Don’t have enough time to play an MMORPG? Try these Roguelikes instead

Massively multiplayer online role-playing games are some of the most popular games of all time, and although they have a lot of fun elements, they can also drain your free time. If you enjoy the feeling of progression in an MMO but have trouble continuing to the end of the game, the roguelike genre may be the perfect compromise.

Many Roguelikes contain RPG elements

If you’re after the feeling of building a character or gaining more power through repeated play, roguelikes are what you need. Games like Hades and Dead cells It allows you to build your character over time with permanent boosts and skills that can help you through each round.

Some roguelike games also offer multiple playable classes e.g Enter the gang, To encourage you to replay the game with different builds and explore unique abilities that you missed the first time. At the same time, there is usually some sort of endgame to work towards as well (similar to an MMO), such as maxing out a home base or farming equipment to beat the final boss.

For those who like the RPG aspects of combat in MMORPGs, roguelikes can scratch that itch as well. Many of them still use stat-based systems to determine different aspects of combat and have buffs, debuffs, and even random loot and enemy drops for valuable items, similar to Diablo games.

If you’re someone who likes the “dress up” aspects of MMOs or enjoys customizing your character’s appearance, you may find the roguelike genre somewhat lacking. However, there are plenty of options if you are looking for complex statistics-based customization, e.g May Caves or Disaster: Dark days ahead.

The first few hours of an MMORPG are always the most fun

If you ask me, MMORPGs are most fun in the first several hours where levels usually come quickly and new gear seems more powerful every time it appears. However, this can quickly diminish once you reach later levels and progress begins to plateau, requiring more time to make meaningful progress.

Once those first few hours are over, it’s easy to find yourself overwhelmed by the amount of content in an MMO and miss the early hours when valuable gear and levels were most plentiful. Before long, you may find yourself with multiple low-level characters and dozens of hours through each with only minimal progress to chase the fun of those first few hours.

Instead of wasting time and creating a group of characters to hunt down those first few hours, consider checking out roguelike games like Rogue legacy or The darkest dungeon. These games have constant character progression, but the gameplay loop is still starting from scratch each time, which keeps things feeling fresh.

This way, you can experience the rush of new loot and character progression over and over again without being overrun by side content and distracting mechanics.

No more stress on construction operations

One of my biggest turnoffs to MMOs in general is the idea that I might make bad choices for a particular build. Even if the game allowed me to reset points to my liking, I would always wonder if I would have more fun with a different class or moveset, prompting me to spend time and in-game currency on specs.

While you like some MMORPG games Final Fantasy XIV They allow you to quickly switch classes to try different playstyles, and the most interesting abilities are often associated with high levels. This usually means that you’ll have to play for a long time before you know for sure whether or not a particular release is something you want to stick with.

Roguelike like Danger of rain It allows you to try out multiple builds across different classes with more engaging progression, especially in procedural generation games. This means you can unlock powerful abilities fairly quickly without having to ditch a class you might not stick with, while still keeping the gameplay fresh.

Many Roguelikes have multiplayer

Playing an MMO with a friend can be fun, but it can also be claustrophobic if you’re not playing together constantly, as one player may fall behind in levels if they don’t play often. Additionally, many MMO games have content locked behind player progression, downloadable content (DLC), or other limitations that can make the multiplayer experience less smooth.

If adventuring with friends is your main reason for playing an MMO, you can try any number of cooperative multiplayer roguelikes to get the same kind of feeling. Lamb worship Offers local multiplayer and Danger of rain 2 It has online co-op, allowing you to pair up with a friend to go on adventures and progress together.

Instead of standing in line with strangers or missing out on content, go to something like The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth And get your dungeon crawl fix with anyone you love and eliminate the nasty wait times that often come when searching for a group to raid or play through specific content.

No more subscriptions or content expansions

Playing an MMO that requires a subscription or that locks content behind new expansions can feel like a trap, as you may feel obligated to play more even if you don’t enjoy it.

Some games like Destiny 2 and Diablo 4 Take a seasonal approach, where you place time limits on certain equipment and reset certain milestones at the end of each season. Others, such as world of warcraft, They require monthly subscriptions to play, which can sometimes feel more like a commitment than an experience worth the time.

This roguelike will allow you to play at any pace you want without the feeling of obligation that can come with a monthly fee or the typical live service model while offering a similar feel. Whether you want to play for a few hours a few times a month or just play the same dungeons over and over again to get the best loot, there’s no financial commitment to set your pace.

Whether you’re someone who likes casual dungeon crawls with friends or RPGs that you can play in short bursts, roguelikes are a great alternative to MMOs. Next time you find yourself bored with the same old missions in your favorite MMO And I just want to kill some monsters, try playing something like that Returning or Slay the spire Instead and scratch the same itch.

Do you find yourself short on time to play? Check out some of the best games for short sessions.