An accessible roguelike is a very rare thing indeed and something which one might call an oxymoron. After all, the roguelike genre is inherently hardcore, often defined by retro-style graphics, permadeath, and procedural level generation. It’s this design philosophy that has propped up a number of recent stand-out games including Rogue Legacy, The Binding of Isaac, Hand of Fate, and Spelunky.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gk8lX_95GSM
Microgue, as its name implies, is something of a redux, taking the key traits of this niche genre and condensing them into a bitesize package perfect for playing on-the-go. Although it succeeds in compacting the roguelike formula, the game – developed by one-man indie, Jason Pickering – is in desperate need of more content, especially considering its mid-tier price point.
Microgue’s premise is incredibly easy to grasp, even for those completely new to the genre. As a lone nameless hero, you must ascend a tower comprised of ten procedurally generated levels. Each one is loaded with an unpredictable cluster of enemies and traps, conspiring to work against you in your pursuit of the riches that wait at the very top.
As in traditional roguelikes, Microgue adopts a turn-based system, albeit one that is relatively fuss free. Each of the game’s randomly created levels is split into tiles that players can move between either vertically or across. Whenever the hero makes a move, so too do enemies, most of which traverse levels using their own unique pattern. Traps, such as blocks and floor spikes will also alternate between phases with each passing turn.
For the player, your objective is always to reach a staircase found on the opposite side of the room. In order to do so you’ll need to be wary of each enemy type and the tactics they use. For instance, although it is limited to moving one square per turn, the cockatrice can instakill a hero if both end their turn on the same horizontal plane. Similarly, there are enemies that can move diagonally as well as those that explode upon death.
In many ways, Microgue almost feels like a game of chess, with each of its rooms (or boards) playing host to a handful of hostile pieces. However, after just a few minutes of play, its roguelike tendencies start to make themselves present, throwing up somewhat of a roadblock. You see, as in similar games like Spelunky and The Binding of Isaac, dying in Microgue will trigger a complete reset, taking you back to the first floor of the tower.
However, unlike some of its contemporaries, Microgue doesn’t offer the same sense of progression. In Rogue Legacy, for instance, each playthrough provides gold and other perks that can be used to increase your chances of surviving. Without such replay incentives, Microgue becomes an exercise in which players are solely trying to beat their own personal best.
Considering the scale of its development, Microgue’s lack of content is somewhat easy to overlook, especially considering the way in which games for mobile and tablet are constantly being updated. In a year’s time we may well see a later version of Microgue decked out with new tilesets, enemies, traps, and a progression system. That said, at its core, the current game is a fun and experimental twist on the roguelike genre and one I’ll no doubt keep loaded on my iPad for the occasional dungeon crawl.