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What are the best Perma Death games on Steam?

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May 16, 2023

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17 Games Considered

Best Perma Death games on Steam	Price	Co-Op	Platforms
-- FTL: Faster Than Light	$9.99	Single player	Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS
-- Don't Starve Together	$14.99	2-4 Player Local	PS 4, Windows, Mac, Linux, Xbox One, Switch
-- The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth	$14.99	2 Player Local	-
-- Enter the Gungeon	$14.99	Single Player	-
-- Rogue Legacy	$14.99	-	-

FTL: Faster Than Light

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Top Pro

Great touch controls

Even though the game was designed to be played with a keyboard and mouse originally the touch controls work exceptional well. Some could argue better that keyboard and mouse. The gameplay and design lends itself very well to the touch screen, which makes playing the game a joy on iOS. 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

Specs

Co-Op:Single player

Genre:Roguelite

Top Pro

Has modding support

There are multiple mods available for FTL that can greatly change up the gameplay and looks of the game. This adds a lot of replayability to the title. See More

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

Top Pro

Morality based decisions

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

Top Con

Lackluster interface on iPad

The weapons panel often covers up vital information on ones crew health. The problem being that this panel needs to be on screen when in a battle, which is also the exact time that crew health is very important. See More

Top Pro

iOS version includes extra content over the PC version

The PC version of the game had extra DLC that one could pay for to extend the games gameplay. This content is included in the iOS version for the singular price of $9.99. So could be argued the iOS version is the better deal for the price. See More

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 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

Don't Starve Together

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 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

Specs

Co-Op:2-4 Player Local

Genre:Roguelike, Survival, Horror

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

Much grinding

The game requires quite a lot of grinding in order to gather materials that can be used to craft needed items. It is a slow process that may get repetitive as it will have to be repeated any time the player dies. See More

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

Easy to get started but has a lot of depth

The game starts out easy, with very little in terms of mechanics, and the single objective of not starving. Then, over time, new mechanics are introduced as you explore more of the game world. The game provides very little guidance, leaving players to figure out how things work for themselves. In addition to game mechanics, even goals and story elements are unveiled organically over time. 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

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 doesn't take away from the suspense. See More

Top Pro

Lots of replayability

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

Top Pro

Fun crafting system

You need to learn how to craft a variety of things, from farms to ensure a steady supply of food to items like weapons and armor so you can survive the various evils you encounter while exploring. The crafting system has a lot of depth to it and there are hundreds and hundreds of things to make. 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

Great story generator

Goals and story elements are unveiled organically over time and they are different in each playthrough. See More

The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth

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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

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

Challenges you both in game and out

The game its self is very challenging. Plus its story is cryptic and up for interpretation to give you something to think about when your not playing. See More

Top Con

Horrible art direction

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 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

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

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 Pro

One of a kind

One of the best roguelikes out there. Difficult to beat completely and oh so very satisfying. Gazillions of unlocks, secrets, bosses, power-ups and item combinations. Limited co-op (BoIR only). The game can be genuinely terrifying and dark, especially if you take a moment to ponder what's really going on with its backstory and characters. 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

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

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Co-Op:Single Player

Genre:Roguelike

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

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

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

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 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

Rogue Legacy

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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

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

Player does not loose purchased loot

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. This way even when the player dies (which happens a lot) the player will not loose their purchased items allowing them to continue without starting completely over. See More

Top Con

Repetitive gameplay

Upgraded monsters are just palette shifts of old monsters that throw more projectiles. Even with the upgrade tree and armor/runes, the game always feels the same. See More

Top Pro

Tons of replayability through procedurally generated levels

Rogue Legacy has procedurally generated levels, which means every time a player restarts the game it will be a different experience that plays out making for a ton of replayability. See More

Top Pro

Lineage affects gameplay in an interesting way

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

XCOM 2

Top Pro

It's fun to upgrade and manage your squad

As you progress through the game you can train and promote your soldiers to make them more effective in combat, unlock new abilities and upgrade their weapons armor. The interesting part of it is if a member gets injured (which is really easy to happen on the harder difficulties) they are not available for the following missions until they heal. So if you only upgrade one solider and he/she gets injured, you're in a really tough spot. The weapons, abilities, items and armor you can unlock are varied and interesting enough to make it really fun to progress through the game and build a custom squad based around how you like to go about your missions. See More

Top Con

Performance could be better

Even when using well above the recommended hardware the game does show some performance issues as it is difficult to hold 60fps. While not the biggest problem thanks to this being a turn based game it would have been nice to see better performance and a constant 60fps when using what the developers recommended for best performance. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Genre:Tactical role-playing game, Turn-based tactics

Top Pro

Excellent suspense

You're always against the clock in one way or another. Globally your enemies are moving forward with their plans and unless you actively work towards countering them, they will win. You'll be short on cash, manpower, and will have to work with inferior tech. On the field most missions have turn limits forcing you to act aggressively. This scrambling for resources, making with what you can, racing against the clock creates great suspense that makes it all the more satisfying to win an important mission. See More

XCOM

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Top Pro

Assortment of add-on content available

There are quite a few add-ons available for XCOM, including the Enemy Within expansion pack. See More

Top Con

Proper choices not obvious until after the fact

Choices that effect the game are not obvious when they are happening and once realized is too late. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Top Pro

Effective resource management mechanics

Resource management feels like a juggling act, in the best way possible. Users have to make hard decisions on what options to give priority to, as they all will effect gameplay in some manner. See More

Top Pro

Death is permanent

Death is very permanent in XCOM, meaning if a player looses a high level player mid game that they may have a pretty tough time advancing past that point. See More

Risk of Rain

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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 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

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

Replayability is high

The levels are generated very randomly making for a unique experience every time the game is played which in turn makes for a ton of replayability. 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

Caves of Qud

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Top Pro

Unique and evocative prose, art and music

Extremely well written, with highly evocative prose which brings this unique world to life. The fantastic writing is supplemented by a unique art style and sublime otherworldly music. See More

Top Con

Can be difficult to get started

The beginning of the game explains little, depending on what attributes you put points into in character creation will have a high level of impact at the start of the game. This is not explained to the player, so if you do not put 18 points into "toughness" without having a very particular build in mind that will have some way of dodging or avoiding attacks, the result will just be plenty of death with little advancement. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Co-Op:Single Player

Genre:Roguelike

Top Pro

Over 60 factions

Befriend or become enemies with dozens of different factions—crabs, turtles, robots and even trees to name a few. See More

Top Pro

Huge, procedurally-generated world

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 Pro

Interesting and original setting

The game is set in a post-apocalyptic world that feels truly unique. Caves of Qud's world is like no other, and everything from the creatures/characters you'll encounter, to the items you'll find, and the locations you'll discover is different from what you would find in most rogue-likes. See More

Top Pro

Unique idea

Unique content and idea of "retro-future" make this "not another rogue-like", in a way. See More

Top Pro

Fantastic User Interface

The UI in Qud is very well designed, which helps to make it easy to get into. See More

Spelunky

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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

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

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Co-Op:4 Player Couch

Genre:Platformer / Indie / Roguelike

Controller Support:Full

Top Pro

Skill based gameplay

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

Co-op is boring and confusing

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

Top Pro

Expanded gameplay through mods

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

Top Pro

Roguelike origins allow for quick sessions

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

Dungeons of Dredmor

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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

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

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

Project Zomboid

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Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Genre:Survival / Open World

Controller Support:Partial

Don't Starve

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Top Pro

Pleasantly twisted sense of humor

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

Specs

Steam Rating:Overwhelmingly Positive

Genre:Survival / Open World / Sandbox / Indie

Controller Support:Full

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

Randomly generated worlds

Don't Starve generates a completely new game world for every new game, and since you only get one life per game, you will be seeing a lot of different worlds. All of the lands and items will be totally new on every try. See More

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

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 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

Challenging arcade style game play, with permadeath

Don't Starve is a classic example of "Easy to play, tough to master". The game play is very easy to learn, in fact Don't Starve doesn't really tell you how to play, you just point and click. Some items will be clickable, exploration leads to discoveries, and discoveries lead to longer survival, but death and a new game are always right around the corner. See More

Ziggurat

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Top Pro

Assortment of enemies that have varied designs

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

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

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

Top Con

Short

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

FORCED: Slightly Better Edition

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Top Con

No permadeath here

Top Pro

Designed for controllers and mouse/keyboard

All parts of the game work equally well with both control schemes, perfect for playing with 4 players in a couch with controllers. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Mostly Positive

Top Con

Co-op first, singleplayer second

While the game can be played singleplayer (and many enjoy it that way), a lot of people find co-op the only real way to play the game. See More

Top Pro

Offers tactically challenging gameplay

The game is challenging and really requires co-op and communication in order to figure out the maps. See More

Top Pro

Co-op first, unique gameplay

FORCED: Slightly Better Edition was purely designed for co-op, this game tests your co-operation. See More

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