The Most Popular Roguelike Game, Ranked
Voting rules: Choose the game you think is the most popular!
Updated on May 3, 2024 06:47
In the intricate labyrinth of gaming genres, Roguelike games hold a special place with their challenging gameplay and permanent consequences of defeat. This unique combination often sparks lively debates among gamers about which titles best define the genre's core principles. By creating a ranked list based on player votes, we tap directly into collective expertise and preferences to highlight standout games in this category.
Voting isn't just about expressing preferences; it's a way to guide new players towards exceptional experiences and give developers recognition for their innovative work. As each vote shapes the live rankings, the list becomes a dynamic testimony to what makes Roguelike games an enduring favorite in the gaming community. Your input ensures that the list remains current and reflective of the true favorites among enthusiasts.
What Is the Most Popular Roguelike Game?
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166votesNetHack is considered the "granddaddy" of all roguelike games, NetHack has been around since 1987 and is known for its complexity and depth of gameplay. It has a huge fanbase and is still being actively developed to this day.NetHack is a classic Roguelike game that was first released in 1987. It offers a rich and complex gameplay experience, featuring dungeons filled with monsters, treasures, and challenging puzzles. Players navigate through the dungeon, battling enemies, collecting items, and exploring the depths. The game is known for its high level of difficulty, with permadeath mechanics and a variety of ways to meet an untimely demise.
- Release Date: 1987
- Genre: Roguelike
- Platform: Cross-platform
- Graphics: ASCII characters and simple tilesets
- Game Modes: Single-player
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243votesDungeon Crawl Stone Soup is a popular open-source roguelike with a focus on accessibility and player choice. It has a large community of players and developers who contribute to its ongoing development.Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup is a popular roguelike game known for its deep and complex gameplay. It offers a challenging dungeon exploration experience with turn-based combat, rich character customization, and a variety of interesting monsters and loot. The game features procedurally generated levels, permadeath, and a wide range of character classes and species to choose from. Players must navigate through dangerous dungeons filled with traps, monsters, and treasures while strategically managing their resources and making difficult choices to survive and progress. With its active development community, Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup continues to evolve and improve over time.
- Genre: Roguelike
- Platform: Windows, macOS, Linux
- Release Date: 2006
- Graphics: ASCII/Text-based
- Game Modes: Single-player
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333votesADOM is a classic roguelike that has been around since 1994. It has a deep and complex world with a variety of playable races and classes, as well as a reputation system that affects the player's interactions with NPCs.ADOM (Ancient Domains of Mystery) is a popular roguelike game that was first released in 1994. It is set in the fantasy world of Ancardia, where players have the freedom to explore dungeons, complete quests, and interact with a wide variety of creatures and NPCs. The game features a rich and immersive storyline, with multiple endings depending on the player's choices and actions. ADOM is known for its deep gameplay mechanics, challenging permadeath system, and extensive character development options.
- Genre: Roguelike
- Release Date: 1994
- Platform(s): Windows, macOS, Linux
- Game Modes: Singleplayer
- Graphics: ASCII
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423votesAngband is another classic roguelike that has been around since the early 1990s. It has a huge number of playable races and classes, as well as a deep and challenging dungeon to explore.Angband is a popular Roguelike game that is set in a detailed fantasy world. It features complex turn-based gameplay with procedural generation of dungeons and enemies. Players navigate through the game using ASCII characters to represent the game world and encounter various monsters, treasures, and challenges along the way. The goal of the game is to descend deeper into the dungeon, eventually defeating the powerful boss known as Morgoth. It offers deep tactical gameplay, character customization, and a vast array of items and abilities to discover.
- Genre: Roguelike
- Release Date: 1990
- Platform(s): Multiple (Windows, macOS, Linux, Amiga)
- Gameplay: Turn-based
- Graphics: ASCII
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511votes
Tales of Maj'Eyal
DarkGod (Nicolas Casalini)Tales of Maj'Eyal is a modern roguelike with a focus on accessibility and player choice. It has a huge amount of content, including multiple playable races and classes and a variety of different game modes.Tales of Maj'Eyal is a highly acclaimed Roguelike game that offers immersive gameplay and a captivating story. It was created by DarkGod, also known as Nicolas Casalini.- Platform: Windows, macOS, Linux
- Genre: Roguelike
- Release Date: February 28, 2010
- Game Modes: Single-player
- Graphics: 2D
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612votes
Morvram · CC BY-SA 4.0Caves of Qud
Brian BucklewCaves of Qud is a sci-fi themed roguelike with a unique setting and deep lore. It has a huge variety of playable character builds and a dynamic world with factions and NPCs that react to the player's actions.Caves of Qud is a critically acclaimed roguelike game set in a post-apocalyptic world filled with mutated creatures, ancient ruins, and high-tech artifacts. Players navigate through procedurally generated, turn-based, top-down environments, challenging themselves with tactical combat, intricate puzzles, and engaging quests. The game features a rich character customization system, allowing players to select from a wide array of mutations, skills, and abilities to shape their unique adventurer. Caves of Qud offers a deep and immersive gameplay experience with a strong emphasis on exploration, discovery, and storytelling.- Genre: Roguelike
- Platform: Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux
- Release Date: December 2, 2010
- Graphics: ASCII-based, tile-based
- Game Modes: Single-player
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76votesBrogue is a minimalist roguelike with a simple, elegant interface and a focus on tactical gameplay. It has a deep, procedurally generated dungeon to explore and a variety of different enemies and traps to contend with.Brogue is a popular Roguelike game known for its strategic depth and minimalistic design. It is set in a dungeon environment filled with creatures, traps, and treasures, offering challenging gameplay for hardcore gamers and Roguelike enthusiasts. The game uses ASCII graphics to depict the dungeon and its inhabitants, providing a classic retro-style experience.
- Platform: Windows, macOS, Linux
- Graphics: ASCII
- Genre: Roguelike
- Difficulty: High
- Turn-based: Yes
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811votesDoomRL is a roguelike based on the classic first-person shooter game Doom. It has fast-paced, action-packed gameplay and a variety of weapons and power-ups to collect.DoomRL (Doom the Roguelike) is a popular Roguelike game that combines the iconic first-person shooter Doom with the challenging gameplay of a traditional roguelike. It is set in the same dark and atmospheric universe as the original Doom games, but with turn-based gameplay and ASCII graphics.
- Genre: Roguelike
- Platform: Windows, macOS, Linux
- Modes: Single-player
- Graphics: ASCII
- Setting: Post-apocalyptic sci-fi
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913votesDCSS is a popular open-source roguelike with a focus on accessibility and player choice. It has a large community of players and developers who contribute to its ongoing development.DCSS (Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup) is a popular Roguelike game that offers a challenging and strategic dungeon-crawling experience. It features turn-based gameplay, permanent death, and a vast array of races, classes, and spells to choose from. The game is known for its deep and complex mechanics, as well as its emphasis on player skill and decision-making.
- Genre: Roguelike
- Platform(s): Windows, Mac OS X, Linux
- Release Date: April 15, 2006
- Modes: Single-player
- Graphics: ASCII-based, tileset options available
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103votes
Rogue Legacy - a modern roguelike with a unique twist
Cellar Door GamesRogue Legacy - a modern roguelike with a unique twist is each time the player dies, they respawn as a new character with different abilities and traits. It has a variety of different enemies and bosses to fight, as well as a deep upgrade system for the player's castle.Rogue Legacy is a popular roguelike game that combines classic elements of the genre with a unique twist. In this game, players delve into a randomized, ever-changing castle filled with enemies, traps, and treasures. What sets Rogue Legacy apart is its generational progression system, where each time the player character dies, they are reincarnated as one of their descendants, inheriting traits and characteristics from their ancestors. This provides an interesting gameplay dynamic as players must adapt to the strengths and weaknesses of each new lineage, making each playthrough feel fresh and unpredictable.- Platform: Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch
- Genre: Roguelike
- Graphics: 2D, pixel art
- Game Modes: Single-player
- Difficulty: Challenging
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Ranking factors for popular game
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Player baseA larger, more active player base is indicative of a popular game. Look for player counts, online forum activity, and social media presence.
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User reviews and ratingsPositive reviews and high ratings from players on platforms like Steam, Reddit, and Metacritic can help determine popularity.
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ReplayabilityA key aspect of Roguelike games is their replayability. Games with high replayability due to procedural generation, permadeath, and diverse character builds and playstyles tend to be more popular.
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Unique features and mechanicsPopular Roguelike games often have unique gameplay features and mechanics that set them apart from other games in the genre. Look for how well these mechanics are received by players and critics.
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Accessibility and difficultyRoguelike games can be challenging, but a popular one strikes a balance between being accessible to new players and offering enough depth and challenge for experienced players.
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Art style and graphicsRich, immersive visuals and environments can contribute to a game's popularity. Art style and graphics that appeal to a wide range of players, are well-polished, and make the game stand out in the market are important factors.
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Regular updates and supportPopular games tend to have active developers that provide frequent updates, bug fixes, and new content, which keeps the game fresh and exciting for its player base.
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Awards and accoladesLook for industry awards or recognition that the game has received, which may indicate its popularity and success.
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Media coverageGames that receive positive coverage in gaming news, on YouTube channels, or in gaming podcasts can have an impact on popularity. Watch for mentions and reviews to gauge how well-received the game is in the gaming community.
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Community engagementPopular games often have a strong, engaged community, which can involve fan art, fan fiction, modding, or other community contributions. A game with a passionate community is more likely to maintain popularity and bring in new players.
About this ranking
This is a community-based ranking of the most popular Roguelike game. We do our best to provide fair voting, but it is not intended to be exhaustive. So if you notice something or game is missing, feel free to help improve the ranking!
Statistics
- 2503 views
- 221 votes
- 10 ranked items
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Voting Rules
A participant may cast an up or down vote for each game once every 24 hours. The rank of each game is then calculated from the weighted sum of all up and down votes.
More information on most popular roguelike game
Roguelike games are a subgenre of role-playing video games that are characterized by random level generation, permadeath, and turn-based gameplay. The genre takes its name from the 1980 game Rogue, which was one of the first games to feature these defining characteristics. Since then, the roguelike genre has evolved and expanded to include a wide range of games that offer unique gameplay mechanics, intense challenges, and a high level of replayability. Some of the most popular roguelike games include titles like Spelunky, Binding of Isaac, and Enter the Gungeon. With their challenging gameplay and unpredictable nature, roguelike games have become a favorite among hardcore gamers and continue to attract new players with each passing year.
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