The Best Xbox Roguelikes & Roguelites: the finest rogues on Xbox Series S|X and Xbone

21st October 2024

Hello and welcome to Rogueliker’s guide to the best roguelike games for Xbox, the catch-all name for Microsoft’s increasingly complicated eco-system of home consoles.

Luckily, the platform policy regarding backward compatibility has meant that nearly everything works across the most recent generations – at least when it comes to indie roguelikes. That means we can talk about games on Xbox One and Xbox Series S|X.

This list doesn’t include many traditional turn-based roguelikes; it’s more focused on action-packed roguelites, and other genre mash-ups. Ironically, the platform has the least exclusives compared to its competition, however, roguelike fans are very well served via Game Pass, which includes a number of proper good rogues, and plenty of more besides. Check out The Best Game Pass Roguelikes for more.

The criteria to be included is thus: every game is either a roguelike or a roguelite, it received a good critical reception, and there isn’t something else on the platform that does the same thing significantly better.

The above criteria will evolve in time, yet in the absence of any deeper system, and forgiving any omissions, whether intentional or not, this is still a strong list and it will be updated in line with the other toplists as more games are assessed for inclusion!

The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth | Nicalis, Edmund McMillen | PC (Lin, Mac, Win), PS, Switch, Xbox

One of the genre greats, The Binding of Isaac still slaps, especially when you’ve got the game all up-to-date with Afterbirth and Repentance locked in. It’s a twin-stick shooter with satisfying gameplay and a huge amount of depth.

This poop-filled dungeon crawler offers up an insane range of item combinations, ensuring that every run feels fresh – an essential part of the game’s roguelike DNA. In fact, I think the game’s strong visual identity is what keeps it relevant and engaging for Isaac’s legion of adoring fans.

Top down chaos as Isaac battles monsters and entrails cover the ground.

Darkest Dungeon | Red Hook | iOS, PC (Lin, Mac, Win), PS, Xbox

Horror fans hunting for a roguelike need look no further than Darkest Dungeon. This haunting game is brought to life with some truly harrowing art, and the audio-visual design helps create an immersive experience that’s always edged with danger.

Darkest Dungeon puts you in charge of small parties of mercenaries who are tasked with clearing out an old estate filled with monsters. However, fear is a constant companion and you’ll have to build your estate to support your people and their mental and physical health. Failure to keep the troops happy will result in them dying in the most horrible ways imaginable, so it’s a constant balancing act.

Three moody characters stand outside a door, one holds a burning torch, in this key art.

Spelunky 2 | Mossmouth, Blitworks | PC (Win), PS, Switch, Xbox

I’m going to take this opportunity to first recall the origins of the series. The old Xbox 360 version in 2012 was a seminal moment in the history of the genre. It was actually a remake of the 2008 original by Derek Yu, and it was the first mainstream game in the digital age to integrate roguelike mechanics.

The sequel is more of the same, but bigger and better in pretty much every way possible. I’ve sunk a bunch of hours into this one, and it remains one of my favourite games, and for me it’s an essential inclusion in any list of the best rogues.

Four players take each other on in multiplayer Spelunky. There are bombs going off and two characters look in trouble.

Vampire Survivors | poncle | Android, iOS, PC (Mac, Win), PS, Switch, Xbox

Another game that got its big start on Xbox was Vampire Survivors. At first everyone was wondering why Phil Spencer was sinking a ridiculous amount of time into the game. However, after everyone else caught up with the Xbox chief and had a go themselves, it became obvious why he was so addicted.

Vampire Survivors’ minimalist gameplay is brought to life by mesmerising hordes of pixel enemies charging straight for you. Players must duck and weave, grab crystals to level up, and then pick the correct attacks that then automatically fire at the oncoming waves of weird creatures. Somehow it just works, and in its wake we’ve got a whole army of auto-shooters and bullet-heaven RPGs.

Hundreds of skeleton soldiers are attacking the player, who is surrounded by waves of holy water.

Hades | Supergiant Games | PC, PS, Switch, Xbox

We all have times in our lives where we drift from games. For me, it was Hades that pulled me back in from the wilderness with its wonderful depiction of the old Greek gods. I was addicted by the game’s infectious gameplay loop, the clever storytelling, and the wonderful audio-visual design.

Upon reflection, and having returned to games in earnest, Hades is probably my favourite implementation of the roguelite gameplay loop. Supergiant did such a good job with it, in fact, that the studio has persuaded itself to go back and make a sequel. I can’t wait.

Zagreus fires an arrow at Theseus, one of the big bosses in Hades.

Crypt of the NecroDancer | Brace Yourself Games | Android, iOS, PC, PS, Switch, Xbox

I’ve got two saves running on Crypt of the NecroDancer, one on my mobile and the other on my Xbox. This rhythmic turn-based roguelite has a lot of very traditional features, but it supplements its reverence to the old gods with a fully stocked meta-layer filled with unlocks.

It’s the beat-by-beat gameplay that truly sets NecroDancer apart from the rank and file. Each enemy unit is wonderfully animated and dances around you, and you’ve got to time your own attacks to hit along with the beat, which is easier said than done. It’s a simple yet effective gameplay loop, and a game I can’t stop returning to.

A room full of pixel-art musical instruments with faces having a jam.

Risk of Rain 2 | Hopoo Games | PC, PS, Switch, Xbox

It took a while for the Xbox version of Risk of Rain 2 to get parity with the PC version, but it was worth the wait. Once updated with Survivors of the Void, you’ve got an excellent third-person roguelite shooter with a huge amount of potential gameplay variance.

While the terrain remains, the objectives are moved around, so you’re constantly on the lookout for the end of each level. Along the way you’ve got to follow the classic Risk of Rain gameplay loop of kicking ass, avoiding damage, and doing everything as quickly as possible as this sci-fi adventure is essentially a race against the clock.

The player character is high up in the air on a strange alien world, firing down at an enemy many meters below them.

Enter the Gungeon | Dodge Roll | PC, PS, Switch, Xbox

This classic bullet hell shooter remains utterly essential. Enter the Gungeon brings a wonderfully reverent gun theme to life with pixel-perfect boss battles and reactive arenas that really add to the cinematic nature of the combat.

It’s the silky-smooth controls that make it such a pleasure to play, though. This one’s harsh but fair in the best possible way, and you’ll be coming back for just one more run until the Gungeon is cleared.

A gun battle takes place in a room full of tables between the player character - The Robot - battles ghosts armed with guns.

Slay the Spire | MegaCrit | Android, iOS, PC, PS, Switch, Xbox

If you’re going to play a deck builder on Xbox, the starting point is always Slay the Spire. There are many great card-based roguelikes and roguelites out there that can proudly stand alongside it, but this is the reference and if you’ve not played one before, start here.

The reason that we’ve got a growing army of essential deck builders is the ease with which this form of game can convey complex gameplay mechanics to the player. This extra flavour, and the synergies and combinations that games like Slay the Spire offer the player, makes them extremely satisfying to play.

The Ironclad stares at a giant whale like creature, they are facing each other while the whale dude says hi.

Balatro | LocalThunk | PC, PS, Switch, Xbox

I couldn’t bear to remove Slay the Spire but I also wanted to ensure that Balatro got a mention here, too. Why? Because this brilliant poker-themed roguelike is one of the most addictive game that I’ve ever played, and considering some of the names on this list, that’s saying something.

Balatro isn’t just poker-themed, it’s also inspired by solitaire, and that spirit of endless replayability is infused in the experience here. Using an impressive range of additional cards you can add multipliers and other effects to your deck. Essentially, you can diversify your cards in a multitude of interesting directions, and the relatively quick run-time of each attempt means failure is never far away from success.

Read the full review or there’s an interview with LocalThunk!

A selection of cards across the screen that the player must chose from, upgrading their multipliers in the process.

Dead Cells | Motion Twin, Evil Empire | iOS, PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox

The final game in this list of Xbox rogues is Dead Cells, the side-scrolling platform game by Motion Twin. The studio manages to fuse a bunch of really exciting mechanics together to create one of the most immersive and exciting platform games of all time.

There’s a lot of DLC for Dead Cells by now, so make sure you’re playing the complete version of the game. That includes the newest addition, Return to Castlevania – it’s a fitting conclusion to the game and a reverent nod to a game that was a clear inspiration to Evil Empire, the studio responsible for a lot of the Dead Cells DLC.

The player stars at a giant skeleton who is swinging the funkiest pink-edged scythe as he jumps from one platform to another.

Deadlink | Gruby Entertainment | PC, PS, Xbox

If what you’re after is a fast-paced first-person shooter with plenty of atmosphere, then Deadlink is well worth taking a look at now that it has been ported to consoles.

Deadlink is a cyberpunk-themed shooter where you take the controls of an autonomous combat and then bounce around goon-filled city arenas. It’s fast and furious, and the balancing is on point. If you’re after an FPS that can shift, look no further than Gruby’s fantastic futuristic shooter.

The player is battling enemies in a futuristic environment. The first is first-person and the player is carrying a big machine gun.

Gunfire Reborn | Duoyi Games | Android, PC, PS, Switch, Xbox

I can’t say nice things about Deadlink with also dropping some praise on Gunfire Reborn, which is, for my money at least, the best first-person roguelike currently out there. It does have a very different feel to Deadlink, however, with much less serious vibes informing the overall atmosphere of the game.

Where Gunfire Reborn stands out is in its incredible roster of guns. I was blown away by not only the variety, but how different they all feel to use. If you’re after a game with unusual weapons and a huge amount of replayability built in, this is very best there is. When you absolutely, positively got to kill every cover ducker in the room, accept no substitutes.

The player holds a rocket launcher while ahead there is an explosion. The cel-shaded graphics show enemies thrown up in the air.

Fury Unleashed | Awesome Games Studio | Android, PC (Lin, Mac, Win), PS, Switch, Xbox

I picked up AGS’s action-platformer Fury Unleashed for a couple of bucks in a sale and it has ended up being a firm favourite of mine ever since.

Not only does Fury Unleashed look like a living, breathing comic book, but it also feels so good to play thanks to its polished controls and refined mechanical elements. There are loads of different weapons to choose from, and they all change up the gameplay drastically. Not only that, but there’s a bunch of additional depth to unravel in the meta-progression side of things, making this a game that you can keep coming back to.

A side-scrolling cartoon jungle, where the player is shooting a gun at a floating skeleton.

If you want more roguelike recommendations, check out this round-up of all the roguelike games on Game Pass.

Would you like to know more?

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.

The Best Roguelike Games: the best roguelites, deckbuilders, RPGs, auto-shooters, and more

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:

Android/iOS | PC (Lin, Mac, Win) | PlayStation | Switch | Xbox

Before we get to The Hall of Fame, help us keep the lights on – if you’re shopping for a VPN, do it via NordVPN. Just hit this obnoxiously huge link!

Rogueliker’s Hall of Fame

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.

Great bullet heavens and auto-shooters: Vampire Survivors | There could be only one choice for this category, given how all other games are called survivors-likes for a reason!

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.

Brilliant roguelite top-down and third-person shooters: Returnal | Bit of a broad one, but with our other favourite action-roguelites featured elsewhere, we were obliged to mention Returnal here.

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.

Strategy Roguelikes: FTL Faster Than Light | Another classic roguelike that we’re still playing years after launch.

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!

Rogueliker