Roguelite

Take the roguelike's rule that death ends the run, then soften the "lose everything" half: something you earned survives. That one change turns dying into progress, and it is why the style took over modern game design.

The rules

• Runs are short and usually end in death.
• Something permanent survives each run: currency, upgrades, unlocks.
• Losing still moves you forward, so "one more run" never stops calling.
• Usually real-time action rather than turns.

Games like this: Hades, The Binding of Isaac, Dead Cells, Rogue Legacy.

Lessons that build this style

• 01 Top-Down Movement
• 03 Mouse Aiming
• 04 Shooting Bullets
• 05 Enemy Follows Player
• 07 Enemy Spawner
• 08 Collect Coins and Items
• 09 Health and Damage
• 12 Win and Lose Screen
• 13 Multiple Levels
• 14 Make Your Own Signal
• 15 Main Menu
• 16 Sound Effects
• 17 Background Music
• 18 Simple Animation
• 19 Camera Follow
• 21 How Sprites Work
• 22 The Animation Player
• 23 Walking Behind Things
• 29 Roguelite the sample