When comparing Caves (Roguelike) vs Hoplite, the Slant community recommends Hoplite for most people. In the question“What are the best roguelikes on Android?” Hoplite is ranked 7th while Caves (Roguelike) is ranked 12th. The most important reason people chose Hoplite is:
You must plan your movements and attacks, paying attention to all enemy positions and their attacks. This makes for a game that the player can pore over their options, for as long as they like, which can be pretty enveloping.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Easy to pick up and play for those familiar with roguelike gameplay
Anyone with any familiarity with roguelikes at all should be up and running with the basic game mechanics within seconds.
Pro New experience every time
It's Minecraft, but roguelike. Awesome game.
Pro Game is in early dev, where new content is constantly being added
A lot of new content is planned. The game is constantly updating. No need to start a new game after each update. Old saves are compatible with new versions.
Pro Deep gameplay that harkens back to chess or other grid based games, where planning and strategy take a front seat
You must plan your movements and attacks, paying attention to all enemy positions and their attacks. This makes for a game that the player can pore over their options, for as long as they like, which can be pretty enveloping.
Pro Easy to understand the rules as any pertinent info is relayed before a move decision is needed
Someone called it "Chess, the roguelike". You have all the information before you move, every time. Enemies follow a simple ruleset, with no variation. There is almost no randomness. You know that you will die the turn before you do, and you will die because you painted yourself into a corner.
Pro Great replay value thanks to the roguelike random generation
There is a good list of achievements, which creates a high replay value. It encourages the user to play very differently in subsequent replays. Which is great for keeping the game fresh.
Pro Can be played at your own pace thanks to the turn based nature of the title
Hoplite is a turn based game, making for something that people can take their time with, deciding on their strategy for each move.
Pro Extended gameplay when you finish the title, with the fun but difficult game+ gameplay mode
Starting on level 16, the altars get replaced by a portal. The player has the choice to "win" the game by exiting through the portal, or to ignore the portal on that level and venture deeper, aiming for higher scores on progressively more difficult floors. This is great for those that enjoy more challenge and extra content past the regular ending.
Pro Well-balanced
Other, more popular, mobile roguelikes are far too random. A lot of people associate roguelikes with randomness, but a lot of effort goes into making sure that they provide consistently winnable games. When you lose a game it should be because you did something dumb, not because the RNG didn't deign it today. Hoplite nails this.
Pro Large assortment of enemies keeps the gameplay and strategies required fresh
There is a wide array of enemies to encounter and fight, which keeps encounters fresh as well as the strategies needed.
Cons
Con Poor documentation
While figuring it out as you go is part of the charm of roguelikes, this gives you nothing at all. Press "new game" and go.
Con Resets to start of floor when app is idle for too long
Whenever you reload, it sets you back to the start of the current floor if you have had the app running in the background for long enough that it forgets where it was. More frequent saving would alleviate this problem somewhat.
Con Short game
Hoplite does not take that long to complete as it can be finished in an average playthrough in around an hour.