Hello and welcome to yet another edition of Gone Rogue, the weekly round-up of roguelike games that released on PC and consoles.
As always, there’s a surprisingly solid haul of roguelikes, roguelites (more often than not), and rogue adjacent games, and as per usual I’ve stacked them in chronological order.
This week’s round-up also forced an editorial decision with regards to free-to-play roguelikes. To keep things simple, I’m going to skip any game with pay-to-win or pay-to-play mechanics. I do have a guide to the best free roguelikes, and if they’re good enough I’ll mention them there.
I’m also skipping any games with sexualised content, any prologue or demo releases, and anything that looks particularly undercooked. With those caveats in place, below you will find all of the new roguelike and roguelite games that launched in the week just gone.
For what it’s worth, my highlights (rather predictably) include the new Ode the Castlevania expansion for Vampire Survivors. I also really enjoyed playing [REDACTED] for review as well as discovering Sulfur, which I’m going to write about next week.
I also liked the look of Karate Survivors and Vampire Hunters, and I took a punt on Wormhole because I love the idea. Finally, I interviewed the creator of Descent from Arkov’s Tower, a moddable roguelike for aspiring game devs that launched this week!
Elin | Lafrontier | Nov 1 | PC (Win) | “Successor to the roguelike RPG “Elona”. Adventure, survival, crafting, home-building, myths passed down, and stories of humans and Elea spun. What scars will you leave on the land of Ylva?”
Emberdrift | Vividesca Games | Nov 1 | PC (Win) | “Emberdrift is a roguelike platformer focused on speed, flow, and over-the-top upgrades. Run, dash, grind, shoot, and blast your way through this uniquely andrenaline-pumping roguelike experience.”
Duelite | Betaking Studios | Nov 1 | PC (Win) | “Help the Coust brothers fulfill their fantasy of becoming sheriffs like their father. Defeat countless rivals of all kinds on different routes in this roguelite card dueling game set in the Wild West. Do you have what it takes to defeat the most wanted? Find out in Duelite!”
Sketch Crawler | Koan | Nov 1 | PC (Win) | “New game from the legendary game designer, creator of S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadow of Chernobyl. A super-creative roguelike\deckbuilder in which you can redraw everything, voice everything and even write your own texts in quests and dialogs!”
Metal Thunder | Dumbbell Games | Nov 1 | PC (Win) | “Command the legendary gunship in a high-octane action-roguelite! Engage insurgents with devastating firepower in ever-changing missions. Upgrade your arsenal, adapt to dynamic challenges, and survive relentless waves of enemies. Every run offers new tactics and chaos as you dominate the skies.”
Gunfield | Shiv | Nov 1 | PC (Win) | “A game that combines the genres: shoot ’em up, roguelite. Choose the perfect weapon combinations and upgrade your ship to destroy hordes of enemies and giant bosses, using strategy and a powerful arsenal.”
Hacky | Napas Torteeka | Nov 1 | PC (Win) | “Become an elite hacker in cyberpunk typing simulator. Infiltrate networks, steal data by typing simple commands. Navigate through pixel art cyberspace, unlocking new abilities as you go deeper. No coding skills needed. How far can you hack before the system catches you?”
Meowhiss the Snake | GingerSoup Studio | Nov 1 | PC (Win) | “A cute 2D game whose core gameplay is based on classic Snake, but also combined with some roguelike elements. Before losing all the head-body, gear up your character, reach more levels, and get more scores!”
Rise of Robots | Fyn Games | Nov 1 | PC (Lin, Mac, Win) | “A Roguelite Shooter where you build a powerful weapon as you fight to survive ever increasing swarms of robots. Stack powerups to create a unique weapon each run and beat the challenge on each map.”
Bees vs Zombees | No Serious Games | Nov 1 | PC (Win) | “In this Roguelike Tower defense, Zombees are approaching. Protect the hive by building powerfull turrets and utilizing the queen bee’s abilities to fight off enemy hordes. Manage resources, strategize carefully, and wield spells to survive the ZUMBEECALIPSE.”
RogueXMahjong | Juunen | Nov 1 | PC (Win) | “This is a Roguelike game based on mahjong. In the game, you can obtain mahjong cards with different abilities, which may provide higher damage or change the playing rules! You will use your intelligence to combine them to defeat enemies and complete the game.”
Battle Poet | Jesse Calder | Nov 1 | PC (Win) | “Battle demons with poetry to reclaim the Holy Mountain in this Strategy Roguelike about combining lines of poetry in turn-based combat.”
Slime 3K: Rise Against Despot | Konfa Games | Oct 31 | PC (Lin, Mac, Win), PS, Switch, Xbox | “Welcome to Slime 3K, an unhinged roguelite bullet-heaven set in the Despot’s Game universe! Build a deck of crazy weapons, grow stronger and devour hordes of pink puny humans as a murderous jelly blob on a warpath of death, violence and pretzels.”
Astral Flux | Cosmocat | Oct 31 | Switch | “Astral Flux is an action-platformer with roguelite elements. Join two scrappers who are lost in space and find themselves caught up in an intergalactic mystery. Traverse hostile alien planets, discover dark secrets, and face powerful foes in combat. Death is inevitable, but it’s only the beginning. Carve a new path forward using the knowledge from your previous attempts. You’ll need to sharpen your skills to unravel this mystery.”
Hell Survivors | Aerilon | Oct 31 | PC (Win) | “Hell Survivors is a survival roguelite where countless hordes of demons rise from the abyss. Compose a multitude of mighty builds and eradicate waves of nightmare creatures. Will you be able to survive Hell?”
Double Barrel Desperado | Gentoo Games | Oct 31 | PC (Win) | “Double Barrel Desperado is a roguelike deckbuilder where you wield a double-barrel shotgun fueled by chance. Strengthen it with powerful synergies to unleash devastating blasts, mowing down ever-tougher enemies with a single, well-aimed shot.”
Vampire Survivors: Ode to Castlevania | poncle | Oct 31 | Android, iOS, PC (Mac, Win), PS, Switch, Xbox | “The Vampire Survivors have come a long way in their honorable hunt, and after joining forces with the Belmont Family, they are the closest they’ve ever been. Finally, within their grasp… A vampire. Possibly, at least.”
Boss Breaker | Fifth Edge Studios | Oct 31 | PC (Win) | “In this twin-stick beat ’em up, a lowly employee goes all out to uncover the truth and gain their freedom in an underground corporate facility.”
For the Warp | Massive Galaxy Studios | Oct 31 | PS | “A roguelike deckbuilding game in space! Explore randomly generated systems, enemies and strange encounters. Build your deck, survive and reach For The Warp gate!”
Brawl Tactics: Origins | asraworks | Oct 31 | PC (Win) | “Brawl Tactics: Origins fuses deck-building roguelikes and the tactics RPG genre like never before – lead your units, collect valuable trinkets and cast powerful spells to ensure victory!”
Forestygian | Sergii & Michael Levtushenko | Oct 31 | PC (Win) | “Roguelike Deckbuilder inspired by Action RPGs. Build a powerful deck to support abilities of your hero. Use abilities to fight hordes of enemies.”
Wormhole | Pocket Moon Games, ThanaThan | Oct 31 | PC (Lin, Mac, Win), Switch | “Eat, shoot, dash, and explode your way through the cosmos in this adrenaline-fuelled arcade action game. WORMHOLE is a roguelike twist on the classic snake format featuring a stackable perk system and 100+ hand-crafted levels.”
Vampire Hunters | Gamecraft Studios | Oct 30 | PC (Win), PS, Switch, Xbox | “To hunt vampires, you’ll need guns. Lots of guns. Mow down hordes of undead creatures by stacking your guns into absurd, over-the-top builds. Unleash your firepower and survive the mayhem in this Roguelite Survivors FPS.”
Heretical | Three Swords Studio | Oct 30 | PC (Win) | “Choose your hero and defeat the guardians of the Sanctora Mountain, as you attempt to reach the mountaintop and dethrone Abidan, a ruthless demigod cult leader. In a familiar rogue-lite manner, dying is part of progression, granting you new game mechanics, playable characters, skills, and weapons.”
Descent from Arkov’s Tower | Saturn91 | Oct 30 | PC (Lin, Mac, Win) | “Enter Descent from Arkov’s Tower, a roguelike adventure filled with surprising choices, powerful upgrades, and oddball encounters. You’ll take on a new identity each time, with one goal: fight your way down through 30 treacherous levels, each with unique challenges, and try to survive long enough to make it to the bottom… or go down trying!”
Karate Suvivor | Alawar | Oct 30 | PC (Win) | “Become a martial arts master in this survivor-like roguelite inspired by action movies of the ‘80s. Use your fists, feet, and the environment to fight off relentless thugs. Master powerful combos, enhance your skills, and remember: everything around you is a weapon!”
Troldom | Plant Based Games | Oct 30 | PC (Win) | “An old-school 2D fantasy open world MMORPG featuring character progression, classes, monsters, quests, guilds, dungeons, epic loot, achievements, procedural world generation, player-versus-player combat, and much more.”
Roges Don’t Cry | Fun Enters The Chat | Oct 30 | PC (Win) | “Rogues Don’t Cry is a mix of roguelike and strategy game. Choose your hero, build an army, explore and fight enemies in a harsh procedurally generated world, with semi permadeath and a strong final boss.”
No Heroes Here 2 | Mad Mimic | Oct 29 | PC (Win) | “A group of non-adventurers is the last hope in defending the castle in this chaotic co-op tower defense game with roguelike features. With up to 4 players, your party must organize the castle, work as a team to craft ammo, and shoot at enemies to protect your kingdom!”
Zombie Blitzkrieg | Tiunovksy | Oct 29 | PC (Mac, Win) | “Survive against zombies in this turn-based tactical roguelike. Outsmart your enemies in fast-paced battles using different tactics. Pick rewards and power up your character to conquer increasingly challenging levels.”
Otherlights | Soleil Artificiel | Oct 29 | PC (Win) | “Otherlights is an action-RPG game with roguelike tendencies designed for 1 to 4 players. In this sunless world, unlock many heroes and develop their destinies to try to access the solar fragment guarded by the powerful Exharques.”
Plains of Havoc | Tiny Island Games | Oct 29 | PC (Win) | “Decimate endless hordes of enemies across the nine realms of Yggdrasil for eternal glory! Plains of Havoc is a fierce 2D top-down roguelite set in the Viking afterlife in which you fight for your rightful place on the global leaderboards.”
Void Mother: Survivor | Borrowed Soul Studio | Oct 29 | PC (Win) | “Conquer Void Mothers fever dream creatures in this action packed horde shooter. Theorycraft with player passives and navigate a fast paced world with randomly generated items whilst battling your way to become an unstoppable force.”
Breach the Abyss | Digital Firewood | Oct 29 | PC (Win) | “A sci-fi wave-based shooter with roguelite elements. Collect powerful upgrades and unique combinations to wipe out hordes of bloodthirsty creatures and make your way into the Abyss.”
Quarterstaff | Generic Lake Monster | Oct 29 | PC (Lin, Mac, Win) | “Often outnumbered, never outmatched – carefully plan your moves to single-handedly save a besieged fantasy realm from the clutches of a sorcerous conqueror.”
Sulfur | Perfect Random | Oct 28 | PC (Win) | “SULFUR is a modern old-school action-adventure: Outsmart enemies, find treasure, improve weapons, harness powers. Delve deeper, find answers, make it end.”
[REDACTED] | Striking Distance Studios | Oct 28/31 | PC (Win), PS, Xbox | “In [REDACTED], a fast-action isometric roguelike, a shadowy agent watches Black Iron Prison spiral into chaos. As one of the last guards, fight through monsters, rivals, and reanimated corpses of your fellow guards to escape the penitentiary alive.”
Skulltide | ThePlanarDanse | Oct 28 | PC (Win) | “Skeletal mischief reigns as the Skulltide begins! Join the undead in co-op adventures as the skeleton of your dreams, or lead them yourself, and hunt down the necromancers who reanimated you. Build, throw, and enchant your bones… but try not to misplace them along the way!”
Fuel & Fury | Rubicon Game Studios | Oct 28 | PC (Win) | “Smash, crush, and blast through relentless hordes in this adrenaline-fueled, apocalyptic, car driving, roguelike! In FUEL & FURY, you’re behind the wheel in a frantic race against time and winter’s icy grip to flee the country. Good luck survivor!”
Keeper’s Toll | Stingbot Games | Oct 28 | PC (Win), Switch | “Delve into Keeper’s Toll, an action-packed roguelite brimming with challenge and despair. Survive against an onslaught of relentless hordes and grueling bosses with skill-based ARPG gameplay. Embrace the darkness and cleanse these cursed lands.”
ColdRidge | Frog Collective | Oct 28 | PC (Lin, Win) | “Immerse yourself in a turn-based exploration game set in the mystical Wild West. Strategically plan your moves to navigate cursed terrains, uncover magical artifacts, and explore uncharted lands. Don’t be fooled by the calm plains of Coldridge, take a gamble and unveil its mysteries!”
Nimrods: GunCraft Survivors | Fiveamp | Oct 28 | PC (Mac, Win) | “Assemble a limitless arsenal in this survive-em-up roguelite shooter. As a Gun Manufacturer’s testing force, your mission is simple: test the latest gun tech and scavenge alien planets. Collect insane weapon parts to invent guns that slay thousands. You may not survive, but your guns will!”
Keep Keepers | Thunderrock Innovations | Oct 28 | PC (Win) | “Tower Defense meets Base Management. Strategically place your defenses. Craft wacky ammunition like fiery peppers and boomerang bananas. Discover amazing weapons and automate your economy while defending against waves of enemies. Can you handle the chaos?”
When the Light Dies | Electric Monkeys, Secret Level Studios | Oct 28 | “Step into a world of shadow and obscurity as a lone survivor fighting to keep the darkness and the horrors that lurk within at bay. Seek out precious supplies, reinforce your arsenal, and uncover forbidden knowledge to unleash the terrifying powers of the Old Ones.”
Across the Abyss: Voidborn | Pixel Hound Game Studio | Oct 28 | PC (Win) | “Enemies are your best weapon in this challenging hack-n-slash survivor! Slash and throw probes at bio-engineered foes, while meeting quirky characters and wielding elemental powers against an evil galactic mega corp. Get stronger, go further, and conquer the chaos in this short adventure!”
Warmage | Avenryh | Oct 26 | PC (Win) | “Your city is under attack Warmage! In this grid-based turn-based roguelite, defend the many different districts of your city against waves of enemies with the help of one of your students, and buy and upgrade spells to prepare for the worst.”
Upstream Ante | Michael Richard Lannon | Oct 26 | PC (Win) | “Dive into Upstream Ante, a thrilling Poker-inspired roguelike. Strategize your bets, use game-changing jokes, and choose fate cards to change the shape of the game. Brace for adrenaline-pumping intensity as the stakes rise!”
Cat Survivors | Nieve Studios | Oct 26 | PC (Win) | “This bullet hell roguelite pits you against waves of ferocious demons, where strategic upgrades and dynamic builds are your keys to survival. Can you outlast the demonic onslaught and emerge as the ultimate Cat Survivor?”
