I'm really bad at Rogue-likes (Rogue-lites? Rogue-like, likes?), but I am addicted to them. Earlier this morning, after putting over 40 hours into Unexplored, I finally made it out of the dungeon with the Amulet of Yendor. It was super satisfying. This game has the best level generator I have ever encountered. While playing I died hundreds of time. That sounds frustrating, but it never was. Every death was fair. Every time I was killed I knew exactly went wrong. In fact if you explore properly you'll always have a decent idea of what's coming next, allowing you to strategize before each battle. Strategy only goes so far though. You still have to win the fight. Hotkeys help a lot.The combat itself feels great. It took me awhile to get used to the way you swing your weapon, and how to properly use other equipment. Oh and I blew myself up while trying to brew potions without finding a recipe or testing out an unidentified staff more times than I can count. But it's all fair. I know the Cyclic Level Generator® or whatever it's called has been hyped quite a bit and for good reason. I remember reading an interview where the creator said he got the idea for it by watching his kids play in a friend or relatives house. Apparently their house had a layout where you could run around the ground floor in a circle. He saw how much more fun they had playing there than at his own home which lacked a circular layout. That's pretty brilliant. I grew up in a house like that, and I have a niece and nephew that are taking advantage of it now, so I understand how intuitive it is. And it's not just the layouts that are cyclic. The puzzles and clues follow a similar route. It's pretty amazing. My favorite game so far this year.

I'm really bad at Rogue-likes (Rogue-lites? Rogue-like, likes?), but I am addicted to them. Earlier this morning, after putting over 40 hours into Unexplored, I finally made it out of the dungeon with the Amulet of Yendor. It was super satisfying. This game has the best level generator I have ever encountered. While playing I died hundreds of time. That sounds frustrating, but it never was. Every death was fair. Every time I was killed I knew exactly went wrong. In fact if you explore properly you'll always have a decent idea of what's coming next, allowing you to strategize before each battle. Strategy only goes so far though. You still have to win the fight. Hotkeys help a lot.The combat itself feels great. It took me awhile to get used to the way you swing your weapon, and how to properly use other equipment. Oh and I blew myself up while trying to brew potions without finding a recipe or testing out an unidentified staff more times than I can count. But it's all fair. I know the Cyclic Level Generator® or whatever it's called has been hyped quite a bit and for good reason. I remember reading an interview where the creator said he got the idea for it by watching his kids play in a friend or relatives house. Apparently their house had a layout where you could run around the ground floor in a circle. He saw how much more fun they had playing there than at his own home which lacked a circular layout. That's pretty brilliant. I grew up in a house like that, and I have a niece and nephew that are taking advantage of it now, so I understand how intuitive it is. And it's not just the layouts that are cyclic. The puzzles and clues follow a similar route. It's pretty amazing. My favorite game so far this year.