10 Best Roguelike Indie Games You Need to Play
From the narrative brilliance of Hades to the brutal combat of Dead Cells, these are the 10 best roguelike and roguelite indie games on Steam.
Roguelikes and roguelites have become the heartbeat of indie gaming. Procedural generation, permadeath, and the promise that no two runs play the same way. These games pack hundreds of hours into tight, replayable loops that keep pulling you back for one more attempt.
The genre has exploded over the past decade. What started with ASCII dungeons and turn based combat in 1980s Rogue has evolved into fast paced action games where every run feels like a new adventure. Indie developers took the core ideas and ran with them, producing some of the highest rated games on Steam.
Here are the 10 best roguelike indie games you should play right now. All action, all combat, all worth your time.
1. Hades
Developer: Supergiant Games | Released: 2020 | Steam Reviews: Overwhelmingly Positive
Hades is the game that brought roguelikes to a mainstream audience. You play as Zagreus, son of the god of death, fighting your way out of the Greek Underworld. Every run gives you boons from the Olympian gods that fundamentally change your build. The combat is fast, responsive, and deeply satisfying.
What makes Hades special is how it handles failure. Every death advances the story. Characters remember your attempts, relationships deepen between runs, and the writing is some of the best in gaming. It won the Hugo Award for Best Video Game, a first for the medium.
Supergiant proved that narrative and roguelike structure can coexist beautifully. The story does not happen despite the dying. It happens because of it.
Why it belongs here: The gold standard for roguelites. If you play one game on this list, make it this one.
2. Hades II
Developer: Supergiant Games | Released: 2025 | Steam Reviews: Overwhelmingly Positive
The sequel shifts perspective from Zagreus to Melinoë, Princess of the Underworld. She wields dark sorcery against the Titan of Time, Chronos, who has seized control of the Underworld. The combat system is expanded with new magic mechanics, resource gathering between runs, and dual exploration paths.
Supergiant did not simply remake the first game. Hades II introduces an entirely new progression loop where you can venture deeper into the Underworld or ascend toward the surface. The Arcana Card system replaces the Mirror of Night with more build flexibility. New Olympian boons from gods like Apollo and Hephaestus join returning favorites.
The writing matches the first game’s quality. Melinoë’s journey is darker and more personal. The characters and world feel fresh without abandoning what made the original a masterpiece.
Why it belongs here: A sequel that expands the formula without losing the soul of the original.
3. Dead Cells
Developer: Motion Twin | Released: 2018 | Steam Reviews: Overwhelmingly Positive
Dead Cells blends metroidvania exploration with roguelite combat in a way that feels effortless. You play as a sentient mass of cells inhabiting a headless corpse, fighting through a procedurally generated island that shifts with every run. The combat is fast, brutal, and deeply satisfying. Weapons range from balanced swords to absurd traps, and the build variety keeps runs fresh.
The game kept evolving long after launch. Multiple free DLCs and paid expansions added bosses, biomes, weapons, and a crossover with Castlevania. Motion Twin (now Evil Empire for the DLC work) supported this game for years. Over 10 million copies sold.
Dead Cells proved that roguelites and metroidvanias are a natural fit. If you love games like Dead Cells, we have a full list of alternatives worth exploring.
Why it belongs here: The best feeling combat in any 2D roguelite. Period.
4. Rogue Legacy 2
Developer: Cellar Door Games | Released: 2022 | Steam Reviews: Very Positive
Rogue Legacy 2 takes the original’s brilliant hereditary system and rebuilds everything around it. When you die, you pick one of three randomized children to carry on. Each heir has a unique class, traits, and quirks. One might be a giant with vertigo. Another might be colorblind (the game actually renders in grayscale). The traits are not just cosmetic. They change how you play.
The procedurally generated castle is dense with secrets. Six biomes, each with distinct enemies and hazards, connect to form a sprawling map. The metroidvania progression between runs lets you unlock permanent upgrades, new classes, and new abilities that open previously inaccessible areas.
What makes Rogue Legacy 2 special is the class variety. 15 classes play completely differently. The Ronin is a melee glass cannon. The Astromancer hurls black holes. The Bard attacks by playing a lute. Cellar Door Games took every lesson from the first game and refined it into something that feels polished and endlessly replayable.
Why it belongs here: The best hereditary roguelite ever made. Every heir tells a different story.
5. Vampire Survivors
Developer: poncle | Released: 2022 | Steam Reviews: Overwhelmingly Positive
Vampire Survivors should not work. You move a character around a field while weapons fire automatically. There is no aiming, no dodging button, no manual attacks. Just movement. And yet it is one of the most addictive games ever made.
The trick is in the progression. You start weak, but every level up offers a choice: new weapon, upgrade, or passive. By the 20 minute mark, your screen is filled with explosions, projectiles, and hundreds of enemies melting in seconds. The power curve is intoxicating.
Luca Galante made the initial version as a solo project, and it became one of the biggest indie hits of the decade. At $4.99, it offers a staggering amount of content. The game spawned an entire “bullet heaven” subgenre. The Vampire Survivors deckbuilder spinoff is one of 2026’s most anticipated demos.
Why it belongs here: Redefined what a roguelike can be. $5 for hundreds of hours.
Play Vampire Survivors on Steam
6. The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
Developer: Edmund McMillen, Nicalis | Released: 2014 | Steam Reviews: Overwhelmingly Positive
The Binding of Isaac is the game that proved roguelikes could be mainstream. Edmund McMillen followed up Super Meat Boy with a top down shooter about a child escaping into his basement, battling grotesque creatures with his tears. The original Flash version launched in 2011. Rebirth rebuilt it from the ground up in 2014.
The item pool is enormous. Over 700 items, dozens of characters, and hundreds of synergies create runs that range from absurdly overpowered to hilariously doomed. The game rewards knowledge: learning what each item does, which combinations break the game, and which paths lead to hidden bosses and alternate endings.
With the Afterbirth, Afterbirth+, and Repentance DLCs, Isaac has more content than some MMOs. It has over 344,000 Steam reviews and remains one of the most played roguelikes on the platform a decade later.
Why it belongs here: The godfather of the modern roguelite renaissance. Still evolving, still essential.
Play The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth on Steam
7. Enter the Gungeon
Developer: Dodge Roll | Released: 2016 | Steam Reviews: Overwhelmingly Positive
Enter the Gungeon is a bullet hell dungeon crawler where everything is gun themed. The enemies are bullets. The bosses are guns. The items are guns. The puns are relentless. Beneath the humor lies one of the tightest twin stick shooters in the roguelite space.
The dodge roll mechanic (complete with i-frames) gives you a panic button that rewards timing and positioning. The gun variety is staggering: over 300 weapons ranging from conventional shotguns to a gun that shoots bees, a gun that shoots other guns, and a literal lowercase “r” that types bullets. Every run presents different weapon combinations that force you to adapt.
Dodge Roll and Devolver Digital supported the game with substantial free updates. A House of the Gundead and Advanced Gungeons & Draguns added bosses, floors, items, and NPCs. The game’s difficulty is punishing but fair, and the community has kept it alive years after release.
Why it belongs here: The perfect blend of bullet hell precision and roguelite randomness. Also, gun puns.
Play Enter the Gungeon on Steam
8. Cult of the Lamb
Developer: Massive Monster | Released: 2022 | Steam Reviews: Very Positive
Cult of the Lamb is two games fused into one, and both halves are excellent. In the dungeons, you hack through procedurally generated rooms with fast, fluid combat and randomized weapon drops. Between runs, you manage a cult. You build structures, perform rituals, feed your followers, and punish dissenters. The two loops feed each other: dungeon resources improve your cult, and cult upgrades make you stronger in the dungeons.
The art style is adorable and deeply unsettling at the same time. Cute woodland creatures worship you as a god. You sacrifice the ones who lose faith. The tonal contrast between the cutesy visuals and the dark theming is what gives the game its identity.
Massive Monster and Devolver Digital kept updating the game well past launch. The Sins of the Flesh and Unholy Alliance updates added co-op, new cult mechanics, new bosses, and significant quality of life improvements. The game sold over 4 million copies in its first year.
Why it belongs here: The most creative genre mashup on this list. Roguelite combat meets cult management, and it works.
Play Cult of the Lamb on Steam
9. Nuclear Throne
Developer: Vlambeer | Released: 2015 | Steam Reviews: Very Positive
Nuclear Throne is pure adrenaline. Vlambeer’s twin stick roguelite drops mutant characters into a post apocalyptic wasteland where everything explodes, shatters, and screams. Runs last 15 minutes if you are good. Most last 3.
The game feel is legendary. Vlambeer coined the term “screen shake” philosophy, and Nuclear Throne is the ultimate expression of it. Every shotgun blast pushes you backward. Every explosion shakes the screen. Every kill feels impactful. The 12 playable characters each have distinct abilities that change your approach entirely.
Nuclear Throne never got the mainstream recognition of Hades or Dead Cells, but ask any roguelite developer about their influences and this game comes up constantly. It is raw, unpolished in places, and absolutely electric to play.
Why it belongs here: The purest distillation of “game feel” in any roguelite. Short runs, infinite replay value.
10. Wizard of Legend
Developer: Contingent99 | Released: 2018 | Steam Reviews: Very Positive
Wizard of Legend is a spell slinging dungeon crawler built around fast combo combat. You pick a loadout of arcana (spells) before each run, then chain them together in combat like a fighting game. Dash forward with a fire punch, follow up with an ice tornado, finish with a lightning barrage. The speed and fluidity of the combos set it apart from every other roguelite on this list.
Over 100 spells cover fire, ice, lightning, earth, water, and air elements. Each spell can be a basic, dash, standard, or signature attack, so the loadout possibilities are massive. The game also supports local co-op, which turns the dungeon crawling chaos up to eleven.
Contingent99 built something that fills a specific niche: if you want a roguelite that feels like a 2D character action game, Wizard of Legend is it. The runs are short (30 minutes or less), the combat is tight, and the spell variety keeps you experimenting.
Why it belongs here: The best spell combo system in any roguelite. Fast, fluid, and endlessly replayable.
Play Wizard of Legend on Steam
What Makes a Great Roguelike?
The games on this list share a few traits. Procedural generation keeps every run fresh. Permadeath raises the stakes. And the core gameplay loop is so satisfying that failure feels like progress, not punishment.
The best roguelikes balance randomness with fairness. A bad seed should not doom you, and a good seed should not carry you. Skill matters. Knowledge matters. And the moment a broken build comes together through smart decisions and lucky drops, nothing in gaming compares.
The genre keeps evolving. Hades proved that narrative belongs in the genre. Vampire Survivors proved that simplicity is a feature, not a limitation. Cult of the Lamb proved that roguelite combat can be the foundation for something entirely different. Whatever comes next, these 10 games set the standard.
If you are new to roguelikes, start with Hades. If you want something weird and wonderful, try Cult of the Lamb. If you want pure mechanical depth and tight combat, Dead Cells and Enter the Gungeon will keep you busy for hundreds of hours.
For more curated game lists, browse our best indie games of 2026 so far or check out what is free right now.
Written by
Florian HuetiOS dev by day, indie game dev by night. Trying to give life to GameDō Studio.
Building games and talking about the ones I can't stop playing.
