2024 has been an amazing year for roguelikes

The roguelike genre has grown from a relative niche to something much bigger. Roguelike games can be notoriously hard to crack into; they generally have a high difficulty meaning you’ll be banging your head against a wall as you learn how to play the game, figure out what strategies work best in the procedurally generated levels, and figure out how to overcome tough or challenging enemies. 2024 showed that the genre was not only a commercial force through hits like Hades II and Balatruand also that a roguelike could be almost anything: from a poker variant to a flashy multiplayer action game.

They talk about Balatruhe was undoubtedly one of, if not himthe best games of the year. The game is extremely easy to pick up because of its roots in traditional poker hand building, but every time feels very different because of the clever and sometimes super powerful joker cards that can give massive bonuses. The game is a perfect mix of skill, risk and a bit of luck, and it feels so good when you find a strategy that completely stacks the chips in your favor. I think I will play Balatru for years to come, especially with everything cooking for the game next major update. And now that game it’s out on the phoneI can play wherever I want.

That is, when I’m not dipping my toes in Hades II. The game, which is still in early access, is shaping up to be a worthy successor Adeand is undoubtedly more completely complete than many finished titles. I have already put in more than 30 hours Hades II, and I feel like I still have a lot to unlock and master, but I’ve intentionally kept playing more so that I don’t burn out on the game before it reaches v1.0. I just won the new boss in the the most recent major update just once before deciding that was enough.

There are a couple of other roguelikes that I loved and I want to put more time, but I am not because of the volume of other games in the genre to check. Shogun Showdownwhich is all about tactics and positions, it does you feel like a genius showing the future. I really liked getting a handle on the game’s weapons and items so that I could pull off well-planned combos against waves of enemies.

The windthe new roguelike from Dead cells creators Motion Twin, takes a lot of what it does Dead cells large and translate into 3D. The weapons are varied, satisfying, and can combine well with each other. The game’s biomes are creative and fun to explore, with lots of angles. But where The wind really shines is its multiplayer – until I play the game, I have no idea how good roguelikes could be with friends. As well as Ade, The wind it’s still in early access, so I’m looking forward to playing it a lot more next year as Motion Twin makes major updates.

And those are just the new roguelikes I’ve been able to put time into this year. There are also a bunch more that I want to play or have just touched that look extremely promising. Vampire Survivors to get two Major crossover DLC I want to dig: one with Contra and one with Castlevania. (I only played a couple of rounds of the Castlevania expansion, and I was tickled at how big the map was.) And as I speak Vampire Survivors: : Torment roomwhich is kind of like Vampire Survivors mixed with an old school Diablo the aesthetic, left early access, and I want to check what has changed since I dabbled in it last year.

The Rogue Prince of Persiaa roguelike version of the classic Prince of Persia action and platforming, it’s an example of how big publishers like Ubisoft are jumping into the genre – and it seems like something that’s right up my alley. Rogue is another early access roguelike on this list, but it’s received a lot of big updates since its launch in May, including a significant update in November which revamped the art style and added new biomes, bosses and more. I should also mention that Rogue as well has a Dead cells connection: it is made by Evil Empire, the studio that has worked on many Dead cells updates and DLC, which gives me a lot of faith that they will do a great job of shepherding the game to its eventual full launch.

Heck, 2024 was such a big year for roguelikes that even the classic 2014 U Binding of Isaac: Rebirth had a significant new DLC update that added online multiplayer.

The huge amount of great roguelikes only this year shows that the framework of the genre offers many ways to make interesting games. I especially appreciate how they are usually more digestible than the blockbuster era. Next year has some promising roguelikes like Slay the Spire 2 and Hyper Light Breakerbut I know I’ll be returning to a bunch of 2024’s excellent roguelikes again and again – well, after just one more Balatru.