Best roguelike games: a beginner's guide to the die-a-lot genre

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The best roguelike games will test your metal, push you to the brink, and leave you wanting more. While some may be harder than others there's something in this list, so check out which one suits you best.

While most of these best roguelike games will share spots on lists like our best indie games, the genre in itself has produced so many unique titles it's hard not to marvel at it. Roguelikes have even gone beyond their own genre and have changed the way games handle perma-death. While at times the best roguelike games do border on slightly masochistic they will always reward you for your hard work in a way that no other genre does.

So this is our little guide to some of the best roguelike games around. A genre full of dying a lot, making mistakes, and scraping through by the skin of your teeth. 

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The Binding of Isaac is a quintessential roguelike game. You play as Isaac – initially at least – a poor boy whose mother has been told by God to strike him down. He goes into hiding and winds up in a dungeon-like basement filled with monstrosities that seem intent on killing him. If you guide Isaac down deep enough you actually go through your mother’s womb and even fight Satan. You read that right.

The joy of this roguelike comes from the runs where you become all-powerful. You can become a flying laser-firing cyclops, have an army of babies that attack enemies for you, or even spit teeth at enemies in order to take them out. This roguelike gets harder the better you do, with bosses and new areas becoming more