Going rogue
Chaos and comedy.
Luck and, uh, running out of luck.
A good roguelike doesn’t treat the player like other games do.
This is their beauty, and it’s a part of why we keep coming back for another go.
Next time everything will go right.
Here’s our list of the 19 best roguelikes on PC you might play in 2024.
Our definition of roguelike is broad.
We won’t nitpick what constitutes a roguelikeversus a roguelite, for example.
That argument is for professors and other freaks.
For a long time, RPS has joked about the “roguelikelike”.
This is our way of saying all taxonomy is folly.
We could easily headline this article “19 good video games” and call it a day.
In short, we’re not interested in the question: what is a roguelike?
We are interested in the question: what are the good ones?
The best roguelike games on PC
Here’s our full list of the final contenders.
If you actually HATE doing that, whoa, okay, chill out.
you’ve got the option to click a link below to be directed straight to the game.
The dirt-cheap popping candy ofVampire Survivorshas accidentally created an entire subgenre.
It’s so simple.
There are basically four buttons to this auto-shooting crowd controller.
Up, down, left, and right.
Okay, you have to select an upgrade from a level-up menu that appears every minute or so.
But that’s basically it - collect gems, don’t get hurt.
You’d think something this straightforward would have caught on decades ago.
It’s not, let’s say, a tidy game.
ImagineDevil Daggers, but all the enemies have bad knees and you don’t have to aim.
Or Roguebook for similar capers.
Monster Trainfeels like playing three games ofHearthstoneat the same time while snorting a line ofSlay The Spire.
It is the maximalist speed demon of deckbuilding roguelikes.
Enemies spill into multiple floors and you’re forced to think ahead with tactical gambles and wild buffing.
Its principal inspiration, Slay The Spire, is a cleaner, more elegant card battler.
But Monster Train is louder, wilder, and willing to party.
Unexplored 2 does two clever things with regard to its top-down fantasy adventuring.
First, it abolishes money.
The traders in the game’s many towns and settlements will only operate on the barter system.
In other words, if you want a new sword, you might need to give up your boots.
The second clever thing happens when you die.
As your bones sink into the dirt, whole years pass until your next adventurer is ready to go.
This happens in seconds, a map of the world changing as factions and evil empires spread and retreat.
Meaning friendly places you visited in a former life may now be held by your worst enemies.
All this (and other unexpected features) combine to make Unexplored 2 understatedly special.
The roguelike is the realm of the indie.
But what if a AAA studio went big with the genre.
You might come out with something likeReturnal.
But you also have the mocap and voice acting expected of a PlayStation-published pew-pew.
Endless Dungeonwas made for turret fans.
I’m trying to tell you something here!
And fans of its 2D spiritual predecessorDungeon Of The Endlessmay not like the new form.
But I will forever defend (with turrets) its door-dashing and desperate last stands.
Buckshot Roulette takes inspiration from both that and Balatro.
Gambling has always been a central pillar of the roguelike.
Choosing to drink an unlabelled potion is just a thirsty wager against god.Balatrotakes things back to the casino.
In one sense the game is simple.
In another sense, it is lunacy.
(In a third sense it is actuallyBig Two, but that’s enough senses for now).
You are tasked with breaking a ceiling of points by making a strong poker hand.
Perhaps you get a full house, well done.
Now the points required are tripled.
And there looks like it’s no solution.
Balatro soon foists upon you weird and wonderful modifiers.
Jokers shaped like credit cards which let you go into debt to buy upgrades.
Tarot cards that turn all your spades into diamonds.
Spectral cyptids that create copies of other cards held in your hand.
With each upping of the ante your stack of winnings soars to more ludicrous heights.
But we all have to cash in our chips some time.
In this sorrow-soaked sequel, there is a similarly important system underlying your team’s struggles.
This time, it is all about relationships.
If only we could do something about that…
12.
As does management game The Last Starship.
For every failed run in FTL, you will float away with a tiny, glimmering space anecdote.
It didn’t matter that your chief engineer was still in there.
You had no time, right?
Who could judge you?
You’ll pick up a new engineer in the next system, anyway.
FTL was a relatively small game that led the way for a lot of chaotic tomfoolery that would follow.
It’s not only one of our favourite roguelikes, it’s one of ourbest space gamestoo.
And, come to think of it,one of YOURS.
Ah, it’s so pleasant when we all agree.
c’mon step this way and let’s talk about it.
Yes, this way, into the airlock.
Alternatively, try Undermine.
Even after all these years it still feels weird to explain.
Streets Of Rogue
What else should I be playing if I like this:Good question.
The most valuable currency in Streets Of Rogue is chicken nuggets.
But you will need them to level up your character, a gorilla.
No, wait, a robot.
No, a vampire.
Oh actually, a gangster.
Hmm, maybe a cannibal this time.
How about a cop?
I think you get the idea.
You might hack every ATM on the way up and use the money to hire goons.
Honestly, I don’t care how you go about it.
I’m busy biting people as a zombie and causing a small apocalypse.
If you want MMO Rogue, try Realm Of The Mad God Exalt.
If you just want Rogue, try Rogue.
There is no one there.
Just a small pond.
The only living thing nearby is an eel in the water.
You inspect the eel.
“I’m watching you, traveller,” the fish repeats.
You leave the room, and decide not to steal from the chest.
On tombstones, you will see descriptions of previous adventurer deaths.
“Overdosed on a sphynx salt injector,” says one.
“Made too many mocking sounds at an ogre ape,” says another.
The world is dense with ways to die.
It is also perhaps the most traditional roguelike on this list, in terms of its presentation and controls.
Noita
What else should I be playing if I like this:Spelunky 2, you fool.
Roguelikes have branched out into many flavours since ye olde days of Rogue itself.
But one thing many of them have forgotten is the chaos that comes of curiousity.
Drinking potions to find out what they do is one thing.
But its the procedural storytelling and clever narrative mechanisms that make your heroes memorable.
And if they get bested in battle they won’t necessarily die.
Instead they’ll often receive a harsh wound that will affect their personal story in unforeseen ways.
Unless of course… it makes sense for them to die?
This is something more games could embrace.
Choice is a hugely important element of roguelikes, and Wildermyth understands that.
“I cannot possibly express to you how brilliant Wildermyth is,” said Sin inour review.
Or Helldivers 2 if you just like pals and want to get rid of the roguelike elements altogether.. Its pixel simplicity hid a huge variety of power-ups and relics that changed how each character would fight.
The pixel art disappeared but the magic remained.
It also has a killer soundtrack of electric guitar warbling, giving its drop-in-and-mess-dudes-up action even more spacey appeal.
But any of Supergiant’s back catalogue would like: Transistor, Bastion, or Pyre.
The first Hades is a good game.
But this list isn’t big enough for two errant spawn of the underworld.
Supergiant’s storytelling is also out in full regalia, filling your runs with characterful encounters and clever dialogue.
Monster Train is a good shout.
Slay The Spire’s mystical power is such that it spawned an entire genre - the roguelike deckbuilder.
It is a game of improvisation and luck, but also one of cunning and craftiness.
It is likely nothing will.
Dead Cells
What else should I be playing if I like this:Rogue Legacy 2 for one thing.
But if it’s a pure metroidvania you’re after then Hollow Knight is the obvious choice.
Run wreck smash jump slam slice heck dash roll oh no slash dash slash jump slash run damn dead.
That is the average run in Dead Cells reduced to the stream of consciousness purity of buttonthought.
Also, it’s gettingan animated TV show in French!?
Dead Cells is not just a great roguelike, it’s one of the juiciest games in existence.
Spelunky 2
What else should I be playing if I like this:The first Spelunky remains beloved.
But why not try Celeste for a purer platforming experience?
Our Graham calls Spelunky 1 the “best game in the world”.
Everything old is deadly again.
All this and more makes it"the best game ever 2", according to our acting editor.
…but he’s not the one writing the list!
EAT IT, GRAHAM.
Fights In Tight Spaces is a tactical deckbuilder.
Chess but with giant time-travelling robots.
No, that doesn’t do Into The Breach justice.
Grid-paper XCOM with an undo button.
No, that’s not it.
Turn-based Neon Genesis Evangelion but with an ending that makes sense.
Ah, jeez, none of these work.
Let’s just settle on “best roguelike six years running”.
The cleverest thing about Into The Breach is also the simplest - it lets you see what’s coming.
Not so Into The Breach.
It is an exercise in searching for the perfect move.
Think we missed a roguelike?
It’s possible we forgot to open a chest or two as we plundered these depths.
But that’s what you’re here for.
Let us know what your favourite roguelike is, and why you love it so much.
