The 5 Best Roguelike Games 

Roguelike video games are some of my favourite types of games. In almost every Roguelike game, the game starts off very simple and gets progressively harder with each stage. Before going to each stage, players usually have items or enchantments that can help to make them more powerful.

Most Roguelike games don't have a checkpoint or a means to save your game. The norm is usually having to restart from the beginning of the game and go back to the stage you fought in.

Sounds frustrating right? It's actually not. Going to higher levels especially for the first time allows you to rethink your strategy and you will know better what to prepare for. You can choose different items and gears to blend with your strategy and decide how to go forward.

The term "Roguelike" came from a 1980 game called Rogue. It was designed for the earlier models of the Macintosh, Atari, DOS, Unix and a few more obscure operating systems which are defunct today.

The concept of permadeath and allowing players to upgrade themselves to be more powerful was first seen in Rogue. Hence the name "Roguelike" was coined which inspired some really great games we have today.

Here are 5 of the best Roguelike games which you have to play.

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#5. The Binding of Isaac

Released: 28 September 2011

Available On: PC

The Binding of Isaac is an 8 year old roguelike game which has received consistent amount of content updates in it's long life. It was deemed one of the best roguelike games to come out in this decade.

The roguelike nature allows for many repeated playthroughs of the game. The game also has 13 different endings that can happen if you follow the plot. It's still a really active game despite being nearly a decade old!

Players can gain power ups to help them with harder levels. You can also unlock characters as you progress through the game.

#4. Dead Cells

Released: 7 August 2018

Available On: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch

Dead Cells is a beautifully designed roguelike Metroidvania game which was also inspired by The Binding of Isaac. Players collect cells and coins which act as the in-game currency. These can be used to upgrade weapons and gears to defeat enemies in harder stages.

Dead Cells has also received a free DLC recently. Developers Motion Twin have also mentioned that they will be releasing a port to iOS and Android version that will release sometime this year.

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#3. Into the Breach

Released: 7 August 2018

Available On: PC, Nintendo Switch

Into The Breach is a turn-based roguelike game which relies on players strategically playing the game. The game was made by the same studios who made FTL: Faster Than Light. You get upgrades as you progress but the later levels are also incredibly challenging.

Into The Breach is a game where you can see what is coming. Your enemies take turns and players need to setup their next turn to make sure they have the advantage. Planning ahead is necessary otherwise the AI will simply destroy you. This is a game where the player losing is not on the AI, but on the player since you get to plan ahead.

#2. Slay the Spire

Released: 23 January 2019, 21 May 2019 (PS4)

Available On: PC, PS4, Nintendo Switch

Slay the Spire is an incredibly addictive roguelike. It is also a deck building game and you fight your opponents using a deck of cards which do damage, debuff enemies, buff you and much more. It was in early access in 2018 till a full product launch in 2019.

Players have to defeat bosses along the "Spire" and they get progressively harder as you climb up the Spire. Slay the Spire has lots of replayability. It has multiple classes and multiple ways you can build a good deck to crush your enemies. You will need to lose a few times so you know what's coming from your opponents.

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#1. Risk of Rain 2

Released: 28 March 2019 (Early Access), 2020 (Full Game Launch)

Available On: PC

Risk of Rain 2 is not much of a sequel to the original game Risk of Rain as it is a 3D remake. The game is still very new and undergoing testing. Players can have early access to the game via Steam. A full launch is planned for 2020.

The original Risk of Rain was also released for the PS4, PS Vita and Nintendo Switch. Players need to progress by defeating a vast alien army in an incredibly difficult setting. Risk of Rain 2 has a bigger world than most Roguelike games and it is a lot longer to clear levels compared to other Roguelike games.

Not only that, if you stay in a level for too long the difficulty of the enemies gets harder and harder every 5 minutes. Players need to activate a teleporter which is done by clearing enough enemies and bosses to go to the next level.

The game allows up to 4 players to play so we could see a multiplayer launch on other consoles once a full release is decided.