The Best Roguelike Games On Xbox Game Pass

Roguelikes have come a long way in the past decade. They used to be a niche genre but thanks to games like the Dark Souls series, the type of risk-reward gameplay has become easier to understand for most players. Those games aren’t roguelikes, but they share a lot of the same DNA with the genre.

There are plenty of roguelikes to consume on the Xbox console side of Game Pass, along with a handful of roguelites. These titles are generally designed to keep players coming back for more, and they are often perfect games to throw on for a 30-minute session. What are the best roguelikes on Xbox Game Pass?

Updated June 8, 2024: Game Pass roguelike games are not added every month; however, the genre received a new addition fairly recently. Spoiler: it stars Death.

Dead Cells

Metascore: 91

Dead Cells is one of the best roguelikes of the past few years. It’s still getting played on all major platforms today and a Castlevania DLC was recently announced. Besides Dead Cells being a fun game to replay, the developers have kept the experience alive by adding new content that expands on the base experience in exciting ways.

Dead Cells lives and dies on the strength of its combat, which is melee-based and requires players to analyze an enemy’s movements. This Metroidvania garnered comparisons to Dark Souls, and as cliche of a statement that has become, it is not unfounded in this case. Although by no means easy, Dead Cells does include a system that allows permanent items to be purchased, so a defeat does not have to result in a complete restart.

Slay The Spire

MyAnimeList: 89 (PC)

Slay the Spire is a card-based roguelike that is also like a choose-your-own-adventure game. Players start with a small roster of heroes but unlock more, along with new cards, along the way. They are asked which paths they want to take with some leading to traps and monsters and others to treasure.

It’s a gamble, but that is what this genre is all about even if the fighting is more like a turn-based RPG. Slay the Spire is another challenging one, though, without much progression carrying over; however, it is also one of those games that encourage players to go for one more round after each defeat.

Vampire Survivors

MyAnimeList: 95

Created by a solo player, Vampire Survivors took Steam by storm when it entered early access towards the end of 2021. Eventually, the game garnered a full release on PC and made its way to Microsoft’s consoles, being available on both the Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. This roguelike drops players in maps with 30-minute time limits and challenges them to survive as long as possible. After picking a character and equipment, survivors are bombarded by enemies from all sides, with the battle intensifying as the minutes pass.

As players score kills, they level up their weapons and items, which is crucial to standing any chance during a stage’s last 10 minutes. Vampire Survivors has an addictive gameplay loop that is accessible and immediately understandable, while still offering a significant challenge. The game comes with plenty of unlockables as well, including new characters and weapons that come with their own strengths, weaknesses, and strategy guides.

Vampire Survivors is the perfect buffer game to throw on for a quick session in between longer experiences.

Darkest Dungeon

Metascore: 84 (PC)

Darkest Dungeon has been around for a couple of years, and its reputation as a hard-as-nails RPG is written in stone. As the indie title is reasonably popular, one has to assume that anyone interested in trying out the 2016 title has already descended into its horrifying dungeon. Nevertheless, Darkest Dungeon was added to Xbox Game Pass in February 2023, introducing it to a wider audience than just die-hard players.

After inheriting a mansion sitting on top of a dungeon, players can hire heroes to traverse the horrors waiting below. Permadeath is not only a thing but a regular consequence, which can be very frustrating since characters level up like in traditional RPGs. As the dungeon’s layout is procedurally generated, each run is unique, although they are all punishing.

Roguelikes and roguelites are known for their crushing difficulty, but even among its contemporaries, Darkest Dungeon stands out as an especially overwhelming experience. Newcomers might be tempted to give up within a few hours, but if they choose to persevere, they will be treated to deep role-playing mechanics and an addictive combat system.

Loop Hero

Metascore: 82 (PC)

Added to Xbox Game Pass in April 2023, Loop Hero is an auto-battler that focuses on stats and dungeon-building. As a hero in a grim world that has forgotten its history, players follow a set path that starts with no identifying features except for basic enemies. As they defeat the creatures blocking their way, the hero accumulates loot, including tile cards that change the map’s layout. Each tile has benefits and negatives, so players must carefully reshape the route in a way that increases their chances of surviving a run and defeating a boss.

Naturally, as this is a roguelite, death means starting over; however, since this is a roguelite, the hero retains some resources when they are defeated. This adds another strategic element to the experience since players have to determine which cards to take along with them for the next run.

Roboquest

Metascore: 85

A roguelite shooter, Roboquest made smart use of a lengthy spell in early access, leading to a final version that is relatively polished and enjoyable. The gameplay loop is quite straightforward: Select a robot, head out into arena-style levels, kill everything, and pick up loot. The latter serves as the main driving force, with players regularly picking up money they can use to purchase new weapons and upgrades. Roboquest also uses a level-up system that rewards improvements, so players will generally feel like they are constantly getting stronger during runs.

As a roguelite, Roboquest does not reset progress completely after a failure, and permanent upgrades can be unlocked using wrenches. This decision ensures that a run never feels like a waste of time, even if the improvements are regular minor. More importantly, this FPS game just feels great to play, and it looks pretty darn nice as well.

Have A Nice Death

Metascore: 81 (PC)

Roguelikes (and roguelites) are known for packing hefty punches, with many of the genre’s greatest offerings severely punishing players for the smallest mistakes. Have a Nice Death is somewhat cut from that cloth, and its title is both narrative-relevant and a prediction of the player’s general experience. That said, it is not extremely difficult either, mostly due to the general non-boss enemies being fairly unthreatening.

Cast as an overworked Grim Reaper who has to go down into the underworld to get their employees back in line, players will find themselves rampaging through themed floors in search of Sorrows, bosses who are incredibly difficult at the best of times. En route, Death will pick up new weapons, spells, and passive abilities; however, when a run fails, most progress will be lost. The latter will probably be a sticking point for some people as playthroughs can get repetitive rather quickly, and since the levels are randomly generated,

To be clear, Have a Nice Death has its share of issues that can stack up to the point of frustration, and they combine to create an experience that is overall nowhere near the level of something like Dead Cells. However, the game still has plenty of positives. The combat is fast-paced, responsive, and engaging, and it is enhanced by a solid arsenal of weapons and spells. The setting and premise are neat, as long as a player does not mind comedic dialogue. The boss fights are generally intense too.

Inkulinati

Metascore: 78

Xbox Game Pass subscribers can try their hands at a few early access titles thanks to a program called Game Preview. Added at the beginning of 2023, Inkulinati is one of these projects. Naturally, as it is still in development, players need to take that into account if they plan to take this unique title out for a spin; however, there is already a lot to admire about the strategy game.

Inkulinati is a roguelike with an eye-catching visual style inspired by medieval scrolls and paintings. As a painter, players have to use limited ink to craft a party to take on the upcoming battle. The combat system is specifically strategic, and players will need to think multiple steps ahead rather than simply picking the attack that can do the most immediate damage. Inkulinati also changes its rhythm frequently, so a strategy that works for one encounter could prove useless for the next.

Go Mecha Ball

Metascore: 81

Go Mecha Ball combines a couple of surprising elements, creating a project that works as a twin-stick shooter, a roguelike, and a modern twist on Pinball. Very much an arcade experience, players progress through levels by blasting enemies using a plethora of weapons or transforming into a ball to ping-pong all around the arenas. Both gameplay styles are a thrill to use, and they are enhanced by a roguelike system where players get to pick from three upgrades at the end of each level.

With colorful visuals, addictive gameplay, and pick-up-and-play accessibility, Go Mecha Ball is a one-of-a-kind beast that is well worth checking out if any part of the above description sounds remotely appealing.

Moonlighter

MyAnimeList: 88

Have you ever wondered who stocks shops full of potions and gear in RPGs? Moonlighter seemingly answers that question. It’s about a merchant who runs his shop in the daylight and then adventures into the dungeons at night to collect items to then sell in his shop.

This roguelike is approachable, even without the need for assist options. It’s not going to be easy by any means, but players should be able to get a grasp of the upgrade loop quickly. A little grinding will make any obstacle in Moonlighter seem like nothing at all.

Neon Abyss

MyAnimeList: 81

Neon Abyss is another different take from the previous entries. Instead of hacking and slashing through enemies with melee weapons, this game prioritizes guns. There are standard pistols and machine guns, but there are also more outrageous weapons like one that can shoot lightning.

Neon Abyss is more arcade-like in nature with not a lot carrying over between runs which is fine. The bigger letdown with the game is that there isn’t a co-op option, even though it looks like there should be. Still, Neon Abyss is a fun roguelike with satisfying combat and a cool visual style.

Brotato

MyAnimeList: 76 (PC)

Due to Vampire Survivors‘ presence on Xbox Game Pass, Brotato might seem like an unnecessary inclusion since, on the surface, it can appear to be largely an identical experience. While the two projects share a few things in common due to being roguelite auto-shooters, they are also distinct in several key ways that set them apart from the crowd. Brotato rewards a more aggressive playstyle due to its small maps, forcing players into constant direct fights since they are not afforded much room to breathe.

During a run, players are constantly unlocking new weapons, upgrades, and powers, all the while leveling up to earn stat boosts. Brotato‘s combat is as good as any offering within this subgenre, and it has strong build variety thanks to the in-run options and the plethora of characters that can be unlocked. If there is one criticism of this game, it is not quite as replayable as Vampire Survivors, so the latter might hog someone’s attention in the long run. That said, Brotato is good fun regardless.

Other Games That Roguelike Fans Might Enjoy

Ultimately, there are not many roguelikes on Xbox Game Pass, and fans of the genre will eventually run out of games to try. Luckily, there are a few titles that can scratch a similar itch, even if they do not belong to the genres.

Deathloop

Deathloop has quite a few hallmarks of roguelites, all the while changing a couple of core elements that stop it from perfectly slotting in the genre. As Colt, players must infiltrate a party and execute eight targets over the course of a day, which is split into different periods. Failure to accomplish the mission resets the day, a mechanic that is plot-relevant since Colt is fully aware that they are stuck in a time loop. Deathloop is story-driven in general, with most playthroughs expected to last above 10 hours; however, unlike a number of roguelikes, the game has a fixed endpoint, and there is not all that much incentive to replay the campaign since the map is fixed and not procedurally-generated.

While not perfect, Deathloop is an interesting game with an engaging premise, decent Arkane-style combat, and a really fun PvP. Even if it does not offer everything a roguelike fan might want in a project, it shares enough similarities with the genre to warrant a try, especially for people who like some of the developer’s other releases.

Wasteland 2: Director’s Cut

A post-apocalyptic game with a Western aesthetic, Wasteland 2 is a highly regarded isometric RPG with solid tactical combat. Although not overly difficult for its genre, the game incorporates enough of a challenge to reflect its world’s harsh nature, punishing players who are poorly prepared or react too slowly. Throughout the campaign, players can recruit a range of NPCs to accompany their own created characters, with a party consisting of up to seven members.

If a character goes down in a fight, they can be revived either by the appropriate healing item or the Surgeon skill. If neither of these things is done in a timely manner, the fallen fighter can die permanently, and there is no way to reverse this in-game unless someone loads an older save file. Wasteland 2‘s permadeath feature is fairly forgiving in the grand scheme of things, but it does add an extra wrinkle to battles since there are genuine consequences for the player’s actions.

Wasteland 3
also has a permadeath mode.

Diablo 4

Blizzard’s Diablo has a long history with procedurally generated content, with the early games being among the first projects to make great use of the technology to extend their replayability. Diablo 4 maintains this trend, with the dungeons utilizing procedural generation to switch things up whenever they are revisited. Considering the endgame revolves heavily around repeating the same dungeons, these small tweaks help keep things interesting, even if the changes are fairly minor. This element makes Diablo 4 an OK recommendation for anyone craving a hack and slash dungeon crawler that is very slightly similar to roguelites; however, Nightmare Dungeons take things a step further.

A central part of the endgame loop, Nightmare Dungeons can take a while to unlock. Not only are they limited to Diablo 4‘s World Tier 3, but they also require special sigils. Along with presenting a considerable challenge, these dungeons implement random modifiers that provide positive and negative conditions, which helps add a great deal of variety and novelty. Ultimately, the core gameplay is still the same, but Nightmare Dungeons represent Diablo 4 at its best.

Doom & Doom Eternal

Id Software’s Doom needs no introduction, and the series has been on a roll since 2016. Both the reboot and Doom Eternal are aggressive run-and-gun shooters with non-stop action, an unapologetic appreciation for gore, and satisfying weapon arsenals. Even on normal difficulty, the games are by no means easy, and they will challenge most players, even FPS veterans. The projects’ standard campaigns are straightforward linear shooters that utilize a checkpoint system, and they have nothing in common with roguelites; however, there is a way to change that.

• Doom‘s Arcade Mode adds a scoring system. Players pick a level and try to work their way through it as fast as possible, butchering every demon en route to the finish line. If the Doom Slayer dies at any point, they will need to restart that run, a feature that basically mimics the thrills of a roguelike.
• Doom Eternal features Extra Life mode, which basically removes the unlimited retries found in a typical playthrough. Similar to retro games, Doomguy collects additional lives by finding tokens scattered across levels; once all of their lives are exhausted, it is game over and players will need to start from scratch.

Although these modes scream “hardcore,” they can be played on any of the games’ difficulty settings, so they are hardly unbeatable.

Remnant 2

While they exist in their own bubble, Soulslikes are not a bad shout for roguelike fans. Both genres revolve around repetition, with the main difference being that Soulslikes do not typically send players back to the very start following a defeat (however, they will need to replay potentially large sections). Still, there is always a fear that a single mistake could ruin a lot of work, along with forcing players to work through a long gauntlet of enemies just to reach the same spot again. While this element is not as prominent in Remnant 2 as in some other Soulslikes since death does not result in a very significant punishment, the game makes up for it in other areas.

For instance, dungeons are procedurally generated for each playthrough, meaning their layouts and enemies are randomized. This design decision incentivizes repeat playthroughs since players will not be able to experience everything the game has to offer in a single run. And, just to be clear, Remnant 2 has a lot of content to offer. Along with a robust Archetype/class system that is tailor-made for co-op, the game has multiple unique worlds that are large semi-open hub areas filled with main missions along with some secondary content. Naturally, loot is also a big part of the experience, although it leans more into build and stat upgrades rather than endless weapons.