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[baconman]

MicRogue (see Jason's Siggy) may qualify as one too, but it strikes me more as a Turn Based Strategy... at least for now... but controls don't get any simpler or more straightforward!

[JimmyJ]

I had trouble getting into Elona, but I still had fun messing around. I wouldn't call it very simple though. IIRC it's not being developed anymore, either, which stinks.

[JasonPickering]

yeah the thing in my sig is sort of a roguelike. Chess as a Roguelike is probably a more apt description.

[Waltorious]

I just want to second the recommendation of Brogue.  It's simplified in many ways but this works to its benefit.

Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup is probably the easiest to control of the "hardcore" roguelikes, so it you're looking for something of similar complexity to Nethack or Angband but without so many commands to memorize, you should give it a try.  Given the depth of the game, the controls are still more complex than most simpler roguelikes, but it's far more streamlined than Nethack or Angband.

Both of these games feature an auto-explore function, which you will probably decide you can't live without after you've tried it.

[C.A. Sinner]

not only that, stone soup is better designed than nethack and angband as well.

[Paul Jeffries]

The game that got me into roguelikes was Powder and it has relatively simple controls - there are still some hotkeys to remember but it does have a nice tutorial to help you learn them.

Dungeons of Dredmore also has a simple diablo-like control scheme that is pretty easy to pick up.

If I was the kind of man to engage in shameless self-promotion then I would also point to the link at the bottom of my sign and say that it pointed to a roguelike which is entirely mouse-contolled and therefore hopefully easy to play.  But I'm not so I won't.

[Oddball]

If I was the kind of man to engage in shameless self-promotion then I would also point to the link at the bottom of my sign and say that it pointed to a roguelike which is entirely mouse-contolled and therefore hopefully easy to play.  But I'm not so I won't.

That link doesn't work for me. Are you sure it's correct?

Anyway, as every man and his dog are plugging their RogueLite wares then I might as well plug mine. Hack, Slash, Loot has about as simple a control scheme as a roguelike can get. And there's a meaty demo to get you started.

[JWK5]

I prefer pseudo-roguelikes (that fuse RPG and roguelike) such as Shiren the Wanderer, Dragon Quest: Torneko's Great Adventure, Izuna: Legend of the Unemployed Ninja, Azure Dreams, etc.

They have the randomized dungeons loaded with the loot, monsters, etc. but also feature NPCs, towns, and storyline (and other elements such as weapon crafting, monster raising, etc.). They don't really have the same sort of "do almost anything" zaniness of some true roguelikes but they tend to be pretty well balanced and have streamlined controls, and are generally more visual.



Of the bunch I'd say Izuna: Legend of the Unemployed Ninja and Azure Dreams are probably my favorite. The dialogue in Izuna alone is worth the price of admission, it is a very slapstick-silly fun game and it has a neat equipment-enhancing system. Plus it is pretty damn challenging. Azure Dreams has a lot in common with the Harvest Moon games when it comes to interacting with the NPCs and allows you to raise a monster pet to bring with you into the dungeons.

[crowe]

Speaking of Azure Dreams, did you know there's a gameboy color port of it?



I don't even know why, but it's true. It cuts out some important things, but if you have an itching for a handheld game it might do.

[C.A. Sinner]

the front monster looks like something from sanic the hodgeheg

They have the randomized dungeons loaded with the loot, monsters, etc. but also feature NPCs, towns, and storyline

pretty sure they still count as roguelikes. ADOM has all of that shit and is one of the roguelikest roguelikes ever.

[Paul Jeffries]

@Oddball: You're quite right - have fixed it now.