Rogueliker

This year’s not-E3 has given us some clarity over how the back-half of 2024 is going to look from a roguish perspective. That being so, I thought it best to have the latest news up top, but keep the rest of the article intact in case you want to go back through the first half of the year for the highlights.

• The Rogue Prince of Persia was announced and then released into Early Access since I last updated this article. Here’s the review.
• Emberward is a tower defense with Tetris and roguelike elements. After playing earlier this year, I’ll be there when it lands on June 25.
• Earl vs the Mutants looks like it could be a bunch of fun and we’ll find out for sure when it crashes into our lives on July 11.
• I know I’m not the only one eager to rip up the Streets of Rogue 2 when it lands on August 14.
• Pyrene, a very promising fantasy deckbuilder that I wrote about here, is due to land on PC this September.
• Wild Bastards is the follow-up to Void Bastards and it’s due to land on PC on September 12. The bastard.
• Spelunky creator Mossmouth has enlisted some friends to make UFO 50, a collection of 50 low-fi but complete retro-inspired games. The PC release is confirmed as September 18.
• Die in the Dungeon is finally set to launch at some point during Q3.
• Another Q3 game that has put itself on my radar is Dungeon Clawler.
• One more Q3 gem for good measure: Mortal Glory 2 is getting DLC. The base game launched in March and it’s a whole bunch of fun.
• The online multiplayer portion of The Binding of Isaac is due to land in November, to mark the game’s 10th anniversary. Details here.
• I like the look of the Arthurian action-RPG otherwise known as Sworn, and it’s due to release at some point in 2024.
• Horde-based survivor-likes are usually low-fi at best, but Q4’s Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel looks absolutely stunning.
• A true classic is going rogue via a new turn-based roguelite by the name of Metal Slug Tactics, which is due before the end of Q4, 2024.
• We don’t have a date at the time of writing, but Darkest Dungeon II is getting a new campaign update later this year.
• Psychofinger is a roguish boomer shooter where you’re firing a finger gun. Sounds cool, right? It’s out in late 2024 or early the next year.
• Slay the Spire 2 was announced this spring, and it’s due out in 2025. If you’ve missed that news up until now, consider yourself informed.

If the game you wanted to know about isn’t mentioned up top, then keep on scrolling below for the original article, which is stuffed full of great upcoming roguelikes, as well as some that are already out!

The Original Article

Welcome, Dear Reader, to what has turned into a most exciting round-up of roguelike games for 2024. I wasn’t sure what this would look like when I started trawling the ol’ World Wide Web for the games that populate the article below. However, despite my initial uncertainty, this list turned out to be jam-packed with brilliance.

I don’t care what your preferences are, there’s something here for everyone. And for those games that haven’t been announced yet, I’ll be back throughout the year to update the article. So, if you wander in later in the year, I hope this page still has some relevance for you!

Roguelike Games 2024 – The Best Roguelikes So Far…

Roguelikes are clearly a part of the strategy over at Sony now, and hot on the heels of the God of War Ragnarok mode Valhalla, the new PS5 update of the TLOU2 comes with a roguish mode, too. The Last of Us: Part II Remastered landed on January 19 and was served up with No Return, a mode that remixes the base game and offers action-survival fans a new way to engage with them pesky clickers.

The final “big” game to make an appearance in the month is BlazBlue Entropy Effect, which left Early Access and went 1.0 on January 31. I’ve not had the pleasure of playing this one yet but it looks appropriately polished given its origins in the BlazBlue universe.

The first highlight of February was Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island, which hit Nintendo Switch on February 27 – here’s what I thought of the game. The second was the Early Access release of Inkulinati, a strategy game that takes place in the margins of history (here’s my review).

Out of nowhere, Balatro took the gaming world by storm. It’s certainly been my most played game of 2024 and on that basis, I think it needs inclusion in this overview feature. Read my review for more details on this superb game.

Things would have been busier in February if Homeworld 3 had stuck to its guns, but the sci-fi strategy game’s release eventually slipped to March 8 (update: the game has been delayed again until May 2). I’m particularly intrigued to see what the roguish War Games mode is like, as this recent deep dive reveals plenty of interesting details.

In March we got Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor, an auto-shooter that combines a roguish gameplay loop with DRG’s signature mining accoutrements. I’ve played a bunch since this one launched and thus you can read my Early Access impressions.

Vellum is a third-person action-roguelite that owes a lot to Risk of Rain 2. There’s no release date on this one but Vellum is hitting Early Access on March 28th, and you can read more about right here in our interview-article. (You can read my review here).

April & Q2 – Roguelike Games 2024

It might sound like a platitude, but I do think that this April is going to be a month to remember for fans of more traditional turn-based roguelikes. That’s because we’re getting a refined and updated Adventure Mode added to Dwarf Fortress on Steam – I mentioned Steam to differentiate it from the free ASCII version. I think this has the potential to be a great moment for the genre and I can’t wait to see what Bay 12 Games is cooking up. (Here’s our write-up after trying the new Adventure mode, but there’s more to come on this front.)

One game that is leaving Early Access is Inkbound. This is the next game from the team that gave us Monster Train, which makes it one to watch in my book. More on the game’s release plans can be found right here.

After this next entry, we’re dealing with a bunch of non-commital “2024s” and “coming soons“. However, I’m closing this header-heavy SEO-impacted part of the article with a game that I truly cannot wait to get my hands on. Hades 2 is heading into Early Access at some point in Q2 2024. Here is everything I currently know about Supergiant’s eagerly anticipated action-roguelite sequel. (It’s out now, it’s great, here’s my EA Review if you want to know more.)

Rogues of no fixed abode

One game that does have a release date, but it doesn’t fit in the above sections, is Breachway, a sci-fi deckbuilder that’s looking to fuse the best bits of Slay the Spire and FTL Faster Than Light. Those are some big shoes to fill, and we’ll find out how it shapes up in July. You can read more about the game in my Steam Next Fest write-up.

TetraMage was due to land January 17 but instead is now “coming soon”. This little indie game is a purely selfish pick as I’m a sucker for Tetris and the roguish spin that has been applied here has real sleeper hit potential, in my humble, tetrimino-loving opinion. Wishlist it here.

Another game that I have one eye fixed firmly upon, not unlike Sauron just with much better emotional expression, is Realm of Ink. This is an action-roguelite with a lovely painterly style. Here are my first impressions, although I can’t claim to know when exactly this one is launching. (The early access launch was delayed, but the game is still expected this year.)

Edmund McMillen’s next game is called Mewgenics and it’s got a 2024 release planned according to Steam it’s now 2025, but there’s nothing more specific set in stone for now. The Steam listing calls it a “turn based legacy roguelike draft sim about cats”. I am extremely hopeful about this one, not least because McMillen is one of the twisted minds behind The Binding of Isaac.

Anything from Klei Entertainment immediately piques my interest. Rotwood is no different, as the Don’t Starve creators look to bring us a 1-4 player co-operative dungeon crawler with roguish features. This is one game that I am very much looking forward to playing, not least thanks to the studio’s usual quirky aesthetic style. (This is out now – it’s alright and I plan on writing about it soon.)

Wild Bastards is another recent announcement, although this is a game that has a bit of pedigree. The spiritual successor to Void Bastards, this roguelite FPS looks like a similarly stylish exploration of the roguish gameplay loop and I’m going to be there on day one.

I’m indulging in another personal pick here: Demon Spore has been on my radar for years now, and it’s a more niche prospect than most on this list. This ’80s horror-inspired action-roguelite has you trying to escape a failed lab experiment, and I can’t bloody wait.

Because one roguish spin-off just isn’t enough, Deep Rock Galactic: Rogue Core is another dwarf-filled action-roguelite due out at some point in 2024. This one is a first-person shooter, but DRG is such a strong universe that I think it can sustain two roguish offspring.

Motion Twin, the studio that gave us Dead Cells, announced Windblown towards the backend of 2023. As you would expect from such an illustrious team, there’s already anticipation around the studio’s next game. We’ve been promised lightning fast action-roguelite gameplay, multi-layered levels, and co-op gameplay.

Finally, traditional roguelike Caves of Qud should finally be leaving Early Access at some point this year. I’m keeping things relaxed in terms of the release date, because after nearly nine years in Early Access, what’s a few months between friends. Right?!

Honourable Mentions – Roguelike Games 2024

Let’s respect each other’s time! There are loads of great new roguelike and roguelite games on the way, and not every single one of them can have a whole god damned paragraph to itself. That being so, please accept the following ode to brevity:

• Path of Achra – brilliant traditional roguelike with a focus on builds.
• Tiny Rogues – minimalist action-rogue that’s still in Early Access.
• Successor – tabletop-inspired turn-based strategy roguelite.
• Rift Wizard 2 – a traditional roguelike filled with pixelated spells.
• Morbid Metal – super stylish-looking sci-fi action-roguelite.
• Rack and Slay – billiards with the soul of a rogue – I loved it.
• Synergy – roguish city building on a strange alien world.
• Mullet Mad Jack – hypnotic first-person roguelite shooter. (Review!)
• Toads of the Bayou – turn-based tactics with roguelite deckbuilding.
• Killer Bean – totally silly roguelite shooter that could end up brilliant.
• The Deadly Path – a visually striking turn-based dungeon-builder.
• Hyper Light Breaker – fast-paced open-world roguelite with co-op.
• Odinfall – an irreverent viking-themed twin-stick roguelite shooter.
• Helskate – demonic roguelite skateboarding. Enough said.
• Sons of Valhalla – roguelite viking raiders pillage ye olde England.
• Galactic Glitch: Infinity Edge – physics-based sci-fi shooter.
• Sandwalkers – turn-based exploration with giant scorpions.
• 33 Immortals – innovative multiplayer roguelite on Epic Game Store.
• Robobeat – a roguelite rhythm shooter that has proven popular.
• Tamarak Trail – a deck builder with dice and a strong Eldritch theme.
  

Is there a game absent from this roundup that absolutely needs a mention? Give us a follow and a friendly nudge over on social media, or drop me a line at editor@rogueliker.com – thanks for reading!