As a Dad of three kids, it can be almost impossible to find time to play games outside the slim moment between them going to bed, followed soon after by myself. I get up at 4am for work every morning, so it’s usually an early bedtime for me. That being said, there simply isn’t much room in the schedule for games with super deep commitment, as most other adult gamers can surely understand. There’s certainly a few exceptions to be made, like the upcoming Resident Evil, Kingdom Hearts 4, and Elder Scrolls 6, but games like that are so few and far between.

What I’m talking about are the games that are played on a daily basis, not the special occasion games like when you’re on a stay-cation. Sometimes you need a quick hit of something in a genre that doesn’t take you 40 hours of gameplay to complete. Believe me, if I could play video games like I used to I would, but the reality just isn’t that. Most adult gamers have responsibilities that are far more important than sitting in front of the TV all day, and that’s the way it’s supposed to be! We have a saying at The Pixel Parlor: “Real life always comes first.”

What are the best games to play when you’re short on time, but want a great, satisfying experience? That, my friend, is Roguelites! Roguelites are an offshoot of Roguelikes, but have one big difference. Roguelike (the term originating from the old 1980s game Rogue) have players try to fight their way through randomized or procedurally generated scenarios but when you lose you have to start completely over. Roguelites are essentially the same thing, but instead of completely starting over when you lose, there’s usually some kind of progression that allows you to level up before your next run. This concept makes it more worthwhile in my opinion to return to the game instead of simply trying again from scratch.

I do enjoy Roguelikes, don’t get me wrong, but the meta progression feels more like I’m accomplishing something instead of making it just a bit longer in my previous run. Not only can Roguelites satisfy your need for a quick, full-feeling gaming experience, but they can also accommodate long play sessions if you’re lucky enough to find the time. The best example is Void Crew. The sci-fi star ship combat game has players starting a run to try and fight back against the game’s antagonist faction, the Hollow. During a run, you have the choice of saving and coming back or ending your run to preserve you ship and gain higher rewards for surviving. OR you can potentially keep pushing deeper into the galaxy and try and rack up as many kills as possible as they grow stronger and stronger.

Even though you can repair your ship, it will slowly lose maximum health, forcing you to end your run or fighting to the last breath, going down in a blaze of glory. Yeah, that’s usually how I go out, but typically panic sets in as my fancy Destroyer’s health quickly ticks down when five frigates jump me…

No matter how your run ends, your character levels up, allowing you to increase your stats for the next run. This is the essence of roguelites. You go on a run, level up, unlock abilities to make your life easier, then hit the random run again. The unlocking of abilities for future runs is the biggest driving force behind why I’d put roguelites over the roguelike genre. When you unlock a new ability, you are tempted to just hop into another run just to try it out. We’re all guilty of playing an extra 20 minutes past what we said we were going to, come on. Well, I have to say that roguelites are the KING of that temptation.

Being mainly a console player, we have access to some pretty banger roguelite titles! Check out the list below, and give them a try when they go on sale! Very rarely will I ever encourage someone to pay full price for a game. Most of these go on sale quite a bit, so a little patience can save you in the long run. Get it? Run? Never mind…

Top Roguelites on PS5:
Void Crew
Risk of Rain 2
The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
Returnal
Hades
Gunfire Reborn

I’m sure there are some awesome ones I’m missing. If you know of anymore, please drop them in the comments below! As always, for all your nerdy needs keep it right here with your pixel pals!