In my continued efforts to stop our ever-popular article about the best new roguelikes becoming overly busy and difficult to parse, I decided that it would be best to keep things separate and archive all of these old links into their own articles. Divide and conquer, and all that! And so, without further ado, here are the best new roguelikes that released in…
January 2024
I thought that January would be a lean month but it’s simply not the case. Not only is the following list overflowing with potential, but at some point we’ve got a sex-focused update to Cult of the Lamb called Sins of the Flesh to look forward to, too!
Knight of the Rogue Dungeon – Yes, this year we’re kicking things off with a release on January 1st. I appreciate the hustle, frankly. This hoppy little dungeon crawler has a delightful aesthetic and I sense this one has been aimed at a younger audience and could have potential longevity thanks to the art style.
Path of Survivors – There are several auto-battlers that didn’t get a mention this month. There are simply too many of them, and you have to draw the line somewhere. Path of Survivors gets the nod because it has a neat-sounding system with a team of characters working together, and it’s out on Steam on January 8th.
Primateria – This is a good month for deck builders, it would seem. Primateria nods to classic Yu-Gi-Oh! experience – which means absolutely nothing to me personally, but maybe CCG fans who know that system will be excited by the prospect of fusing and combining cards in tactical battles here.
Mystical Map – I really like the concept of Mystical Map, where you can chart your own path through a dungeon, choosing which rooms to platform through. It’s an interesting twist on player autonomy and I’m intrigued to see how it turns out. The release date on Steam is Jan 12.
Lonestar – If science-fiction and space battles are more your thing, look no further than Lonestar, a game that casts you as a bounty hunter sent out to do space battles against nefarious space bads.
Once upon a Dungeon II – Releasing on January 19 is a delightful-looking traditional roguelike called Once upon a Dungeon II. It certainly looks like it could be a fulfilling adventure for turn-based dungeoneers.
The Last of Us: Part II Remastered No Return – Releasing on the same day but to perhaps a little more fanfare, PlayStation 5 players are getting themselves the chance to play a remastered TLOU Part II. Now that wouldn’t be very interesting were it not for the inclusion of No Return, a new roguelike-mode that has been added to the game for players to battle through.
Right and Down and Dice – Sometimes a strange design limitation can make for a delightful surprise, and that’s what I’m hoping from this interesting-looking game. As the title implies, you’ll use dice to defeat enemies in a dungeon where you can only move right and down. If you’re intrigued by this one, it’s out on January 23rd.
Roots of Yggdrasil – Any game that describes itself as “a post-Ragnarok roguelike city-builder” has my attention, and I’ll hopefully have time to take a proper look at this end-of-the-world deckbuilder when it lands on January 24.
Heroes of Eternal Quest – I missed it the first time around, and for that I most sincerely apologise. HoEQ as I’ll most certainly never call it again, is a charming looking mix of roguelike mechanics and deck building, with tower defence aspects thrown in for good measure. It ticks a lot of boxes so who knows, this one might have what it takes!
Go Mecha Ball – I do love a zany roguish crossover and we’re seeing more and more fun offerings. This month I’ve got my eye on Go Mecha Ball, which has an arcade pinball feel to it. It’s out on January 25th.
A late addition is Phantom Abyss, the procedurally generated Indiana Jones simulator, which left Early Access a few days ago, on January 25th.
As raised by a reader, Oblivion Override is another title that exited Early Access last month (also on the 25th). This side-scroller has you controlling a ninja killerbot and mastering a variety of sci-fi weapons in this self-described homage to metroidvanias and roguelikes.
Rogue Fable IV – Another traditional roguelike for genre fans to take note of, and a date for your diaries: January 26th. That’s when Rogue Fable IV will be throwing its turn-based hat in the ring. The write-up on Steam mentions balancing complexity with a more focused play time, which I think could prove popular.
BlazBlue Entropy Effect – And finally, arriving at the end of the month is the full 1.0 version of BlazBlue Entropy Effect. This slick fighting game has been in Early Access for some months now, and over the holidays the game’s release date was confirmed: that’s January 31st.
I’m sure there’s more. There’s always more. As and when new games catch my eye, I’ll update you here. If you’d like to go back even further, I’ll leave links to archived updates below!
The Best New Roguelikes – February 2024 Archive
The Best New Roguelikes – December + November 2023 Archive
The Archives!
October 2024: There were several big releases in the month of October, but none as exciting as Windblown, the next game by Motion Twin (Dead Cells). I did enjoy [REDACTED], which is a comic book spin-off based on The Callisto Protocol, and I also picked up Diceomancer, a very underrated deckbuilder with a lovely graphical style and plenty of charm. Other releases included Wizard of Legend 2 and Transformers: Galactic Trials, for a truly unique blend of titles.
August 2024: The August archive boasts highlights including the blackjack-themed deckbuilder Dungeons & Degenerate Gamblers, a co-op update for Cult of the Lamb, plus excellent games including Peglin, Terminus: Zombie Survivors, Knock on the Coffin Lid, and Nova Drift all left Early Access. Plot twist: Risk of Rain 2’s latest DLC launched to very mixed reviews.
July 2024: Headline acts this July included the console release of Darkest Dungeon II, and Lost Castle 2 releasing into Early Access. The original Epyx version of Rogue has finally been ported to Nintendo Switch, with one or two improvements that no doubt explain the delay. Finally, shout outs to Arc Seed, because I do love a giant mecha battle, and Wastelander, because I’m a sucker for sci-fi strategy games.
June 2024: This month got better as it went on. June closed out with a tetromino-powered tower defense roguelite by the name of Emberward, a turn-based western rogue called Guncho (wanted dead or alive, apparently), the quirky auto-battler otherwise known as Million Monster Militia, and the early access exit of Champion Shift. All of them landed in the back nine of the month, so keep on scrolling.
May 2024: Hit this link for some of the very best launches of the year, including the Early Access release of Hades II, the wonderful turn-based roguelike Path of Achra, and a big crossover as Contra comes to Vampire Survivors. Plus stellar shooters Robobeat and Mullet MadJack both dropped in May, and there’s a certain Prince from Persia who arrived before the end of the month, too. Phew.
April 2024: One of my favourites in April was peaceful puzzler Planetiles, which certainly contrasts the grimy first-person horror of Buckshot Roulette. Traditionalists will note the release of Story Mode in Dwarf Fortress as a milestone, while console owners finally got to savour the delights of Dave the Diver. Finally, I want to highlight Against Great Darkness and Inkbound; two indie gems out this month.
March 2024: Mortal Glory 2 dropped in March and it’s an excellent tactical turn-based roguelite about fantasy gladiators. The always brilliant Crypt of the NecroDancer got a big multiplayer update by the name of Synchrony. Two very different magic games were released into Early Access this month, with third-person actioner Vellum landing alongside turn-based spell-simulator Rift Wizard 2. Finally, the wonderful dice roller Slice & Dice made an appearance on Steam.
February 2024: An earlier iteration of this format – February’s round-up is a bit of a mess. Nevertheless, it was a good month for games with the release of Balatro on PC and console, which has been my most-played game of the year by far, and Shiren 6 finally arrived on Nintendo Switch. Other highlights include the full release of Inkulinati, and the Early Access launch of Deep Rock Galactic: Survivors.
January 2024: The first month of the year is usually pretty quiet across the industry (except for at Capcom for some reason) but we did get some good rogues, too. Lonestar is my personal pick, but Go Mecha Ball landed on PC and console, and the unofficial Indiana Jones parkour simulator otherwise known as Phantom Abyss left Early Access. Finally, BlazBlue Entropy Effect also left EA.
November and December 2023: It was still early days for Rogueliker and the formatting is all over the place, but if you want even more games, I’ve got a few from late 2023 to tell you about. Picayune Dreams is one of the highlights, as is Against the Storm, two of the year’s best games, in fact. Other top-
