5 Best Roguelike Video Games

As someone who is a self-proclaimed board game aficionado, I thought I would try something a little different for this feature and dip my top 5 listing toes into the world of video games.

But I am still a board gamer through and through and couldn’t leave my roots too far behind, so for this list I will be compiling my top 5 Roguelike Video Games.

Roguelikes are an extremely difficult, oftentimes challenging genre as you try, try and try again one ‘run’ at a time to complete the challenge put in front of you, usually slowly building up your skills and experience little by little to beat its puzzle, and often find a variety of secrets along the way.

It’s this mechanic that so reminds me of many great board games. Roguelikes often take inspiration from their board brethren, being this fantastically intricate puzzle that you work out, and when you finally crack that code there’s no feeling like it. Things such as Deckbuilding and Legacy mechanics are taken straight from board games to build a great roguelike, which is why I often find myself so drawn to their challenge.

So please join me on this run, as we go through my list of the 5 Best Roguelike Video Games.

1. Rogue Legacy

The only place to start is the namesake of rogue like games, and the one that got me into the genre, Rogue Legacy.

Released in 2013, in Rogue Legacy you explore a randomly generated dungeon as you look to defeat one of four bosses, after which you can defeat the final boss. (Not The Rock).

The USP of this game though is if your hero dies, (which trust me they will, A LOT), you then choose one of three heirs to take their place, perhaps with their own unique skillset, abilities or even weakness. As you playthrough each run, you build up this fantastic legacy of characters, while slowly building experience to make each subsequent run a little easier.

The retro style graphics hide such an addictive game loop, with rudimentary gameplay only serving the ‘just one more run’ compulsion that roguelike games produce so well when done correctly.

Rogue Legacy is also HARD. It is a properly tough challenge that almost bested me on more than one occasion. I felt like giving up, that the final boss was simply unbeatable, even getting to them beyond my capabilities as a gamer. But the need to try just one more time was simply too much. Every time I thought I was out; Rogue Legacy would pull me back in.

And this really is the story of all the rogue games I will be listing, and why it’s such a fun genre to delve into. If you want to try out a roguelike game, Rogue Legacy is the best place to start. Or if you want slightly more interesting graphics and gameplay mechanics, then Rogue Legacy 2 is an excellent sequel to get started.

2. Slay the Spire

Slay the Spire was a video game, inspired by board games, which later went full circle and became an extremely critically acclaimed board game!

This 2019 smash hit perfectly encapsulated the brilliance of deckbuilding, showcased for the first time in my experience anyway in video games.

Using one of four characters, each with their own unique set of abilities, you attempt to ascend floors of increasing difficulty, using a set of cards that are slowly added to and improved over time in your run.

An incredible mesh of roguelike and deckbuilding, I can’t speak highly enough of this game. There are so many various strategies you can employ depending on your character or the cards you accrue over time and Slay quickly consumed my life when I was first introduced to it back in 2022.

The deckbuilding, taken straight out of brilliant deck builders like Dune Imperium or Star Realms, I don’t think has ever really been done better in video or board game format.

As a lover of board games and video games alike, Slay the Spire might be my perfect game. And the board game version apparently has only built further on this excellent legacy.

But as a more accessible, and a hell of lot cheaper version, the original video game is a must have on your console or PC. With a sequel due to be released in 2025 as well, Slay the Spire might become a staple of video games, and has highlighted the brilliance you can find in board and card games.

3. Hades

Hades bears no resemblance to board games, but my god this is a cracking game that anyone who calls themselves a roguelike, or even video game fan, must play.

Using the fascinating setting of Greek Mythology, in Hades you play as Zagreus, son of the titular Hades as you look to escape the Underworld and the chains of your father.

As you slowly make your way up the pantheon of Hades to reach Mount Olympus and your Olympian family, you will encounter monsters and guardians who at first, will totally obliterate you. But what happens when you die in the Underworld. You wake up back there, and Zagreus gets to try all over again. As you build up his experience, and your own skills at the game, you can get closer and closer to his salvation.

Hades might be the pinnacle of the roguelike genre. Winning multiple game of the year awards in 2020, it showcased at last to a mainstream audience what roguelike games could bring.

The story was incredible. The gameplay as smooth as silk. Dialogue and voice acting brilliant and at times genuinely funny, which I often find is rare in video games.

It’s a must play, and its sequel Hades II is something I am so excited for that I will break my own rule of never buying a game upon release to get my hands on it as early as possible.

4. Roguebook

Roguebook is very similar to a previous entry on this list, Slay the Spire, in that it’s another fantastic example of what happens when you mash together deckbuilding and roguelike mechanics.

Rather than branches like in Slay, in Roguebook you explore an overworld storybook map as you build up different characters and decks to defeat a variety of monsters and bosses from the world of Faeria in turn based, card combat.

While it doesn’t differentiate itself greatly from Slay the Spire, Roguebook shouldn’t be slept on. It may not be as innovative but its world its beautiful, and the traversal through the storybook really feels whimsical and fresh.

The deckbuilding is also fantastic, as you use combinations of two characters to make each run feel different as you learn the best combos to complete a successful run. Some of which can feel so powerful and harmonious, you’ll think you’re a strategic genius.

It’s also intrinsically linked to board games, in that some of the design was done by Magic the Gatherings own Richard Garfield, whose magical touch is very apparent in the game.

It might be the weakest game on this list, but Roguebook is certainly worth opening if you’re looking for your next roguelike hit.

5. Balatro

The newest game on this list released just last year, and the game I am currently playing as I write this feature, the hype is very deserved for the unlikely smash hit that is Balatro.

A roguelike poker game doesn’t scream mainstream success when you hear it. It doesn’t feel like the sort of game that will scoop up awards a plenty and be discussed among the best games of all time. But the 30+ hours I’ve poured already into Balatro has shown me what a tremendous success it is.

I have honestly not struggled to put a game down as much in a long time. There’s something so addictive about the game loop that it almost feels like a freemium mobile game at times, without the horrible, predatory side to them.

Made by Indie developers LocalThunk, they have fully earned all the plaudits that have come their way. Another example of perfectly bringing together video games and board games, somehow seamlessly mixing poker and roguelikes.

It would be difficult for me to explain it without over complicating it. You play poker. You try to build hands. But you use Jokers which have different powers to build multipliers, along with Tarot cards, vouchers and Planet cards to improve the cards available to you and the points on offer. See it already sounds more complicated than it is.

All I know is I have had successful runs just spamming Two Pair hands because my Joker set was so perfectly attuned to make a two pair of 10s and 4s an unstoppable force. I’ve turned a deck of 52 cards all Spades a masterful clockwork of points.

If the paragraph above makes sense to you, then you understand the brilliance of Balatro. If it doesn’t, trust me, do yourself a favour and grab yourself a copy of the game. Roguelikes are such an addictive, time consuming but totally rewarding genre of games, and Balatro showcases them at their very pinnacle of excellence.

Paul Websell is a freelance contributor for Zatu who spends his time either playing board and video games or talking about them. While he’s not on social media, you can view his other blogs right here on Zatu!