Welcome to Rogueliker’s Guide to the Best Free Roguelikes, and for once when I write “free” and “roguelikes”, I mean it in both cases. Yes, Dear Reader, this little top list includes some traditional turn-based roguelikes as well as an array of roguelites and roguish spin-offs.
There are very few rules when it comes to the selection of games for this feature, but one thing that I have tried to do is stay away from game demos. When we talk about “free roguelikes” I do mean games that are free to play and were always intended to be that way. I’ve seen a bunch of cool prototypes-turned-demos for games that are now being turned into paid-for products. These games have been purposefully omitted.
Why play a free roguelike?
I was pondering this very question as part of my painstaking research for this article. Why would anyone want to play one of the games that I’ve been writing about? Let’s go a step further: what’s the reason that somebody – you, Dear Reader – would end up on a webpage about free roguelikes in the first place?
The best answer I could come up with was the following groups, all of which I hope to serve with this article.
- Skint people – we’ve all been there, don’t worry.
- People interested in trying a roguelike before committing – the old try-before-you-buy brigade.
- People who love roguish games and who are looking for diverse experiences beyond the norm – power rogues, you might say.
- Interweb wanderers, bards, and other miscellaneous peoples.
Whichever one of these groups you fall under, I welcome you to this round-up of the best free roguelikes. There’s something here for pretty much everyone, I think, and if you want more rogues just keep clicking around the website and I’m sure it won’t be long before you find something interesting that you’d like to try yourself.
Rogue | Glenn Wichman, Michael Toy, Ken Arnold | Android, iOS, PC (Lin, Mac, Win), Nintendo Switch
The original Rogue is still very playable even after more than 40 years, and while that is down to the genius of Wichman, Toy, and Arnold, a big part of it is also the dedication of the Rogue community.
Enter The Rogue Archive, a great resource for anyone who wants to go back to the beginning and see how this whole roguelike thing got started. There are many different supported versions of the game available to play there, all of them free, although if you want you can pay for it over on Steam (and now the Nintendo Switch with a few modernisations).
Even if you do pay for it, if you get serious about returning to the ominous ASCII caverns of the Dungeons of Doom, you’ll probably end up back on one of the different versions linked on The Rogue Archive, which have been updated over the years by passionate players.
Disfigure | Cold Brew Entertainment | PC (Win)
Next, we’ve got the game that instigated this article. Disfigure was updated before the New Year, and I figured I would check it out before covering the news on the site. Five hours after first booting up the game I was still playing, mostly trying to complete the first map on hard so I could get to the new content that dropped in the expansion.
Both the base game and the expansion/update are free. There is an option to support the developer, but ultimately you don’t have to pay a penny to access this excellent, survival-themed roguelike shooter.
Disfigure puts you in a circle (or vision cone) of light, with unyielding darkness always lurking around you. Weird insect creatures start coming out of the darkness, and using your selected weapon to dispatch them, you must survive for as long as possible.
A complete run lands at about 20 minutes, but you’ll need to find a good combination of abilities and then upgrade the hell out of them if you’re going to survive for that long. In fact, the levelling system is the most traditional aspect of the game, as you’ll be grabbing up the XP that fallen enemies leave behind and then picking one of three or four abilities every time you level up. Having said that, the Lovecraftian setting and its atmospheric execution, low-fi as it may be, is utterly unforgettable.
Dwarf Fortress Classic – Adventure Mode | Bay 12 Games | PC (Lin, Win)
This is a more nuanced entry as there is also a paid version of Dwarf Fortress that includes a beta version of the roguelike Adventure Mode. However, the original ASCII version of the game is maintained and complete, and free to download from Bay12’s website.
Dwarf Fortress remains one of the most ambitious video game projects of all time, with its meticulously detailed simulation that has been iterated on over many, many years. It’s one of those video games that feels like it has been around forever, and this thanks to the ongoing persistence of its architects, who remain authentic to their vision even after all these years.
On the off chance that you don’t already know, In Dwarf Fortress you can build a fantasy settlement and then soak up the emergent moments as things play out as only you could experience them. Alternatively, you can check out the Adventure Mode and explore the world from an entirely different, more roguish perspective.
Deepdive | vfqd | PC (Win)
For a much more focused roguish experience you can try Deepdive, a game that does exactly what you think it does based on that title. In this simple little game, which was developed by core members of the Free Lives team (the studio behind several gloriously silly games including Broforce), you play as a diver who is trying to further explore a deep sea environment. For anyone who enjoyed that aspect in Dave the Diver, this digital missive might well be worth a look, too.
The execution is rather simple, but it works just fine. You start of with limited oxygen and a couple of basic objectives, but soon you’ll discover a range of upgrades that’ll make life easier for you as you dive, explore, and catalog your way through the ocean. The controls take a bit of getting used to, but the pixelart is charming example of game jam-inspired creative brevity.
Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup | DCSS Dev Team | Android, PC (Lin, Mac, Win)
There are loads of free traditional roguelikes out there (I mention some of the classics below) but one game that is still in active development is Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup.
This fairly old-school roguelike is the spiritual follow-up to Linley’s Dungeon Crawl, another of the classics. Released originally in 2006, DCSS sends players on a dungeon-bound adventure in search of the Orb of Zot. On the way to recovering this most fabulous of artefacts, players must explore a variety of environments.
Thanks to the dev team that keeps the game evolving, there’s a huge amount of content available, but at the same time, the game’s creators have worked to keep things accessible with a pixel art tileset as well as the ASCII version.
Finally, it’s worth noting that the game is available to download over on Android but that one doesn’t come with the tileset equipped. You’ll find said tileset over on the DCSS website along with the other builds of the game.
Roguelight | Daniel Linssen | PC (Win)
If you don’t mind digging your gaming experiences out of darkness, then Roguelight is the best free roguelike for you, no doubt about it. This charming little game by Daniel Linssen is all about using what little light there is around you to aid you on your journey into a proper dark dungeon. I’d go as far as saying it’s the darkest dungeon.
This side-scrolling platformer has a meta-layer whereby any money earned during your last run can be spent on incremental upgrades to your gear and health. This way, you can slowly increase your ability to survive in the darkness, grabbing health and arrow refills on the way.
Moonring | Fluttermind | PC (Win)
Moonring is a charming traditional turn-based roguelike, but one where your progress/failure is limited to a particular dungeon – when you die you go back to your last auto-save at the entrance to that dungeon. This set-up makes it very pleasant to play, and the distinctive neon art style only adds to the game’s charm.
I was really pleased with the amount of nuanced elements that were built into the environment. Little details here and there in the game’s persistent hubworld helped enrich the experience, and the combat is quite interesting too. I quickly found that I had the freedom to use the surroundings to my advantage, making this surprisingly tactical.
Out of all of the games that I’ve discovered as part of my research for this article, I think Moonring is my favourite and the one I’m mostly likely to come back to. For what it’s worth.
Realm of the Mad God Exalt | Wild Shadow Studio, Deca Games | PC (Mac, Win)
This one has a roguish core, but it’s not really what I’d consider a roguelike or a roguelite. Why am I mentioning it? There is a strong emphasis on permadeath in Realm of the Mad God Exalt, and that adds weight to the gameplay – you can’t just run around like a headless chicken here, you’ve got to work smarter, not harder.
Ultimately, however, this is an MMORPG with microtransactions and you’ll need money and friends to get the best out of your time with it. That makes it a pass for me personally as I have neither, nevertheless, the Mad God’s enduring popularity is not to be dismissed.
OneBit Adventure | Galactic Slice LLC | Android, iOS, PC (Mac, Win)
I downloaded the PC version of the game for the purposes of this little article, but it’s basically just the mobile game, but a bit clunkier. The sides of the screen are filled with in-game info, otherwise it’s the same as the OneBit Adventure I played previously on my phone.
It’s the game’s cute style that immediately appeals, however that quickly subsides when you realise that OneBit Adventure means business. The conceit here is that you’re making forward progress up the screen, and you can’t go back, so grab what you need and keep tap, tap, tapping away. Once again it’s free-to-play with microtransactions, but if you just want a game to play for a quick minute, this is worth the download.
Bloompunk | Bloompunk Team | PC (Win)
This student-made first-person shooter holds its own, and even has enough sense to supplement its child-friendly visual style with a solid tutorial to help get players into the action. You’ll need to work through it, too, because there’s a surprising number of gameplay mechanics to balance while you play, which keeps Bloompunk engaging.
In this plant-themed roguelite you have to pick abilities and then make sure you play a specific way to maintain and keep them. For example, you might have one attack that requires you to constantly glide through the air to keep it charged. This unique little twist helps keep the experience more engaging than I thought it would.
Arrow a Row | Lonerangerix | PC (Win)
Arrow a Row is a strangely peaceful game about shooting things with arrows and stabbing them with swords. Once again, it’s totally free to play, and in this instance I can’t see a clear monetisation model, at least on PC where I played it.
The premise is so simple: it took me back to the old days of playing LCD games in the back of the car while on long family journeys.
Here you’re rolling ever-forward, moving left to right with agonising sluggishness, passing through different gates, each one an upgrade decision you need to make. Grab more arrows, or more swords, or health, and then keep on rolling until eventually you run into an abrupt death. It’s not complicated, it’s not particularly pretty either, but the strangely soothing music helps to lull one into the moment.
Outpost | Open Mid Interactive | PC (Lin, Mac, Win)
Open Mid Interactive’s approach of giving players the base game and then luring them in with expansions is commendable, and I hope it works for them. Outpost is an open world survival game with a very minimalistic aesthetic, however, it’s really quite charming.
The focus here is on staying alive as long as you can. Each new world is procedurally generated, and using a mix of your wits and some tower defence staples, you’ll have to survive as many nights as you possibly can. Once you’ve bitten the proverbial bullet, you’ll be invited to strengthen ahead of the next run, thus completing the roguish gameplay loop and ensuring its inclusion in this little listicle.
Shattered Pixel Dungeon | Shattered Pixel | Android, PC
I sometimes forget that this one is free on mobile as I paid for it on Steam. More fool me, I guess. Shattered Pixel Dungeon is a very traditional roguelike that sends the player deep down into some good ol’ fashioned dungeons in search of action and adventure.
I’ve attempted this dungeon run a number of times now and I’ve never got very far, but I think that’s more a reflection of my own impulsivity than anything else. The procedurally-generated levels, with their mixed-up enemy and item placements, keep things fresh as one would expect, however, it’s the game’s depth that truly shines. I can tell that I’ve only scratched the surface and there are still four more (of five!) classes for me try.
Vampire Survivors | Poncle | Android, iOS
And we’re ending with a bang, but no vampires, strangely enough. Yes, Dear Reader, it’s Vampire Survivors bringing up the rear, but only on mobile – you still have to pay up on PC and console. You won’t mind forking out the entry price on PC, though – Vampire Survivors is one of those games that you’ll end up picking up on multiple platforms.
The free version of this genre-defining auto-shooter, which is available on iOS and Android, has been adapted for mobile, so while it’s not the OG experience, for the princely sum of absolutely sweet nothing, you’ll still get access to decent amount of content. There’s lots of paid-for DLC out there, but that’s all as cheap as chips, too.
HoloCure – Save the Fans! | KayAnimate | PC (Win)
This is a recommendation with a caveat: I have no frickin’ clue what a HoloCure is, nor do I know anything about the franchise (HoloLive) that this fan-made game is based on. What I do know, however, is that it plays like a sugary sweet dream and there is so much content here to unpack. In fact, this is such a well-rounded package that I almost felt bad that it wasn’t a paid-for product.
This auto-shooter shares many features with Vampire Survivors, so fans of that game will feel right at home here, even if, like me, they don’t understand the fandom or the references in the game. On the other hand, if you like both VS and HoloLive, I think you’re going to be delighted by what you find.
AliensRL, DiabloRL, DoomRL | ChaosForge | PC (Lin, Mac, Win)
Of course, with licenses like that, they’re not official However, if you’d like to get stuck into a traditional roguelike experience inspired by a truly classic action franchise – look no further than these coffee break roguelikes.
Developer ChaosForge is currently working on Jupiter Hell Classic, which is a so-called demake of DoomRL, another unofficial roguelike made by ChaosForge’s Kornel Kisielewicz (Jupiter Hell) and also Derek Yu (who mad the original Spelunky and the more recent UFO50).
On top of the original DoomRL, Kisielewicz also made shorter games based on Aliens and Diablo. They might not be the deepest, most nuanced games out there, but they’re fine when you consider the asking price.
Traditional Roguelikes ADOM, Angband, and ADOM
Several traditional roguelikes have been in open development for years, and I figured the final thing to do for this article was to include some of the standout classics.
Nethack, for example, has been around since the ’80s. Angband, on the other hand, first appeared in 1990 and went on to directly influence Tales of Maj’Eyal (2012). ADOM followed in ’94 and is still supported, although there is a paid version, too. Here are the links you’ll need to get started:
- Moria / Angband – a Lord of the Rings themed traditional roguelike.
- Nethack – a popular roguelike with several variants to discover.
- ADOM – an ancient domain full of mystery.
The traditional roguelike community (those brave souls who’ve been keeping us all honest since the earliest days) supports a fruitful and creative space. There are people working on existing projects and new games are appearing all the time.
This vibrant and supportive community serves up a constant stream of free turn-based roguelikes with ASCII or similarly simple graphics. These games continue to encapsulate true roguelike spirit, prioritising the purity of gameplay over pretty much everything else.
For more great games that won’t cost the Earth, check out our friends over at freetoplayer.com – the best place on the net for free games.
