Lately the XBOX and WoW accounts around my house have been ignored for the awesomely retro Realm of the Mad God, which plays like a multiplayer Rogue-like arcade game.
You start the game with a lowly level 1 wizard and pretty much just run around the map and shoot mobs, steal their loot, gain experience, and try to stay alive. The game features a Rogue-like permadeth — once you’re dead, you’re dead (and this will happen to you a lot). Hook up with other players to take on tougher enemies as you work your way up toward the level 20 cap.
There are quite a few classes that you need to unlock in-game. For example, the priest class only opens up once you’ve reached level 5 with your wizard.
The game is free, but funded by micro-transactions. You buy gold which you can then use to buy in-game items like dye to change the color of your character’s outfit. The only thing I can imagine spending money on is character slots. With the basic game, you have just a single character slot. Each additional character slot is currently $5.
Realm of the Mad God is like the best games I’ve played — very simple to play yet it remains captivating and compelling far longer than it should have based on the game’s premises.
