When comparing HyperRogue vs Tales of Maj'Eyal, the Slant community recommends Tales of Maj'Eyal for most people. In the question“What are the best roguelikes/roguelites on PC?” Tales of Maj'Eyal is ranked 10th while HyperRogue is ranked 73rd.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Unique geometry
HyperRogue takes place in the hyperbolic plane. The grid of hexagons and heptagons and the straight lines which seem to be parallel diverge and never cross and many more unique and unusual geometric shapes.
Pro Easy to get into
A bit like in chess, the basic mechanics are based purely on movement, so no keys to learn. There are no stats, and most creatures are killed with a single hit -- the same is true for the player, but like in Chess, moves which would immediately lead to being killed are forbidden, so the game is over only when you are checkmated. Advanced parts of the game world include lands based on more complex mechanics, and magical orbs which give temporary special powers.
Pro Many different areas
Many areas based on various themes (R'Lyeh, Desert, Overgrown Forest, Living Cave, Palace, Carribean, etc.)
Pro Turn-based roguelike or local coop roguelite
Can be played both as a turn-based roguelike, and as a roguelite with smooth time. Local coop is available in the roguelite mode.
Pro A lot of depth through many character classes and quests
Pro Pretty polished compared to other open source games
Pro Easier to learn than some other roguelikes
The graphical menu system helps a lot.
Pro Built-in but optional chat system for bragging or when you get lost
Cons
Con Strange visual choices
One of the selling points of the game is also one of its biggest weaknesses. For some, it's simply headache inducing to look at.
Con Bad balancing
Not all classes are balanced. Some are clearly weaker. As an example, every class that can summon, cannot avoid their summons to waste their skills. This is not important, except if you only have 1 summon, like the alchemist, that often charges you.
Con LUA bugs
It depends on LUA for many (if not most) things, this could ease the development, but in the end, the result is several crashes which are hard to debug.
Con Heavy resource need
Lots of graphics effects, which may make the game run slower on older systems.
Con Graphics may not appeal to everyone
Mostly because they are a mix of styles assembled throughout the lifetime of the project instead of one consistent whole.