Key Takeaways
- Most roguelikes offer unlockable weapons, but some add characters for a new gameplay experience.
- Having multiple characters in roguelikes breaks the monotony and keeps players engaged with new playstyles.
- Games like BlazBlue Entropy Effect, Children Of Morta, and Rogue Legacy 2 offer a variety of characters to unlock and play.
Most roguelikes will give players one character from start to finish. For example, Hades is one of the most popular. It doesn’t have unlockable characters but it does have unlockable weapons which is one thing to help keep players engaged. Hades 2 is in early access right now, so conceivably the developers could add a new character or two to that. Getting new characters goes a step beyond a weapon-unlocking mechanic in a roguelike.
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It can change gameplay significantly thus giving players a new way to feel about a game. It’s a smart move seeing as roguelikes work on repetition and nothing breaks monotony more than a new character. So, let’s take a look at some good roguelikes with multiple characters.
6 BlazBlue Entropy Effect
A Fighting Game Legend Goes Rogue
BlazBlue Entropy Effect
Action
Roguelike
Systems
- Top Critic Rating:84/100 Critics Recommend:100%
- Platform(s)
- Android , iOS , PC
- Released
- February 14, 2024
- Developer(s)
- 91Act
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
BlazBlue Entropy Effect is a newer roguelike that console players may not know exists. It was released on Steam in February 2024, and it’s a roguelike spinoff of the BlazBlue fighting game franchise. At the start, players can pick one of the many playable characters within.
It helps to know something about the BlazBlue franchise since these characters will behave similarly in the roguelike. For example, if players want a slow but strong character, they should go with Ragna the Bloodedge. If they want to attack enemies from a distance then Noel Vermillion is a good choice as she uses guns. Players can earn currency to unlock the rest of the characters after the start as well.
5 Children Of Morta
Standing By Your Family Through A Cursed Plague
Children of Morta
Systems
- Top Critic Rating:83/100 Critics Recommend:91%
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch , PC , PlayStation 4 , Xbox One
- Released
- September 3, 2019
- Developer(s)
- Dead Mage
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
This game centers on one family, The Bergsons, and most playable characters in Children of Morta stem from this lineage. The game will begin with the patriarch of the family, John, who uses a traditional RPG weapon set of a sword and a shield. John discovers an evil beneath their home is resurfacing and the family must band together to stop the spread. Other characters will unlock as the story progresses and they all level up individually from stat increases to learning new skills.
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Another character, for example, is Mark who is described as a monk. He can pummel enemies with his fists and he’s one of the stronger playable characters. There are quite a few family members to unlock and the nice bonus is that the game supports two-player co-op.
4 Endless Dungeon
A Dungeon Crawler With A Tower Defense Appeal
Endless Dungeon
Systems
- Top Critic Rating:78/100 Critics Recommend:75%
- Platform(s)
- PC , PS5 , PS4 , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S , Xbox One
- Released
- October 19, 2023
- Developer(s)
- Amplitude Studios
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
Endless Dungeon is a spinoff of another game, Dungeon of the Endless. Players are part of a team on a space station that is infected by various aliens. Players can form a party of three alone or they can get a three-player co-op session going. Either way, there are a variety of characters that unlock through progression in Endless Dungeon and they fall under gun classes.
For example, Sweeper is a Hand Gun type and his weapon is sort of like a submachine gun. Bunker is also a Hand Gun type but his weapon is more like a shotgun. So, there are tweaks on individual classes to make them different from other skills. The goal in each run is to defend a robot while they explore and eliminate alien threats. Players can set up turrets and other traps like in a tower defense game.
3 Rogue Legacy 2
The Apple Does Not Fall Far From The Tree
Rogue Legacy 2
Systems
- Top Critic Rating:89/100 Critics Recommend:100%
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch , PC , PlayStation 4 , PlayStation 5 , Xbox One , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S
- Released
- April 28, 2022
- Developer(s)
- Cellar Door Games
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Rogue Legacy 2 technically has unlockable characters in that it has a class system. Like Children of Morta, the story revolves around one family’s curse to destroy an evil castle no matter how many generations it takes. So when players die, they will be resurrected as a new character who falls under a different class.
The class system does contain unlockables, making it count even more, as players expand their castle to fight back against the evil one. For example, Barbarians typically have swords or axes and can use shouting abilities similar to the Dragonborn in The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim. Another class is the Pirate who can shoot cannons and can even summon a little pirate airship to attack enemies with. It’s one of the more inventive class/character systems in a roguelike.
2 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate
Cowabunga Dude!
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate
Systems
- Top Critic Rating:74/100 Critics Recommend:51%
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch , PC , iOS
- Released
- July 17, 2024
- Developer
- Super Evil Megacorp
- OpenCritic Rating
- Fair
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate technically doesn’t have unlockable characters past the tutorial. After players wrap up a run with Leonardo, they are free to choose any of the other four Turtles in the game. Each character uses their signature weapon from the series and they all have strengths and weaknesses.
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Raphael, for example, has a short range with his Sai weapons but he strikes hard. Donatello is not that strong but his Bo Staff has a good range. The Turtles level up as a team when players use the in-game upgrade systems from new skills to stat boosts. So, while it may not be as exciting as unlocking a new character every couple of hours, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate does provide players with multiple heroes to check out freely which may in fact be a better system.
1 Wild Bastards
A Space Western For The Ages
Wild Bastards
Systems
- Platform(s)
- PC , PS5 , Switch , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S
- Released
- September 12, 2024
- Developer(s)
- Blue Manchu
Wild Bastards is a newer spiritual sequel to Void Bastards, another roguelike, which was released in 2019. That game focused on prisoners trying to escape their chained fate by exploring wrecked ships. Wild Bastards is also about outlaws, but they are not chained by any prison sentence. Players get to freely roam the galaxy in their ship, going from system to system in search of loot.
Players will begin as Spider Rosa and Casino. Spider Rosa uses twin revolvers and Casino has a shotgun. From there, new characters join the crew sporadically like Smoky who blasts enemies with finger guns he shoots fire from. There’s a tactical aspect to gameplay as well, as players can move around a map and wait on turns before going into 3D arenas for first-person combat.
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