Summary
Roguelike games have become increasingly popular in the last few years. When it comes to this genre, no two playthroughs are the same. Reminiscent of tough-as-nails classic arcade games, roguelikes capture the addicting compulsion of wanting to do better and better with each playthrough.
Whilst mostroguelikes commonly offer endless replayabilityvia mechanics such as procedurally generated environments or other unpredictable elements, there are several games that stand out on top in terms of keeping things interesting. These games actively encourage exploration, adding new elements to every run and rewarding a player’s curiosity.
Hadesstands out as one of the finest examples of the roguelike genre and is now often cited as one of the greatest video games of all time. So what makes it one of the best roguelikes, if not best games of all time? The game was developed after Supergiant Games wanted to explore telling a video game story via a procedural narrative. This is a design technique where story elements are fragmented and can be discovered in various different ways and orders. Turns out, a roguelike is the perfect way to do this.
Playing as Zagreus, the son of Hades, the game sees players rebel against the forces of hell in an attempt to escape the Underworld and reach Mount Olympus. Each run through the ever-changing dungeon layouts will see the player meet new enemies and allies, as certain gods will help Zagreus on his mission, bestowing him with new abilities to make escape attempts easier. So, not only could exploration reward players with new story elements to keep them intrigued by the plot and characters, but it could also ensure a successful playthrough!
Similar toHades, each run of third-person sci-fi shooterReturnalsees players potentially discovering new elements of the plot, unveiled in a nonlinear and psychological horror fashion. Players control Selene Vassos, an astronaut stranded on the alien planet Atropos. And if being stranded on an alien planet wasn’t bad enough, Selene finds herself stuck in a time loop too.
This setting serves as the basis for a unique roguelike, andReturnalcould have easily been just another story-driven actiongame set in spacebut adding the roguelike element made it the award-winning stand-out it is. The game is fast-paced, with shifting landscapes, upgradable weapons, and bullet-hell bosses. Luckily for struggling players, TheAscensionupdate added online co-op multiplayer, so two players can help each other escape the planet together.
Loot Riveris a roguelike like no other as it uniquely combines dark fantasy dungeon crawling, soulslike combat, and Tetris-style jigsaw puzzling – all presented intop-downpixelated but highly detailed graphics.
Adding apuzzle aspect to the gameplaymay sound odd, but it fits in perfectly and doesn’t slow the game down, as each wooden platform that the player character walks on can be moved across the river of the dungeon. This adds an extra strategic element to the combat, as players can use it to their advantage and shift the platform away from dangerous foes. It also determines how gamers navigate the procedurally generated areas and, of course, how they reach any loot.
LikeLoot River,Dead Cellsalso uses a high-detail pixel art style to present its world, this time as a 2D side-scrolling Metroidvania, or “Roguevania” as some have called it. The player character is known by many names: the Prisoner, the Fallen One, or The Beheaded. This character is an immortal amorphous blob creature that can possess dead bodies. This means that every time players die in a runthrough, the creature returns to the start to possess another body. Each run of the game sees gamers try to escape an island full of mutated monsters, with the ultimate goal of slaying the “King” of the island. This is decided as the amnesiac Prisoner learns more about the island, meeting both bosses and item vendors that exchange permanent abilities for Cells.
Whilst the player character does not speak, more is learned about the overarching story via vendors, bosses, and through the Prisoner’s thoughts. Every aspect of the gameplay feels satisfyingly fast-paced and fluid, from platforming to the combat, and as part of theMetroidvania aspect of the game, players are actively encouraged to explore as much of the changing levels as possible to unlock and choose from a diverse range of weapons and abilities. Some of these abilities stay permanently, whilst other weapons and bonuses last for one run only, making every playthrough a different challenge. Players can only carry a handful of the vast amount of weapons and abilities, so choose wisely.
Yet another pixelated style roguelike,Enter the Gungeoncombinesprocedually generated dungeon crawlingwith top-down arcade shooter bullet hell. The game’s diverse range of enemies, traps, and secrets combined with its variety of guns and items ensures that the exploration in each run through the shifting dungeon rooms is kept interesting.
Players can choose from four different characters; the Marine, Convict, Hunter, or Pilot. Collectively known as the Gungeoneers, each starts out with their own unique weapons. Whatever character is chosen, players are tasked to dodge, hide behind cover, and shoot their way through to the bottom of the Gungeon in order to find a magical gun that can kill the past.
Originally created using Adobe Flash,The Binding of Isaacwas remade with a more advanced game engine in order to escape the limitations of Flash and was rebornas The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth. This allowed it to be ported to almost every console and portable consoles too. It also allowed for extra content, gameplay features, and three expansions that added more gameplay modes and even user-created content.
With its mixture of cartoonish graphics and gore, theZelda-styledungeon crawleris regarded as one of the best roguelike games of all time, selling over five million copies. The game features hundreds of items, randomized enemies, and unique unlockable characters. It also features a curse system that can drastically change the gameplay, affecting rooms and runs with extra elements, such as randomly moving the player character to different rooms or hiding item information. With all this combined, every run of the game can result in vastly different exploration.
Risk of Rain 2shows how much roguelikes could potentially change between sequels as thesecond installment graduates from the 2D original to a fully 3D experience. The series' evolution from side-scroller to third-person shooter has paid off, as the game received positive reviews upon its release in 2020 and has now been released on current-gen consoles as of August 2024.
Choosing between several characters, known as survivors, players must escape a hostile alien planet. Each character has unique abilities, ensuring that, alongside a wide variety of items, power-ups, and increasingly difficult enemies. Similar toBinding of Isaac’scurse feature,Risk of Rain 2features optional modifiers in the form of “artifacts” which allow the player to change aspects of the game such as randomizing enemy types and items. With all these factors considered, exploration will be very different with each playthrough.
