10 Best Roguelikes with ASCII Art

Highlights

• ASCII art adds a distinct and innovative aesthetic to many roguelike games, making them more visually appealing.
• Games like Caves of Qud and Cogmind use ASCII art to enhance the user experience and create a retrofuturistic atmosphere.
• Brogue and The Ground Gives Way are beginner-friendly roguelikes that utilize legible ASCII art and simple controls for an easier introduction to the genre.

Roguelikes and ASCII art – name a more iconic duo. Games in this genre are sometimes defined as “ASCII + Permadeath,” a definition that doesn’t quite work for the entire genre but gets about halfway there. While permadeath is still prevalent in roguelikes and also in the slightly different genre of roguelites, ASCII art has since fallen out of use.

But plenty of games in the genre still use ASCII art, and some have found a way to make the distinct computer art style not only innovative but also more gorgeous than ever before. Many others like to use ASCII because the simple art style leaves more time to develop some features, like body transformations or weird environmental interactions.

10 Caves of Qud

The Most Lore-Rich Roguelike

Caves of Qud is a very original roguelike set in a sci-fi, post-apocalyptic world with a rare focus on story for the standard of the genre. It’s also notable for its deep simulation and involvement in procedurally generated worlds and characters.

Caves of Qud marries its ASCII art, an alternative to the default tileset, to retrofuturistic sensibilities that are felt in the aesthetics as well as in the story. This makes for a very pleasant user experience to accompany the brutal trial-and-error nature of the game.

9 Cogmind

The Weirdest Roguelike

Cogmind is all about its player character. The protagonist of this futuristic roguelike isn’t a fantasy hero archetype or an unfortunate wanderer; they are a robot. Because of its mechanical nature, players can hack, repurpose, and reuse various parts to improve their chances of survival.

Fans of the art style often praise Cogmind’s approach to ASCII art, and the game’s own Steam page describes it as the “Most advanced terminal interface ever.” Not only is the UI very legible, but it’s also aesthetically pleasing in a way few games in this utilitarian style can manage.

8 Brogue

The Modern Classic For Beginners

Brogue is a modern classic of roguelikes. Chances are, many will have played a game directly inspired by Brogue without even knowing. Popular mobile roguelikes Pixel Dungeon and its popular variant, Shattered Pixel Dungeon, are among those inspirations.

Brogue is a classic for many reasons, but chief among them is the legible UI and ASCII art. The controls, while not exactly intuitive, are a fair bit more simple than the average entry in the genre, too. This is probably why Brogue is often named by fans as an easy first roguelike for newcomers.

7 Robinson

The Best Survival Roguelike

Robinson might just be the only ASCII survival roguelike. The genre often sees an unfortunate protagonist appear at the entrance of a dungeon. Sometimes, those characters might be adventurers seeking riches or fame. More rarely, the dungeon is a foreign planet or the final frontier. This isn’t the case in Robinson.

In Robinson, players live a story not unlike that of Daniel Defoe’s novel. Stranded on an island, hunted by weird animals and elements alike, players must survive until they find a way back home. But if the premise sounds interesting, gamers should still beware. This is not a simple game to get into, and some familiarity with the genre is advised for those thinking of diving in.

6 SanctuaryRPG: Black Edition

The Rare First-Person Take On The Genre

SanctuaryRPG: Black Edition is an exceedingly rare entry in the genre. Not only is it a fair bit more story-driven than the average roguelike, but it displays its ASCII art from a first-person perspective. This leads to views that have seldom been reproduced after the Commodore and Amiga era.

For those who really enjoy the first-person view of SanctuaryRPG: Black Edition, there might be a way to scratch that itch. Thanks to a free modding tool called Necklace of the Eye, modern and classic roguelikes can be turned into first-person dungeon crawlers. The software even comes already set up for Brogue, ADOM, and other modern roguelikes.

5 Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead

The Post-Apocalyptic Roguelike

Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead is a roguelike base-building game with optional ASCII art where every catastrophe happens all at once. Zombies are here, as are political unrest and horrors from outer space. In this chaos, it’s up to the player to rebuild or perhaps simply explore.

Another unique characteristic of Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead is its open-ended nature. The objective is simple enough: survive. But what the player might do while surviving is up to them. That’s also why the game has an incredibly robust, open-ended crafting system that feels more like a means for self-expression than another tool to achieve victory.

4 Rogue

The Original Roguelike

Rarely is the origin of a genre as clear-cut as is the case of Rogue and roguelikes. Rogue is so obviously the starting point of so many other genre-defining games that they didn’t even bother to find another name. As for the game itself, it’s surprisingly playable. It’s not the most complex nor the most inviting to new players, but it’s way more welcoming than some modern titles.

Some fans of the genre would argue that Rogue is only worth playing for its historical value as the starting point of the genre. But for an extremely experimental game released in multiple versions between 1980 and 1985, it holds up extremely well.

3 NetHack: Legacy

The First Great Roguelike

NetHack is one of the first games to follow in the vein of Rogue, and many of the staples of the genre find their origin here. For example, players can go back to previously explored levels, something that the more primitive Rogue could not allow for.

While NetHack is a modified version of Hack, a 1982 roguelike heavily inspired by the original Rogue, it quickly became everyone’s favorite take on the genre. This is one of the most unique examples of ASCII roguelikes. Since the games are so simple and often open source, they can be modified by fans into wholly new games. This is still true today, as demonstrated by the popularity of different Pixel Dungeon versions.

2 Ancient Domains Of Mystery

The Classic 1990s Roguelike

Ancient Domains Of Mystery is one of the first success stories of commercial roguelikes. Unlike earlier entries in the genre, ADOM is a commercial title and, as such, does not have forks or fan editions. It still achieved significant success despite these limitations.

As is often the case with roguelikes, Ancient Domains Of Mystery is available in a multitude of editions. Fans often recommend the Steam version for newcomers since it has customizable difficulty levels and optional, more readable modern graphics. That said, ASCII mode is still a good option.

1 The Ground Gives Way

The Best Bit-Sized Roguelike

The Ground Gives Way might actually be one of the best entries in the genre of old‑school ASCII roguelikes. It’s not especially easy; it’s often based on luck, and it can feel unfair at times. But even a successful run doesn’t take longer than an hour, and failures don’t require more than 10 minutes.

This brevity is what makes The Ground Gives Way so approachable. One of the hardest roguelike aspects to swallow is how easy it is to die and lose all progress. This feature is much easier to accept when the progress lost amounts to a mere ten minutes. It also helps that The Ground Gives Way has a very charming look.