Since Steam is having the roguelike sale, let me recommend some amazing and EXTREMELY CHEAP games you can enjoy for dozens or hundreds of hours ↓
Tales of Maj'Eyal: store.steampowered.com/app/259680/Tal…
One of my most-played game of all-time, it combines an extremely deep roguelike with a more CRPG-like main quest, dozens of classes and races that play totally different and hundreds of secrets to uncover.
One Way Heroics: store.steampowered.com/app/266210/One…
Imagine a Vampire Survivors roguelike: you pick a class then keep moving right, trying to survive as long as possible, unlock secrets and kill the end boss - then repeat with new heroes and powers. Super addictive!
A really well-designed game that combines old-school roguelikes like ADOM with a modern UI, faster pace and lighthearted tone. Still really deep, with many build options and secrets to uncover.
A traditional roguelike with a smaller scope but more flavor added. Classes are quite different, each dungeon floor has different hazards and visuals and there's enough depth to support clever players "gaming" the system.
An insanely ambitious space opera roguelike that has everything - side with factions, get quests, buy ships, equip them, do space battles, land in planets, build a party, explore, fight on foot, etc...
I'll also list some free roguelikes! Starting with Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup: crawl.develz.org
Love this game, it's a very traditional roguelike with very interesting classes, enemies, equipment and items. Lets you play a half-dragon barbarian, a octopus assassin or a cat.
A legendary roguelike about surviving a zombie apocalypse, with a lot of complex survival and base building elements... I honestly never managed to make it very far :P
Today is the 20th anniversary of Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, a game I absolutely love.
There's RPGs with better gameplay or more charismatic heroes, but Morrowind has the deepest & most fascinating world you can immerse yourself in. It truly offers a journey into another life.
I really love its setting. It abandons Tolkien & medieval fantasy to offers a fantastic mix of Dune, Moebius and epic poems.
It's an alien world full of exotic creatures, epic feats, conspiracies, deceitful gods... yet all consistent, with social classes, laws, government, etc.
To understand this world you must truly live in it. Talk to many people, follow myths and rumors, go to libraries and museums, trade favors, pilgrimage across religious landmarks...
This is the main quest! There's not a single RPG out there that embraced immersion to this level.
There's NOTHING in English about Chinese RPGs, but I found a gigantic rant/retrospective from a Chinese gamer on the entire history of the genre: gameres.com/860469.html
I feel a special kinship with someone that goes "2005-2008 was decline" 🥲
I'll try to give an overlook, butchering the names since they it REALLY hard to read:
It begins in 1990-1994, with simple Dragon Quest-clones like "Xuan-Yuan Sword 1" and "Legend of Hero", then quickly evolving with "Xuan-Yuan Sword 2" and "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber".
In 1995 things start really going with Legend of Sword & Fairy (aka Chinese Paladin), an all-time classic, maybe China's most iconic RPG.
Also noteworthy are Xuan-Yuan Sword: Dance of the Maple Leaves, with its deep story & philosophy, and Legend of Hero 3, with its amazing art: