10 Best Roguelite/Roguelike Games to Play in 2025

Patrick.Yu

Looking for the best roguelike and roguelite games to play in 2025? This list highlights the top titles to check out this year, with a focus on challenging gameplay, procedurally generated levels, and the thrill of starting over. These genres have grown in popularity thanks to their deep mechanics and strong replay value. Fans of all experience levels can find something exciting to try in 2025. Before we dive into the list, it’s important to explain the difference between roguelikes and roguelites.

Roguelike vs Roguelites

Roguelike games are based on a few strict rules. When you die, you usually lose everything and have to start over from scratch. These games use turn-based movement, random maps, and permanent death, which means no progress carries over between runs. The classic game Rogue from the 1980s is what gave the genre its name.

Roguelites, on the other hand, are more forgiving. While they still include random levels and challenging combat, they often let you keep some progress after each run. This can include character upgrades, new weapons, or shortcuts. Roguelites tend to feel faster and more modern, blending elements from other genres like action, platforming, or deckbuilding.

In short, roguelikes focus on pure survival with no safety net. Roguelites reward you a little each time you play, helping you slowly grow stronger.

Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s take a look at some of the best roguelite and roguelike games you can play in 2025. Whether you prefer intense combat, strategic thinking, or creative builds, there’s something here for every kind of player.

10 Best Roguelite/Roguelike Games to Play in 2025

1. Balatro

Starting with a heavy hitter from 2024, Balatro is a roguelike deck-builder that surprised everyone with just how addictive it could be. What looks like a poker-inspired card puzzler quickly reveals itself as a deep, chaotic, and endlessly replayable strategy game. Instead of combat or traditional storytelling, Balatro focuses entirely on building and breaking card synergies. You begin each run with a basic deck, aiming to beat score thresholds by crafting powerful poker hands. How you get there is where the magic lies.

Jokers are the star of the show. These cards can completely shift the direction of a run, offering unique effects and massive score multipliers. Combined with tarot cards, planet cards, and shop upgrades, the game becomes a playground for wild combos and clever experiments. Even when you fail, Balatro makes you want to dive right back in, chasing that next high-scoring hand.

The game won Best Independent Game, Best Debut Indie Game, and Best Mobile Game at The Game Awards 2024. It was also nominated for Game of the Year. In 2025, it remains one of the most creative and replayable roguelikes you can play.

2. Garden of Witches

If you’re looking for a roguelite that blends cozy aesthetics with clever gameplay depth, Garden of Witches is worth a look. Still in early access, this action roguelite casts you as Sil, the Witch of Threads, on a mission to gather her fellow witches for an annual tea party that keeps a dream goddess asleep. It sounds lighthearted, but the gameplay is no joke.

Combat revolves around fast-paced arena battles, spell builds, and powerful synergies. You choose two spells at the start of each run and can collect randomized upgrades that alter how they work. These synergies interact in creative ways, letting you build around fire damage, summoned crows, area-of-effect spells, and more. Whether you go melee or magic-focused, the game encourages experimentation and on-the-fly adaptation.

The art style is hand-drawn and full of charm, the soundtrack ranges from jazzy to intense, and the writing is surprisingly engaging. Boss fights grow more intense with each chapter, offering a real challenge, though cooldowns and melee combat still need fine-tuning. Even so, Garden of Witches already feels like a complete experience, and the developers have confirmed more content is on the way.

It’s short, sweet, and packed with personality. Keep your eye on this one.

3. Hades II

Following up a genre-defining classic is never easy, but Hades II is already hitting all the right notes. And it’s not even out of early access yet. Set in the same mythological world as the 2020 hit (Hades), Hades II puts you in control of Melinoë, the daughter of Hades, as she battles through the Underworld and the surface above. The combat is fast, stylish, and deeply satisfying. While the core gameplay will feel familiar to fans of the first game, every system has been reworked just enough to feel new. Weapons, boons, and abilities have all been redesigned, and the addition of mana-powered Omega attacks brings a new layer of depth to each run.

What makes Hades II stand out is its incredible build variety. Every run feels meaningful, and the expanded progression systems like Arcana cards and incantations give you more long-term goals to chase. Outside of combat, you’ll find well-written characters, new side activities, and meaningful choices that shape your experience.

Even though it's still in development, Hades II already plays better than many finished games. With its full release planned for later in 2025, it is almost certain to become one of the year’s standout roguelites.

4. Elden Ring Nightreign

FromSoftware is best known for Soulslike games, but Elden Ring Nightreign marks a bold shift into roguelike territory. Instead of exploring an open world at your own pace, players drop into fast-paced co-op expeditions, racing against a closing Nightreign and tackling tough bosses before time runs out. Every run features randomized gear, changing objectives, and escalating difficulty, giving it the feel of a high-stakes dungeon run mixed with battle royale elements.

Each of the eight playable classes, called Nightfarers, offers a distinct playstyle with fixed stats and unique skills. Runs revolve around gathering relics, upgrading gear, and unlocking story chapters through a system of “Remembrances.” While the storytelling is thinner than in Elden Ring, the individual class arcs still give you a reason to come back. The combat is as satisfying as ever, with faster pacing, new class skills, and plenty of ways to experiment with iconic weapons from the main game.

Despite a heavy reuse of assets and limited progression depth, Nightreign succeeds at capturing the fun of repeated runs with friends. It may not top the original Elden Ring, but as a roguelike spinoff, it’s surprisingly engaging and worth playing with a dedicated group.

5. Soulstone Survivors

After nearly three years in early access, Soulstone Survivors finally launched its 1.0 version in June 2025. It’s one of the most polished and content-rich entries in the bullet heaven genre, blending the fast-paced chaos of a survivors-like with the long-term depth of an action RPG. You start with simple attacks and basic movement, but over time you unlock dozens of characters, hundreds of skills, and countless build combinations.

This is a roguelite in the purest sense. Each run earns you resources to invest in permanent upgrades, new weapons, and massive skill trees for every hero. The combat is mostly automated, but you control movement, dashes, and targeting, creating a fast and reactive gameplay loop. The further you push into a run, the harder it gets, with curses and boss rushes scaling the difficulty into absurd territory.

What sets Soulstone Survivors apart is how much control it gives the player. You can customize everything from UI to targeting systems, and the game is packed with endgame modes like Titan Hunts, boss arenas, and a short story campaign. If you love fine-tuning builds, chasing loot, and powering up through endless progression, this is easily one of the best roguelites to play in 2025.

6. Dave the Diver

You might not expect a laid-back fishing and sushi sim to qualify as a roguelite, but Dave the Diver blends progression-based exploration, randomized deep-sea dives, and persistent upgrades in ways that make it one of the most charming roguelites you can play. The loop is simple but addictive. You dive into the ever-changing Blue Hole by day, catch exotic fish, uncover mysterious ruins, and then run your chaotic sushi restaurant by night. The further you go, the more tools, story events, and underwater secrets you unlock. Somehow, it never stops being fun.

What really sets Dave the Diver apart is its nonstop post-launch support. The game has received several free crossover DLCs, including Dredge, Godzilla, and Like a Dragon. But the most exciting update is still on the horizon. In the Jungle, a full expansion that takes Dave out of the ocean and into a dangerous rainforest, was originally planned for 2025 but has been delayed to early 2026. In this case, that's a good sign. A delayed game is eventually good, but a rushed game is forever bad.

If you haven’t played Dave the Diver yet, now is the perfect time to dive in.

7. Risk of Rain 2

Risk of Rain 2 is one of the most replayable roguelites out there, transforming the 2D platforming of the original into a chaotic 3D co-op shooter. You pick from a roster of unique survivors, each with their own skills, and fight through waves of enemies while collecting over-the-top items that stack in ridiculous ways. The longer you survive, the harder the game gets, scaling difficulty in real time until every moment feels like a bullet hell marathon.

Since its launch, the game has received two major DLCs, with a third one on the way. Survivors of the Void brought Void-tier items and new survivors, while Seekers of the Storm added five new environments and a challenging new route. The next expansion, Alloyed Collective, is expected later this year, featuring six new stages, two survivors, and expanded drone mechanics. Gearbox has been actively patching the game, and most of the launch bugs have been smoothed out.

Whether you're playing solo or with friends, Risk of Rain 2 remains a standout roguelite in 2025. With more content on the way and a strong community behind it, this is the perfect time to revisit the storm.

8. Cult of the Lamb

Cult of the Lamb blends fast-paced roguelike combat with charmingly dark cult management. You play as a possessed lamb resurrected by a mysterious deity, tasked with spreading your own religion while battling through procedurally generated dungeons. Between runs, you return to your growing cult village to build structures, perform rituals, and manage the faith of your followers. It’s a strange but incredibly satisfying balance of action and strategy.

Since launching in 2022, the game has received multiple free updates that expand on both sides of the experience. These include the Relics of the Old Faith expansion, a post-game storyline, new relic systems, and improved combat. There have also been seasonal events, a Don’t Starve Together crossover, and even a local co-op mode in the Unholy Alliance update. Cosmetic DLC packs have also been released, though all gameplay content so far has been free.

The game has sold over 4.5 million copies and won several awards, including Best Indie Game and Game of the Year from multiple outlets. While updates have slowed in 2025, the developers have confirmed that more content is still in the works. If you enjoy your roguelites with a touch of chaos and cuteness, this is an easy recommendation.

9. Drop Duchy

Drop Duchy answers a question you didn’t know you had: what if Tetris were a roguelike, and also a medieval war game? It’s a puzzle game at its core, but adds deep layers of strategy and progression. Instead of clearing rows to remove blocks, you build resource lines by matching terrain types. Plains give food, rivers give gold, and forests supply wood. Every completed line feeds into your growing stockpile of materials for the run.

Once you’ve gathered enough resources, you can build structures like shipyards or watchtowers. These generate different unit types, which you use in turn-based battles that play out at the end of each stage. Each battle becomes a puzzle of its own, where you need to predict enemy moves and play to your army’s strengths. Along the way, you collect tech cards that act as permanent upgrades and passive buffs, drawn from three unique faction decks that favor different playstyles.

The minimalist visuals, satisfying sound design, and steadily rising challenge all come together in a package that’s easy to pick up but hard to put down. Drop Duchy might seem niche at first glance, but it’s one of the most original roguelite puzzle hybrids you can play in 2025.

10. Slay the Spire 2

Slay the Spire 2 isn’t out yet, and no public demo has been shown, but it’s already one of the most anticipated roguelikes in development. The original game helped define the deckbuilding genre, setting the standard for countless titles that followed. Now, with a new Spire awakening, players are eager to see what comes next.

The official Steam page confirms a return to strategic, run-based gameplay with new cards, relics, potions, and a mix of new and returning characters. The Spire itself is described as more twisted and dangerous than before, with ever-changing paths and layered challenges that reward careful planning and creativity.

Although many of the gameplay details are still under wraps, the game is slated to enter early access sometime in 2025. If Mega Crit can build on the foundation of the original, Slay the Spire 2 has the potential to become one of the genre’s defining titles once again.