Mike Holmes

Mike Holmes builds a focused, genre-first view of modern games, using Rogueliker to track how roguelikes and roguelites evolve across platforms, formats and subgenres. His coverage combines structured guides, curated round-ups and hands-on reviews, so the niche roguelike space reads as a coherent landscape rather than a stream of isolated releases. He writes with an editor’s eye for taxonomy and completeness, returning regularly to definitions, catalogues and long-term support for standout titles.

What is a roguelike game?

Holmes treats roguelikes as a subject that needs clear definitions as much as coverage of individual games. In guides such as “What is a roguelike game?

What does roguelike mean? And how are roguelites different?” he unpacks genre terminology, distinguishing traditional roguelikes from more accessible roguelites and explaining how design choices blur the line between them. He extends this interest in classification with pieces like “What is an indie game? Finding the line is easier said than done,” showing the same concern for how labels such as “indie” are applied to studios and projects.

These explainers sit alongside more prescriptive guides, giving readers both vocabulary and context before steering them toward specific recommendations.

New Roguelikes & Roguelites

Release round-ups and catalogues are a central part of Holmes’s work at Rogueliker. Monthly guides such as “New Roguelikes & Roguelites in September 2026: The Monthly Update” and his July release round-up pull upcoming and newly released titles into one view, highlighting key platforms, early access status and notable hooks for each game. He writes broader lists like “Game Pass Roguelikes & Roguelites: all the roguelike games on PC and Xbox Game Pass,” giving long-term visibility to catalogue titles rather than focusing purely on launch-day coverage. Similar treatment appears in round-ups for “Free Roguelikes: The Best Completely Free Roguelikes and Roguelites,” where he surfaces no-cost options for readers looking to sample the genre. Across these pieces he returns frequently to PC and console ecosystems, noting when games move to or from subscription services, leave early access or open pre-orders and registration on mobile stores.

Roguelike Deckbuilders and Action Roguelike Games

Holmes pays close attention to how roguelike mechanics spread into other genres, tracking deckbuilders, shooters, platformers, city builders and word games that adopt procedural and run-based structures. In “Roguelike Deckbuilders: Games Like Slay the Spire and Balatro” he groups card-based roguelikes, focusing on build variety, replayability and the churn of unlocks. “Action Roguelike Games: The Best Roguelike Shooters and Roguish Actioners” shifts the lens to faster-paced titles, linking moment-to-moment combat with longer-term progression, and noting where difficulty, randomness and meta-systems intersect. He explores adjacent niches through lists such as “Games like Dead Cells: The Best Roguelike Platformers” and “Games like Wordle: Roguelike Word Games and the Best Wordle-likes,” reflecting an interest in how roguelike ideas migrate into platforming and puzzle spaces.

Individual news stories and spotlights, including coverage of Gambonanza, a chess-themed roguelite leaving early access and moving to mobile, and Combolands, a roguelike city builder he singles out as a favourite strategy game of the year, underline this focus on hybrid designs.

Reviews, Retrospectives and Updates

Beyond guides and lists, Holmes writes reviews and retrospectives that stay within the broader orbit of roguelike-adjacent games.

His review of Abyssus, described as a brinepunk shooter that is “a little rusty in places,” balances mechanical analysis with comments on atmosphere and presentation. Pieces like “Ball X Pit Review: Breakout the magic powers, it’s time to dig deep” and “Windblown Early Access Review: the Dead Cells successor takes off …” revisit familiar action and platforming templates, focusing on how new titles build on or depart from established successes.

In “A Decade of Darkest Dungeon: A Retrospective,” he steps back to consider longevity, community and design influence, marking the game’s ten-year arc as part of a wider conversation about persistence and iteration in harsh, run-based RPGs. He also tracks long-tail support and updates, covering “Darkest Dungeon getting DLC six years after the last” and Noita’s substantial “Epilogue 2” update that adds new spells and enemies.

Coverage of industry decisions, such as Megabonk’s withdrawal from The Game Awards, sits alongside roadmap pieces like “Arms of God roadmap reveals planned console ports, local co-op and EA exit in 2027,” tying individual titles to broader questions of recognition, platform strategy and community communication.

Founder with a games media background

Holmes established Rogueliker in late 2023, positioning it as a dedicated corner of the internet for roguelike and roguelite coverage. He describes himself as an experienced games journalist turned media strategist, and he now uses that background to shape the site’s editorial mix of guides, news, reviews and opinion pieces. Before launching Rogueliker, his work appeared in print and online at Gamereactor UK, where he was editor-in-chief, as well as at outlets including PCGamesN, Yahoo and Wargamer.

That prior editorial experience is reflected in Rogueliker’s structured archives, consistent author credits and the way his own byline anchors key genre explainers, multi-platform lists and longer-form reflections on tentpole titles.