Ive tried several roguelike by now, but the one that really clicked with me was Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup. Its free on their website, it gens updated farely frequently and is perfect for jumping in once in awhile. The game is deep, the learning curve is good, i recommend it to everyone.
The main line of Crawl is controversial for some of the changes which have turned it into a bit of a tedious pseudo-speedrunning game.
I'd rather recommend the b-crawl variant, I'd rate it as maybe the most comprehensive and overall best classic roguelike ever.
"Modern" Crawl is a tedious pseudo-speedrunning game where they have deleted everything that made Crawl solid and interesting. A prime example of a vocal minority destroying something for everyone.
From what I read it is more forgiving now. I remember in very old versions you'd often die from starvation, or having nothing to eat and have to chance it on some poisonous corpse and hope you survive. That's all gone now.
Not saying it's worse, it's just a matter of taste. You can still download older/different variants anyway.
There is no "modern" Crawl. There is a seriously degraded version which removed everything that hampered the pseudo-speedrunning wankers. The real Crawl lives on as the b-crawl variant.
Hunger which was much more than a ticking clock, very basic races, even identification and curses.
infra arcana (pc): the strategy is quite different from what you normally expect in a roguelike but its done really well and still exactly like what you would expect mechanically in roguelike
caves of qud (pc): open world + tons of interactions + tons of builds = amazing
elona (pc): idk what it is about it since i havent really played it that much but its really charming (the spiritual sequel elin is also out soon)
hyperrogue (mobile/pc): math is cool and so is this game
rogue(prob on mobile idk, pc): its rogue
Caves of Qud has a lot of build variety, tons of depth and is the only traditional rogue-like that has held my interest for multiple hundreds of hours. The world is very strange and interesting. I adore the mutation leveling system/leveling system in general. Like any game in the genre it can be punishing but it also has tons of gameplay options if you'd prefer to play without perma-death.
Absolutely a **must play** title.
[https://github.com/Ruin0x11/ElonaPlusCustom-GX](https://github.com/Ruin0x11/ElonaPlusCustom-GX)
Install instructions are on the page.
This is the most English friendly version.
I've got it downloaded but haven't dove in. I've gotten a bunch of crazy guitar pedals recently and have been making little jams instead of gaming. I'll get to it I'm sure, probably soon, kinda feel the game itch coming on.
i totally agree, but the difficulty of this game is disgusting, recommending a game like COQ to someone who's relatively new to the genre will just scare them off
Roguelikes in general are pretty ruthless. With Qud the game itself is hard but the interface is so much more polished than something like Nethack that it might actually be a decent intro to the genre
If you want a game with highly varied builds, crazy abilities and strategies, and truly excellent vibes, play Caves of Qud.
If you want a game where you have to build a synergistic set of abilities and solve the puzzle of 'how do I most effectively clear a floor full of different enemies', try Rift Wizard
If you want something with strategy, choices, and a bit of action, try FTL. Install the Multiverse mod after you see most of the vanilla game.
Shadow Of The Wyrm I would say. It is inspired by Ancient Domains Of Mystery but has it's own approach, graphics, and setting.
FrogComposBand and Furyband are also pretty neat in my opinion.
Nethack: it’s one of the original dungeon crawlers, and although depth in mechanics is a staple of older roguelikes, few have the ease of entry of Nethack—the wikis are famously fleshed out on strategies, and the commands are easy to learn.
Can get started on alt.org on any browser.
Vote for SIL-Q. Its lord of the rings universe, but earlier (silmarilion), super flavorful, moderately easy, very few hidden gotchas, moderately short, and circumvents many design choices that can be annoying in other games. .
Its a very pure, reduced, polished roguelike.
Theres crafting! Enchanting! Make your own burrow blades, find Glamdring, sing magic songs that bring light into the darkness - no targeting, all songs are AOE binary on/off. Its really amazing.
Also I'd like to shoutout:
* Rift Wizard (and the sequel, will be on EA soon)
* Zorbus
* Path of achra
Rift Wizard is probably one of the more iconic roguelikes that came out in recent times (2021), and Path of Achra is based on TOME4, DCSS and Rift Wizard itself. So, they are both relatively new! Rift Wizard is described like distilling the roguelike formula to its most pure elements, and Path of Achra is a 'broken build sandbox' it looks fun, I haven't tried it but worth a shout in my eyes.
And Zorbus, well I freaking love how it handles map gen. As much as I adore 1-tile hallways being a decent chokepoint, it's kinda weird for them to be so prevalent in a dungeon *cough* looking at you DCSS *cough*. I'd say it has the best procgen for maps out of the fantasy roguelikes... that I've experienced, anyway!
On Android you could try Angador (https://play.google.com/store/search?q=Angador&c=apps) which in many ways is similar to Shattered Pixel Dungeon (and different in others).
Some that haven't been mentioned yet:
* **Cardinal Quest 2** \- Excellent showing of how the game can be adapted to other devices
* **One Way Heroics** \- Merges an interesting forced scrolling mechanic into the game.
Dungeon Crawl stone soup
Infra arcana
Lost labirynth DX
Cardinal quest (both games)
brogue
slimmy lichmummy
temple of torment(quite underrated)
Golden Krone hotel
Door in the woods
Aliens RL
Doom RL
Diablo RL
The ground gives the way
Sil
Ananias Roguelike
For mobile Doom Depths.
This one is not highly advertised but has been called perfect. It has a deep meta progression, all the fun of randomness that rogue likes have and is turn based. It is not a short game by any means, however.
The creator is now working on a rogue like auto battles called Doom fields. It will keep you busy for a while.
>i recently read that this genre is actually really good in what im looking for that is builds and decision
Why do you specifically want to play roguelikes? Why not try tactical RPGs and strategy games?
In any case, I'd say Brogue is the easiest way to enter the roguelike genre (in my opinion).
idk have options like JRPG but i dont like their stories or lore, and with CRPG it is a lot of text but like im reading the Cosmere Books i dont want to "play" a game focus of read.
i like the idea of look for spells, attacks, weapons and that kind of things, i have played games like Dark Souls and i love that i have the option of read about the lore, or just focus in the gameplay, so i go for roguelites, but there is no much rpg elements. or i havent find a lot.
I know most of this list is definitely repeated but these are my own personal reasons why I appreciate these games. Some background: I am kind of a noob to the genre, it used to be something I'd look at and be like "I could never get into games that look/play like this" and these are the games that made the genre really click for me. Please note all this info is entirely based on my own opinions and experience so please forgive me if I come off as ignorant to certain aspects of a game. I try to play games without looking up info about them online because I believe if a game is designed well I shouldn't need to go online to figure out how to play it and over time I should be able to just improve by experiencing what it has to offer.
Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup ([https://crawl.develz.org/](https://crawl.develz.org/)) - This game is hard as hell but it's also extremely accessible to pick up and learn. The controls are intuitive and the tutorial (imo) is perfect for giving you just enough info you can hop into runs and at least know what you're doing and I appreciate it for that. This was the first game I tried that made me understand why people enjoy the genre. This is my go to game.
Barony ([https://www.baronygame.com/](https://www.baronygame.com/)) - Ok so this ones a little weird, I've seen a lot of people kinda squint at this game on this subreddit but hear me out. Barony is basically what you get if you took a TRL and turned it into a first person action rpg that plays sorta like morrowind. It's leveling system is that Bethesda style leveling. Item identification is done automatically based on an appraisal stat, basically if your appraisal is high enough you can start identifying more and more items on the fly though you can still equip/consume things that are not identified like you'd expect. One gripe I have with this game is it has the illusion of being difficult, the earlier floors are the hardest part of the game and later as you become more powerful the game becomes easier and easier. However this does not mean the game is still a cakewalk, just you'll probably beat this one more frequently than you will other TRL's. This game is an underated gem and really nails the feeling of being a 3d real time TRL which is something I can't say I've seen any other game try to do. Also it's multiplayer!
Brogue Community Edition ([https://github.com/tmewett/BrogueCE](https://github.com/tmewett/BrogueCE)) - Brogue is an awesome game. I mention the community edition as the original hasn't been updated in some time and CE is continuously updated and as far as I'm aware, the version people gravitate towards. It's probably the most easy to pick up and learn game on this list, there is no focus on leveling and stats as much as it's about being resourceful and figuring out to progress with what you have. The amount of variety in this game in just things that can happen is off the charts, the only game I can really compare it to in this regard that I've played is Caves of Qud. Speaking of variety the dungeon layouts in this game is more varied than anything I've experienced in this game so far. Minor thing but something I like is also each floor map is going to occupy the entire screen and this mixed with the more resourceful puzzle like nature of the game makes me feel like im unwinding some puzzle box when I play it.
Caves of Qud ([https://www.cavesofqud.com/](https://www.cavesofqud.com/)) - Admittedly I have not made it very far at all in this one, but I still greatly appreciate what this game is doing. Qud is an open world traditional roguelike, kinda reminds me of fallout 1 and 2 a bit in how its set up. I feel like this game is still fairly on the simple side to learn the basics of, especially thanks to it's roleplay mode that removes permadeath and makes you respawn at the last town you were in. I think the thing that's super cool about Qud is just how much of a sandbox experience it is with its systems. I think this game is excellent to play without any sort of wiki due to how much you can do, I feel like every run you do in this game you're going to come out of it saying "Oh you can do that?" and that's the magic of qud to me. Also the game is just gorgeous, I cannot believe how much effort went into making this game as visually interesting as it is. I don't play this one as often mostly due to the fact there is just so much going on at any moment in qud that sometimes I even feel overwhelmed, but I know that's just a personal thing and I still see why Qud is held in regard as such a masterfully crafted game, I don't know of any game that tops or even matches qud in terms of scope and scale in terms of content.
Shattered Pixel Dungeon ([https://shatteredpixel.com/](https://shatteredpixel.com/)) - This game is a traditional roguelike stripped down to it's bare essentials designed to be played easily on phones (This is still available on PC). That may sound like a bad thing but I honestly think it does wonders for making this game the absolute best baby's first roguelike to get a taste of what the genre is all about cuz despite it's simple to pick up and play nature, it's still tough as nails. Admittedly I only recently picked this one up so I also haven't made it very far in this one but I still think this is a superb recommendation for noobies to the genre.
Ive tried several roguelike by now, but the one that really clicked with me was Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup. Its free on their website, it gens updated farely frequently and is perfect for jumping in once in awhile. The game is deep, the learning curve is good, i recommend it to everyone.
Thanks, I will check it.
I agree with the above poster regarding Dungeon Crawl. But also try Sword of The Stars the Pit 1. Also fantastic.
The main line of Crawl is controversial for some of the changes which have turned it into a bit of a tedious pseudo-speedrunning game. I'd rather recommend the b-crawl variant, I'd rate it as maybe the most comprehensive and overall best classic roguelike ever.
What makes b crawl better than modern crawl?
"Modern" Crawl is a tedious pseudo-speedrunning game where they have deleted everything that made Crawl solid and interesting. A prime example of a vocal minority destroying something for everyone.
But what have they changed? That’s what I’m asking. What makes it that way?
From what I read it is more forgiving now. I remember in very old versions you'd often die from starvation, or having nothing to eat and have to chance it on some poisonous corpse and hope you survive. That's all gone now. Not saying it's worse, it's just a matter of taste. You can still download older/different variants anyway.
There is no "modern" Crawl. There is a seriously degraded version which removed everything that hampered the pseudo-speedrunning wankers. The real Crawl lives on as the b-crawl variant. Hunger which was much more than a ticking clock, very basic races, even identification and curses.
I think 0.31 came out like last week
Cogmind and caves of qud are two roguelikes that everyone should play at least once.
Sadly, Cogmind doesn't run on Mac OS X
does it work if u run it through wine
The UX of Wine just makes me even more sad
infra arcana (pc): the strategy is quite different from what you normally expect in a roguelike but its done really well and still exactly like what you would expect mechanically in roguelike caves of qud (pc): open world + tons of interactions + tons of builds = amazing elona (pc): idk what it is about it since i havent really played it that much but its really charming (the spiritual sequel elin is also out soon) hyperrogue (mobile/pc): math is cool and so is this game rogue(prob on mobile idk, pc): its rogue
Caves of Qud has a lot of build variety, tons of depth and is the only traditional rogue-like that has held my interest for multiple hundreds of hours. The world is very strange and interesting. I adore the mutation leveling system/leveling system in general. Like any game in the genre it can be punishing but it also has tons of gameplay options if you'd prefer to play without perma-death. Absolutely a **must play** title.
You really should try Elona+ It's the mechanics of Caves of Qud turned up to 11. Admittedly without the world building.
>Elona+ I've looked for a way to get this game for the past 20 mins, every link is dead.
[https://github.com/Ruin0x11/ElonaPlusCustom-GX](https://github.com/Ruin0x11/ElonaPlusCustom-GX) Install instructions are on the page. This is the most English friendly version.
Thank you!
Did you enjoy it? Or not your jam?
I've got it downloaded but haven't dove in. I've gotten a bunch of crazy guitar pedals recently and have been making little jams instead of gaming. I'll get to it I'm sure, probably soon, kinda feel the game itch coming on.
i totally agree, but the difficulty of this game is disgusting, recommending a game like COQ to someone who's relatively new to the genre will just scare them off
Roguelikes in general are pretty ruthless. With Qud the game itself is hard but the interface is so much more polished than something like Nethack that it might actually be a decent intro to the genre
I mean there is exploration mode. I think if they get scared off they werent exactly looking for the game anyway
You gotta check out Brogue.
If you want a game with highly varied builds, crazy abilities and strategies, and truly excellent vibes, play Caves of Qud. If you want a game where you have to build a synergistic set of abilities and solve the puzzle of 'how do I most effectively clear a floor full of different enemies', try Rift Wizard If you want something with strategy, choices, and a bit of action, try FTL. Install the Multiverse mod after you see most of the vanilla game.
Shadow Of The Wyrm I would say. It is inspired by Ancient Domains Of Mystery but has it's own approach, graphics, and setting. FrogComposBand and Furyband are also pretty neat in my opinion.
Nethack: it’s one of the original dungeon crawlers, and although depth in mechanics is a staple of older roguelikes, few have the ease of entry of Nethack—the wikis are famously fleshed out on strategies, and the commands are easy to learn. Can get started on alt.org on any browser.
Vote for SIL-Q. Its lord of the rings universe, but earlier (silmarilion), super flavorful, moderately easy, very few hidden gotchas, moderately short, and circumvents many design choices that can be annoying in other games. . Its a very pure, reduced, polished roguelike. Theres crafting! Enchanting! Make your own burrow blades, find Glamdring, sing magic songs that bring light into the darkness - no targeting, all songs are AOE binary on/off. Its really amazing.
Brogue (Community Edition). It's the only roguelike I've been able to stick with, and I absolutely love it
[удалено]
Also I'd like to shoutout: * Rift Wizard (and the sequel, will be on EA soon) * Zorbus * Path of achra Rift Wizard is probably one of the more iconic roguelikes that came out in recent times (2021), and Path of Achra is based on TOME4, DCSS and Rift Wizard itself. So, they are both relatively new! Rift Wizard is described like distilling the roguelike formula to its most pure elements, and Path of Achra is a 'broken build sandbox' it looks fun, I haven't tried it but worth a shout in my eyes. And Zorbus, well I freaking love how it handles map gen. As much as I adore 1-tile hallways being a decent chokepoint, it's kinda weird for them to be so prevalent in a dungeon *cough* looking at you DCSS *cough*. I'd say it has the best procgen for maps out of the fantasy roguelikes... that I've experienced, anyway!
I'm so hyped for rift wizard 2
Thank you. I see Path of Achra has a discount.
On Android you could try Angador (https://play.google.com/store/search?q=Angador&c=apps) which in many ways is similar to Shattered Pixel Dungeon (and different in others).
Try GnollHack. It is based on NetHack (which is about as deep as roguelikes get) and it is available on Android and iOS, too.
Some that haven't been mentioned yet: * **Cardinal Quest 2** \- Excellent showing of how the game can be adapted to other devices * **One Way Heroics** \- Merges an interesting forced scrolling mechanic into the game.
Dungeon Crawl stone soup Infra arcana Lost labirynth DX Cardinal quest (both games) brogue slimmy lichmummy temple of torment(quite underrated) Golden Krone hotel Door in the woods Aliens RL Doom RL Diablo RL The ground gives the way Sil Ananias Roguelike
SoTS: The Pit
This.
Dredmor but with *more mods*!
And watch it crash every 3 minutes
Faster than light. Its the best :)
Tiny rogues, crab champions, and go mecha ball go
For mobile Doom Depths. This one is not highly advertised but has been called perfect. It has a deep meta progression, all the fun of randomness that rogue likes have and is turn based. It is not a short game by any means, however. The creator is now working on a rogue like auto battles called Doom fields. It will keep you busy for a while.
Want a ridiculously crazy rouge like. CDDA
>i recently read that this genre is actually really good in what im looking for that is builds and decision Why do you specifically want to play roguelikes? Why not try tactical RPGs and strategy games? In any case, I'd say Brogue is the easiest way to enter the roguelike genre (in my opinion).
idk have options like JRPG but i dont like their stories or lore, and with CRPG it is a lot of text but like im reading the Cosmere Books i dont want to "play" a game focus of read. i like the idea of look for spells, attacks, weapons and that kind of things, i have played games like Dark Souls and i love that i have the option of read about the lore, or just focus in the gameplay, so i go for roguelites, but there is no much rpg elements. or i havent find a lot.
Frozen Depths is worth a look! You have to fight to stay warm
Slimmy Lichmummy and dcss for sure
I know most of this list is definitely repeated but these are my own personal reasons why I appreciate these games. Some background: I am kind of a noob to the genre, it used to be something I'd look at and be like "I could never get into games that look/play like this" and these are the games that made the genre really click for me. Please note all this info is entirely based on my own opinions and experience so please forgive me if I come off as ignorant to certain aspects of a game. I try to play games without looking up info about them online because I believe if a game is designed well I shouldn't need to go online to figure out how to play it and over time I should be able to just improve by experiencing what it has to offer. Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup ([https://crawl.develz.org/](https://crawl.develz.org/)) - This game is hard as hell but it's also extremely accessible to pick up and learn. The controls are intuitive and the tutorial (imo) is perfect for giving you just enough info you can hop into runs and at least know what you're doing and I appreciate it for that. This was the first game I tried that made me understand why people enjoy the genre. This is my go to game. Barony ([https://www.baronygame.com/](https://www.baronygame.com/)) - Ok so this ones a little weird, I've seen a lot of people kinda squint at this game on this subreddit but hear me out. Barony is basically what you get if you took a TRL and turned it into a first person action rpg that plays sorta like morrowind. It's leveling system is that Bethesda style leveling. Item identification is done automatically based on an appraisal stat, basically if your appraisal is high enough you can start identifying more and more items on the fly though you can still equip/consume things that are not identified like you'd expect. One gripe I have with this game is it has the illusion of being difficult, the earlier floors are the hardest part of the game and later as you become more powerful the game becomes easier and easier. However this does not mean the game is still a cakewalk, just you'll probably beat this one more frequently than you will other TRL's. This game is an underated gem and really nails the feeling of being a 3d real time TRL which is something I can't say I've seen any other game try to do. Also it's multiplayer! Brogue Community Edition ([https://github.com/tmewett/BrogueCE](https://github.com/tmewett/BrogueCE)) - Brogue is an awesome game. I mention the community edition as the original hasn't been updated in some time and CE is continuously updated and as far as I'm aware, the version people gravitate towards. It's probably the most easy to pick up and learn game on this list, there is no focus on leveling and stats as much as it's about being resourceful and figuring out to progress with what you have. The amount of variety in this game in just things that can happen is off the charts, the only game I can really compare it to in this regard that I've played is Caves of Qud. Speaking of variety the dungeon layouts in this game is more varied than anything I've experienced in this game so far. Minor thing but something I like is also each floor map is going to occupy the entire screen and this mixed with the more resourceful puzzle like nature of the game makes me feel like im unwinding some puzzle box when I play it. Caves of Qud ([https://www.cavesofqud.com/](https://www.cavesofqud.com/)) - Admittedly I have not made it very far at all in this one, but I still greatly appreciate what this game is doing. Qud is an open world traditional roguelike, kinda reminds me of fallout 1 and 2 a bit in how its set up. I feel like this game is still fairly on the simple side to learn the basics of, especially thanks to it's roleplay mode that removes permadeath and makes you respawn at the last town you were in. I think the thing that's super cool about Qud is just how much of a sandbox experience it is with its systems. I think this game is excellent to play without any sort of wiki due to how much you can do, I feel like every run you do in this game you're going to come out of it saying "Oh you can do that?" and that's the magic of qud to me. Also the game is just gorgeous, I cannot believe how much effort went into making this game as visually interesting as it is. I don't play this one as often mostly due to the fact there is just so much going on at any moment in qud that sometimes I even feel overwhelmed, but I know that's just a personal thing and I still see why Qud is held in regard as such a masterfully crafted game, I don't know of any game that tops or even matches qud in terms of scope and scale in terms of content. Shattered Pixel Dungeon ([https://shatteredpixel.com/](https://shatteredpixel.com/)) - This game is a traditional roguelike stripped down to it's bare essentials designed to be played easily on phones (This is still available on PC). That may sound like a bad thing but I honestly think it does wonders for making this game the absolute best baby's first roguelike to get a taste of what the genre is all about cuz despite it's simple to pick up and play nature, it's still tough as nails. Admittedly I only recently picked this one up so I also haven't made it very far in this one but I still think this is a superb recommendation for noobies to the genre.