RogueSlide will combine sliding puzzles with roguelike strategy, coming soon to iOS and Android
Overview & Key Takeaways
There are roguelikes, roguelites, and now, well, RogueSlide. Which is, to be clear, still a roguelike. Just one built around sliding puzzles, which is a combination that sounds simple right up until you're three moves deep and quietly panicking. The premise is clean. You're sliding tiles around a compact dungeon grid, pushing and merging your way through turn-based encounters. Enemies enter the space, and suddenly, what looked like a straightforward puzzle becomes a positioning problem with actual consequences. Back yourself into a corner, and you'll know about it. Not immediately, but a few moves later, when the options run out. ... [MORE]
- RogueSlide combines sliding puzzles with dungeon crawling
- Procedural runs and shifting layouts keep each attempt fresh
- Focuses on planning and positioning over reflex-based gameplay
There are roguelikes, roguelites, and now, well, RogueSlide. Which is, to be clear, still a roguelike. Just one built around sliding puzzles, which is a combination that sounds simple right up until you're three moves deep and quietly panicking.
The premise is clean. You're sliding tiles around a compact dungeon grid, pushing and merging your way through turn-based encounters. Enemies enter the space, and suddenly, what looked like a straightforward puzzle becomes a positioning problem with actual consequences. Back yourself into a corner, and you'll know about it. Not immediately, but a few moves later, when the options run out.
That's where the roguelike structure does its best work. No two runs play out the same way – layouts shift, enemies land in different spots, upgrade paths pull you in new directions. You're reading the board and adjusting constantly, which keeps things from ever feeling like you've got it figured out.
The tension is in the decision-making rather than the reflexes. Do you commit to a risky slide for a better position, or play it safe and drag the run out a little longer? Get it right, and it feels clever. Get it wrong, and you'll see exactly where it went wrong, which is somehow worse. And also why you'll immediately start another run.
Sessions are short by design. Quick enough to dip in and out of, strategic enough that you're actually thinking rather than just tapping. And it has that one more run quality, not because it's drowning you in systems, but because the moment a run ends, you can already see where you went wrong and what you'd do differently.
RogueSlide is coming soon to iOS and Android, with an expected release on May 14th.
Our list of the top roguelikes on Android has plenty more to keep you busy in the meantime.
