10 best roguelike games on Nintendo Switch, Xbox, PlayStation & PC in 2024
With Hades 2 in early access and so far a resounding success, you may be on the hunt for even more roguelikes like the game that you can sink your teeth into.
Roguelikes come in all shapes and sizes, from hack-n-slash to sci-fi shooters and even deck-builders and card games - and this list covers the best from a wide range of genres.
Great roguelike games to play in 2024
#10 – Risk of Rain 2
Click to enlargeRisk of Rain 2 details & key features:
- Release date: 2019
- Platforms: PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
- Key features:
- Stylised graphics
- Up to four-player multiplayer
- Assortment of weapons and abilities
While this isn’t the first game where you play as an astronaut trapped on an alien planet, Risk of Rain 2 is one of the most unique roguelikes out there, as it features up to four-player multiplayer.
With each run, you and your friends can acquire new skills and abilities that will help make you stronger. While you can certainly play solo, working as part of a team can enhance your runs exponentially in a way that other roguelikes can’t.
#9 – Dead Cells
Click to enlargeDead Cells details & key features:
- Release date: 2018
- Platforms: PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Android, iOS
- Key features:
- Metroidvania/roguelike hybrid
- Popular collaborations with other games
- Minor souls-like mechanics
A cross between a roguelike and a Metroidvania, Dead Cells is a stylish slasher that will have you doing your utmost to leave a ruinous island to slay its king. With every defeated enemy, you collect Cells, a little like Runes or Souls in Dark Souls and Elden Ring, and use them to enhance your innate abilities that will help you get further with every run.
Owing to its popularity, Dead Cells has had several expansions and collaborations with other iconic titles like Hollow Knight, Shovel Knight, and even Castlevania. That means that it technically has more vampires than Vampire Survivors (more on that later).
#8 – Cult of the Lamb
Click to enlargeCult of the Lamb details & key features:
- Release date: 2022
- Platforms: PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S
- Key features:
- Roguelite elements
- Frequent updates
- Excellent expansions
Cult of the Lamb is more of a roguelite than a roguelike, but still contains many of the crucial elements you'd expect. As a humble lamb tasked by The One Who Waits to form a cult in the deity’s honour, you will embark on crusades, indoctrinate fellow animals, and sacrifice heretics to make your cult grow. Rather than a solo endeavour for a roguelike, this is collectivism at its finest.
The game has continued to receive several expansions, including the long-awaited Sins of the Flesh which came with new weapons, cosmetics, and a highly requested breeding mechanic. We’ve all seen the Rizz Lamb, and he is legendary.
#7 – Vampire Survivors
Click to enlargeVampire Survivors details & key features:
- Release date: 2022
- Platforms: PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Android, iOS
- Key features:
- Runs quickly fill the screen
- Plenty of characters and abilities to choose from
- Unexpected lack of vampires
For a game called Vampire Survivors, there is a distinct lack of vampires in this shoot 'em-up - but that doesn’t stop it from being one of the best roguelikes on the market right now. The more enemies you defeat, the more power-ups and characters you can collect, each with unique ways to defeat enemies.
While every run starts slow, you can soon get to a point where the entire screen is full to bursting with particles and enemies. The longer you survive, however, the more upgrades you can get to improve your chances and boost your character.
#6 – Slay the Spire
Click to enlargeSlay the Spire details & key features:
- Release date: 2019
- Platforms: PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Android, iOS
- Key features:
- Deck-building roguelike
- Plenty of card combinations
- A sequel is on the way
With Slay the Spire 2 having been recently announced, now is the perfect time to pick up the original deck-building roguelike to help get you started. Battling through hordes of enemies and bosses, you’ll be striving to ascend to the top of the spire, collecting new cards on the way and building optimal decks to suit your playstyle.
#5 – Hades 2
Click to enlargeHades 2 details & key features:
- Release date: 2024
- Platforms: PC
- Key features:
- Currently in early access
- New characters, abilities and weapons
- Expands on the Hades story
Despite currently being in early access, Hades 2 is already proving to be as much of a hit as its older brother. Playing as Melinoë, the younger sister of the first game’s protagonist, Zagreus, you’ll be descending into the Underworld rather than trying to escape it, to try and kill Chronos, the Titan of Time.
With new weapons, Incantations, and Keepsakes, you’ll be doing your utmost to fend off the likes of Scylla and the Sirens alongside an assortment of new bosses to reclaim your father’s throne and save Hades. Just please don’t forget to pet the frog after each run.
#4 – Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX
Click to enlargePokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX
- Release date: 2020
- Platforms: Nintendo Switch
- Key features:
- A remake of the legendary DS titles
- Play as the Pokémon
- Huge amounts of quests and an interesting story
The Mystery Dungeon series is one of the most iconic roguelike series to date, and its Pokémon variant makes it all the better. Originally a DS game from 2005, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX has been lovingly remade for the Nintendo Switch, and is just as fun as it was back then.
After waking up with no memory, you find that you have been transformed into a 'mon, and you must live among the Pokémon in their adorable village while taking on various quests. The more quests you do, the stronger you get, making each dungeon crawl and boss run a breeze.
#3 – Balatro
Click to enlargeBalatro details & key features:
- Release date: 2024
- Platforms: PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S
- Key features:
- Deck-building roguelike
- Blind battle can become intense
- Shows some love to the humble Joker
When you think Poker, roguelike probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. But, Balatro changes that, and it does so brilliantly. With every game, you battle to get the highest score, defeat blinds. and improve your deck.
In most card games, the Joker is seldom seen. But in Balatro, it’s a precious commodity. Your Jokers can enhance your deck exponentially, meaning you can take on bigger and badder blinds and end up with an extremely powerful deck.
#2 – Returnal
Click to enlargeReturnal details & key features:
- Release date: 2021
- Platforms: PlayStation 5, PC
- Key features:
- Intriguing story
- Ambient soundtrack
- Haptic feedback and gorgeous graphics
If alien planets, eerie astronauts, and a terrifying soundtrack sound good to you, the Returnal will be right up your street. Playing as Selene, an astronaut who has crashed on the mysterious Atropos, you’ll quickly find that you are caught in a time loop.
As you explore the alien civilization that occupied the planet and the vicious fauna that defend it, you’ll return to your ship after every death, acquiring new powers and weapons with every run.
Returnal, in my opinion, is one of the most underrated games of this generation, and an essential PlayStation 5 exclusive that you should add to your burgeoning backlogs.
What is the best roguelike game to play in 2024?
#1 – Hades
Click to enlargeHades details & key features:
- Release date: 2020
- Platforms: PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, iOS
- Key features:
- Caused a roguelike resurgence
- Fun story and characters to bond with
- Weapons, Boons and Keepsakes keep you feeling god-like
I think it’s fair to say that the release of Hades saw a huge resurgence in the popularity of the roguelike, and has gone on to become one of the most influential games of a generation. Playing as Zagreus, the son of Hades and older brother of Melinoe, you’ll die and die again as you make your journey from the depths of the Underworld to the surface above.
Each run will see you get stronger and stronger as you unlock new weapons, abilities, Keepsakes. and Boons from the very gods of Olympus themselves, allowing you to hone your builds and utilise an entire array of god-tier techniques. It’s fast, it’s fun, and it’s got a story and characters to die for.
Be sure to check out our lists homepage for even more gaming recommendations, like the best games like Baldurs Gate 3, the best free-to-play shooters, and the best Steam Deck games.
