GROGPOD Roguelike Podcast

Chip chap chipchipchap! For our listener-requested episode this week, we are dungeon diving through Barony: the voxelized roguelike with split-screen co-op! Listen to our encounters with horrible gnomes, armies of human villagers, and Pac-Man ghost scouts. There’s a lot to unpack from a game with just one axis of movement, be it spellcrafting, hunger management, commanding your army of the Zap Brigade against the minotaur, and navigating halls of rolling boulders. Lucky for you there’s a robust tutorial system…if you survive! Drop in and listen or we’ll drop you into The Underworld! Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Music 1:09 - game stats 3:00 - one sentence description 6:50 - our story begins 1:07:48 - rankings and final thoughts 1:15:18 - similar games 1:16:36 - listener email from the Wildermyth developers! Next episode: Lonestar Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Billy Cobham - Red Baron Outro music: Barony - Merchant’s Theme

Helios has been abandoned! This week we’re playing the multiple BAFTA Award-winning Triple-A roguelite shooter Returnal. We continue bullet hell/heck month with swarms of huge colorful orbs, energy swords, and as many tentacled Matrix-inspired laser squids as you can shake your noodly appendages at! Join us in our foray into the first actual big-budget rogue-game of the pod with a game that had been locked behind Playstation 5 exclusivity like a gigantic interlocking metal door. We were able to just barely eek through the podcaster-sized hole in the bottom, but can we beat the boss that is…uh…well the first boss even??? Aim assist to maximum! Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Music 2:10 - game stats 4:53 - one sentence description 5:30 - all devs go to heaven warning (sort of) 16:22 - our story begins 55:00 - story spoilers discussion 1:04:05 - rankings and final thoughts 1:14:30 - similar games Next episode: Barony Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: McCoy Tyner - Search For Peace Outro music: Bobby Krlic - Hyperion

Ghostly squeal! This week we’re descending the floors of an ancient facility filled with ghosts, mages, machines, talking cats, and bullets! So, so many bullets. What else would you expect from the bullet hell game that is Star of Providence? A charming, NES-inspired modern throwback, Star of Providence puts us to the test with harrowing boss fights, secret endings, and more guns than you can shake a sword that shoots bullets at! Team D-13 were kind enough to give a quick Q&A on how Star of Providence came about for us. Give it a look-see here! Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 1:52 - game stats 2:52 - one sentence description 19:20 - our story begins 1:07:47 - rankings and final thoughts 1:17:24 - similar games 1:20:25 - upgrade terminal podcast shoutout Next episode: Returnal Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Time-Lapse City - GoGo Penguin Outro music: Tonal Dissonance - garoslaw

We did it listeners, we saved the city! This week we revisit Subset Games with their hit mecha-tactics bug-squisher puzzle-roguelike: Into the Breach. Time travel shenanigans are at a maximum this time, as we push our recording date back a couple days to get everyone in here. Woody joins us once more to talk about balancing the destruction of apartment buildings with making sure the train gets to its destination on time. Jump mechs, swap mechs, science vesseles, weapons to surpass Metal Gear, bugs that think!?!? Into the Breach is a timeless gem of intense noodle-scratching thought, so drop in from the sky and help us save the corporate islands! Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 1:39 - game stats 3:00 - one sentence description 14:21 - our story begins 1:15:49 - rankings and final thoughts 1:28:50 - similar games Next episode: Star of Providence Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Stanley Turrentine - June Bug Outro music: Ben Prunty - Into the Breach

This week we’re drawing a straight with the recent smash hit poker-puzzle deckbuilder Balatro! Join our four-of-a-kind hosts to talk about who will have the last laugh between random card draws and overtly complicated computer simulations. But no adventure is complete without joker hats and joker feet! Many jokes and many quips have passed behind our funny lips. By poking fun and making merry, our podcasts won’t be half as scary. So don’t be timid, don’t be nervous - Joker’s here, at your service! Aheuhheuuehehhah! Find a link to Will’s optimal hand play simulator here. Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 1:18 - game stats 3:25 - one sentence description 13:20 - our story begins 1:17:15 - rankings and final thoughts Next episode: Into the Breach Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Lee Morgan - The Joker Outro music: LouisF - Balatro OST

Lousy Smarch weather! Come in from the cold and warm up with an episode on the recent hit citybuilder roguelite Against the Storm. We’ve got biscuits and pie, jerky, and a nice dry roof to keep your resolve high. There’s lots to talk about between lizard happiness, a Queen that no one has confirmed exists or not, and everyone’s favorite topic: supply chain logistics! Man it’s wet out there. Check me through will you? Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 1:19 - game stats 3:30 - one sentence description 6:20 - » all devs go to heaven warning « 9:30 - our story begins 1:06:00 - rankings and final thoughts 1:16:48 - similar games Next episode: Balatro Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Chad Lawson Trio - If I Only Had A Brain Outro music: Mikołaj Kurpios - Forest Lights

Happy TOMEntines day! This week we choo-choo choose to revisit the traditional roguelike-sphere with an oldie but a biggie. Tales of Maj’Eyal holds a special place in the hearts of old guards of tradrogues, continuing a legacy from an Angband spinoff in 1998. There’s a lot of love stemming from a vibrant community around TOME, if you can look past the ugly duckling presentation. It’s time to use our Chronomancy to turn back the clock, fight back the Spellblaze Scar, and try to charm the master of Dredfell Tower to watch some sappy romcoms with us. Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 1:57 - game stats 4:31 - one sentence description 18:58 - our story begins 1:18:21 - rankings and final thoughts 1:26:38 - similar games Next episode: Against the Storm Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Thomas Marriott - The Tale of Debauchery Outro music: Celestial Aeon Project - Virtue Lost

Reap and tear! This week we’re DOOMing it up with the BOOMer shooter rogue Nightmare Reaper. We all go a little mad sometimes, but what better way to relieve that stress with some out-of-left-field minigames? Keep an eye out for the trumpet skeleton, platforming puzzles, and bolwing ball-launching shotguns. Oh and did I mention there was a chainsaw grappling hook? One more time for the folks in the back: chainsaw. grappling. hook! Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 1:17 - game stats 2:34 - one sentence description 10:25 - our story begins 1:21:29 - rankings and final thoughts 1:27:50 - similar games Next episode: Tales of Maj’Eyal Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Charles Mingus - Orange Was the Color of Her Dress, Then Silk Blues Outro music: Andrew Hulshult - Lucid Mayhem

Gather round children, it’s story time! This week we’re talking about the pop-up storybook RPG Wildermyth! We’re fighting gorgons with poison blood, turning into wolf people, and replacing arms with pirate hooks. You know, the normal things you always read about in kids books. It’s time to customize your coworkers, pick your pet, and save the lands from mechanical clockwork monsters! Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 1:29 - game stats 2:23 - one sentence description 53:58 - rankings and final thoughts 1:01:10 - similar games Next episode: Nightmare Reaper Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Wayne Shorter - Wild Flower Outro music: Wildermyth Overworld

Happy New Pod! Or new game! Or new game+! For our second season kickoff we bring an army of orcs and goblins marching on your doom in Rogue Tower. What other podcast can you find deep dives on tower defense strategy in the form of thrilling spreadsheet functions and macros? The Excel fincancial modelling world cup may have just ended, but this game sure EXCELs at metal tunes, one-more-turn-itis, and laser-blasting pyramids. Does Will hold a world record for this game? Send in your armies of Boron-encased glass panes and find out for yourself! Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 1:47 - game stats 3:13 - one sentence description 30:47 - deep lore 50:12 - rankings and final thoughts A link to Will’s crazy spreadsheet optimization tool can be found here And because I totally spaced on the similar games segment, if you’re a fan of Rogue Tower you should also check out: The Last Spell Dungeon of the Endless Tower Tactics: Liberation Bardbarian Bloons TD6 Roguelike mod Next episode: Wildermyth Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: George Shearing - I Didn’t Know What Time It Was Outro music: Andrew R. Mason - Orcs Attack!

It’s the holiday season (backup singers: the holiday season) and the GROGPOD is coming ‘round for a special winter break episode! We’ve been asked by listeners for a while to do a developer interview so who better to bring on the program than amazing solo dev Huw Milward of previous episode Warsim: The Realm of Aslona! We kick off the first hour of the program with Huw, Will, and I chatting by the fireplace with our ‘nog (grog?) in hand about topics like inspiration, marketing strategy, and of course ChatGPT. Join us after the interview for some listener letters too! Find Warsim on Steam here Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 2:20 - Interview with Huw Millward, solo dev of Warsim: The Realm of Aslona 6:25 - Warsim dev history and future 10:45 - How to stay inspired and creative? 13:00 - How to build an indie game community? 16:39 - Windows CMD design and spaghetti code 18:18 - Kitfox remasters of Dwarf Fortress and Caves of Qud 21:00 - Ascii art aesthetics, SanctuaryRPG, WORD GAME 26:39 - Randomness vs proc gen 34:24 - Gamedev feature strategy 37:48 - Steam reviews and marketing strategy 49:13 - ChatGPT 55:40 - Gamedev persistence and community engagement 58:30 - Favorite games and gamedev pen pals 1:05:43 - Emails: How long to evaluate a roguelike game? 1:18:31 - Emails: Mystery Dungeon games Next episode: Season 2 starts with Rogue Tower! Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Huw Warren - Porto Alegre Outro music: Warsim 8bit main theme

The end of season 1 of the podcast is here and to celebrate we are pitting our top games in a playoff tournament fight to the death! If you’re new to the podcast or the genre this is a great place to start. With a wide range of categories from platformer rogues, to solo dev efforts, to squad management simulators, there’s something for everyone today. Thanks to all the listeners that voted as well! Our finalists include: The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth Cogmind Dead Cells Enter the Gungeon FTL: Faster Than Light Hand of Fate 2 Invisible Inc The Last Spell Luck Be A Landlord Monster Train Rimworld Streets of Rogue Who will take the ultimate prize of the GROGPOD Omegabowl??? ! The full tournament bracket with spoiled results can be found here Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 2:00 - Tournament plan, categories, and games 7:21 - Wildcard 1: Cogmind vs Luck Be A Landlord 21:10 - Wildcard 2: Streets of Rogue vs Invisible, Inc. 28:04 - Wildcard 3: Rimworld vs Hand of Fate 2 37:28 - Wildcard 4: The Last Spell vs Enter the Gungeon 45:36 - Division 1: FTL: Faster Than Light vs ??? 51:34 - Division 2: Binding of Isaac: Rebirth vs ??? 58:19 - Division 3: Dead Cells vs ??? 1:06:45 - Division 4: Monster Train vs ??? 1:14:50 - Semi-finals 1 1:21:54 - Semi-finals 2 1:27:58 - Grand finals 1:40:18 - Show wind down Next episode: Holiday special! Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Heavy Action - Johnny Pearson Outro music: Lost Sun (battle) - Squishyboi

That gooey flopping sound isn’t your GROGsgiving dinner quite yet, it’s the sound of you being reanimated for another run of the 2018 hit action platformer Dead Cells! Join the crew and returning guest Woody as we slice, dice, parry, and pray for mercy against monstrous bosses and darkening sephulcurs. Feel the guitar-strumming beat of a French co-op gamedev’s masterpiece and strap in for some fast kickin’, low biome times, and meta-progression? You bet! We round out this season of the podcast with a great one, but we’ve covered a lot of great games this year. Our next episode will feature a playoff tournament of our top rated games to see who takes the ultimate crown this year. Place your votes here and use your democratic power to help us crown a champion. Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 4:27 - Game stats 13:48 - One sentence description 16:55 - Our story begins 1:08:29 - Rankings and final thoughts 1:17:50 - Similar games 1:21:48 - Roguelike playoffs preview! Next episode: GROGPOD Roguelike Playoffs - the Omegabowl! Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Coleman Hawkins & Ben Webster - Prisoner of Love Outro music: Valmont - ClockTower

Who’s a good baby amphibian? Is it you? Is it you? It is AK-Xolotl: the AK-47 wielding, you guessed it, axolotl baby raising simulator! Are reptiles different than amphibians? Is it worth sacrificing your children for permenant meta-progression unlocks? These are the kinds of questions all new parents need to answer at some point in their quest to take down Cthulhu-like monstrosities and heavy metal kittens. What other podcast will go into depth on axolotl biology while also talking about the intracacies of the Sten 9×19mm? Who’s a good submachine gun? Is it you? Is it you? Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 1:14 - Game stats 3:04 - One sentence description 9:57 - Our story begins 55:28 - Rankings and final thoughts 1:01:30 - Similar games Next episode: Dead Cells Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Charles Mingus - II B.S.* Outro music: AK-xolotl - Hell’O Kitty

Have you ever thought to yourself ‘Is it possible to import my friends into this game and harvest their skin for the leather of my chairs?’ Then you’ve tuned to the right episode! In an accidentally relevant-to-spooky-season selection, we turn to Rimworld! But wait, that’s not a roguelike, you’ll inevitably shout at your podcast feed. We decided to pull some editorial leeway this time with the defense of ‘well if Dwarf Fortress did it…’ Join our starving colonists as they try to figure out how to grow potatoes and fight off insectoid invasions and mind pulse machines as they dig too deep and unleash the terrors of internet connectivity issues. Thanks again for the gracious hosts of this year’s Roguelike Celebration, in which Scott was able to present his talk ‘The Data Science of Roguelikes’. You can find it on youtube here! Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 1:47 - Welcome new listeners from the 2023 Roguelike Celebration! 3:20 - Game stats 5:09 - One sentence description 13:07 - Our story begins 1:05:30 - Rankings and final thoughts 1:18:27 - Similar games Next episode: AK-xolotl Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Kenny Burrell - Out of This World Outro music: Alistair Lindsay - Alpaca

Happy GROGSversary! As we celebrate one whole year of doing this program, we combine our forces to attempt our own answer at the unsolvable question of “what is a roguelike?” In possibly our longest episode to date, we dive into the pre-history of rogue-games, the infamous Berlin Interpretation, and just how “rogue-lite” games fit into all this. We talk about jazz subgenres, whether or not Minecraft is a roguelike game, Solitaire (yes that one), hierarchies of game design needs, and who could forget Elf Metal! Of course, no one can be told what a roguelike is, you have to experience them for yourself. Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 2:56 - Today’s fight club topic: What is a roguelike game? 4:07 - Our story begins / why do we care? 13:30 - One-sentence summaries of roguelike genre definitions 15:30 - What is the original 1980 Rogue, the first games like Rogue, the Berlin Interpretation 30:00 - What are rogue-lites? 2008’s Spelunky, Binding of Isaac, and Rogue Legacy 49:32 - Are “-lite” games less hardcore? Does metaprogression matter? 56:42 - How roguelike is this game? (Minecraft, Diablo, X-Com, Into the Breach, Deep Rock Galactic, Don’t Starve, Inscryption, Gloomhaven) 1:08:30 - Data-driven roguey-ness and Steam tags 1:16:28 - Can board games be roguelikes? 1:20:55 - Do music genres suffer the same problem that the rogue-community has? 1:27:00 - Summary and final thoughts As promised, below you can find some of our notes referenced in this chonker of a recording: Our collected list of roguelike definitions over the years Scott’s 16 pages of show notes Will’s hierarchy of game needs Colin’s google sheet of undebateably roguey-ness scores Check out Scott’s tangentially related talk on The Data Science of Roguelikes here! See how the genre has evolved over time with our definitions timeline here. Next episode: Rimworld Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Bill Evans - Nardis Outro music: Tarn Adams - Dwarf Fortress mode theme

It’s finally here, our episode on one of the major traditional roguelike cornerstones: Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead. Humanity’s greatest desire is to drive crudely built, ascii-tiled cars in open source videogame projects. That and escape from zombies, of course. Tune in as we spend half an hour trying to open up menu systems and try to see just how big this fantastical world of “New England” really is. There’s only so much time to listen to this episode before XE037 finds you and adds you to the blobular collective! As noted, we’ve done a few developer interviews for CDDA which you can find here. Thanks to the devs for taking the time to answer some of our questions! Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 1:30 - game stats 5:12 - one sentence description 6:37 - »»CDDA fans trigger warning alert«« 14:36 - our story begins 1:03:02 - rankings and final thoughts 1:17:52 - similar games Next episode: A GROGPOD fight club special episode to celebrate our 1 year anniversary of the podcast! We’ll be tackling the topic of “What Is A Roguelike?” There will be blood! Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Hal Leonard Jazz Ensemble - Ain’t No Sunshine Outro music: CDDA Chesthole Soundpack - Ambient Track 1

One way or another, we were going to play this hit indie JRPG roguelike! Its One Way Heroics week for this dimension, as we take a keen eye at some anime pixel mobs and try not to wall ourselves in with a creeping black wall of doom. We must move forwards, not backwards! Upwards not forwards! And always twirling, twirling, twirling towards the 2000 KM goal to save the kingdom from the dark dragon of doom. Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 3:13 - game stats 6:23 - one sentence description 8:17 - let’s talk JRPGs 16:54 - our story begins 58:00 - rankings and final thoughts 1:04:04 - similar games Next episode: Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Thelonious Monk - Straight No Chaser Outro music: Beginning Theme 1 - Saia Hyouseki, Boss Dead Theme 2 - Jinfa Dragon Symphony

Ymg’ ah ain’ghft eldritch n’ghftdrn ai! This week the podcast dials back the clock to one of the earliest roguelike games released on Steam: Eldritch! You remember Minecraft, right? Ever thought to yourself: “What if it had a bunch of tentacle monsters and guns?” Well have we got the game for you! Tune in as we confusingly bumble our way around a library looking for a good book to escape into, literally. All the while trying to frantically run away from gloopy, wet fish-men looking to mess you up in traditional H.P. Lovecraft fashion. Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 2:25 - game stats 4:18 - one sentence description 10:10 - our story begins 47:23 - rankings and final thoughts 54:57 - similar games Next episode: One Way Heroics Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Eric Verlinde - Are You Free Outro music: Eldritch OST - Mountains of Madness

Hold onto your Brotatoes! You demanded, we listened: listener request week is over and from the ashes of our submissions arose the bullet heaven Brotato and the tower defense zombie horde killhouse The Last Spell. We are also joined by a new full-time member of the podcast: previous guest Andrew Harshman! With so much content to cover, will we be able to channel our summoner energies together before the hour is up? Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 1:42 - The GROGPOD Grows! 4:09 - Brotato game stats 5:46 - One sentence description 23:22 - The Last Spell game stats 25:00 - One sentence description 27:00 - Our story begins 1:11:30 - Rankings and final thoughts Next episode: Eldritch Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Jean Luc Ponty - Mirage Outro music: The Algorithm - Oath