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What are the best roguelikes/roguelites on a Mac?

13

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Considered

46

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Recs.

Sep 23, 2023

Last
Updated

13 Games Considered

Best roguelikes/roguelites on a Mac	Price	Co-Op	Genre
-- FTL: Faster Than Light	-	Single player	Roguelite
-- The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth	-	2 Player Local	-
-- Don't Starve	$14.99	No	Survival / Open World / Sandbox / Indie
-- Rogue Legacy	-	-	-
-- Enter the Gungeon	$14.99	Single Player	Roguelike

FTL: Faster Than Light

Top Pro

Good balance of action and planning

Top Con

Late game battles are long and boring

In the later parts of the game battles are very long which can make for a bit of a boring experience, especially for those that would rather be exploring than spending so much time on battles. See More

Stuart Kearney's Experience

This is the game I boot up on my laptop when casually watching a TV show in the background. No need for a mouse and it's turn based so it's not actively demanding on your attention. On top of that it's really addictive and well balanced for a rougelike. Every run is very unique, there's a huge variety of ships, weapons and items. The only thing I don't like is there doesn't seem to be a huge variety in the tactics when it comes to combat, but that's likely due to my poor understanding of the details of the game (I can barely win on easy mode). See More

Specs

Co-Op:Single player

Genre:Roguelite

Top Pro

Stress free timely decision making

The game can be paused at any time, which allows for one to contemplate their next move in the game. This makes for a less stressful experience since one can leisurely make their decisions without it impacting the gameplay. See More

Top Con

Can be pretty difficult

The amount of choices to be made (many not being good ones) and the randomization of the game makes for a situation that may be too difficult for some. This is not a game that you will beat in one play session nor 10, it takes a lot of time to get in a good run that results in winning, which some people may not have patience for. See More

Top Pro

Allows for highly strategic gameplay

The rougelike game design combined with the huge amount of choices that can be made in both encounters as well as ship management makes FTL a highly strategic game as you never quite know what the game is going to throw at you. There are many decisions that can be made in the game, such as what parts of an enemy ship to target (their shields, their weapons) or where to concentrate your defensive strategies, such as powering up an ion engine to run, or powering up ones shields to stay and fight. These choices can all effect the final outcome of the game, so it is up to the player to make the best decisions at their disposal. There are also many choices of ships to use and equipment layouts for each that can be tweaked. Depending on the ship used and what equipment is used or where it is place can greatly affect how the game will play out as well as how the game will need to be played. If choosing a fast ship with low shield power, it will be best to outrun a lot of encounters. Where as if choosing a slow ship with good gun capabilities and a high shield power, a good strategy would be to go in guns blazing for each encounter. See More

Top Pro

Good modding support

There are multiple mods available for FTL. See More

The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth

Top Pro

Powerups combine in very unique ways

There are tons of unique power ups, and most of them interact with each other to create really interesting combinations. The main attack in the game is shooting a projectile, and modifiers on top of that stack making for really interesting attacks. For example, you can have a homing, multi, laser attack that shoots in both directions by combining multiple treasures. You can build really interesting strategies this way and that keeps the game feeling fresh. See More

Top Con

Lacks mouse support

No mouse support is a very odd exclusion for a PC title, especially when it is an expected and natural control method for this type of game. See More

Specs

Co-Op:2 Player Local

Top Pro

Incredible amount of content

The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth has all of the original games content as well as many new add ons such as the Wrath of the Lamb expansion as well as many extra characters. Lots of characters each with their own unique starting abilities, plus many challenges gives the game really high replay value. See More

Top Con

It's creepy

The game to be put nicely is not really scary but just plain creepy. Definitely not a game recommended for children. See More

Top Pro

Addictive

With an arcade style feel and fairly quick play through the game makes it easy to sit down and play for hours. See More

Top Pro

Has single-player and local co-op game modes

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

Don't Starve

Top Pro

There's never a dull moment

As the game progresses, it offers more and more mechanics that require constant attention to function properly. It becomes a constant re-evaluation of risk and reward. See More

Top Con

Constant restarts can be drawn out and boring

The beginning of a playthrough starts out pretty slow, which is exacerbated by the fact that the player will need to restart many many times as the game is a rouguelike, so permanent death is something that will be encountered often. See More

DiligentDiana's Experience

Nothing is ever totally safe; you could be at 100 days and be totally decked out and still be killed by a spider, and it keeps you on your toes and never bored See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Genre:Survival / Open World / Sandbox / Indie

Controller Support:Full

Top Pro

Very active modding community with numerous mods available

Using the Steam Workshop, Don't Starve has a very active modding community. With nearly 800 mods currently available, there are unlimited ways you can change your Don't Starve experience. See More

Top Pro

Easily customized to adjust difficulty

The game gives you a lot of world customization options. You can change the length of day, weather patterns, how much of each monster or resource spawns, etc. This effectively allows you to adjust how difficult you wish the game to be. See More

Top Pro

Pleasantly twisted sense of humor

Random quips from characters, infotext and the world itself (such as the existence of werepigs) show glimpses of a dark sense of humor throughout. See More

Top Pro

Rewarding roguelike gameplay

The basic gameplay revolves around gathering resources for crafting in a wilderness where the flora and fauna are constantly trying to kill you. Levels are procedurally generated. See More

Top Pro

Easily accessible, organically emergent gameplay

The game starts out easy with very little in terms of mechanics and a single objective of not starving. Then, over time, new mechanics are introduced fluidly - there's very little guidance, with the game relying on players figuring out how things work for themselves. In addition to game mechanics, even goals and story elements will unveil organically over time. See More

Top Pro

Maps are massive

The largest maps are big enough to take many days to explore. See More

Top Pro

Uniquely atmospheric art style

Don't Starve has a very unique art style, using two dimensional or 2d characters and items in a 3d world gives a very interesting artsy feel to the game. The hand drawn look and feel to the graphics are a nice change of pace from ultra realistic games, but it doesnt take away from the suspense. See More

Top Pro

Lots of replayability

Between randomly generated (customizable) levels, different characters, ever-unfolding story elements, and permadeath the game offers a lot of variety and a goal of constantly striving to survive longer. See More

Top Pro

Uniquely atmospheric art style that gives a polished look that is difficult to match

Don't Starve has a very unique art style, using two dimensional or 2D characters and items in a 3D world gives a very interesting artsy feel to the game. The hand drawn look and feel to the graphics are a nice change of pace from ultra realistic games, but it doesnt take away from the suspense. See More

Rogue Legacy

Top Pro

Traits pass down generations

Rogue Legacy has an interesting mechanic where each play-through is with a new descendant from the previous character, and they each have various traits and disabilities they inherit that effect how they play. See More

Top Con

Keyboard controls are a bit finicky

The game is better played with a controller. It is possible to play with the keyboard, but it's a lot more precise and responsive with a controller. See More

Top Pro

Procedurally generated levels

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

Top Pro

Lots of upgrades to buy

The upgrade system in Rogue Legacy works by spending the money you gained in the last level (you lose all your money when you start a new one), with upgrades passing down through generations by being either upgrades to the family manor, or family heirlooms. See More

Enter the Gungeon

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

High difficulty

The game can be difficult, especially when first starting out. This may mean a lot of deaths and a feeling of no progressions due to having to start over a lot. While the game is not unmanageable for players who enjoy the games genres, it may be a bit of a turn off for newcomers. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Overwhelmingly Positive

Co-Op:Single Player

Genre:Roguelike

Top Pro

Cool collection aspect

There are 190 guns available in the game that the player can collect through purchasing them in an in-game shop as they progress through the game. Most likely this will take multiple playthroughs with all four of the available characters, which means tons of playtime for those that like to collect everything in a game. 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

Top Pro

Satisfying replayability

Thanks to the roguelite aspects of the game, there is randomly generated levels, which means fresh gameplay each time the game is played. There is also 4 different characters available in the game, each of which has a different boss fight at the end of the game as well as different characteristics while being used. This also makes for a good bit of replayability for those that would like to see all the different bosses in the game as well as experience the different type of gameplay for each character. See More

Top Pro

Gameplay is balanced well

Often in a roguelite game there can be the chance of getting delt a bum hand on any particular run, luckily Enter the Gungeon does not suffer from this issue as there is a good balance of the gunplay mechanics that sees any death by you as your own fault of not playing to your max ability. Never is it some cheap shot or some item that was not able to be picked up this run, it is just your skill and awareness of wht is being shot at you that matters the most. See More

Top Pro

Unique tone

The game is often silly with many humorous elements such as every character is based around being a bullet, that in turn own guns and fire other bullets. There is no mistaking that the game is about shooting, and the game is somewhat 4th wall breaking by taking advantage of this fact and hilariously throwing it into the players face. See More

Top Pro

Easily stay in the action of the game

There are a few small features in the game that add up to making sure the player is never too distracted or pulled out of the action. Things like once a stage is cleared and all coins dropped by your fallen foes will be magnetically pulled to you, just to make sure time is not wasted running around picking up currency. Another is that each map has numerous teleporter nodes, which makes for fast and easy travel. And lastly there is a quick start in the main menu that allows the player to jump right back into the action the next time they start up the game. All these things add up to an ease of use that makes sure the player is never too distracted by the un-fun elements of play. See More

Spelunky

Top Pro

Up to 4 player local co-op

Spelunky features 4 player local co-op where players share the same screen, which can get a bit hectic. See More

Top Con

Co-op is boring and confusing

In co-op this game is very confusing with little instruction on how to play. With little to spice up the game play, it gets boring quickly. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Co-Op:4 Player Couch

Genre:Platformer / Indie / Roguelike

Controller Support:Full

Top Pro

Provides an interesting challenge by heavily relying on increasing your skill

Spelunky gives the player everything needed to succeed from the start so it is only when the players skills get better will they advance. See More

Top Con

Difficult to the point of frustration

Spelunky is pretty difficult and some could say abusive, but with practice and a desire for masochism the game can be mastered. See More

Top Pro

Quick sessions so you can play in short bursts

Being that Spelunky is at its heart a roguelike the gameplay sessions can tend to be quick as the player will die quite often. This makes for something that can be played in quick bursts throughout the day. The convenient saving also lends to this as a game that is still ongoing can be quickly saved in order to be picked up at a later time. See More

Top Pro

Expanded gameplay through mods to improve replayability

Ranging from Mega Man to Metroid, there are a tone of great mods for Spelunky all of which make for a new experience in the game which vastly expands the replayability. See More

Dungeons of Dredmor

Top Pro

Configurable difficulty accommodates both casual and hardcore play

In addition to basic difficulty adjustment, the player can choose whether death is permanent (in classic roguelike style) or merely resets the current level. There is also a mode called "No Time to Grind" where experience points are increased from all sources, but in compensation, levels are smaller. See More

Top Con

Minor interface issues

The interface feels very unintuitive with aspects such as having to change the default action feeling overly complicated and unecissary. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Top Pro

Several community mods were bundled as a free official expansion pack

In a testament to the quality of the Dungeons of Dredmor modding community, one official expansion pack consists almost entirely of user-created content. It was released for free, since they're not total capitalist jerks. See More

Top Pro

Combines punishing roguelike game mechanics with silly and satirical humor

The core mechanics of Dungeons of Dredmor are roguelike, but added on top of that is a silly humor that creates and endearing atmosphere. See More

Top Pro

Skill-based class system improves replay value

A character has seven selected skills, which effectively define that character's class: they have access to every skill selected, and no others. The base game contains dozens of skills, with many more available through both mods and official expansions. See More

Out There: Ω Edition

Top Pro

Non complicated resource management

Out There's gameplay revolves around resource management, what the player can find and how they utilize it. It is quite a tight rope of choices that makes for a many "biting your nails" scenarios. Should one venture down to a planet for resources to craft new alien technologies or repair equipment and the ship, risking their fuel and air, or should the venture forward to a new system to try and find more fuel rich planets? Thee great aspect about all of this resource management is that it is a pretty streamlined system, no weapons or crew to worry about, just fuel air and equipment/ship. See More

Top Con

Completely random

Being that the whole game is completely random, some sessions will not turn out that great. Many times there is the unavoidable bad luck that will make the player run out of fuel or air. Sure there may have been a choice the player should not have made, but really, there is no way to really know. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Mostly Positive

Top Pro

Fantastic music

The music in game fits so well with the atmosphere, giving a very lonely yet somewhat hopeful feel. Created by composer Siddhartha Barnhoorn (The Stanley Parable) one knows quality is rightfully behind the whole score. See More

Top Pro

Choose your own adventure aspects

Out There has many similarities to a choose your own adventure book where many choices end with a story and particular situation to each that can not be guessed or assumed before the choice is taken. So no game ever has the same outcomes to any particular choice within, which makes for a new adventure each playthrough. The Omega edition has new voicework to go along with these stories behind each choice, which ads another level of immersion, which is nice. With over 350 unique texts, there is quite a bit to see before they become too repetitive. See More

Risk of Rain

Top Pro

Replayability is high

The levels are chosen randomly, as each level (except the last one) is chosen from 2-3 maps available for that level only. Each map in turn has 2-3 layouts -- totaling to ~4-6 possible combinations of map+layout per level, making for a unique experience every time the game is played, which in turn makes for a ton of replayability. See More

Top Con

Unlocks unclear

The game explanation of how unlocks unlock is not very clear or intuitive making for wasted time trying to figure them out. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Co-Op:4 Player Online / 4 Player Couch

Controller Support:Partial

Top Pro

Time equals difficulty

It gets tougher as time passes by. That means by minute 40, you are playing at hardcore difficulty. This makes for an experience that is good for learning the mechanics as once you can not advance due to the difficulty you will die which means the game has to be repeated which help learn the ins and outs more and more each time it is done. See More

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 Pro

10 unique characters

Imagine a small set of DOTA or LOL. These 10 characters can be tankers, DPS, supporters, rangers, carriers, etc depending on your skill and level of use. And they're hard to unlock which makes the challenging to get them even more. See More

Desktop Dungeons

Top Pro

Humorous tone

The game doesn't take itself too seriously with lots of clever dialogue parodying the fantasy genre. See More

Top Con

Hidden map means you can't solve the puzzles on logic alone

The map is hidden by fog of war until you explore it, meaning you can't devise a solution from the start. Because revealing the map regenerates your health and mana you can't explore everything at the start. You need to spend most of the game not knowing the state of the rest of the map. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Genre:Roguelike

Controller Support:None

Top Pro

Deep amount of content keeps strategy interesting and fresh

Even though the core gameplay is simple, the amount of power-ups and enemies create a massive amount of ways to play the game which keeps the puzzle solving aspect fresh. See More

Top Con

While polished the graphics are still simple

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

Top Pro

Tons of character combinations

There are 7 races and 12 classes that are combinable as well as 4 extra monster classes that do not allow choosing of race making for 112 unique combinations, all with their own custom avatar. There are also 6 additional special races as well as 9 different gods you can worship during the game for even more abilities. See More

Top Pro

Great for short bursts of play

Since each game takes place in one small dungeon, it's a great game to play in small bits of downtime. See More

Top Pro

Mix of puzzle and roguelike

The game gets its roots from roguelikes, and the complexity of the combined genre really enhances the puzzle solving side of the game. Instead of being real time, or taking place in a large expansive world, Desktop Dungeons games take place on a small 20x20 dungeon. Although the map is small, there is tons of strategy to figuring out the optimal way to clear the dungeon. Unveiling tiles is how you recover health and mana, so the game is fundamentally about efficiently using the tools and resources available to you in each map and coming up with unique strategies in such a small space. You must balance the risk between trying to get experience from exposed monsters and exploring deeper into the fog of war. See More

Ziggurat

Top Pro

Good assortment of enemies with varied designs

There is a large assortment of enemies to battle in game that all have varied designs. See More

Top Con

Short

The title is pretty short, with only five levels the game could potentially be beaten in under an hour. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Top Pro

Rare 3D FPS style gameplay

Unique to Ziggurat is its first person gameplay, making it stand out from most roguelikes which are top down and 2D. See More

Top Con

Death is inevitable and happens often

Being that Ziggurat is a roguelite game, death will happen and it will happen often. While it is by design it can get infuriating at times. See More

Top Pro

Procedurally generated levels and random weapons upon start

Ziggurat has large procedurally generated levels where the player start out with a different weapon each time, making for fresh and different experience every time a game is played. See More

Top Pro

Inspired by Hexen and Doom

Ziggurat is heavily inspired by the classic PC games Hexen and Doom, making for a current gen refresh. See More

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