Deflector

Deflector is a fantastic little game and is absolutely one of the best roguelites currently on the market!

Deflector takes the idea of deflecting attacks and weaves it into the roguelite genre. While it doesn’t necessarily break new ground, it does offer additional strategy that makes you think about blocking. There’s nothing fundamentally different as you play, and it’s still a regular roguelite. But it’s a roguelite that encourages different playstyles, deflecting, and has a great soundtrack to listen to.

Deflector is really tough. Alien-like minions will just spew a slow orb or two at you, but tougher foes can vomit lines of the bloody things, to the point where just standing your ground feels like beckoning death. Staying on the move is key to survival, but levels will bring acidic pools and towering spikes rising from the ground to bear at you, variables that’ll easily throw you off your game and send you packing to an early grave. This is all done against the backdrop of a sort-of story where a giant tardigrade-esque creature ferries you between levels. Every Deflector run starts the same: heal up, interact with the big beastie, and select which room you’d like to be transported to. You’re presented with a big overview board of subsequent rooms, with pathways snaking between them, including which arenas house powerful enemies and exclusive rewards.