I don’t mind admitting, between the two of us, that I’ve been returning to Ball X Pit fairly frequently since it launched last October. That being so, I’m eager to get my hands on the new content that is coming to the game later this month in The Regal Update.
The update is the first of three free expansions that we’ve been promised this year, and the word on the street is that it’s going to add a chunk of new content to the Breakout-inspired fantasy roguelite, including two new characters, new balls, new passives, and more.
The new characters are called The Carouser (“whose returning balls orbit around him”) and The Falconer (who is “flanked by her two trusted falcons that throw balls”). That said, I’m more interested in getting my hands on the new balls and passives to see what new creations I can come up with.
The expansion is dropping on January 26th, 2026, which means that it’s just a matter of days before we get some new toys to play with! I can’t wait.
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In an effort to tempt you into clicking deeper into our web of rogues, moving forward, we’re going to try something a little different, and after the upcoming advert for NordVPN, you’ll find a new feature: Rogueliker’s Hall of Fame. But first, here are a load of mega awesome roguelikes and roguelites, almost 40 of them, in fact.
Still with us? Ok, the Hall of Fame below highlights arguably the best game from each sub-category in the article linked directly above; however, each of these standout games is reinforced with another article about even more titles, whether they be turn-based roguelikes or first-person shooters.
Finally, if you’d prefer everything split into individual platforms, we’ve got you covered, too, although be warned, those lists don’t go into as much detail:
First, let’s establish the parameters for inclusion. We can answer the question of “what is a roguelike?” by telling you about the game that started this whole party. Rogue is a turn-based RPG with procedurally-generated content and permadeath. The genre has exploded in a hundred different directions since then, but all of the games on this list retain one or two core features that first appeared in Rogue back in 1980.
The best turn-based roguelikes: Caves of Qud | There are some seriously incredible turn-based roguelikes out there. Of all the modern games, these are the closest to the original Rogue.
Awesome first-person rogues: Gunfire Reborn | We almost went with Blue Prince for this spot, but most people checking out first-person rogues probably want to wield a gun, you know?!
Cool roguelike deckbuilders: Balatro | Sorry, Slay the Spire fans, but this poker-solitaire deckbuilder has stolen Mike’s heart and won’t give it back.
Exciting roguelike platformers: Spelunky | Now, don’t get us wrong, Dead Cells is an incredible game, especially with all the DLC switched on. But when it comes to impact, you just can’t beat Spelunky.
Amazing action-roguelites: Hades 2 | And finally, let’s wrap things up with our favourite of them all, There’s no beating the original Hades, although Hades 2 comes pretty close!
