Elona, short for “Eternal League of Nefia”, is a free Japanese roguelike with rather unconventional design choices – such as its open-world nature and the fact that death is not permanent.

Most typical roguelikes are about exploring a single self-contained randomly generated dungeon, restarting from the beginning if you die. Elona, on the other hand, counts on the player holding on to one save file for dozens, or even hundreds of hours.

At first sight, Elona may look derivative. Many mechanics were borrowed from ADOM and it uses art assets taken directly from RPG Maker and Stone Soup. It also has a less serious tone, with chest-busters from Aliens, Big Daddies from BioShock and even Pokéball-like items you can use to capture monsters. But there's an undeniable complexity underneath it.

While the game is pretty sparse when it comes to dialogue choices, its role-playing options go far beyond the typical “melee, ranged or magic” tropes seen in nearly every modern fantasy RPG.

For example, it's perfectly viable to play focusing on Charisma. Such characters may roam from town to town performing as a musician and earning money that way. They don't even necessarily have to do battle – it's often possible to run away, but high Charisma also means a greater capacity to employ hired mercenaries. Not interested in the life of a travelling musician? Charisma also makes it easier to get paid as a travelling merchant, or even a prostitute.

The game provides so many varied mechanics, random dungeons and side-quests that it's very easy to get distracted from the main quest and pursue other interests. A player might run a farm, build a shop or even set up a museum. Investments can be made, but bills need to be paid every month. There are also allies and monsters you can recruit – or marry – or breed!