This is meant as the 5th entry in my "best of" series here on the sub, where I’ve previously covered Netflix Games, Upcoming Games of 2022, MMORPGs, and Action RPGs.

I hope you'll enjoy it, and share your own favorites below for others to discover <3

Watch the video version here: https://youtu.be/s1HYtA9xY6Y

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1) Shattered Pixel Dungeon | $4.99 - Landscape + Portrait

This game actually originally started off as a mod for another game called Pixel Dungeon before becoming a stand-alone title, and it’s a tough roguelike dungeon crawler RPG with lots of quests to complete, items to gather, and monsters to defeat.

One of the best aspects of Shattered Pixel Dungeon is that we have four unique character-classes to play as, each of which comes with unique sub-class specializations that ensure a high level of replayability.

The bosses are truly challenging in this game, though, so you gotta be prepared to die a lot as you attempt to make your way through the five dungeon floors.

It’s definitely one of the best overall roguelikes on mobile, and despite the difficulty, it’s also rather beginner-friendly, so definitely take it for a spin if you haven’t already.

App Store Link

2) Redungeon | Free - Portrait

Redungeon is an endless dungeon crawler by Nitrome with an awesome retro arcade atmosphere, fast-paced gameplay, and a variety of heroes to play as.

The game’s fun core gameplay loop essentially has us collect coins through procedurally generated dungeons, while avoiding obstacles and escaping monsters to unlock and upgrade all 11 heroes.

Since each hero has unique abilities that impact the gameplay, and new mechanics that require us to think fast are introduced in each dungeon floor, the game is addictively fun and does an excellent job at never growing too repetitive.

The game is free to play, and while we CAN pay to instantly unlock and upgrade heroes, it really doesn’t take too long to also grind them through gameplay.

App Store Link

3) Pathos: Nethack Codex | Free - Portrait AND Landscape

I saw one user on MiniReview refer to Pathos: Nethack Codex as an easy intro into the world of proper roguelikes. And I couldn’t agree more.

It’s a challenging roguelike inspired by the 1987 game “Nethack”, where we begin by creating our own custom class based on a list of options, and then jump straight into the first dungeon floor where we try to get as far as possible before dying.

We simply tap an enemy to attack it, but to survive, it’s often much better to avoid combat whenever possible. Each dungeon floor is FULL of a large variety of weapons, spells, and consumables locked in chests, hidden behind traps, or dropped by enemies.

There truly is a ton of content and items to explore, and the game is completely free without ads or iAPs, which is why it easily deserves a spot here.

App Store Link

4) The Enchanted Cave 2 | $5.99 - Landscape

The Enchanted Cave 2 stands out because once we delve into a dungeon, we can only leave if we find a pair of Escape Wings, which allows us to keep any artifacts and gold we’ve gathered.

The game features nine playable characters, but what I really like is that when leveling up, we can distribute skill points across a large skill tree that branches into warrior, mage, and alchemist skills and bonuses.

True to the name of the game, crafting is also super important, as it allows us to for example enchant armor with protection against ice attacks, and as we continuously enter new dungeon floors with different biomes and monsters, it’s critical to keep enchanting our gear with protection against the element used by the monsters roaming those biomes.

The game costs $5.99, and it’s an easy recommendation if you’re looking for something that is traditional yet more fast-paced and action-driven than most other games mentioned today.

App Store Link

5) Hoplite | $2.99 - Portrait

Hoplite is a turn-based roguelike with tactical combat and a simple core gameplay mixed with a painstakingly high difficulty.

Played on a hexagon-tiled map that we move around one step at a time, the objective is to get to the end of the floor by taking out all opponents using our spear, knocking-back bombs with our shield, and jumping to avoid incoming attacks.

Once we reach the end, we get to pick an upgrade that lasts until we die, and then continue to the next floor.

The game costs $2.99 and it’s an easy recommendation that takes some serious brian-power to complete.

App Store Link

6) Twilight Dungeons | Free - Landscape

Next, I wanted to include a game that I can almost guarantee you haven’t played yet because it’s a fairly new and unknown indie game, called Twilight Dungeons, whose unique take on the genre has us attempt to survive a truly strange world by learning about and utilizing its many flora and fauna to our advantage.

Yes, you read that right… the core gameplay involves searching for harvestable plants that we then use to craft items and equipment. And maybe most interesting of all, we can even plant seeds to grow, harvest, and create more plants, giving the game a unique survival-like feel.

This is really only scratching the surface though, because there’s lots more to this game and its many systems, and since it's entirely free without ads or iAPs, it’s a must-try if you like strange worlds and unique gameplay.

App Store Link

7) Out There: Ω Edition | $4.99 - Landscape

If you’re a fan of the sci-fi theme and genre, you might also wanna check out Out There: Omega Edition, which is an RPG adventure game that mixes in some exploration and roguelike elements, such as a procedurally generated universe.

The core gameplay is all about keeping our crew alive by managing our field, oxygen, and the hull of our spaceship, which are resources we find as we travel from planet to planet.

The further we travel into space, the more events and random encounters we meet, and the decisions we make during these often significantly impact the rest of our run.

Out There costs $4.99, and although it’s very hardcore and diffiult, it’s also highly replayable, and while it might not be as traditional a roguelike as the other games mentioned here, there’s a high chance you’ll enjoy it if you like old-school roguelikes and sci-fi.

App Store Link

8) Rust Bucket | Free - Portrait

One of the better free-to-play roguelikes around is definitely Rust Bucket, which has us study enemy movement patterns so we can avoid their attacks and land our own, which is an incredibly important lesson as we die in just a single hit in this game!

The game features 40 puzzle-like levels, and then an endless mode, and while turn-based, the experience feels relatively fast-paced, making it a great casual roguelike for short play-sessions.

Rust Bucket monetizes through showing ads when we die, which can be removed through iAPs up to $3.99, which is a great relaxed way to do monetization in my opinion.

App Store Link

9) WazHack | Free Trial - Landscape

WazHack is a hardcore side-scrolling roguelike inspired by Nethack - that 1987 game that Pathoas: Nethack Codex was also based on.

This essentially means that every run features a procedurally generated dungeon, loot needs to be identified before we can equip it, and it takes A LOT of attempts to finish the game.

Like in any great roguelike, there are a bunch of character classes to pick from, each with unique stats and equipment, and the game features both single-player and co-op dungeons full of traps and enemies.

One of the most interesting aspects of Wazhack’s combat system is that ranged attacks actually have to be aimed since they’re affected by gravity, which creates a much more advanced experience than most other roguelikes.

The game is free to try, after which we have to pay $1 per class we want to unlock, and it’s definitely worth checking out if you haven’t tried it already

App Store Link

10) Cardinal Quest 2 | Free - Portrait

Next up is Cardinal Quest 2 - a truly retro turn-based roguelike where our goal is to fight our way through three acts and level up our skills to the point that we can finally defeat the boss at the end of the game.

We can swipe or tap to move around the map, and simply bump into enemies to attack them, which makes the game easy to navigate even on smaller screens.

It also features a bunch of classes that drastically change the gameplay and add a high level of replayability. These can be unlocked for free through gameplay, or instantly acquired through a few iAPs, which is the only way the game monetizes.

It currently sits at a 4.9/5 score on the App Store, and has a 100% user rating score on MiniReview, so you might want to take it for a spin if you haven’t played it before :)

App Store Link