Summary
Roguelike games can afford some of the most in-depth and satisfying experiences across any genre in the gaming scene today. Whether players are after novel fusions of deck builders and rogue elements or traditional,brutally utilitarian ASCII titles, few genres can claim to have the same level of versatility and variation as the roguelike genre.
For PC players, roguelikes are bountiful - indie developers are often putting their own spins on the genre, or loving parallels to the classics of the past, up for sale on platforms like Steam before any console users manage to get the same experience. Whether it’s a grand fantasy epic to sink hours into or amoody, dark roguelikethat leaves players unsettled and engrossed, these PC-exclusive roguelikes provide an incredibly rewarding experience for people to enjoy.
A newer arrival on the roguelike scene, and one with a demo attached for those unsure about a purchase,Diceomancercombines adorable cartoon-fantasy graphics while making its own gambit into the storiedroguelike deckbuilder genre.
AD&D-inspired emphasis on d20 checks to determine the outcome of many events and skill checks only adds to the fantasy aesthetic of this game, which sees players use dice and a hand of cards to explore a procedurally generated world and alter just about any aspect of it through cards or rolls.
This incredibly traditional roguelike was one of the giants of the 90s that helped make the genre what it is today. Similar to the titular Rogue, the originalAncient Domains Of Mysterywas an ASCII title with incredible depth and difficulty. Players looking for an easy ride should still look elsewhere, but the Steam version of this title certainly comes with some quality-of-life improvements that will make things smoother.
The reactivity of this world is what makes it stand out. A freeze spell might be intended to deal frost damage to enemies, but it can also be used to chill water and turn it into something solid that can be walked on. Players will be hard-pressed to finda dungeon crawlerwith the same immersiveness asADOM.
A city-builder roguelike fusion is already novel enough, butAgainst the Stormhas a unique emphasis onbrutal, otherworldly rainthat makes it stand out both aesthetically and mechanically from its two typically disparate parent genres. The sum really is greater than its parts here.
If players want a dark aesthetic, gruesome gameplay, and a circular approach to city-building seldom seen in a genre that values permanency, then this is absolutely the game for them.
4Doors Of Trithius
A Roguelike In Love With Emergent Storytelling
Anexcellent open-world roguelikethat values emergent storytelling and procedural generation,Doors Of Trithiusis an Early Access title already jam-packed with content and ways for the player to engage in their own, unique fantasy world built from the ground up in a similar style to classics such asDwarf Fortress.
The game’s amount of content even in these early stages promises much for its eventual full release, and players who like exploration and character-building won’t be disappointed with this incredible title.
5Breachway
A Sci-Fi Ship Roguelike
An incredibly unique mix of ship-builder, deck-builder, and roguelike,Breachwaynails that highly sought-after combination of mechanics that promote interstellar exploration. Games that can accurately, or at least immersively, bring together an experience of ship-faring in the final frontier will always have an audience, and this game does it with both style and flair.
The soundtrack, the addictive randomness, the theorycraft that can go into players' ever-expanding deck, it all comes together to make for an incredibly unique experience among both deck-builders and roguelikes.
For players who don’t minda rewarding challengeand no small amount of chaos,Elinnails everything its predecessor, the obscure fantasy roguelikeElona, did and then some. This is while still being in Early Access, promising a much more refined game in its final stages.
Everything about the player and NPCs in this game is modular. Drink from a well that turned out to be poisoned or cursed? Your arms could become noodles. Or swords. Or perfect. It gives the atmosphere of a grand fantasy world, stuck in the mind of a drunk storyteller with a penchant for improvisation.
Quasimorphpulls no punches with its detailed, brutal combat. Taking on a series of increasingly difficult missions for a variety of soulless corporations, players will have to make their way in a ruthless universe that cares for no one.
Death is commonplace and often very violent, but for those who manage to complete enough missions to earn something of a reputation among the corporations, there will be corners of the universe like nothing else out there that players will be able to explore.
Tales of Maj’Eyalhas few equals among RPG roguelikes. It can run on just about any PC build, so even for players using a veritable potato or their old laptop from a few years passed, this incredible fantasy experience should be available to them. Exploring Maj’Eyal, tweaking classes to one’s preferences, and expanding the selection of classes and races after each run is the incredibly cathartic loop this game is built on.
This game’s fighter classes have more depth than most games' wizard classes. The game’swizard fighter classes?Don’t even go there…
