Writer Otsuichi Releases Free Roguelike Minimal Rogue Made With Claude Code
The release shows a prominent novelist using AI tools to build a complete, playable game on his own, which he compares to the hobbyist appeal of RPG Maker.
Key Facts
- Minimal Rogue is a free browser roguelike released on itch.io by writer Otsuichi.
- The game was made with Claude Code and uses Suno AI for music generation.
- Reaching the 100th floor triggers a tentative ending, which takes about 3 to 5 hours of play.
- The true lowest floor is around 180 septillion floors, which would take an estimated 13.8 billion years of continuous play to reach.
- The source code is published on GitHub under the MIT license.
Reporting from 2 sources: Denfaminicogamer, Game Spark.
Writer Otsuichi has released a free browser roguelike titled Minimal Rogue on his itch.io account. The game was made with Claude Code, an AI coding tool, and its music was generated with Suno AI. It is a traditional roguelike in the lineage of the original Rogue, with the player character represented by the single character '@'. Players move with arrow keys, attack by pressing toward enemies, and defend with the space bar. Items and equipment found in the dungeon strengthen the player, and the goal is to descend through floors toward the lowest level. The game reaches a tentative ending at the 100th floor, which Otsuichi said takes about 3 to 5 hours of play. The deepest floor, however, sits at around 180 septillion floors, and reaching it would take an estimated 13.8 billion years of continuous play. A true ending is prepared for anyone who manages that feat. Otsuichi said on his note that he began experimenting with Claude Code around spring this year and found the process had a fun similar to RPG Maker. The source code is published on GitHub under the MIT license, and the game supports Japanese and English. Otsuichi recommends playing on a PC screen, noting smartphone support was halted midway.
- Attacks consume stamina, so defending with the space bar to recover is part of the core loop, not just a guard.
- Equipment from past adventurers is added directly to attack and defense stats at pickup, rather than being carried as items.
- Dungeon gimmicks include slippery floors and lava floors.
- A special ability lets the player create walls in any direction with the space bar plus arrow keys, which can seal enemy generators or lure enemies onto switches.
- NPCs met in the dungeon are also represented by the '@' character, and item descriptions contain writerly touches that hint at the game's worldview.
- Autosave triggers when moving between floors, and a continue feature lets players restart from the same floor after death.
- Otsuichi first reported progress on the game in April 2026 and revealed the release on August 21, saying the project had been "left untouched for several months."
- His background includes winning the 6th Jump Novel & Nonfiction Grand Prize in 1996 for "Summer, Fireworks, and My Dead Body," written at age 16, and the Honkaku Mystery Award in 2003 for "GOTH: List of Cuts."
- Several of his novels have been adapted into films, including "ZOO," "Dark Places to Meet," and "Calling You."
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 2 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.