What are the best roguelikes/roguelites on PC?

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Sep 17, 2018

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The 3 must play gamesWhy?

Best roguelikes/roguelites on PC	Price	Genre	Platforms
91 FTL: Faster Than Light	$9.99	Roguelite	Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS
91 Cataclysm Dark Days Ahead	Free	Survival / Roguelike / Open World	Survival / Roguelike / Open World
90 Slay the Spire	$15.99	–	–
89 Brogue	Free	Roguelike	Roguelike
89 Dead Cells	$24.99	Roguelike, Metroidvania, Action, Platformer	PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Mac, Windows, Linux

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Cataclysm Dark Days Ahead

Top Pro

Tons of depth

From the amount of items in the game to the variety of monsters as well as professions there is quite a lot of depth to be experienced in the game. See More

Top Con

Not all aspects are explained

Meaning that there can be scenarios that result in death, this can be frustrating as the cause may not be known until after death making it impossible to avoid the first time. See More

Sean Osman's Experience

Deconstruct everything, this game (which predates minecraft) is the ONLY turn based survival roguelike out there. With mods that can make it anything from Stardew Valley, with or without zombies, to Ninja Gaiden the roguelike. See More

Specs

Genre:Survival / Roguelike / Open World

Co-Op:No

Controller Support:No

Brogue

Top Pro

Easy to get into, hard to master

The gameplay itself is quite straightforward, making for mechanics that can be picked up within a few minutes of playing. Of course the challenge of the game is a whole other mater as like most roguelikes, this game can be quite challenging. See More

Top Con

the game itself

you'll get confused by it, if you don't know what going on See More

Specs

Genre:Roguelike

Co-Op:None

Controller Support:No

Top Pro

Satisfying combat with a good amount of depth to it

Dead Cells encourages fast-paced gameplay and requires quick reactions. The hits are impactful, the controls are super-responsive, and it's overall very fluid. The game has a good variety of weapons, skills and enemies that all change how the game plays out. Some weapons work best if the enemy is bleeding, some skills hurl enemies at you, some enemies are immune to attacks from the front. Which items you find and decide to keep will change what approach to combat you need to take. See More

Top Con

Shallow story

The story feels totally inconsequential. There isn't much going on with the plot, and what little is there is pretty forgettable. You feel motivated by the progression of the game rather than any emotional connection to the story. If you're looking for something with a stronger narrative to go with the good gameplay, this isn't it. See More

Mateleo's Experience

I one word Genius ! See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Genre:Roguelike, Metroidvania, Action, Platformer

Even though the only character that talks in this game is the narrator, his delivery of the lines is excellent. He talks in a deep and raspy voice that is also very pleasing to listen to. The narrator usually describes the events happening on-screen such as upgrading your settlement buildings, recruiting adventurers, various dungeon interactions, and many more. Additionally, he’ll start dropping story bits every time you near a boss, creating a very minimalist approach to storytelling that is also very enjoyable. See More

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Tales of Maj'Eyal

Top Pro

Huge number of classes, races & skill customization options

This is the Rogue-like for more strategic minded players who enjoy fantasy settings. Great games with 100s (or even 1000s) of hours of gameplay. See More

Top Con

Graphics may not appeal to everyone

Mostly because they are a mix of styles assembled throughout the lifetime of the project instead of one consistent whole. See More

CharmingEidothea's Experience

Top Pro

Procedurally generated levels

In order to save money on time and development Rogue Legacy has procedurally generated levels. See More

Top Con

Grindy

At some points, it feels like you are just doing the exact same thing over and over and over and over. See More

HilariousPonos's Experience

Top Pro

Tons of customization

Mutations are one of the biggest parts of Caves of Qud. Want to be a two-headed beguiling spider-thing? A four-armed flying plant-man? You can. There's also lots of armor, weapons, and equipment, which can be found enchanted, as well as a bunch of "spells" (mental mutations) and skills. See More

Top Con

The beginning of the game can feel repetitive

Every game starts in the same location, and you always get the same starting quests. This can make the beginning of the game feel repetitive. See More

TrustingHapi's Experience

Seems to be the newest game that is like Angband and Nethack. Although there is no "magic". Zangband remains to be the most complete rogue-like variant, unfortunately. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

See All Specs

Top Pro

Huge, procedurally-generated world

Top Con

Can be difficult to get started

Top Pro

SHMUP like gameplay

A lot of the shooting elements in this game revolve around SHMUP like mechanics. Players will need to doge a juke many bullets on screen at ones. Luckily there is a roll capability that allows the player to doge when in a precarious position. This roll feature though is not just some way to make the game easier but is a tool to be used as the game is specifically designed to need this roll in certain places. See More

Top Con

Co-op feels tacked on

Co-op in the game is only local (no online co-op at all), which limits who you can pay with. On top of this the way one has to go about starting a co-op game feels a bit unintuitive, which can be frustrating. Stages can also feel cramped when in co-op mode, meaning players bump into walls and objects too much. See More

ConfidentSzelanya's Experience

Amazing game, played over 30 hours in the first week alone, easy to distinguish enemy projectiles against where you are and where you're going, defeating one of the main problems with bullet hells that I usually find. The addition of dodge roll and blanks are another alleviation to the usual problems with that genre. All of the passives, guns, and active items are amazing, and one of the best things is that different items can give hidden bonuses to each other that drastically affect their usefulness, so finding out the combinations of items that give those bonuses is an entirely new thing to collect and find out even when you've used the gun you picked up a dozen times before, this time it might work a little differently. Can't recommend enough, on the level of FTL for me. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth has a single player campaign as well as a 2 player co-op game mode See More

Top Pro

Very creepy themes

Binding of Isaac is a story about insanity, religious fanaticism, ritual sacrifices, and even worship of the devil. Once you start paying attention to the various details, it can be genuinely terrifying and dark. See More

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Risk of Rain

Top Pro

Fun local and online co-op modes

No need to compete as the multiplayer is all cooperative where each player has to help the other survive the harsh world which is a fun setting for friends as it leaves out any competitiveness. See More

Top Con

Not enough randomness

Levels are randomized only slightly. There are some variations, but after you have been to a level several times, you roughly know where everything is. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Mostly Positive

Co-Op:4 Player Online / 4 Player Couch

Controller Support:Partial

Top Pro

Renowned for depth of simulation and emergent gameplay

The ultimate goal of Dwarf Fortress is no less than a total fantasy world simulator. Its simulated systems include geology, metallurgy, fluid pressure, temperature, combustion and phase transitions (melting, evaporation, etc.), shear and tensile strength, ballistics and gravity, anatomy and tissue damage, growth and maturation of animals and plants, emotional states, life goals, and alcohol dependence. See More

Top Con

Controls are complex and often counterintuitive

New players are advised to read the Quickstart Guide. Dwarf Fortress takes a lot of patience to learn. Even something as basic and early as world creation might take a guide to understand the first time around. It doesn't really matter how experienced of a gamer you are; if you try to play this game without a guide, you're going to have a hard time. See More

Vospi's Experience

Compared to other modern roguelikes the graphics are pretty minimal where the characters are tile based and lack animation when moving. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Genre:Roguelike

Co-Op:None

Controller Support:None

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score 118 · Accepted Answer

FTL: Faster Than Light

The game works a lot like a text adventure in a roguelike wrapper. The decisions asked of the player during this adventure can affect much of the stories plot, making for an interactive story through choices such as telling aliens you are a god in order to potentially receive less trouble in your encounter with them, to abducting aliens in order to sell them for a profit. One choice may appeal to the player more than another, it also provides a way to role play as a morally bankrupt space captain. All in all though this is all up to the player, which can be really fun to see what may happen. See More

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The 3 must play gamesWhy?

My Recommendation for FTL: Faster Than Light

My Recommendation for FTL: Faster Than Light

Highly strategic gameplay

Slightly repetitive

Great soundtrack

Too dependent on random weapons

Long term progression

Can be pretty difficult

Really engaging

Late game battles are long and boring

Good modding support

Not a roguelike

Highly polished

Stress free timely decision making

Allows for highly strategic gameplay

Morality based decisions

My Recommendation for Cataclysm Dark Days Ahead

My Recommendation for Cataclysm Dark Days Ahead

Tons of depth

Not all aspects are explained

Actively developed and open-source

Difficult to learn at first

Open world

Base game is limited

Easily change difficulty settings

Difficult to install on Linux

Open source and very moddable, making for a game that anyone can change to their liking

Free for anyone to download and try, which leave no one out

Being in constant active developed allows the game to constantly grow

Easily build and use vehicles

Graphics can be used instead of ASCII, for those that would enjoy something more visual

Classic computer gameplay that offers a lot of nostalgia

Super involved gameplay that allows the user to dive deep into the mechanics of the game

My Recommendation for Slay the Spire

My Recommendation for Slay the Spire

A great mix of genres

Not much content yet

Intriguing world

Some cards can feel impractical because of randomness

A pay to play card game

Limited to just singeplayer

Varied Challenges

Graphics aren't that good

Reliant on certain builds

61 Other Games Considered

My Recommendation for Brogue

My Recommendation for Brogue

Easy to get into, hard to master

the game itself

Simple and easy to understand design

No classes

Free to download and play for anyone

Perfectly balanced rather than filled with features

Can be played on persons preferred platform

Open source

Good graphics that are easy on the eyes

My Recommendation for Dead Cells

My Recommendation for Dead Cells

Satisfying combat with a good amount of depth to it

Shallow story

Beautiful pixel art graphics

Frustrating for players new to roguelikes

Brilliant game design that presents a good challenge

The developers put a lot of love and care into the game

My Recommendation for Darkest Dungeon

My Recommendation for Darkest Dungeon

Immersive atmosphere

It can be frustrating at times

Interesting adventurer management

Gets really repetitive

Great monster visual design

Disappointing ending

Outstanding narration

My Recommendation for Tales of Maj'Eyal

My Recommendation for Tales of Maj'Eyal

Huge number of classes, races & skill customization options

Graphics may not appeal to everyone

Action-packed gameplay

Artwork is outdated