Randomizers are an often underestimated method to re-engage with video games you’ve previously completed. By rearranging essential progression points and objectives, they transform familiar gameplay into an intriguing puzzle. This practice gained popularity with classics such as Super Metroid, primarily through mods and ROM hacks. Nevertheless, a select few titles offer randomizers within their original mechanics.
The randomizers featured here are designed to take structured experiences and mix them up while ensuring they remain completeable. Key progression points are exchanged for substitutes, creating a fresh challenge each time. For this article, I’ve identified two types of randomizers for each game: the standard randomizer and the Archipelago randomizer, which enables multi-game, multi-player experiences.
10 Minecraft
Knocking Out Goals
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Randomizer Name |
Description |
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Customizable; players complete Advancements for rewards, including unique crafting recipes or items obtained in other games. |
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Highly customizable, randomizing item drops, recipes, structures, and mob spawns for added chaos. |
At first glance, a Minecraft randomizer might appear unnecessary, given that Minecraft worlds are inherently random. However, these randomizers take that randomness and shuffle progression, offering a new experience. While various options exist, I particularly appreciate the Archipelago version, which allows players to observe friends’ activities in real-time via chat.
This randomizer alters crafting recipes by linking them to Advancements. For instance, players might need to breed animals to craft a stone pickaxe or obtain Elytra for rewards found in another player’s game. It’s reminiscent of Minecraft Bingo, minus the competitive edge, making the experience fun as players strategize which achievements to pursue given their limited crafting options.
9 Risk of Rain 2
Slipping Through Stages
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Randomizer Name |
Description |
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Extensively customizable; features multiplayer options and modes such as Explore, which involves scavenging for items, and Classic, where you aim to complete the game amid randomization. |
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This fully customizable randomizer affects all aspects of Risk of Rain 2, but it requires a specific version of the game to function. |
In Risk of Rain 2, the Archipelago randomizer enhances the traditional roguelike format by requiring players to unlock stages through scavenging and exploration. This can be played solo or cooperatively with friends engaging in various games. The Explore Mode essentially turns the game into an expansive scavenger hunt, enriching the experience.
Unlike the standard method of racing through stages and collecting every item, the randomizer encourages a more deliberate approach as players navigate each area. The result is a fresh take on a familiar game, making it worthwhile for those who find the conventional gameplay loop repetitive.
8 The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Scattered About
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Randomizer Name |
Description |
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Moderately customizable, this version allows free travel between islands from the outset while shuffling item placements. |
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This implementation replicates the previous randomizer’s features while enabling cross-game multiplayer (currently in alpha). |
The Wind Waker randomizer is particularly engaging, often making each island feel more intricate and interconnected than in the original game. It demands considerable travel, but this effort enhances the cohesiveness of the map, enriching the overall experience as players discover items in unexpected locations.
For instance, starting with the Skull Hammer can lead players to collect necessary pieces like the Bow, which might ordinarily feel out of reach. The game evolves into a large puzzle where players must decipher relationships among items and locations, resulting in infinite replayability and a much less linear adventure.
7 Super Mario 64
Getting Slick With It
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Randomizer Name |
Description |
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Highly customizable, it randomizes a majority of Mario 64’s elements, including star locations and other in-game objects. |
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Mostly customizable for multi-world randomization with fewer options than SM64 Randomizer but focuses on rewards for star collection. |
Super Mario 64 is revered for its open-ended world design, allowing players to explore freely. This fluid structure makes the randomizer particularly enticing, as players must solve the fastest paths to obtain stars. The SM64 Randomizer not only mixes star locations but also alters where various objects appear, offering unexpected surprises around each corner.
While this randomness can be chaotic, it also adds an exciting layer of strategy. Randomly encountering power-ups creates new challenges as players must think on their feet while navigating through the game’s iconic levels.
6 AM2R
Built For Fun
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Randomizer Name |
Description |
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Community Updates (Built-In) |
Partially customizable, this update randomizes items and removes progression barriers, allowing for greater exploration right from the start. |
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Archipelago (Unofficial) |
Similar to the previous version but designed for multiplayer with a more complex setup process. |
Despite AM2R being delisted, Community Updates provide access to its built-in randomizer that significantly opens up gameplay dynamics. While Metroid 2 typically presents a linear journey, this randomizer unleashes previously restricted areas early on, enhancing exploration.
Players navigate newly accessible sections, challenging themselves amidst uncertainty as they seek out better items. This reimagining turns the classic adventure into a fresh experience, pushing players to use the skills they cultivated during conventional play—a highly recommended venture for those familiar with the original game.
5 Pokémon: Legends Arceus
Shuffled Around
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Randomizer Name |
Description |
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Highly customizable, allowing randomization of trainers, shops, Pokémon encounters, but involves a lengthy setup process. |
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Non-customizable; it simplifies setup by solely randomizing wild Pokémon encounters. |
While Pokémon randomizers often introduce minor alterations, Legends Arceus offers a unique twist. Changes to area requirements, item collections, and Pokémon encounters yield particularly chaotic gameplay. For example, a player might stumble upon an Alpha Lucario early in their adventure, drastically shifting the level of challenge in that area.
This element of surprise enhances the game, allowing players to engage with wild encounters earlier than anticipated and creating memorable moments. If you seek a playful shake-up in the Pokémon formula, this randomizer delivers an enjoyable experience.
4 Stardew Valley
Built-In or Built-Out
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Randomizer Name |
Description |
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Bundle Randomizer (Built-in) |
Minimal customization; randomizes Community Center bundles and introduces new ones. |
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Extensively customizable, randomizes rewards, entrances, skills, and item locations. |
What sets Stardew Valley apart is its embedded randomizer for Community Center bundles, adding depth to a game that many players have already extensively explored. Each bundle’s contents can change, introducing fresh challenges and motivations. However, for an even more unpredictable experience, the Archipelago randomizer excels by randomly shuffling items found in shops and community center rewards, among other locations.
Given Stardew’s inherent flexibility, players can pursue virtually any goal within a short timeframe—often within about 30 minutes—making it easy to become the unofficial champion among friends.
3 Kingdom Hearts 2
A Streamlined Maze
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Randomizer Name |
Description |
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Fully customizable; players gain immediate access to all worlds alongside randomized items, boss locations, shops, and abilities. |
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Similar features to above but accommodates multiplayer without boss randomization. |
The principal difference between the regular and Archipelago versions of the Kingdom Hearts 2 randomizer lies in the latter’s omission of boss randomization, allowing for cooperative play with friends across various games. Regardless, both versions offer quick access to any world, providing strategic options for tackling challenges—visit tougher worlds for better loot or explore safer starting zones.
This restructured gameplay resembles a condensed version of Kingdom Hearts 2, as players race to collect items and unlock abilities quickly. Watching speedruns of this randomizer is particularly entertaining, as competitors adapt on the fly while pursuing fast completion times.
2 Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Incredibly Open-Ended
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Randomizer Name |
Description |
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Extensively customizable, with various modes and settings, shuffling every item in the castle. |
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Similar to the above, facilitating multi-game play with friends, currently in Beta. |
Metroidvanias significantly contribute to the randomizer phenomenon, with Symphony of the Night serving as a prime example. Randomization transforms major progression items, often putting them behind formidable bosses or relocating them within the castle.
When playing in multiplayer environments, players can collaborate to access new areas and share items, effectively overcoming challenges together. The nostalgia of exploring the castle emerges again, invoking the thrill of playing the game for the first time while also accommodating the enjoyment of speedrunning for a casual replay.
1 Hollow Knight
Complete Freedom
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Randomizer Name |
Description |
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Similar features but with every room randomized while allowing multi-player experiences. |
At the pinnacle of randomization experiences stands Hollow Knight, renowned for its remarkable randomizer features that allow players to shuffle room layouts and randomize spawn points. While this might complicate navigation, it offers a thrilling playability akin to solving a puzzling challenge.
These randomization options, particularly the instantly randomized spawn points, introduce unpredictability, compelling players to adapt to new circumstances. The interplay between items and progression works seamlessly within the context, granting a fresh take on a well-known game that consistently feels new with each playthrough.
Hollow Knight’s randomizer exemplifies why randomization enhances replayability, creating a diverse experience every time it is played. It’s effectively a new adventure each run, making it more captivating with each subsequent playthrough.
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