Steam’s Going Rogue: A Festival of Persistence celebrates dying and trying again with a sale on Soulslikes, Roguelikes, and Metroidvanias.
Gamers on Steam are being treated to a huge sale that puts Roguelikes, Soulslikes, and Metroidvanias on full display. Steam‘s celebration of these famously challenging genres is aptly named Going Rogue: A Celebration of Persistence, and fans of the genres can expect to see many interesting titles available for generous discounts.
Roguelikes, Soulslikes, and Metroidvanias are extremely popular genres of games that are each centred around the idea of persistence in the face of challenge. Roguelikes are inspired by the 1980 game Rogue, which was procedurally generated and had a permadeath system, meaning once players die, they had to start again from the beginning — only with new knowledge. Soulslikes take their inspiration from Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls, where combat is punishing and pattern-based, and progress is incremental. Metroidvanias, a combination of Metroid and Castlevania, usually see the player gradually unlocking abilities that allow them to traverse new areas of the map, backtracking to previous locations to take advantage of their newly acquired abilities.
A massive variety of titles are on sale during this event, spanning each of the subgenres and including many of the biggest hits as well as some lesser-known entries hoping to gain recognition during the celebration. Big names like Nioh, Hollow Knight, and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order are up to 75% off. Sekiro, the extremely challenging ninja Soulslike developed by Dark Souls and Elden Ring creator FromSoft is also available at a rare 50% discount. Many highly praised indie games are celebrating with sales as well, such as Skul: The Hero Slayer, Slay The Spire, and FTL: Faster Than Light. The event will take place from May 2nd to May 9th.

Steam frequently hosts themed events of this nature to celebrate various genres, publishers, franchises, and seasons. Running concurrently with Going Rogue is the May the 4th Sale, which celebrates all things Star Wars. Recently there was also the Alien Day sale, which hosted sales for many popular titles from the Alien franchise, such as Aliens vs Predator and Alien: Isolation. Two other popular events are the Steam Summer Sale and Winter Sale which bring major discounts and are a famous threat to gamers’ wallets and free time.
Due to Steam’s variety of sales occurring year-round, frugal and patient gamers know it’s only a matter of time before something on their wishlist winds up with a major discount. These events serve as helpful ways to promote various genres, publishers, and franchises while introducing gamers to titles they might have missed. Those that aren’t interested in Roguelikes, Soulslikes, or Metroidvanias likely won’t have to wait too long before their own favourites are the stars of the next Steam event.