A new browser-based Pokémon game dubbed PokéRogue takes the brilliant monster battling series into the roguelike genre. Played by tens of thousands of fans, the free game is one of the best fan games we’ve ever played.
Available to play right here, PokéRogue is playable on PC, mobile and even your consoles via a web browser. After creating an account (email not needed), you can play a brand-new roguelike game where you battle, catch and evolve hundreds of iconic monsters.
Once you make your account and select whether you want to play as a male or female, you can start your run with a party of between one and three creatures. On your first run, you’ll be able to pick between any starter Pokémon from across the franchise, but as you catch others across your runs, you’ll be able to start with rarer and rarer monsters.
As you complete fights, you’ll be able to select a randomly dropped item to use such as a potion, revive, Pokéballs and more. You’re also able to spend your hard-earned PokéDollars to buy additional resources.
The more you fight, the harder creatures you’ll encounter, including double battles. You’ll also end up battling rival trainers and boss monsters with bigger health bars. You’ll also be able to unlock buffs for your party that stack as your run goes on.
PokéRogue also has awesome changes over traditional Pokémon games that make some elements even more exciting. For example, Shiny Pokémon in the roguelike actually increase the chance of receiving higher quality loot after battles. (This means that you can get ultra balls instead of great balls, or a full heal instead of a status item.)
Unfortunately, with the massive popularity of PokéRogue, the game is likely not long for this world. While other popular Pokémon fan games like PokéMMO have been gracefully left alone by The Pokémon Company, the highly litigious group typically jumps on any projects that utilize its IP. With this in mind, enjoy PokéRogue while you can.
For more Pokémon content, check out the upcoming Pokémon Go Fusion mechanic or the upcoming Pokémon Go Rivals Week event for the mobile game.