Breach Wanderers

So, I think I've realized something. I've been playing Breach Wanderers ? Its a good enough rogue lite ( This is a bit of a dirty word for me , I prefer a true rogue like such as DCSS or Angband ) for a guy in prison. But I think where a lot of new indie games show their weakness is when they have unlocks. I think a game... especially a roguelike... that's genuinely good doesn't need unlocks and shouldn't have them. I know people like them . Its analogous to how truly good writing needn't rely on suspense as a plot device. The greatest games are deep and complex as is and there's no need to hold anything back to create interest. I can already tell by the time I've unlocked the whole game I'll have grown tired of playing it . My advice is focus on making your game very difficult but also very fair . Cultivate replayability in two ways : One , through random elements like the map generation and item drops in DCSS ... where a player can't view the breadth of the game in a single play through. And second , by just making the game so challenging that players will have to try again and again. But there's no shortcuts. The difficulty must come from real depth, not mechanics that make player choices arbitrary. That's all. I have little desire to develop a game but I guess I'm very opinionated on what a good game should be. Having unlocks in your game is almost a sure sign of cheapness. It is gaudy and crass.