is different in that it doesn’t describe gameplay directly but rather replayability so that also gets a bit of a pass
There was a sliver of time there when roguelites were becoming a thing but the term didn't exist yet, and people were calling them "roguelike-likes" and I think about that a lot
Roguelikelikes should have won. In 20 years when indie hipsters rediscover and reinvent the genre, we'd know exactly what to call them - roguelikelikelikes. And that rules.
I’ll accept metroidvania because it’s specific enough to differentiate it from “combat sidescroller” without using too many words, but when it gets too wordy that’s silly.
“Roguelike” is different in that it doesn’t describe gameplay directly but rather replayability so that also gets a bit of a pass
cries in traditional roguelike fan
There was a sliver of time there when roguelites were becoming a thing but the term didn't exist yet, and people were calling them "roguelike-likes" and I think about that a lot
I always liked "roguelite" to describe a game with procedural elements that deviated away from the grid based RPG stuff.
My understanding was that what distinguished roguelite from roguelike was progression across runs.
Roguelikelikes should have won. In 20 years when indie hipsters rediscover and reinvent the genre, we'd know exactly what to call them - roguelikelikelikes. And that rules.