Derek Yu’s Spelunky first released in 2008 and is up there with the likes of Braid as a harbinger of the indie gaming boom. Fast forward twelve years and the sequel, Spelunky 2, has once again recaptured the feeling of exploring the procedurally generated depths filled with deadly traps and unforgiving enemies.
The idea of using procedural generation existed long before Spelunky, but the game used it in a unique way. It created an experience where a player does not memorize the level layout to get better but instead adapts to enemy behavior and environmental hazards each new world provides. The following ten games also utilize procedurally generated levels to a great extent, either with the same intention as Spelunky or in a different fashion.
10 Binding Of Isaac
While maybe not a horror game, The Binding of Isaac is incredibly creepy. It plays like the dungeon portions of an old 2D Legend of Zelda game, only with the level layout changing with each run.
The Binding of Isaac’s story is also notably darker than the playful thirst for adventure in Spelunky, telling a tale of a mother attempting to end the life of her son. The Binding of Isaac is very difficult but rewarding.
9 No Man’s Sky
While absent of the roguelike elements present in Spelunky, No Man’s Sky is similarly about endlessly exploring. Instead of 2D levels, the science fiction adventure presents an unbelievably expansive world including 18 quintillion planets.
Initial impressions on the title were mixed, with criticism directed towards to lack of anything to do in the massive play space. Developer Hello Games has since dramatically improved the experience with free updates adding new content and ways to explore the cosmos.
8 Rogue Legacy
Rogue Legacy puts a small twist on the roguelike genre. Instead of starting from square one with each run, certain abilities and stats carry over.
This does not necessarily make the progression predictable, however, since the level layouts still change up with every death. Rogue Legacy 2 recently entered early access, though it remains to be seen when the full game hits the market.
7 Don’t Starve
It is always nice when a game’s title includes the main instructions. In Don’t Starve, players simply have to survive in a randomly generated world filled with resources to mine and dangers to avoid. Don’t Starve’s art style is fantastic and bestows it a unique personality.
In fact, some more clarity would have been appreciated, but Don’t Starve While Also Collecting Resources And Not Getting Eaten By Monsters does not roll off the tongue all that well.
6 Diablo Series
Blizzard’s iconic dungeon crawler manages to keep players enthralled for years due to the varying nature of the dungeons. Add in the updates and there is essentially no end to the variety of content players can explore until Blizzard feels it is time to sunset Diablo 3.
Considering Diablo 4 is on the horizon and people still play Diablo 2 on a regular basis, there is no need to think Diablo players will run out of games to play anytime soon.
5 Minecraft: Dungeons
Minecraft lets users create their own worlds. The spin-off, Minecraft: Dungeons, lets players team up to tackle procedurally generated levels. Where most dungeon crawlers are incredibly difficult, this is a lighter adventure, accessible to the whole family.
If the kids cannot quite wrap their heads around Diablo, start them off with Minecraft: Dungeons as a warm-up before moving on to the harder stuff.
4 Remnant: From The Ashes
Remnant: From The Ashes is a tried and true shooter. Everybody’s game world is different, and players can experience others’ randomly generated levels by playing cooperatively. Don’t think teaming up will make it a cakewalk, since the game adjusts the difficulty based on how many players are in the party.
Despite the influence from other games, Remnant: From The Ashes is not a roguelike or Souls-type game. In Gunfire Games’ title, checkpoints mercifully appear and players do not lose their items and equipment upon death.
3 Rogue
This title is where the term roguelike comes from. In this old computer game, players explore a dungeon with numerous monsters and obstacles. As one has come to expect, death resets everything, including the map layout.
Later additions added more advanced graphics and different settings, but the core gameplay of Rogue always remained the same. First released in 1980, it is older than the majority of people reading this right now; perhaps even older than some of their parents.
2 FTL
FTL stands for Faster Than Light, and one would not be mistaken for thinking it was referring to the speed at which most players die in this roguelike. The maps are not procedurally generated as FTL is not the kind of game where someone maneuvers through levels, but instead, all the events players encounter are completely unpredictable in each run.
A player might be close to the finish line only to be stumped by a nearly insurmountable obstacle, dooming the run. It seems cruel, but it is exactly why so many people love FTL.
1 XCOM 2
XCOM: Enemy Unknown’s levels had some elements of randomness, but playing enough made the battles more predictable. XCOM 2’s maps have significantly more variables when going into combat, making each battle a huge risk.
Due to the randomly generated battlefields, each encounter has to be tackled with the utmost care. XCOM 2 is easily one of the hardest turn-based strategy games out there, along with also being one of the best.
