Chaos and Comedy in Roguelike Games
Chaos and comedy. Death and rebirth. Luck and, uh, running out of luck. A good roguelike doesn’t treat the player like other games do. Roguelikes won’t guide you helpfully along a path, or let you cinematically snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. They’re more likely to dangle you deep between the jaws of defeat and fumble the rope until you go sliding down defeat’s hungry gullet. This is their beauty, and it’s a part of why we keep coming back for another go. Next time everything will go right. Next time you’ll find the right pair of poison-proof loafers, the perfect co-pilot for your spaceship, a stash of stronger, better ropes. Next time.
Our Definition of Roguelike is Broad
Our definition of roguelike is broad. We won’t nitpick what constitutes a roguelike versus a roguelite, for example. That argument is for professors and other freaks. For a long time, RPS has joked about the “roguelikelike”. This is our way of saying all taxonomy is folly. We could easily headline this article “19 good video games” and call it a day. But as pattern-seeking reprobates, PC gamers crave categorisation (that’s why we love games about managing inventory). Meanwhile, as sicko word scribblers, we journos must provide our fellow rogueliker with the greasy meat of good games, regardless of prescriptive definitions. In short, we’re not interested in the question: what is a roguelike? We are interested in the question: what are the good ones?
Here’s Our Full List of the Final Contenders
- Vampire Survivors
- Monster Train
- Unexplored 2
- Returnal
- Endless Dungeon
- Balatro
- Darkest Dungeon 2
- FTL: Faster Than Light
- The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
- Streets Of Rogue
- Caves Of Qud
- Noita
- Wildermyth
- Risk Of Rain 2
- Hades 2
- Slay The Spire
- Dead Cells
- Spelunky 2
- Into The Breach
Each of these games brings its own unique flavor to the table, whether it's the chaotic hilarity found in
