You love failing, but slightly less each time? Well, friends, you’re going to want to check out some of the best roguelikes out there. For the sake of variety, no Hades, Dead Cells, Vampire Survivors, Balatro or Slay The Spire. We’ve talked about those games too much, but they are all obviously a total ball.
Ball X Pit
Do you remember the game Breakout? It’s had more names over the years than you’ve probably had hot dinners, but the core gameplay remains pretty much the same throughout: you’ve got a paddle at the bottom of the screen, and you need to bounce a ball to eliminate all the blocks above. Ball X Pit is that, only laced with the most addictive roguelike game mechanics possible, making this a new potential obsession for you.
Ball X Pit sees players descending into the hole with various biomes, and must various waves of enemies that just happen to be coming at you shaped like blocks. Defeated enemies drop XP used to buy weapons for your run, which can be fused or even evolved together to create massively stronger builds. In between runs, players return to your home base where you can build new facilities to farm resources and unlock permanent upgrades along with new characters, making you stronger after every level. It’s a simple loop, but it’ll put its hooks in you.
Blue Prince
Roguelikes usually lend themselves better to dungeon crawlers, shooters or some kind of action game. About as far from action games as roguelikes tend to go is deckbuilding, and even then, Slay The Spire is still pretty heavy on combat. A puzzle version of a roguelike is crazy then, so Blue Prince is obviously a huge outlier. If you’re looking to get your brain teased more than your physical dexterity though, Blue Prince is the game you’ve been looking for. Just don’t be surprised if it starts making your brain melt at its riddles.
In a story that only works because it’s set in the 90s, you play a teenager who’s inherited a mansion from a wealthy family member, but in order to actually sign the deeds, you need to solve the riddle of the mansion’s hidden room. You see, the mansion’s room layout changes every day, but you’re in control of where the rooms are placed. You need to place the rooms in such a way to successfully reach the antechamber at the back of the house, unlocking the doors along the way. It sounds simple, but this is a fiendishly difficult yet compelling game, with so many layers and additional puzzles to solve that you’ll be here for a long damn time.
Caves Of Qud
Caves of Qud is an open world RPG roguelike that’s quite unlike most of the games featured today If you’ve played Dwarf Fortress, you’ve got some idea of what to expect, but we’ve mentioned Dwarf Fortress a fair bit on both channels, so you know what they say? Maybe just a little bit of Qud. It’s a bit of a strange game to get to grips with, but there’s few else like it.
Caves of Qud’s key selling point is how heavy the simulation of the game’s world and inhabitants are. Players can create characters with so many different mutations and backgrounds that give you so much to play with, while each run sees the game’s world, factions and even backstories all randomly generated through a set of key variables. No two worlds are ever quite the same, but if you’d rather stay in one world and play the game like a traditional RPG, there’s modes for that too. Qud is good. That’s pretty much all we need to say about that one. Moving on.
CloverPit
Say what you want about Balatro, but the little poker roguelike that could has seemingly sparked huge interest in roguelikes about gambling that are just as addictive as real gambling without the danger of losing your family home. Just look at Dungeons and Degenerate Gamblers, which uses Blackjack as its basis. Balatro wasn’t the first though, as LocalThunk cites Luck Be A Landlord as inspiration, which utilises slots instead of cards. This leads us to the more recent CloverPit, which takes the slot machine roguelike formula and adds a layer of abject horror to the mix.
Players control a prisoner who awakens in a tiny prison cell with just an ATM and a slot machine for company. The objective is clear: earn enough cash from playing slots in order to pay off your crippling debt. Failure to do so leads to the ground opening up and your character falling into the game’s literal pit. Whoever said gambling doesn’t have consequences was clearly a liar liar pants on fire, but fortunately for you, there’s a slew of items to collect and ways to manipulate the odds in your favour.
Cult Of The Lamb
Gaming has long had a love affair with the cute and cozy, with games like Stardew Valley, Animal Crossing and others letting players live out their cottagecore fantasies. If you were to show people the home base gameplay in Cult of the Lamb, you’d be forgiven for thinking that this was just another cute and cheerful game, until you see one of the cult’s followers get ritually slaughtered to appease some malevolent Eldritch god. If you like games that take something pure and wholesome and just distort them (but in a fun way), this is the roguelike for you.
Cult of the Lamb opens with you, the eponymous lamb, dying, which is the type of thing that can really put a crimp in your day, honestly. Fortunately for the Lamb, they’ve got some outside help looking out for them, but unfortunately, that help comes in the form of an evil deity referred to as The One Who Waits. One resurrection later, and now the Lamb has to form an evil cult in the deity’s name, waging war on the land’s four corrupted Bishops while brainwashing followers to your cause. It’s a bonker game, with fun combat, complex town management mechanics and plenty of post-launch updates to ensure there’s enough to sink your teeth into.
Darkest Dungeon
Some games like to sprinkle their references and influences within their work subtly, making the player work for the easter eggs and whatnot. Darkest Dungeon makes no bones about its Lovecraftian influences though, with the adventurers in this game being one Cthulhu encounter away from being considered official Lovecraft canon. To be fair though, if you’re going to call your game Darkest Dungeon, cosmic horror seems like the only natural fit, as where else are you getting a setting where misery, madness and despair are practically all consuming?
Darkest Dungeon has players inheriting their ancestor’s estate, only to find the plonker was meddling with matters beyond mortal ken. Evil and corruption are now spreading throughout the land, and it’s up to our band of intrepid adventurers to delve into randomly generated dungeons to find the answers and hopefully stop the threat from another dimension. Players recruit heroes, level them up and try to stop them from stressing out too much and having a heart attack. With permadeath always on, this is the one roguelike where looking after your mental health is encouraged. Plus, if you like Darkest Dungeon 1, be sure to check out the sequel too.
Downwell
Not every game needs a super complicated backstory and nuanced characters in order for it to be an engaging experience. Downwell is one beautiful example of that. Hell, the guy you play as in Downwell doesn’t even have a given name, with creator Ojiro Fumoto having to conjure one out of thin air for the character when he made an appearance in the Kickstarter-back platform fighter Indie Pogo. That name is Welltaro, if you were wondering. You probably were. Downwell is the shit.
Basically Mr Driller for people who like guns on their feet, Downwell is all about descending a well filled with monsters, and your only defense is a pair of boots that fire bullets. Using your bullet boots, you need to navigate a treacherous dive while collecting treasure and upgrades that alter both your attacks and your movement. The vertical perspective and incredibly simple mechanics make this one a perfect mobile game, so if you’re looking for a new roguelike that’s infinitely addictive and utterly bizarre, Downwell is always a good shout.
Enter The Gungeon
Developers Dodge Roll were clearly very proud of themselves when they came up with the name Enter The Gungeon. It’s like a dungeon, but with guns. Every aspect of the game’s world is bullet themed, from the lifts that look like revolver chambers, the enemies who actually resemble bullets, and if the puns weren’t coming at you thick and fast enough already, the enemies are referred to as the Gundead. It sounds silly, and it is, but there’s so much charm to this roguelike world that you’ll be willing to forgive how nail-bitingly hard this game really is.
Players pick one of several characters, lovingly referred to as the Gungeoneers, who must — get this: Enter The Gungeon. Who saw that twist in the narrative coming? Each character has their own guns, strengths and weaknesses, but there’s also a massive amount of loot to be found exploring the different floors of the Gungeon. The Gungeon changes with every run, you lose all your items if you die and even though the game is quite difficult, it never feels too unfair. If you’re willing to settle into this game’s rhythms, this is a roguelike for the ages.
Gunfire Reborn
From Gungeon’s to Gunfire, Gunfire Reborn feels like a somewhat rarer experience, as it’s an FPS roguelike designed for up to four player online co-op. Sure, you can enjoy Gunfire Reborn as a solo player, grinding through dungeons and levelling up the various characters on offer, but the gameplay really begins to sing in Gunfire if you can grab a couple of mates willing to hit the grind with you. Unfortunately though, we can’t quite solve the mystery of why the game is called Gunfire Reborn. Was there a Gunfire 1 that we don’t know about?
The formula is pretty simple, with four zones to clear filled with randomly generated levels punctuated by a boss fight at the end. Killing enemies drops gold and essence which can be used to level up weapons and purchase new ones, along with scrolls that give you game changing powers. Outside of individual runs, you’re unlocking new playable characters along with new talents and upgrades to make you stronger after every run, and with about a dozen difficulty levels to tackle, Gunfire Reborn could be your crew’s new roguelike of choice.
Inscryption
Anyone who grew up watching Yu-Gi-Oh as a kid knows for a fact that card games can have dire consequences. One wrong move and it’s to the Shadow Realm with you laddie. Developed by Daniel Mullins, Inscription captures that feeling of playing a card game with life and death hanging in the balance, only instead of spending eternity hanging out in the purple dimension with Yugi’s grandad, your fate for losing is being turned into one of the cards used in the game. But that’s barely scratching the surface of Inscryption’s weirdness.
A deckbuilding game, Inscryption sees players trapped in a cabin, forced to play this evil card game with an entity known as Leshy. You move across a map, taking on battles and encounters along the way, with battles seeing the player placing cards on a grid against their opponent. In between runs, you’re returned to the cabin where you can solve puzzles and unlock new tools to help you on your next run. Anyone who’s played Inscryption before will know that there’s a lot more to this one, but you’re better off going in as blind as possible.
Loop Hero
Do you ever just feel like life is the act of going in circles over and over again? Loop Hero probably isn’t going to help you with that feeling, but what it is going to offer you is a game that mixes idle RPG style battling, roguelike deckbuilding and a story that’s about as dark as it gets. Literally, to be honest. The whole world has been plunged into darkness, so it’s pretty goshdarned dark. Loop Hero is a simple game, but there’s an undeniable genius to be found in Loop Hero’s systems that make it possibly one of the most addictive roguelikes ever made.
In a world that’s been destroyed by a mad lich, you control a hero who’s walking along a set, looped path. Along the way, monsters spawn, who can drop equipment and, most importantly, landscape cards. Landscape cards allow you to alter attributes of the map, which can either give you bonuses or add new monsters to the path, which offer much more fulfilling rewards. Between runs, you’ll return back to your camp to build new items and tools, making you stronger with every subsequent run. Don’t play this too long though, you might go a bit loopy.
Megabonk
Some people might have only heard of Megabonk because of the situation regarding The Game Awards, with the game’s elusive developer taking themselves out of contention for the Best Debut Indie Game award because they’ve actually developed as a solo indie dev before. Honestly, kind of a chad move, though why should we have expected anything less considering the game’s Steam trailer opened with a shirtless dude flexing in front of the camera while enemies are getting mullered in the background? A game for chads, by chads.
Following the Vampire Survivors approach to roguelikes, Megabonk sees players surviving against massive hordes of enemies, unlocking randomised rewards with every level up. What makes Megabonk special is, well, a lot of things. It’s 3D, which makes the hordes feel extra overwhelming, but throw in a bunch of physics objects that both you and the horde can mess with, and Megabonk is chaos personified. There’s admittedly a bit of jank to this one, but consider this: the game’s called Megabonk. Anything less than unrefined havoc would’ve been disappointing.
Monster Train
An answer to the question “wot if Slay The Spire were on train?” Each run sees players controlling the train as they attempt to reignite the frozen wastes that Hell has become, fending off the forces of Heaven who’ve overstepped their responsibilities by waging war on Hell’s own turf. Unfortunately for them, the tribes of Hell are uniting.
Unlike other roguelikes where you pick one specific hero, Monster Train allows players to pick a tribe, complete with a champion unit, along with a back-up allied tribe, using a deck composed of cards from both. From there, you unlock new cards and artifacts throughout your run, allowing you to make and even break your builds in ridiculous ways. As for the actual combat, you’re managing the various carriages of your train, placing units to stop angels from attacking the heart. On the surface, Monster Train might seem uninspired, but play it then challenge yourself to put it down after half an hour. Bet you won’t.
Returnal
One thing about roguelikes compared to other genres is that they don’t often get best in class graphics that make them statement pieces of consoles like the PS5. Don’t get me wrong, the vibrancy and style of Hades is beautiful, but sometimes you want to see a roguelike with some mindblowing graphics. Clearly, Housemarque felt the same, creating their seminal third person bullet hell shooter/roguelike hybrid Returnal to become one of the best games on PS5. Housemarque had bullet hell roots anyway, but the added roguelike and narrative elements really help Returnal come into its own.
Returnal follows Selene, an astronaut who’s crash landed on the planet Atropos, only to find herself confronted by hostile creatures, a time loop that forces her to return to the crash upon every death, and the planet itself changing its layout after each loop. If that doesn’t sound intimidating enough for poor Selene, the aliens fire projectiles at Selene like they’re playing Gradius, and she’s receiving some really trippy visions that give Returnal a bit of a psychological horror skew. Not for the faint of heart, but a game that’ll reward those dying for a challenge.
Risk of Rain 2
Admittedly among the more popular roguelikes out there, there’s a high chance that if you’re watching a video about cool roguelikes you should play, you’ve probably already heard about Risk of Rain 2. If that applies to you, you get an official Cultured Vultures imaginary custard cream, but for everyone else, Risk of Rain 2 is considered by many to be one of the best roguelikes going. Even though the game’s catered more towards a co-op experience, playing this alone is just as much fun as facing down the hordes with your friends, which is a tall order in itself.
Another roguelike about players stranded on a hostile alien planet, Risk of Rain 2 tasks players with locating a teleporter found somewhere in the level, killing monsters and obtaining new weapons, gear and experience along the way. Once you’ve reached the teleporter, the horde arrives along with a big boss, but if you manage to survive them, you’re off to the next level. Play continues until you either die or find a final boss, with players able to loop through previous levels to get infinitely stronger. The twist? Enemy’s also get stronger the longer you play, so it quickly becomes an arms race between you and the AI. Who knew a Cold War approach to game design could be so fun?
Rogue Legacy 2
From name alone, Rogue Legacy sounds like some kind of remake of the original Rogue, the PC game that inspired the name of the entire genre, but as far as we can tell, there’s no real relation to either game. Instead, the legacy that Rogue Legacy is more concerned about is one of family, as it has arguably one of the most novel yet common sense approaches to the roguelike gameplay loop of run, die, repeat. Once your adventurer has been killed while out and about, you’re given the option to choose an heir who’ll retain certain traits while offering something of their own.
This family focus approach allows Rogue Legacy to tell more a story, one of a family hopelessly throwing generation after generation of bodies at a problem until it’s solved. As for the game itself, the game blends platforming and Metroidvania-like elements to create levels that encourage players to explore fully. Rogue Legacy 2 is a bit of a kitchen sink sequel, with more items, weapons, character classes and traits for your heirs to be blessed/burdened with. Challenging yet approachable for all, Rogue Legacy 2 is an excellent starting roguelike.
Shotgun King: The Final Checkmate
If anyone has ever found themselves consumed with the thought that chess is a bit too boring and could do with the liberal application of some tactical 12-gauge, Shotgun King: The Final Checkmate has you covered. Instead of controlling all the pieces and engaging with your opponent in a game of strategy, you play as one solitary King, who finds all of his allied black pieces have defected to the other side. The solution is simple: grab a shotgun and blast the shit out of any white pieces trying to corner you and put you in checkmate.
The game takes place on your standard chess board, with the King able to either move one space or shoot at encroaching pieces. The goal of a stage is to take out the opposing king, with upgrades coming in once you’ve beaten a stage. The main game has 12 stages, but there’s a wealth of additional modes to unlock, along with new cards that can change your attributes in huge ways. Shotgun King: The Final Checkmate might not be as flashy as some other roguelikes either in this video or in general, but it reinvented a stuffy old board game in such a fun way. Kudos to PUNKCAKE
Spelunky 2
Alongside Risk of Rain 2, the Spelunky games are also among the more recognisable roguelikes out there, but that doesn’t mean everyone out there has played them. If we can get more people to accept the light of Spelunky in their life, we’re going to do it. A roguelike for people who think the idea of exploring caves is cool but maybe has seen too many videos about people getting stuck underground, Spelunky has players delving deep into caves and caverns in the hopes of treasure, dodging monsters and demons along the way.
While it took over a decade to come out, Spelunky finally received a sequel in 2020 aptly named Spelunky 2, which saw the daughter of the protagonist from the first game travelling to the Moon to rescue her parents. Gameplay is much the same as its predecessor, albeit with new characters, the ability to ride mounts and a whole liquid simulation physics model that can add some extra danger and intrigue to your runs. It’s a difficult game, sure, but with the introduction of online multiplayer for up to four players, it’s not too hard to recruit some help.
Streets Of Rogue
Streets Of Rogue feels like a bit of a misleading name, in all honesty. It feels like a pun on Streets of Rage, making you potentially think that this is a roguelike beat ‘em up. Streets of Rogue isn’t that, but if that is what you’re looking for, check out Absolum. Instead, Streets of Rogue is like the top-down era of GTA mixed with games like Deus Ex and Dwarf Fortress, creating an experience that’s basically unmitigated carnage. If you want one of the most manic games out there, that truly encourages player freedom in all forms, Streets Of Rogue should pique your interest.
Players are dropped into a procedurally generated city and are given the goal of overthrowing the corrupt Mayor by any means necessary. That can include the boring method of playing as a soldier and blowing up the entire city in the pursuit of your goal, or becoming a vampire and recruiting an undead horde to do your bidding for you. It’s a mess of systems and ideas, and that’s the charm. Upon each death, you get the option to buy new gadgets and abilities to make that next run more ridiculous, making Streets of Rogue a beautiful banquet of bedlam.
Wildermyth
In the strictest sense of the word, Wildermyth isn’t really a roguelike, which is confirmed by the fact that the developers made a big deal of the game’s second DLC that added a dedicated roguelike mode. If you’re a combat only enthusiast, said DLC roguelike mode alone should serve you well in Wildermyth, with the game’s XCOM-inspired tactical RPG combat ensuring there’s enough depth and strategy within the fighting to keep you invested. Still, we’re including Wildermyth because of what the main game does with roguelike style progression when it comes to story and narrative.
The campaign starts with a random group of party members defending a village, only to go out and defeat the big bad evil guy, but the important part of Wildermyth truly is the journey. There’s a procedural generation approach to the story here that allows characters within your party to develop their own personalities, guided by the choices you’ve made. These random story twists and turns help make each campaign run unique, and with the ability to recruit previously fallen heroes in your next campaign, there’s an incentive to keep going across multiple campaigns. It’s not quite a roguelike, but it’s also not quite like anything ever, so we had to recommend it.
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