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The Roguelite tag is used to describe a subgenre of video games that share similarities with roguelike games but deviate from some of the most hardcore aspects of the genre. Roguelites are often more accessible and forgiving, making them appealing to a wider range of players.

While roguelikes are known for their challenging and punishing gameplay, roguelites typically incorporate elements of procedural generation, permadeath, and randomization while providing certain persistent elements or progression systems that carry over between playthroughs.

Here are some key characteristics commonly found in Roguelite games:

• Procedural Generation Roguelites often generate levels or environments randomly with each playthrough. This means that no two runs will be exactly the same, ensuring replayability and surprise for players.
• Permadeath Like in roguelikes, death is usually permanent in roguelites. If a player dies during their run, they typically lose their progress and must start from the beginning. However, as a deviation from traditional roguelikes which wipe out all progress upon death - such as losing all items or experience earned - some form of persistent unlocks or upgrades may carry over between runs to improve future attempts.
• RNG (Random Number Generation) Randomness plays an important role in roguelite gameplay through randomized loot drops, enemy placements, events or encounters. This adds variety and unpredictability to each run, requiring players to adapt on the fly.
• Persistent Elements Unlike strict roguelikes where progress resets entirely after each death state; certain persistent elements can carry over across multiple playthroughs in most Rogulite titles. These can include permanent upgrades, unlocked characters or classes, new abilities or items, or even shortcuts that allow players to bypass previous levels in subsequent runs.

Some well-known examples of Roguelite games include:

• The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth - A dungeon-crawling shooter where players navigate randomly generated levels filled with enemies, power-ups, and unlockable items. Progression is carried over between runs through the unlocking of new characters and items.
• Risk of Rain 2 - A third-person shooter with co-op gameplay where players explore an alien world filled with hostile creatures. As they progress, they collect randomized loot and defeat challenging bosses. Unlocking new survivors and abilities leads to enhanced future runs.
• Hades - An action RPG where players control Zagreus as he attempts to escape from the Greek underworld. Through repeated attempts at escaping and building relationships with various gods and goddesses, Zagreus gains permanent upgrades that assist him in subsequent runs.

Roguelites offer a balance between the challenging nature of roguelikes and more forgiving elements that provide a sense of progression and growth across playthroughs. This combination makes them highly replayable while still providing an overall enjoyable experience for players of varying skill levels.

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