Over the course of its lifetime,Klei Entertainmenthas released numerous game titles of different genres — and has built up a loyal fanbase in the process. Klei Entertainment has dabbled in the puzzle, survival, dungeon crawler, and even deck builder genres. But through it all, one feature they continue to implement and shine in is theuse of roguelike elementsin their games.
They have practically mastered the art of making games that have players meet an untimely end, and then start over. However, players would gain experience and/or rewards to make diving right back in even more enjoyable than before. Of all the great games Klei has put out over the years, these are some of the best.
10Eets Munchies
Change Emotions To Solve Puzzles
The originalEets: Hunger. It’s Emotionalwas the first game developed by Klei Entertainment, and released when casualside-scrolling 2D puzzle gameswere one of the most popular among game genres. Players control a character named Eets, who will change their emotions based on what they eat.
This dictates their behavior and what they are capable of, affecting what they will do at various parts of each stage. The goal is to collect all the treats in the level before finally collecting a cake to complete the level. The game would later be remade asEets Munchies.
Hot Lavatakes the iconic children’s game, “The floor is lava,” and makes it the premise ofthis parkour thrill ride. Players will need to navigate gauntlets where the floor is a deadly surface of lava, with all manner of objects on top of it.
Avoiding the lava can involve jumping between school desks, living room furniture, and even trampolines. Players can also traverse sections by holding onto beams and using items such as pogo sticks to race against other players with the constant danger of lava beneath them.
In this game, players will have an objective to accomplish before their enemies are alerted to their presence — the likelihood of which will increase the longer they take. Team members each bring various useful abilities to the table, but these abilities will need to be managed accordingly to successfully accomplish missions.
Should players make a mistake, they can spend a Rewind to go back and try a different approach — although there is a limited number of Rewinds available. The game can be very tense and thought-provoking, but this is what can make completing missions feel so rewarding.
Griftlandsisa deckbuilding roguelikethat has a lot to offer. The combat is fun and has a lot of depth to it, there’s some amazing word-building with very interesting and entertaining characters, and it has three different campaigns to explore.
The art style is something out of a comic book, and the dialogue is very well written. This helps to pull players into the story of the game, encouraging them to move forward to find out what happens next. Having to restart a run means new cards and discovering new ways to play.
Colony-building simulators are known for having a lot of moving parts. Because of this, some are extremely complicated to get the hang of.Oxygen Not Includedhas players receive a small crew of survivors out in space that will grow over time.
Players will needto manage food, oxygen, temperatures, and more. There are also negatives to having an excessive amount of certain resources, such as too much heat causing plants to die.
5Shank
A Very Engaging 2D Action Experience
Shankis a very stylish 2D side-scrolling action game. The game gives players a large range of different weapons to juggle between as they progress through a linear story. While the game offers little to no replay value, a single playthrough is all one needs to experience everything the game has to offer.
One of the biggest gripes the game received was that its dodging and combos were not that intuitive, feeling slugging and cumbersome at times. This is something Klei would work on for the next installment in the series. But even with the slightly clunky controls, players can use many different melee weapons and guns in fluid combos throughout their time in the game.
4Shank 2
A Much Smoother Shank Successor
Shank 2takes everything that the first game established and ramps it up to a whole new level.While the story campaign is on the short side, the game offers an all-new endless survival mode that can be enjoyed with a friend.
Combat is now one of the smoothest experiences an action game fan could dream of, making fights between single elites and waves of smaller enemies both feel truly satisfying. This makes transitions between enemies better than ever before.
Mark Of The Ninja: Remasteredis a stealth platformer thatuses its 2D environment to the absolute fullest. Players will be able to slink from shadow to shadow, in order to avoid enemy detection — as well as hide when a moving light source happens their way.
The way that the game blurs parts of the background allows players to use the level itself as a minimap, while not knowing if enemies are lurking in nearby rooms. Players will also accrue points for how well they play, giving the game a great sense of reply value for trying to get better results.
Rotwoodis a roguelike dungeon crawler that has a big emphasis on playing with friends. Players havea wide range of weaponsto try out and find which works best for their playstyles. Using different button combinations allows for discovering all manner of combos, and weapons can have unique skills.
Changing pieces of armor can affect the player’s weight class, which in turn can make dodging easier, or more difficult. While weapons and armor are permanent unlocks, players will lose all powers and upgrades they amass from each of their runs. With each successful run, new challenges become available.
Don’t Starveis one of Klei Entertainment’s most well-known releases. It was first released in 2013, and it has seen many updates and add-ons over time. In this survival title, players need to create a light source, find food, and fend off hostile enemies to stay alive.
One of the most well-received content add-ons to the game was the addition of co-op, branded asDon’t Starve Together.There is a widerange of colorful characters to choose from, each of which is oozing with personality. This is a must-try for people looking to just enjoy a game working alongside their friends.
