5 Best Roguelike Games on PC in 2022

The replayability of Roguelike games tends to attract a large number of players and, even years after release, maintains a steady gamer base on PC.

Roguelike (or rogue-like) games are a subgenre of computer role-playing games traditionally characterized by dungeon crawling through procedurally generated levels, turn-based gameplay, grid-based movement, and the player character's permanent death.

Most roguelikes are based on high fantasy narratives, reflecting their influence from tabletop role-playing games such as Dungeons and Dragons.

In this article, VCGamers will present five of the best roguelike games on PC in 2022.

Best Roguelike Game List

VCGamers has five of the best roguelike game recommendations that you can play on PC. What are the roguelike games? Please check the article below.

The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth

In essence, Binding of Isaac: Rebirth is a rogue RPG where you play as Isaac (or one of the other unlockable characters) and you must traverse the house's basement to escape the wrath of the mother, who hears from God's voice and is told that you must sacrificed.

This premise sets the tone for the game to be particularly sinister and unsettling as you defend against all the strange behavior of lost brothers, sisters, creatures, and other monsters. Eventually leading to a showdown with own mother too (and even more so if you get good at the game and move on).

What makes The Binding the Isaac such a great title comes from its solid gameplay elements. The gameplay itself is very easy to grasp at first but deepens immensely with the inclusion of improvements through rogue-like elements (easy to understand + hard to master + lucky draw + game-death = Isaac in short).

To run far you will need upgrades and lots of them. Isaac by default can only shoot his tears at enemies in only four cardinal directions, but the many different upgrades can change his tears or give them new effects.

This is what can make or break a path in the Binding of Isaac. Be warned, not all upgrades are positive, which adds to the rogue-like element, as some are ultimately bad or only used in certain situations and can ruin a run, resulting in a failure (high risk and high reward situations are the nature of the game).

Hades

Hades is a 2D isometric hack and slash roguelike where you play as Zagreus, son of Hades. Your goal is to escape from the underworld and its inhabitants will not make it easy for you.

The art style is beautiful with brilliant character designs. The soundtrack is great, the voice acting is on point and the sound effects are great too. The story is intertwined with your repeated deaths, advancing multiple plot threads and relationships with each turn.

The gameplay is the real star here. Supergiant have perfected their recipe with this game; isometric, fast-paced combat that takes cues from Bastion and Transistor, but loops up to 11, with a branching Pyre narrative but with more replayability due to the insane amount of weapon upgrades, boons/perks ensure that every run is different.

The walk itself lasts about 30-60 minutes but the story and dialogue carry on. Fail the first time and come back stronger, unlock skills and more to make your next run easier, and for those who like difficulty having the ability to upgrade after you finish your first run.

Spelunsky 2

It's hard to recommend Spelunky 2. Not because it is games which is bad, but because it can be frustrating. As with most roguelikes, dying means going back to the beginning.

But in Spelunky, nothing carries over to the future. What you can take with you to your next run is your own experience and knowledge; And while half of the things in the game kill you instantly or stun you to death, having a good ending in a quick death can break one's will.

Spelunky 2 improves on Spelunky HD's gameplay by adding separate lanes, allowing for more variety and decision making in your run while remaining true to the feel and style of the previous entries.

It also adds a back layer to each level, allowing for more secrets to be kept. After successfully completing the first run, you can try to find these secrets and discover bosses and hidden areas and even different endings!

Slay the Spires

Slay the Spire is a deckbuilding roguelike game. You start the game with a very simple 12-card deck, collect cards as you climb and fight/pass events/rest at a bonfire/shop in a shop, and then hopefully the deck grows into something cohesive enough to challenge Spire bosses.

Mechanically, it's pretty simple, deal enough damage to reduce enemy health to zero, use Defense cards to protect against incoming attacks, and shuffle the deck as you get through them all.

Also read: Best Lightweight PC Game Recommendations for 2022, Play Now!

Faster Than Light

In roguelike games Faster Than Light, players take on the role of the captain of a starship whose main goal is to defend the Federation from the threat of rebels.

The concept is simple, you have to go through seven tiring sectors to face giant rebel ships that will mercilessly test your courage and skills.

It employs a tough but fair design school where you will pay dearly for every mistake you make, no matter how small. You may not even notice the mistake until it's too late.

You start with a barebones crew and gear that you'll want to upgrade massively by the time you reach the end. You will achieve it by traveling through the galaxy, doing quests, fighting or helping other ships or just buying whatever you can afford.

Also read: 5 Recommended PC Games for 2022 to be Released in February You Must Wait For!

This is a roguelike game so each playthrough is completely different with random quests and loot drops. Sometimes you may feel slighted by dropped items or tricky situations you find yourself in, but almost every piece of equipment is useful in some way and there is almost always a way out of a sticky situation.