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What are the best Rogue-like games on Steam?

24

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Considered

170

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Recs.

Oct 29, 2023

Last
Updated

24 Games Considered

Best Rogue-like games on Steam	Price	Steam Rating	Co-Op
-- Rogue Legacy	$14.99	-	-
-- Crypt of the NecroDancer	$14.99	Very Positive	2 Player Local
-- Dead Cells	$24.99	Overwhelmingly Positive	-
-- The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth	$14.99	-	2 Player Local
-- Enter the Gungeon	$14.99	Overwhelmingly Positive	Single Player

Rogue Legacy

Top Pro

Lineage affects gameplay in an interesting way

Rogue Legacy has an interesting mechanic where each play-through is with a new descendant from the previous character, and they each have various traits and disabilities they inherit that effect how they play. See More

Top Con

Keyboard controls are a bit finicky

The game is better played with a controller. It is possible to play with the keyboard, but it's a lot more precise and responsive with a controller. See More

Top Pro

Tons of replayability through procedurally generated levels

Rogue Legacy has procedurally generated levels, which means every time a player restarts the game it will be a different experience that plays out making for a ton of replayability. See More

Top Con

Repetitive gameplay

Upgraded monsters are just palette shifts of old monsters that throw more projectiles. Even with the upgrade tree and armor/runes, the game always feels the same. See More

Top Pro

Lots of upgrades to buy

The upgrade system in Rogue Legacy works by spending the money you gained in the last level (you lose all your money when you start a new one), with upgrades passing down through generations by being either upgrades to the family manor, or family heirlooms. See More

Top Pro

Player does not loose purchased loot

The upgrade system in Rogue Legacy works by spending the money you gained in the last level (you lose all your money when you start a new one), with upgrades passing down through generations by being either upgrades to the family manor, or family heirlooms. This way even when the player dies (which happens a lot) the player will not loose their purchased items allowing them to continue without starting completely over. See More

Crypt of the NecroDancer

Top Pro

Fantastic soundtrack

Crypt of the NecroDancer has one of the best soundtracks you'll hear in a video game, featuring EDM, synthwave, and even heavy metal music. Each song has a unique tempo, rhythm, and feel to it, so you'll never get tired of listening to them. See More

Top Con

Be prepared to share

Coop requires players to share money and items, which can leave two under-equiped characters instead of one well equipped character. Players also share one screen, meaning they need to agree on which general direction to proceed in. Going in different directions can cause players to get stuck or attract multiple groups of enemies. Players also share one beat counter, making combos harder to achieve. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Co-Op:2 Player Local

Controller Support:Full

Top Pro

Unique gameplay

Crypt of the NecroDancer is a rhythm rogue-like dungeon crawler. All actions can only performed on the beat. Adding rhythm as an element to a dungeon crawler allows having each enemy move in a different patter related to the beat and interesting powerups such as tempo increases. See More

Top Con

Beat detection can be a bit spotty

The game allows using own music, but the automatic beat detection can often be quite off and has to be adjusted manually. See More

Top Pro

Lots of options for different skill levels and play styles

Characters such as "Bard" provide an easy mode without making the game feel lame. Other characters provide an extreme challenge for more advanced players. Lots of different weapon and armor combinations keep the game feeling fresh and support different play styles. Players also respawn after each level, meaning a less skilled player is rarely out of the action for too long. Great tutorials for both basic and advanced strategies. Good difficulty curve. See More

Top Pro

Supports USB dance pad

Fun for a couple or a group to get up off the couch and use a dance pad. Special dance pad mode to make the game a bit easier to get started on. See More

Dead Cells

Top Pro

Brilliant game design that presents a good challenge

All the little details come together to make Dead Cells incredibly rewarding to play. Making one mistake can mean death, which makes the game challenging but also fun as you learn how to take on certain enemies with different sets of weapons and skills. Also, every level is procedurally-generated, so even when you die and have to restart it feels unique and different every time. This keeps the game from ever getting old, even after you finish the game on the highest difficulty level. See More

Top Con

Frustrating for players new to roguelikes

If you're new to the genre, this may not be the best place to start. The game gives you one life (except with a certain perk), so if you die, then your whole run is over. This would be fine if it wasn't so easy to lose all your health in an instant and fall back to level one. This makes it frustrating if you spend a lot of time on a run only for it to all go down the drain from a small mistake. The punishing difficulty can be pretty overwhelming for newcomers unless you're really looking to push yourself. See More

InsightfulPemphredo's Experience

This game is hard for new players, but with HOURS of training this may like easy, the game counting with a EXCELLENT combat and an metroidvania style for explore, but you need be fast to explore because to beat the game you need cells, very much cells, VERY MUCH CELLS, the game have upgrades (you need cells) the upgrades is simple just get an blueprint go to merchant and give the blueprint for he and give cells for he and give your weapon or mutations or traps, and beyond the weapons the game couting with mutations, the mutations is just a perk you can use (ex: the food give you +100% of life) but you can just have 3 mutations. The game have VERY HARD levels but, levels unforgettable of too hard are few levels but the levels are AWESOME because the exploration and the bosses is AWESOME, the game 4 bosses (5 with an dlc FREE) the final boss is VERY HARD and you need some specific traps to win the bosses and the enemies, the game is awesome with super mega nice graphcis, in addition this the game has infinite perks, like climb the walls, That's all I can say without spoilers of the game. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Overwhelmingly Positive

Genre:Roguelike, Metroidvania, Action, Platformer

Top Pro

Satisfying combat with a good amount of depth to it

Dead Cells encourages fast-paced gameplay and requires quick reactions. The hits are impactful, the controls are super-responsive, and it's overall very fluid. The game has a good variety of weapons, skills and enemies that all change how the game plays out. Some weapons work best if the enemy is bleeding, some skills hurl enemies at you, some enemies are immune to attacks from the front. Which items you find and decide to keep will change what approach to combat you need to take. See More

Top Con

Shallow story

The story feels totally inconsequential. There isn't much going on with the plot, and what little is there is pretty forgettable. You feel motivated by the progression of the game rather than any emotional connection to the story. If you're looking for something with a stronger narrative to go with the good gameplay, this isn't it. See More

Top Pro

Beautiful pixel art graphics

The pixel models for your character and the enemies manage to feel modern in the way the animations flow swiftly from movement to movement. The colorful art design is a nice throwback to the retro games that inspired Dead Cells. It goes hand-in-hand with the side-scrolling gameplay, with a cool look to the monster and gadget designs. The reds, blues, and greens especially pop a lot to give the game a distinct look to help it stand apart from others in the same genre. See More

Top Pro

The developers put a lot of love and care into the game

Throughout its time in Early Access, the creators of Dead Cells consistently updated the game with new features, adding entirely new areas and weapons each time. The game could have honestly been released a while ago and fared decently, but they kept making it better. Even more importantly though, the developers took player feedback into account many times. The devs love the game and the community and it shows through their work. See More

The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth

Top Pro

Powerups combine in very unique ways

There are tons of unique power ups, and most of them interact with each other to create really interesting combinations. The main attack in the game is shooting a projectile, and modifiers on top of that stack making for really interesting attacks. For example, you can have a homing, multi, laser attack that shoots in both directions by combining multiple treasures. You can build really interesting strategies this way and that keeps the game feeling fresh. See More

Top Con

It's creepy

The game to be put nicely is not really scary but just plain creepy. Definitely not a game recommended for children. See More

Specs

Co-Op:2 Player Local

Top Pro

Incredible amount of content

The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth has all of the original games content as well as many new add ons such as the Wrath of the Lamb expansion as well as many extra characters. Lots of characters each with their own unique starting abilities, plus many challenges gives the game really high replay value. See More

Top Con

Horrible art direction

Top Pro

One of a kind

One of the best roguelikes out there. Difficult to beat completely and oh so very satisfying. Gazillions of unlocks, secrets, bosses, power-ups and item combinations. Limited co-op (BoIR only). The game can be genuinely terrifying and dark, especially if you take a moment to ponder what's really going on with its backstory and characters. See More

Top Con

Limited mouse support

No mouse support is a very odd exclusion for a PC title, especially when it is an expected and natural control method for this type of game. See More

Top Pro

Addictive

With an arcade style feel and fairly quick play through the game makes it easy to sit down and play for hours. See More

Top Pro

Very creepy themes

Binding of Isaac is a story about insanity, religious fanaticism, ritual sacrifices, and even worship of the devil. Once you start paying attention to the various details, it can be genuinely terrifying and dark. See More

Top Pro

Incredible amounts of content for a low price

The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth has all the content of the previous releases and even new content. As a result there are tons of unlockable items, secrets, bosses, power-ups, hidden characters, challenges, and item combinations. There’s just so much to do and try out you’ll be entertained for dozens of hours, adding up to more hours you can spend in a lot of fullprice games. See More

Top Pro

Addictive gameplay that keeps you entertained

Binding of Isaac: Rebirth is very easy to pick up and play with each playthrough lasting about 30 minutes on average. It’s just really fun shooting enemies, collecting treasures, and dropping the occasional bomb, making it really hard to stop playing. One playthrough will turn into ten and many hours will have passed before you know it. See More

Top Pro

Great replay value

The levels in Binding of Isaac are randomly generated. They will have different layouts, monster combinations, upgrades, secrets, and bosses each time you start a new playthrough. You can even change characters to mix up the playstyle, swapping to a really fast but fragile character or a very durable but weak character. As a result, no two playthroughs will ever feel the same, allowing you to replay the game countless times without getting tired of it. See More

Top Pro

Has single-player and local co-op game modes

The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth has a single player campaign as well as a 4 player co-op game mode See More

Top Pro

Challenges you both in game and out

The game its self is very challenging. Plus its story is cryptic and up for interpretation to give you something to think about when your not playing. See More

Enter the Gungeon

Top Pro

Satisfying replayability

Thanks to the roguelite aspects of the game, there is randomly generated levels, which means fresh gameplay each time the game is played. There is also 4 different characters available in the game, each of which has a different boss fight at the end of the game as well as different characteristics while being used. This also makes for a good bit of replayability for those that would like to see all the different bosses in the game as well as experience the different type of gameplay for each character. See More

Top Con

High difficulty

The game can be difficult, especially when first starting out. This may mean a lot of deaths and a feeling of no progressions due to having to start over a lot. While the game is not unmanageable for players who enjoy the games genres, it may be a bit of a turn off for newcomers. See More

FunAmun's Experience

Nothing changes between classes really, i find it boring See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Overwhelmingly Positive

Co-Op:Single Player

Genre:Roguelike

Top Pro

Cool collection aspect

There are 190 guns available in the game that the player can collect through purchasing them in an in-game shop as they progress through the game. Most likely this will take multiple playthroughs with all four of the available characters, which means tons of playtime for those that like to collect everything in a game. See More

Top Con

Over-rated

A boring game that gets a lot of positive press. See More

Top Pro

Easily stay in the action of the game

There are a few small features in the game that add up to making sure the player is never too distracted or pulled out of the action. Things like once a stage is cleared and all coins dropped by your fallen foes will be magnetically pulled to you, just to make sure time is not wasted running around picking up currency. Another is that each map has numerous teleporter nodes, which makes for fast and easy travel. And lastly there is a quick start in the main menu that allows the player to jump right back into the action the next time they start up the game. All these things add up to an ease of use that makes sure the player is never too distracted by the un-fun elements of play. See More

Top Con

Co-op feels tacked on

Co-op in the game is only local (no online co-op at all), which limits who you can pay with. On top of this the way one has to go about starting a co-op game feels a bit unintuitive, which can be frustrating. Stages can also feel cramped when in co-op mode, meaning players bump into walls and objects too much. See More

Top Pro

Unique tone

The game is often silly with many humorous elements such as every character is based around being a bullet, that in turn own guns and fire other bullets. There is no mistaking that the game is about shooting, and the game is somewhat 4th wall breaking by taking advantage of this fact and hilariously throwing it into the players face. See More

Top Pro

Gameplay is balanced well

Often in a roguelite game there can be the chance of getting delt a bum hand on any particular run, luckily Enter the Gungeon does not suffer from this issue as there is a good balance of the gunplay mechanics that sees any death by you as your own fault of not playing to your max ability. Never is it some cheap shot or some item that was not able to be picked up this run, it is just your skill and awareness of wht is being shot at you that matters the most. See More

Top Pro

SHMUP like gameplay

A lot of the shooting elements in this game revolve around SHMUP like mechanics. Players will need to doge a juke many bullets on screen at ones. Luckily there is a roll capability that allows the player to doge when in a precarious position. This roll feature though is not just some way to make the game easier but is a tool to be used as the game is specifically designed to need this roll in certain places. See More

FTL: Faster Than Light

Top Pro

Morality based decisions

The game works a lot like a text adventure in a roguelike wrapper. The decisions asked of the player during this adventure can affect much of the stories plot, making for an interactive story through choices. Such choices could be telling aliens you are a god in order to potentially receive less trouble in your encounter with them, or abducting aliens in order to sell them for a profit. One choice may appeal to the player more than another, allowing you to play as a morally bankrupt space captain if you choose. All in all though this is all up to the player, which can be really fun to see what may happen. See More

Top Con

Late game battles are long and boring

In the later parts of the game battles are very long which can make for a bit of a boring experience, especially for those that would rather be exploring than spending so much time on battles. See More

Specs

Co-Op:Single player

Genre:Roguelite

Top Pro

Has modding support

There are multiple mods available for FTL that can greatly change up the gameplay and looks of the game. This adds a lot of replayability to the title. See More

Top Con

Can be pretty difficult

The amount of choices to be made (many not being good ones) and the randomization of the game makes for a situation that may be too difficult for some. This is not a game that you will beat in one play session nor 10, it takes a lot of time to get in a good run that results in winning, which some people may not have patience for. See More

Top Pro

Great touch controls

Even though the game was designed to be played with a keyboard and mouse originally the touch controls work exceptional well. Some could argue better that keyboard and mouse. The gameplay and design lends itself very well to the touch screen, which makes playing the game a joy on iOS. See More

Top Pro

Stress free timely decision making

The game can be paused at any time, which allows for one to contemplate their next move in the game. This makes for a less stressful experience since one can leisurely make their decisions without it impacting the gameplay. See More

Top Pro

Allows for highly strategic gameplay

The rougelike game design combined with the huge amount of choices that can be made in both encounters as well as ship management makes FTL a highly strategic game as you never quite know what the game is going to throw at you. There are many decisions that can be made in the game, such as what parts of an enemy ship to target (their shields, their weapons) or where to concentrate your defensive strategies, such as powering up an ion engine to run, or powering up ones shields to stay and fight. These choices can all effect the final outcome of the game, so it is up to the player to make the best decisions at their disposal. There are also many choices of ships to use and equipment layouts for each that can be tweaked. Depending on the ship used and what equipment is used or where it is place can greatly affect how the game will play out as well as how the game will need to be played. If choosing a fast ship with low shield power, it will be best to outrun a lot of encounters. Where as if choosing a slow ship with good gun capabilities and a high shield power, a good strategy would be to go in guns blazing for each encounter. See More

Desktop Dungeons

Top Pro

Humorous tone

The game doesn't take itself too seriously with lots of clever dialogue parodying the fantasy genre. See More

Top Con

While polished the graphics are still simple

Compared to other modern roguelikes the graphics are pretty minimal where the characters are tile based and lack animation when moving. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Genre:Roguelike

Controller Support:None

Top Pro

Great for short bursts of play

Since each game takes place in one small dungeon, it's a great game to play in small bits of downtime. See More

Top Con

Hidden map means you can't solve the puzzles on logic alone

The map is hidden by fog of war until you explore it, meaning you can't devise a solution from the start. Because revealing the map regenerates your health and mana you can't explore everything at the start. You need to spend most of the game not knowing the state of the rest of the map. See More

Top Pro

Deep amount of content keeps strategy interesting and fresh

Even though the core gameplay is simple, the amount of power-ups and enemies create a massive amount of ways to play the game which keeps the puzzle solving aspect fresh. See More

Top Pro

Mix of puzzle and roguelike

The game gets its roots from roguelikes, and the complexity of the combined genre really enhances the puzzle solving side of the game. Instead of being real time, or taking place in a large expansive world, Desktop Dungeons games take place on a small 20x20 dungeon. Although the map is small, there is tons of strategy to figuring out the optimal way to clear the dungeon. Unveiling tiles is how you recover health and mana, so the game is fundamentally about efficiently using the tools and resources available to you in each map and coming up with unique strategies in such a small space. You must balance the risk between trying to get experience from exposed monsters and exploring deeper into the fog of war. See More

Top Pro

Tons of character combinations

There are 7 races and 12 classes that are combinable as well as 4 extra monster classes that do not allow choosing of race making for 112 unique combinations, all with their own custom avatar. There are also 6 additional special races as well as 9 different gods you can worship during the game for even more abilities. See More

Risk of Rain

Top Pro

10 unique characters

Imagine a small set of DOTA or LOL. These 10 characters can be tankers, DPS, supporters, rangers, carriers, etc depending on your skill and level of use. And they're hard to unlock which makes the challenging to get them even more. See More

Top Con

Unlocks unclear

The game explanation of how unlocks unlock is not very clear or intuitive making for wasted time trying to figure them out. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Co-Op:4 Player Online / 4 Player Couch

Controller Support:Partial

Top Pro

Replayability is high

The levels are generated very randomly making for a unique experience every time the game is played which in turn makes for a ton of replayability. See More

Top Pro

Fun local and online co-op modes

No need to compete as the multiplayer is all cooperative where each player has to help the other survive the harsh world which is a fun setting for friends as it leaves out any competitiveness. See More

Top Pro

Time equals difficulty

It gets tougher as time passes by. That means by minute 40, you are playing at hardcore difficulty. This makes for an experience that is good for learning the mechanics as once you can not advance due to the difficulty you will die which means the game has to be repeated which help learn the ins and outs more and more each time it is done. See More

Spelunky

Top Pro

Skill based gameplay

Spelunky gives the player everything needed to succeed from the start so it is only when the players skills get better will they advance. See More

Top Con

Difficult to the point of frustration

Spelunky is pretty difficult and some could say abusive, but with practice and a desire for masochism the game can be mastered. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Co-Op:4 Player Couch

Genre:Platformer / Indie / Roguelike

Controller Support:Full

Top Pro

Roguelike origins allow for quick sessions

Being that Spelunky is at its heart a roguelike the gameplay sessions can tend to be quick as the player will die quite often. This makes for something that can be played in quick bursts throughout the day. the convenient saving also lends to this as a game that is still ongoing can be quickly saved in order to be picked up at a later time. See More

Top Con

Co-op is boring and confusing

In co-op this game is very confusing with little instruction on how to play and with little to spice up the game play it gets boring quickly. See More

Top Pro

Provides an interesting challenge by heavily relying on increasing your skill

Spelunky gives the player everything needed to succeed from the start so it is only when the players skills get better will they advance. See More

Top Pro

Expanded gameplay through mods

Ranging from Mega Man to Metroid, there are a tone of great mods for Spelunky all of which make for a new experience in the game which vastly expands the replayability. See More

Top Pro

Up to 4 player local co-op

Spelunky features 4 player local co-op where players share the same screen, which can get a bit hectic. See More

Streets of Rogue

Top Pro

The definition of emergent gameplay

The amount of features is basically endless and you can use whatever you have at hand to complete missions through the city: Money? Hire someone to do it for you. A "Friends" ray? Hypnotize the bouncer and let him tell everyone that you're good to go. A "Wall bypasser"? Teleport in, do your thing, teleport out. A mine? Leave it at the front door and give it a knock. A rocket launcher? Just blow it all up. You're a Gorilla that can't speak English? Free your comrades from a lab and ask them to help you raid the place. Do you have to kill a gangster? Lure him to a rival's territory and let the gang do your job See More

FunAmun's Experience

Really good game, i've played it non stop for 3 days i want to unlock all the big quests ! See More

Top Pro

Create your own character or choose between 32 unique characters (more in the future)

The characters go from simple as bums, doctors and gangsters to werewolves, zombies, wrestlers, cannibals, comedians, etc. See More

Don't Starve

Top Pro

Challenging arcade style game play, with permadeath

Don't Starve is a classic example of "Easy to play, tough to master". The game play is very easy to learn, in fact Don't Starve doesn't really tell you how to play, you just point and click. Some items will be clickable, exploration leads to discoveries, and discoveries lead to longer survival, but death and a new game are always right around the corner. See More

Top Con

Constant restarts can be drawn out and boring

The beginning of a playthrough starts out pretty slow, which is exacerbated by the fact that the player will need to restart many many times as the game is a rouguelike, so permanent death is something that will be encountered often. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Genre:Survival / Open World / Sandbox / Indie

Controller Support:Full

Top Pro

There's never a dull moment

As the game progresses, it offers more and more mechanics that require constant attention to function properly. It becomes a constant re-evaluation of risk and reward. See More

Top Pro

Very active modding community with numerous mods available

Using the Steam Workshop, Don't Starve has a very active modding community. With nearly 800 mods currently available, there are unlimited ways you can change your Don't Starve experience. See More

Top Pro

Pleasantly twisted sense of humor

Random quips from characters, info, text and the world itself (such as the existence of werepigs) show glimpses of a dark sense of humor throughout. See More

Top Pro

Uniquely atmospheric art style

Don't Starve has a very unique art style, using two dimensional or 2d characters and items in a 3d world gives a very interesting artsy feel to the game. The hand drawn look and feel to the graphics are a nice change of pace from ultra realistic games, but it doesnt take away from the suspense. See More

Top Pro

Easily customized to adjust difficulty

The game gives you a lot of world customization options. You can change the length of day, weather patterns, how much of each monster or resource spawns, etc. This effectively allows you to adjust how difficult you wish the game to be. See More

Top Pro

Randomly generated worlds

Don't Starve generates a completely new game world for every new game, and since you only get one life per game, you will be seeing a lot of different worlds. All of the lands and items will be totally new on every try. See More

Ancient Domains of Mystery (ADOM)

Top Pro

Really, really deep

The game has been around for a dozen years or so, most of that time went into adding and expanding features. There are lots of ways to play the game, and you can dive into it literally for years and still be surprised by unexplored options. See More

Top Con

Complex interface

A common complaint is that there are a lot of commands to learn, although the devs have been working hard to simplify and streamline the interface (both graphical and ASCII) See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Top Pro

A true classic

It's one of the four games that really defined the genre, and it still is relevant today. A great addition to any roguelike fans' library. See More

Ziggurat

Top Pro

Assortment of enemies that have varied designs

There is a large assortment of enemies to battle in game that all have varied designs. See More

Top Con

Short

The title is pretty short, with only five levels the game could potentially be beaten in under an hour. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Top Pro

Inspired by Hexen and Doom

Ziggurat is heavily inspired by the classic PC games Hexen and Doom, making for a current gen refresh. See More

Top Con

Death is inevitable and happens often

Being that Ziggurat is a roguelite game, death will happen and it will happen often. While it is by design it can get infuriating at times. See More

Top Pro

Procedurally generated levels and random weapons upon start

Ziggurat has large procedurally generated levels where the player start out with a different weapon each time, making for fresh and different experience every time a game is played. See More

Flamebreak

Top Pro

Huge replayability

Every play through is a unique experience, with hundreds of races, skills, weapons, items, and encounters to choose from. See More

Top Con

Very challenging

This is not a game for Grandma, the action is very fast paced and intense. Even if you're already an expert gamer, you will lose many times before you learn how to win. See More

CooperativeHeryshaf's Experience

This game is in my top 5, and I've been gaming since the early 90's. Good graphics, decent story, but the key is the battles. A lot of these type games focus on items and choices so much and neglect to make fun, challenging battles, so they simply spam a million bad guys to dodge and kill. Flamebreak has a variety of interesting monsters, layers of game mechanics, interesting and strategic choices along the way, and fights that keep you at the edge of your computer chair. I cannot emphasize how much I've enjoyed this game! See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Top Pro

Extremely strategic

Every play through raises a huge number of strategic choices. See More

Immortal Redneck

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Genre:FPS, Rogue-lite

Controller Support:Full

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