If you're looking for a list of the best roguelike games, we've got you covered. In this guide, you can find a list of games that force you to fail and fail again. That includes everything from high-octane combat thrillers such as Hades 2 to Texas Hold 'Em-inspired deckbuilders such as Balatro and plenty in between. Sure, they might be tough, but it's all worth it if you can put together that game-beating run.
To be clear, we're not strictly abiding by the rules of the Berlin Interpretation of the roguelike genre in this guide, which are pretty restrictive, so this list also serves as a guide to the best roguelite games. Whatever you want to call them, all the games we've listed are mind-bogglingly engaging and should keep you busy for endless hours of game time.
The best roguelike games on handhelds are:
1. Balatro
Balatro is notoriously tricky to describe, but I'm going to give it a go. Your goal in this game is to draw random cards, put together poker hands, and try to beat a certain score. Each hand earns you a specific amount of points, and as with poker, you're more likely to win with a full house or a straight rather than a pair or three of a kind. Sounds simple enough, right? Well, not quite, as you can also pick up joker cards, which boost your point multiplier. That means you need to pick up the best possible jokers, while upgrading your cards, across 24 rounds, or eight antes, to win.
I gave this game a near-perfect 9/10 score in our Balatro review, highlighting the "gameplay loop that grabs you and never lets go" and "creative mechanics." Like the best roguelikes, beating Balatro requires a bit of build creativity. A high card hand might not be great on its own, but if you've got a bunch of jokers that reward you for playing a single card or that boost the multiplier based on cards that you've got in your hand, it can potentially see you through to the end of the game. There's a bit of luck required, in that you need good jokers from the shop round, but outside of that, it's all about skill.
Not only is Balatro's gameplay fantastic, but its old-school visuals are delightful, from the pixel art playing cards to the CRT effect that adds to the game's almost hypnotizing nature. It's one of those games you can pick up with the intention of playing for fifteen minutes only to find yourself in the same spot five hours later. If you're an iPhone user, you can download this pick from the Apple Arcade games library, provided you're a subscriber.
Check prices: Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, Android, Windows handhelds, and Steam Deck, or play for free on Apple Arcade
2. Hades 2
If you're looking for a roguelike game that offers nuanced storytelling, compelling combat, and a hotter-than-hell soundtrack, look no further than Hades 2. This follow-up to Supergiant Games' beloved 2020 underworld escape simulator is bigger, bolder, and, dare I say, better than the original, with two paths to travel, over ten challenging boss bouts, and more gods than you knew existed.
I handled our Hades 2 review, awarding the game a perfect 10/10 score on Nintendo Switch 2. While much of this sequel expands on the original, there are some new mechanics, including Hexes, which range from granting you a period of invisibility to firing a devastating laser beam at enemies, and yes, that second example is as much fun as it sounds. All the mechanics combine in every run, making for an exhilarating action-adventure experience that never feels unfair.
While the bulk of Hades 2's greatness is in the combat, it's also one for fans of dating games, with romanceable characters that you can accompany into a hot spring. If you're not feeling steamy, though, you can also take up a bit of interior design, remodeling the Crossroads hub to your tastes, or even take up a spot of fishing. There's no shortage of ways to spend your hours in the battle against the god of time.
Check prices: Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, Windows handhelds, and Steam Deck
3. Peglin
Peglin might look a little bit more charming than a lot of the other games in this guide, but take a peek under the surface, and you'll find an absolutely unforgiving roguelike. With its pachinko gameplay, countless power-ups, and randomly generated routes to victory, this is the sort of game that always keeps you on your toes, as even with the best of builds, a couple of mistimed shots can see your run end in tears.
Like Balatro, Peglin doesn't try all that much to tell a story, but the gameplay is so engaging that it doesn't really need one. However, that shouldn't stop you from pouring hours into the game as you come up with new combinations, be it a bomb-oriented build or a collection of orbs that maximize your critical hit damage. Personally, I'm a big fan of multiball builds that take the chaos to the next level by littering the field with orbs, but it's worth trying all the options to find your own preferred style of play.
At the time of writing, Peglin technically isn't complete, with a whole fourth act still yet to drop. If you do get a bit bored with the same old runs, you can try the Cruciball game mode after your first win, which dials up the difficulty to offer a proper roguelike challenge. Or, for more chaotic balls, you could check out our guide to the best golf games.
Check prices: Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, Android, iOS, Windows handhelds, and Steam Deck
4. Vampire Survivors
Vampire Survivors blends the classic roguelike die-and-die-again formula with idle bullet-hell gameplay to offer something that's almost dangerously engaging. Despite a small development team and no big publisher backing, this game arrived in late 2022 and took the world by storm, winning the BAFTA for Best Game at the 2023 ceremony and sticking around in the top ten of the Steam Deck Top Played charts ever since.
In our Vampire Survivors review, Nathan Ellingsworth gave the game a stellar 9/10 score, thanks in no small part to its "wildly satisfying little thrills." It's only gotten better since, too, with a bunch of new free and paid-for DLC arriving in the game since its launch, including a level dedicated to another top pick from our guide to the best roguelike games, Balatro, as well as a massive level full of iconic bosses from Castlevania.
The best thing about this game, though, is the sheer variety of characters. At the time of writing, there are over 160 vampire slayers to choose from, accounting for all the new DLC additions. It's also, thanks to an update in 2025, now a potential pick for our guide to the best multiplayer games, as you can team up with a couple of friends to take down wave after wave of nightmarish creatures. If that isn't a great team-building exercise, I don't know what is.
Check prices: Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, Android, Windows handhelds, and Steam Deck, or play for free on Apple Arcade
5. Monster Train 2
Tower defense games aren't as popular as they used to be, but a game like Monster Train 2 proves how, if you combine the formula with something new, like roguelike mechanics, you can end up with something ludicrously engaging. This deckbuilder might take a little while to get used to, with its different card archetypes and tricky boss battles, but once it gets its hooks in you, it's a freewheeling locomotive you're unlikely to want to depart in a hurry.
While the first game had just a hint of a story, Monster Train 2 has a proper narrative, which sees the demonic heroes of the original team up with the antagonistic angels to take down the titans. That all sounds pretty serious, but the dialogue is surprisingly tongue-in-cheek, and it's always pretty funny when the various clans get distracted and start taking potshots at each other. There's also a new Dimensional Challenge mode, which tests your skills by equipping you with loadouts that require a bit of tactical nuance to make the most of.
The reason we've gone for Monster Train 2 rather than the original, which is also great, is that all the deck archetypes from the first game are unlockable in the second game, giving you even more ways to play. If, after having your fill of this one, you're looking for more deckbuilding delights, be sure to check out our guide to the best mobile card games next. There's also more content on the way, with the game's developer, Shiny Shoe, recently revealing a roadmap that includes a fresh game mode, a new clan, and more to come.
Check prices: Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, Windows handhelds, and Steam Deck
6. Into the Breach
Strategy roguelike games are few and far between, but if you're looking to test your tactical mettle, Into the Breach is a great option. From the team behind another fantastic sci-fi roguelike, Faster Than Light, Into the Breach transports you to a dark universe on the edge of extinction. It's your job to save humanity from the Vek, a hive of evil aliens, by means of three massive robots. It's part Advance Wars, part Neon Genesis Evangelion, and there's a hint of Fire Emblem, but it's all good.
While you've only got a pretty limited set of mech options at the start of the game, you unlock some new robots pretty quickly, and many of them introduce you to different ways to play the game. You soon learn that attacking the Vek isn't your only possible route to victory, and it can be even more fun to utilize mech units that reposition alien attackers, tricking them into taking out their own kind. Or, you can use defensive units to shield the population from attacks, biding your time until the end of the mission.
As well as fantastic gameplay, Into the Breach's minimalist aesthetics, both in terms of the pixelated visuals and the brooding soundtrack, add to the game's post-apocalyptic atmosphere. For even more deep-space action once you've beaten this tactical title, check out our list of the best sci-fi games.
Check prices: Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, Android, iOS, Windows handhelds, and Steam Deck
7. Dead Cells
Dead Cells is a mashup of roguelike and Metroidvania mechanics, resulting in an adventure that can be frustrating at times but also very cathartic. In this game, you play as the Prisoner, trapped on an island full of mutant monstrosities. It's your job to take out the mutants and, eventually, kill the king. Fortunately, you can develop quite an arsenal, including a variety of swords, bows, shields, and even traps to lure your enemy into.
Thanks to the combination of free and paid DLC, Dead Cells has evolved into even more of an epic quest than when it first launched back in 2018, including the Rise of the Giant DLC that completely transforms the original story. We've also seen a crossover with a classic Capcom series, which Nathan Ellingsworth described as "a huge amount of bang for your buck" in our Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania DLC review.
It's worth noting that if you're a fan of games like Dark Souls, this one is definitely worth checking out, with a lot of reviewers comparing Dead Cells to the famously difficult fantasy series. That's likely due to a combination of the permadeath mechanic and some ridiculously tough bosses, but just like with Bandai Namco's series, there's no better feeling than when you finally land the finishing blow on an enemy that's spent hours killing you.
Check prices: Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, Android, iOS, Windows handhelds, and Steam Deck
8. Slay the Spire
We've already got a couple of deckbuilders in our guide to the best roguelike games, but leaving out Slay the Spire when covering this genre is absolute sacrilege. Unlike Monster Train 2, this is a bit more of a traditional turn-based deckbuilding roguelike, where your goal is simply to stay alive to the end of the run, taking out some bosses on the way. As you might anticipate, though, it can get a bit more complicated than that.
Of all the games in this list, Slay the Spire might have the most brutal final boss. Finding your way to the Corrupt Heart is difficult enough, as it requires finding three keys on your journey to the end of Act 3 to unlock Act 4, and there's still another mini-boss before you can take on the ultimate at the center of the spire. Even then, there's a limit on how much damage you can deal each turn, so you really need the cards on your side to come away from this battle victorious.
At the time of writing, we're waiting on a release date for Slay the Spire 2, but for the time being, it doesn't hurt to get some practice in by mastering the four playable characters from the original. Each has a very different style of play, so making it to the endgame with all of them can prove quite tricky. For more turn-based fun, once you've cut down the Corrupt Heart, see our list of the best RPGs.
Check prices: Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, Android, Windows Handhelds, and Steam Deck, or play for free on Apple Arcade
9. Rogue Legacy
Rogue Legacy might be one of the older games on this list, launching way back in 2013, but it's an absolute staple of the roguelike genre. On the surface, it seems like a pretty tame fantasy action game, which sees you take control of a knight and journey into a deadly castle, but after you fail for the first time, that's when the game really starts to open up. Before you know it, you're multiple runs deep, trying to beat your last attempt and come away with the resources you need for a crucial upgrade.
One of my favorite things about Rogue Legacy is that, like Hades 2, your repeated attempts to beat the game have a canonical explanation. In this game, each new hero is a relative of the fallen warrior from the previous attempt, so the quest to uncover the mysteries of the castle is sort of like a family business. Each generation provides you with three heirs to pick from, each of whom often has their own traits, ranging from color blindness, sucking the color out of the game, to dwarfism, allowing you to fit in small gaps.
Like most of the games from this list, Rogue Legacy also features some fantastic boss bouts, which put your skills to the test. Even compared to some of the big bads in the picks from our guide to the best Metroidvania games, these boss challenges can prove incredibly tough to master. Once you land the final blow, though, you'll feel a real sense of achievement. That is, at least, until a quick lapse in concentration has you passing the mantle onto the next generation.
Check prices: Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, iOS, Windows handhelds, and Steam Deck
10. Ball x Pit
Ball x Pit's gameplay is quite a bit like Peglin, but instead of dropping balls like a pachinko game, you're shooting them upwards, in the same way you might in pinball or the Blackberry classic, Brick Breaker. The big difference is that you've got multiple characters to choose from, each with their own ability, as well as different balls that can inflict status ailments on enemies or deal critical damage. The scope for combinations feels almost endless and can lead to some seriously overpowered builds, which are a lot of fun to witness.
Outside of the main gameplay, Ball x Pit doubles as a town-building game. While taking on each of the levels, you find blueprints, which you can then use to build homes for new characters or create buff-granting locations on the map. There's also the small matter of collecting resources, but this game goes about that in quite a creative way, as you pinball your characters around a small piece of land to harvest wheat, wood, or stone.
Beating Ball x Pit is worth it for the final cutscene alone, which I won't ruin too much here, outside of saying it's a psychedelic experience that even The Beatles would find utterly mesmerizing. If you found yourself more interested in the harvesting aspects of Ball x Pit than the pinball roguelike action, you might want to take a look at our guide to the best games like Stardew Valley while you're here.
Check prices: Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, Windows handhelds, and Steam Deck
Upcoming roguelike games
In terms of what roguelike delights we've got to look forward to, Slay the Spire 2 is pretty high up the list, even though we still don't have anything in the way of an official release date. As we've already mentioned, we've also got a future update for Peglin, adding a fourth act, and some Monster Train 2 DLC to look forward to as well. There are also plenty of highlights in our guides to all the upcoming Switch games and upcoming mobile games to look forward to.
That was our list of the best roguelike games you can play today. If you're looking to fill up your backlog even more, be sure to take a look at our guides to the best Switch games and the best mobile games while you're here. Or, if you want to make a case for your favorite roguelike game, get in on the fun by joining the official Pocket Tactics Discord channel.