Game Rant spoke to Azurexis, who also goes by Nick, about pioneering the cozier side of the roguelite genre with Paper Animal RPG’s casual mode and wholesome vibes. Fans of Paper Mario and Pokemon Mystery Dungeon titles will want to keep an eye on Paper Animal RPG, but those looking for a change of pace from grimdark and challenging roguelikes may also find it charming.
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Combining Favorite Genres in Paper Animal RPG
Like many solo developers, Azurexis’ project is a labor of love, so it follows that he would combine two favorite styles to create the game.
Azurexis believes that cozy games have become more popular given the current state of the world, as empowering and reassuring spaces for players. Melding the iterative, high-stakes adventuring of a roguelike into a cozy, comforting title is a novel approach, albeit seemingly paradoxical. If the formula succeeds, it could be a breath of fresh air in a genre that feels crowded, samey, and oftentimes oppressively grim.
In terms of specific inspirations, Paper Animal RPG’s Kickstarter lists several specific examples, including Paper Mario and the Thousand-Year Door, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series, and two indie titles; One Step from Eden and Nuclear Throne. While the title’s visuals owe a clear debt to Paper Mario’s aesthetic, Azurexis also cited Octopath Traveler as a point of reference for its use of sprite art in 3D worlds. The game’s procedural dungeon exploration is drawn from Pokemon Mystery Dungeon.
The Casual Mode Debate
The roguelike genre was originally defined by brutal, perma-death difficulty, but the genre has grown broader with time. Still, Azurexis was unsure whether to include an easy mode in Paper Animal RPG.
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Ultimately, Azurexis settled on a common game development compromise: gating certain content behind harder difficulty levels, while allowing the broadest possible audience to enjoy most of the game on an easier setting. While the demand for brutally challenging games will never subside, making games more accessible to players has become more of a priority for developers, and Paper Animal RPG is no exception.
Paper Animal RPG’s Wholesome Multiplayer
Paper Animal RPG has one more surprising influence: Elden Ring. Paper Animal RPG features a secret area inspired by Pokemon Mystery Dungeon’s gifting system and Elden Ring’s player messaging system. Players can enter an online-exclusive area called the Elder Tree, where they spend their hard-earned XP to send presents to other players with their name and a short message attached.
While this system probably won’t produce the same wealth of memes Elden Ring has generated, it is an ideal way to foster coziness in an online community. Certain players will probably find ways to send cheeky messages to each other, but with a useful gift attached, each player interaction is guaranteed to have a degree of positivity.
Paper Animal RPG is currently live on Kickstarter, with an estimated launch window of September 2023.
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