Tiny Rogue - Aww look at the cutesy wootsy wittle knight
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iOS
| Tiny Rogue
That's an adorable looking roguelike

It is, isn't it? This is Tiny Rogue from Ravenous Games. It's a simplified dungeon crawler that sees you swiping around subterranean hell-holes, killing monsters and nicking loot along the way.

Pretty standard roguelike things

Yup, this is a pretty standard roguelike. It's unforgiving, you're going to die a lot, and the levels are different every time you jump in. It's turn-based, so each screen-sized chunk of the game is sort of a little puzzle. If you move next to an enemy it'll attack you, so you need to think about how to position yourself.

Okay, does it do anything different?

Sort of. There are no classes here, you're a knight whenever you stride out. And you're just chasing a high score. You've got a quest, but completing it just gives you extra points. And then you keep trawling through the bad guys.

Hmmmm, much variety in the enemies?

There's a bit. There are skeletons that only stay dead for a few turns, floating eyeball things that fire blasts of energy at you, and ghosts that can walk through walls. Figuring out how to use the tools at your disposal to succeed is the core of the game.

What sort of tools do you have?

You start off with a sword and some throwing knives, but you pick up spells as you go. There are fireballs, ice magics that freeze your foes, egg timers that stop time for a turn, and buffs that give you more damage for your next hit.

And I'm guessing you level up?

Yup, you earn XP for killing monsters, and it steadily fills a bar. Once you ding, you can choose one of three perks. They might give you more health, more attack power, or give you more points when you open chests.

Okay, this all sounds fine, but I don't get what it has over other roguelikes

Well, I guess it's all about the size. A game of Tiny Rogue lasts a handful of minutes, it's easy to pick up and play, but it's got all of the core mechanics that make roguelikes so addictive. It's basically a snack, but a pretty tasty one.

Gotcha. So who's it for?

Anyone who fancies a bit of roguelike action but doesn't want to end up sinking too much of their time in there. It's a brilliant toilet game. Or if you'd prefer, it fits nicely into a short bus journey. It's fun, it's sharp, and while it doesn't add anything new to the genre, it squidges it down into a neat mobile size.

Tiny Rogue - Aww look at the cutesy wootsy wittle knight

A small-sized roguelike with a pretty big heart, Tiny Rogue will fill up a few minutes here and there with a lot of fun
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Harry Slater
Harry Slater
Harry used to be really good at Snake on the Nokia 5110. Apparently though, digital snake wrangling isn't a proper job, so now he writes words about games instead.