We all know and love that “one more run” feeling we get when we find a roguelike that clicks with us. The thrill of never knowing exactly what your next attempt will look like make these some of the best PC games out there alongside the best FPS games on PC . Just like Metroidvanias, though, just calling something a roguelike doesn’t tell you a lot about it. They all have some level of randomized elements to them, but exactly what changes, what you keep, and even what you are doing in the game can vary. This means there is more than likely a roguelike that is perfect for your tastes. The only trouble is finding it. Don’t worry, our list won’t change if you come back tomorrow and will still have the best roguelikes you can play on PC.
While you’re at it, check out all the upcoming PC games we’re excited about to see if any future roguelikes seem interesting.
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Hades II
79%
Platforms
PC (Microsoft Windows), Mac
Genre
Role-playing (RPG), Hack and slash/Beat 'em up, Adventure, Indie
Developer
Supergiant Games
Publisher
Supergiant Games
Release
May 06, 2024
We’re cheating a little bit with
Hades 2
since it is still technically in
early access
, but it has already managed to surpass the first game for us. This sequel keeps the same great combat and structure of fighting rooms and picking paths with various rewards but expands on your build options in clever ways. Melinoe has her own set of weapons to learn and upgrade, but also an entirely new magic system that makes magic builds far more viable than they were in the first game. You can expect the same amazing level of writing and acting here as well. We have no doubt that
Hades 2
will be the new gold standard for the genre once it is fully released, but even now it is hard to beat.
Balatro
87%
Platforms
Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Android, PC (Microsoft Windows), iOS, PlayStation 5, Mac, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Genre
Strategy, Turn-based strategy (TBS), Indie, Card & Board Game
Developer
LocalThunk
Publisher
Playstack
Release
February 20, 2024
The best way to make a game appealing is to make it as accessible as possible. Roguelikes in general have a hard time with this, but
Balatro
cleverly sidesteps that issue by basing the entire game around the classic 52-card deck. That approchability will make it easy for anyone to get started, and from there start to learn how to alter the deck with the random Jokers that change how you look at your cards. It is the perfect example of a simple idea that expanded into something so deep and satisfying that it rightfully won tons of awards the year it came out. It has a surprising number of moving parts and different ways each run can go for a game that uses basic playing cards. Just be careful if you put it on your
Steam Deck
because it might just consume your entire life.
Cobalt Core
80%
Platforms
PC (Microsoft Windows), Nintendo Switch
Genre
Puzzle, Role-playing (RPG), Strategy, Tactical, Indie, Card & Board Game
Developer
Rocket Rat Games
Publisher
Brace Yourself Games
Release
November 08, 2023
Even if deckbuilding roguelikes aren’t your thing,
Cobalt Core
obfuscates the card element just enough to make it feel more like a turn-based RPG than anything else. You pick your crew of three that each add different cards to your pool and move through a map via nodes just like
Slay the Spire.
Combat plays out somewhat like
Into the Breach
where you can see exactly what your opponent is doing and need to decide which cards to play to move, attack, and defend your own ship to do as much damage while taking as little as possible. Runs aren’t super long, and it won’t take you hundreds of hours to unlock everything. It isn’t going to be a game you play forever, but it makes sure the time you do spend in it is exciting and rewarding.
Returnal
83%
Platforms
PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5
Genre
Shooter
Developer
Housemarque
Publisher
Sony Interactive Entertainment
Release
April 30, 2021
Returnal
might be the first true AAA Roguelike game that launched early in the PS5’s life and found its true home on the PC. Sure, you can use your
PS5 controller
to experience the haptics but this game sings at a high frame rate using keyboard and mouse controls. Like
Hades,
it also manages to weave the gameplay loop of dying and repeating runs into the narrative in a clever way that we won’t spoil here. This is a third-person shooter where you only get a handful of permanent upgrades for traversal, but plenty of new weapons and buffs. Unlike most third-person shooters,
Returnal
plays like a bullet-hell game where you need to dodge complex bullet patterns while firing back. It is one of the harder roguelikes out there, but very polished and one that you can actually see an ending to.
Vampire Survivors
81%
Platforms
Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Android, PC (Microsoft Windows), iOS, PlayStation 5, Mac, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Genre
Role-playing (RPG), Adventure, Indie, Arcade
Developer
Poncle
Publisher
Poncle
Release
February 01, 2022
Seeing
Vampire Survivors
on the Steam store might lead you to believe it is some cheap Castlevania rip-off not even worth the few bucks it costs. While it clearly takes more than just some light inspiration from Castlevania, the gameplay is anything but cheap. The graphics are retro-inspired and readable, and the only input on the player’s part is moving your character, but the amount this game does with just that is rather impressive. Your character of choice will auto-attack with a default weapon, but as you level up and gain access to upgrades and new attacks, you slowly become an unstoppable ball of death. The main roguelike element is what selection of upgrades you get on each level since you can pick your character and stage, and the enemies don’t factor in much besides being fodder. Getting overpowered is addicting, and made only sweeter with hundreds of unlockables and challenges to go for.
Rogue Legacy 2
75%
Platforms
Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Genre
Platform, Role-playing (RPG), Adventure, Indie
Developer
Cellar Door Games
Publisher
Cellar Door Games
Release
April 28, 2022
The main difference between a roguelike and a roguelite is whether or not you keep any progress between your runs.
Rogue Legacy
was one of the first games to make permanent progression between runs part of the experience and incorporate some
Metroidvania
elements into the game
. Rogue Legacy 2
further expands on everything the first did well. While plenty of games have adopted that progression system since then, what is still unique to this series is the system of choosing a descendant of your previous character on each run that comes with its own buffs and debuffs. These are contextualized as inherited traits, such as being colorblind or a compulsive gambling addict alongside one of the multiple unlockable classes. If you like a bit of Metroidvania design in your roguelike, plus always having something to reach for in the overall progression system,
Rogue Legacy 2
is the king.
The Binding of Isaac: Repentance
Platforms
Nintendo Switch
Genre
Shooter, Indie
Developer
Edmund McMillen, Nicalis, Inc.
Publisher
Nicalis, Inc.
Release
November 03, 2021
Starting off as a simple Flash game,
The Binding of Isaac
has grown into one of the largest and most ambitious roguelike games on PC. The latest iteration,
Repentance,
is almost too big of a game now. What started as a little dungeon crawler where you shoot tears, collect items, and fight gross bosses has sprawled into a game with dozens of characters, hundreds of items that combine and interact in insane ways, multiple modes, challenges, achievements, secrets, and more. This is one of the few Roguelikes that, without exaggeration, you could play for hundreds of ours and see something new each time you play.
Slay the Spire
85%
Platforms
PlayStation 4, Linux, Android, PC (Microsoft Windows), iOS, Mac, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Genre
Role-playing (RPG), Strategy, Turn-based strategy (TBS), Adventure, Indie, Card & Board Game
Developer
Mega Crit Games
Publisher
Humble Games
Release
January 23, 2019
While not quite as influential as
Isaac,
we can trace back the rise of deckbuilding roguelikes, at least in part, to
Slay the Spire
. This is arguably still the best game within the subgenre thanks to its easy-to-understand, almost impossible-to-master gameplay design. You get a set starting deck based on your character and slowly add, remove, and upgrade cards as you choose your path up the spire. Combat is played in turns where you can see exactly what the enemy is going to do on their next turn, giving you the opportunity to avoid or minimize your damage. Deciding which cards are worth adding to your deck, or if you can pass up on healing to upgrade just one of your cards, make it always feel like you’re just barely scraping by. We only hope that the sequel can spice things up enough to get us addicted all over again.
