The Best 15 Traditional Roguelike RPGs To Play in 2024 on PC
The title is clear and highlights the difficulty in labeling the term roguelike today. Indeed, it would be easy, but due to the popularity of various action titles and the die-and-try-again formula, these games have co-opted the Roguelike label in the collective imagination.
To keep things simple and straightforward, let me explain what I mean by Roguelike or Traditional Roguelike (as they are distinguished today). I’m referring to those titles where the game world waits for the player’s move and then makes the entire surrounding world react. I discussed this in slightly more detail inside another article dedicated to this subgenre, where I listed classic titles. You can refer to that article for a clear idea of the context and the term itself.
With that said, and having identified what kind of game to expect from this article, it’s time to start with a roundup of 15 of the most important and worthwhile turn-based roguelikes of recent times. Some of these titles are currently in early access but boast an impressive amount of content, making them highly recommended PC games.
Of Blades and Tails
Solo project Of Blades & Tails is a modern makeover of retro RPGs. Its pixel art and grid-based combat feel decidedly old-school, but the gameplay and graphical effects make it a fully contemporary roguelike. Best of all, its procedurally generated dungeons give it all the replay value you could want!
As an adventurous fox hero, you’ll explore a fantasy world of anthropomorphic tribes, seeking to restore peace to the land. There are multiple difficulty settings, ensuring that it’s accessible no matter your skill level, and there’s no permadeath, so a single mistake won’t end your entire run.
Tangledeep
Tangledeep feels like a combination of classing JRPGs Secret Of Mana and Romancing SaGa, but with its own twist to make it a modern-day classic. Exploring the titular dungeon and its distinct biomes, you’ll hone your skills in twelve playable jobs to create a new skillset for each run.
Like all the best SNES RPGs, Tangledeep has bright, colorful pixel art and a gorgeous soundtrack composed by some of the all-time greats. If you’re a fan of the classics, this is one you won’t want to miss.
Jupiter Hell
As we pointed out when it first launched, Jupiter Hell is what Doom would look like if it was a turn-based RPG. That’s a great combination, and Jupiter Hell’s fresh style and compelling gameplay make it a must for any roguelike fan’s library.
Jupiter Hell is a hardcore permadeath experience, so expect it to challenge you. Considering how satisfying it is (thanks in part to its heavy metal soundtrack), you’ll want to keep coming back for more after every gruesome demise.
Ultimate ADOM
You might not remember the classic dungeon crawler ADOM, but with Ultimate ADOM: Caverns Of Chaos, you can experience the cult-favorite gameplay in its definitive form. A sequel rather than a remake, Ultimate ADOM sees the world of Ancardia picking up the pieces after the cataclysmic events of the first game.
Ultimate ADOM offers a huge amount of customization options, from spells to skills down to appearance and background. You can even graft monster parts onto yourself, becoming an abomination against nature!
Soulash
There are plenty of roguelikes about saving the world, but Soulash lets you give in to the dark side and destroy it instead! As a forgotten god bent on destruction, you’ll ravage a fantasy kingdom town by town, consuming the souls of the living and sending minions to do your bidding.
Soulash has a fun retro pixel-art look, multiple build options, and a massive world to explore (and devastate). There’s also a free demo so you can give this solo project a try without spending any money!
Crown Trick
Crown Trick immerses you in a visually stunning rogue-like RPG, featuring intricate turn-based combat and a strategic interplay between skills and items. Navigate the procedurally generated dungeons that respond dynamically to your every move where you must master elemental interactions to outmaneuver enemies and unravel the secrets buried within this enigmatic subterranean world.
Here, every step is laden with tactical choices, from manipulating environmental elements for devastating combos to learning powerful skills from vanquished foes. Crown Trick challenges you to think several moves ahead, blending traditional rogue-like elements with fresh, engaging mechanics to create a compelling dungeon-crawling experience.
Deadland 4000
Deadland 4000 is an isometric open-world roguelike that’s equal parts quirky and scary. Transported to the year 4000 to find the world a desolate wasteland filled with monsters, you’ll use your chosen character’s unique traits to survive as you seek answers.
Deadland 4000 can put you in delightfully weird situations, as encounters will leave your character with strange abilities ranging from photosynthesis to multiple heads. You’ll need these strange mutant powers because there are hostile creatures everywhere, and evolution has given them a head start!
Cogmind
Cogmind has been in early access for quite some time now, but it’s such a neat, well-executed idea that we can’t wait to see the finished version. As a robot in a living world, you’ll explore, modify your hardware, and learn through a retro-futurist ASCII interface.
Not only does the game’s old-school look pay homage to Rogue, but it also fits the setting in a way most titles can only dream about. How else would a newly-sentient robot see the world? Check it out and see why Cogmind has Overwhelmingly Positive user reviews.
Fractalis
Sometimes simplicity is the way to go. Fractalis is a no-nonsense roguelike that gives players what they want; procedural worlds to explore, monsters to fight, and tons of different ways to do so.
Fractalis shines because of its combat system, which is a fun blend of turn-based and real-time with pause. Whenever you click on the map, your character moves to that location; the same goes for ordering an attack, casting a spell, or anything else. The world progresses in real time while the action is in progress, giving enemies a chance to move and counter. When the order is complete, time stops again for you to take your next “turn.”
Stoneshard
Stoneshard gives mercenary sims like Wartales or Battle Brothers the roguelike treatment, creating an unforgiving experience that’s sure to appeal to challenge-seekers and diehards. Character development is free-form and open-ended, and every battle could be your last.
Stoneshard is still in early access, but there are plenty of contracts to fulfill and gold coins to be earned even at this stage. That’s assuming you survive, of course.
Shattered Pixel Dungeon
Shattered Pixel Dungeon makes the core appeal of roguelikes – the fact that every run is a unique challenge – a core game mechanic. Each of the game’s classes has a completely individual play style that can be further refined through gameplay, and you never know what dangers you’ll face when you enter a new dungeon.
It will take a lot of trial and error to learn all the intricacies of Shattered Pixel Dungeon‘s regions, but that makes it an infinitely replayable game that’s perfect for all-night play.
Caves of Qud
Caves Of Qud could be one of the deepest roguelikes ever, on the level of Dwarf Fortress, and it’s not even out yet. This ambitious early access title presents a living simulated world for you to explore, with limitless options.
Qud‘s retro appearance belies the sheer number of permutations available. Using mundane tools to mutant powers, you can freely dig, battle, and traverse your way across the strange fantasy world. It promises to be an experience you won’t forget!
Rogue Empire: Dungeon Crawler RPG
Rogue Empire is a dungeon crawler that puts you on a desperate quest to eradicate the source of an encroaching shadow before it returns. With a card-game style draft system for leveling up and large, dangerous bosses to battle, this title gives you something a little different from the usual roguelike dungeon crawler experience.
Rogue Empire also offers a Story Mode with two campaigns, as well as a Time Mode and Infinite Mode to test your skills to the limit. Each dungeon is random, of course, so you never know what sort of trouble you’ll get into.
Quasimorph
If Jupiter Hell gives the roguelike treatment to Doom, Quasimorph does the same for Aliens. As a cloned mercenary in a harsh sci-fi universe, you’ll enter abandoned laboratories and ruined space stations to eliminate the terrifying creatures unleashed there.
Gear that you find while on missions is essential, as it gives you new options in your endless battles. Of course, if you die, anything that you brought with you (or found along the way) is gone for good. Nothing lasts forever in Quasimorph!
Terra Randoma
Let’s close this Top 15 Traditional roguelike RPGs with Terra Randoma. As its name suggests, Terra Randoma generates a completely open world each time you start a new game. That includes both the overworld and full dungeons, so if exploration is your jam, then this just-out-of-early-access RPG has everything you need.
Terra Randoma has a board game aesthetic, featuring cool crafting mechanics and a solid combat system. This makes it a wonderfully replayable indie adventure—all the more impressive when you consider that it’s all made by one person!
