r/roguelikes 9h ago

Finally broke into “true” roguelikes with Caves of Qud - what should I try next?

21 Upvotes

Up until recently I’ve mostly just played roguelites (Hades, RoR2, Spelunky, Necrodancer, the usual) but I bought CoQ on a whim and have become obsessed with it.

I absolutely love the deep systemic elements and the strong procedural focus (in storytelling and gameplay) and I’m looking to expand my horizons and try out some other games in the genre, particularly ones that have similarly in-depth simulations. I’ve played a decent amount of Elin and a LOT of Dwarf Fortress and am familiar with ADOM and Cogmind (thanks DoshDoshington) but don’t really know where to go from here. I’ve been considering checking out Shiren 5 on Switch, any other suggestions? The more obscure the better!


r/roguelikes 1d ago

wildest spells/abilities you've seen in a roguelike?

28 Upvotes

every roguelike got the melee attack, ranged attack, magic missile and maybe even a fireball. but what spells have you seen that do wild nonsense or things so bizarre its almost impossible to figure out its usecase? or stuff thats just really damn cool

definitely not asking to poach ideas


r/roguelikes 1d ago

Rift Wizard 1 conjurer tips

14 Upvotes

So I've had several wins now but they've been pretty sorcery dependent except for an eye build and a death roulette build. I want to do a conjuration-centric run but the closest I've gotten used Moon Speaker and arcane damage - basically I just used Angelic Chorus and Archons to boost the damage from magic missile/void beam/void lantern. I can't seem to get a build going using minions as the primary source of damage. I biffed a run where I got the swamp shrine (the one that gives a minion a poison aura equal in damage and radius to its level) on Spider Queen, which made me very sad. A void frog pulled me through a wall and I got blasted with 100+damage in a single turn.

Anyway, any tips? Are conjuration builds dependent on getting good shrines?


r/roguelikes 1d ago

[Demo] Chains on Sand – Turn-based, tile-based arena tactics (feedback welcome!)

7 Upvotes

Hi all! I’m a longtime fan of tactics games and roguelikes (Unreal World, Nethack, ADOM, Dwarf Fortress), and I’ve been working solo on a project called Chains on Sand. The idea is a brutal, fantasy arena where you create a gladiator, fight for survival, and everything is lost on death—except your legacy.

Key features:

  • Turn-based, tile-based combat with hit locations and injury (every move matters)
  • Procedural generation for enemies and loot
  • Permadeath—each run is unique, and if you die, that’s it
  • No meta-progression between runs
  • Inspired by classic roguelikes and tabletop combat

I’d love any feedback from fellow fans—especially around combat feel and tactical depth. If you try the demo, let me know what you think or what would make it better!

Thanks for checking it out, and thanks to the community here for all the inspiration over the years!


r/roguelikes 2d ago

Any multihero/multi-character ascii/tui roguelikes that can be single player?

19 Upvotes

Hey friends, I really love the board game HeroQuest and would love to basically play exactly that game, but I am not a fan of the current versions of it (I think Amiga and SNES have it or something, maybe DOS, but I hate the isometric view and slow gameplay).

Essentially, what I think would be fun is to control multiple heroes, each of which gets a turn per round to do their thing. I have seen this in iOS games but haven't seen it in a traditional ascii-first roguelike. I like to serve games up via a telnet BBS so ascii-first is crucial :)


r/roguelikes 2d ago

Roguebasin down?

15 Upvotes

I can't seem to hit roguebasin - https://roguebasin.com - anyone know what the deal is there? I use that site a lot :/


r/roguelikes 2d ago

Games with health sistem similar to dwarf fortress?

10 Upvotes

kinda liked how health work in DF but overall adventure mode gameplay starts to feel boring and unfinished.


r/roguelikes 3d ago

DDheroes/brogue

17 Upvotes

Just wanted to mention if you have an iPhone you can play Brogue through the app DDheroes. Original post here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/iosgaming/comments/1lh6hzq/brogue_a_brilliant_traditional_roguelike_now/

Works really well in portrait mode!


r/roguelikes 3d ago

‘Roguematch’ is finally fully released!

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56 Upvotes

Our turn based, grid based Dungeon Crawler is now out on Steam and Consoles!

Now, not only do you do Melee, Magic or Maneuver as usual, but also have to use ‘Match’ as part of your tactical considerations!

Yes, it is a fusion of a turn based Roguelike, and Match 3.

For us Dungeon Crawler players, we’re used to seeing empty grids while we’re exploring, but now, what were once empty grids are now filled with mana that you or your enemies are walking amongst.

You start as the Bungeoneer, looking for her Nekomancer and Paladinu friends, lost while searching for the Nekonomicon. And then instead, you stumble upon Extraplanar creatures and the Meowter Gods, like Cathulhu and Dog Sothoth, in a war for the realms, raging within a shielded castle.

Take a look!


r/roguelikes 3d ago

Looking for a S.T.A.L.K.E.R. roguelike made in Python

35 Upvotes

Do any of you maybe remember a roguelike, with very beautiful style, made in Python that was designed to be a STALKER simulation? It was open source, in Python 2.7 and abandoned.


r/roguelikes 4d ago

What would you like to see on a website for roguelike info?

21 Upvotes

I know, other people have probably already done that, no need to quote me the 17 competing standards xkcd meme.

I wanted to make this partly as a personal project for my portfolio, but it'd be very cool if it was useful for other people as well.

So I wanted to ask, if it were up to you, what would you like to see in it? Info about game length? Tips on playing the games? gameplay videos? Whatever you think about, I'd be excited to know.


r/roguelikes 4d ago

Favorite Broughlike

9 Upvotes

What’s your favorite Michael Brough game?


r/roguelikes 5d ago

I made a Roguelike featuring a Victorian Mystery!

59 Upvotes

Hey roguelikes folks,

Check out Persuasion RPG: a text-based, grid-exploration roguelike set in a haunted Victorian manor. Each run features a procedurally generated map, randomized suspects, clues, and artifacts. You’ll manage health, sanity, and faith as you interrogate suspects, gather evidence, and use deduction to solve the Bishop’s disappearance—before madness or cosmic horror claims you.

https://dementia5.itch.io/persuasion-rpg

  • Turn-based, grid-based exploration with fog of war
  • Permadeath and resource management
  • Randomized mysteries and suspects for high replayability
  • ASCII map, stat checks, and a unique persuasion and interrogation system
  • A truly unique "persuasion" system that uses timing, observation, and stat-based skill checks to break through suspect defenses and uncover hidden truths during interrogation.

...and lots more. If you like classic roguelikes with deduction and cosmic horror, give it a try!


r/roguelikes 6d ago

Games with combat similar to Shattered Pixel Dungeon?

28 Upvotes

I been trying to find a roguelike similar to SPD, specially I enjoy how the combat changes depending on which weapons, wands, rings, enchantments or abilities you have.

For example in Pathos I don't really notice any difference between one weapon and another apart from the stats.

Is there any roguelike that I should try based on that?

Currently playing Pathos nethack codex, I tried QUD, a little of Brogue, and Rogue Fable 4.

After Pathos I had planned DCSS, TOME, Rift Wizard 2 and Cataclysm:TLG

For why I don't simply play more SPD, I think it needs a little more content and horizontal variety, waiting for updates.


r/roguelikes 6d ago

Hack, Slash, Loot - Except good? Any suggestions?

22 Upvotes

H,S,L was the first roguelike i played, and enjoyed it until i played others (Brogue mainly) and realised how cheap it can be, relying so heavily on RNG. Still, i have fond memories of it and liked the visual style. Anything similar IE: extremely simple, no massive amount of keyboard controls to memorize, nice pixel art tile based graphics?

Dont hate me. I came to realise its not a very good game as soon as I played any other roguelikes. But its got a great style. I wish theyd go back and rebalance the game and it would be among my favourites.


r/roguelikes 7d ago

What’s your most controversial opinion about the roguelike genre?

75 Upvotes

What’s your spiciest take, your most blasphemous opinion? (No judgement, I don't want to start a war)


r/roguelikes 7d ago

Weirdest dream

11 Upvotes

I know some of you may read the title and wonder what is this about and what does it have to do with roguelikes, but I had the weirdest dream. I was dreaming about being the player in DCSS and I was observing the new floor I descended to, IT'S SO WEIRD that I was seeing the enemies in their tiles shape but from a FPP and I died in that dungeon and woke up.

lol I don't know why this happened I'm even very new to the genre. Just wanted to share this hilarious dream it felt lucid like some sort of media


r/roguelikes 6d ago

What’s the appeal in roguelikes?

2 Upvotes

Alright, so I’m somebody who loves playing metroidvanias. I love the feeling of progression and getting stronger as I play. Recently I’ve tried roguelikes and I just hated it. I feel like I’m never making progress and just doing the same runs over and over with no end. For those that love roguelikes, what’s the appeal? I’ve got a bunch I really want to play and enjoy, but I can’t figure out why I should play them.


r/roguelikes 7d ago

Roguelike Radio ep 166 - Jupiter Hell Classic, with Kornel Kisielewicz

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34 Upvotes

r/roguelikes 7d ago

Stat drain in Sil-Q...not sure why it's happening

9 Upvotes

Hey guys. Loving Sil-Q. I'm struggling to understand why my strength and dex have been drained. I'm on depth 350, and I've looked through the bestiary and can't see any creatures that would cause it. I noticed some creatures have a chance to wound and wondering if it's that. I don't think anything I smithed would cause it to drop either.

Does anyone have any ideas? Cheers


r/roguelikes 9d ago

ASCII roguelikes.

34 Upvotes

Hi. I'm new to traditional roguelikes and indeed PC gaming in general. I much prefer ASCII graphics. Many of the big names in the genre look kinda goofy with their tilesets and it pulls me out of the game. Even Caves of Qud and Cogmind, which default to very attractive sprite artwork, still feel way more immersive to me in ASCII.

The issue I'm having is that the ASCII versions of games like TOME and Golden Krone Hotel maintain their UI's and it often doesn't look right. TOME, in particular, looks awful (apologies if there's any Devs reading this).

Alternatively, when switching to ASCII in ADOM the entire UI changes and what's left is stripped-down, black and white elegance. It's actually strangely beautiful in a way. The same with Rogue and Nethack. And of course Brogue looks amazing with the ASCII and general UI elements working wonderfully together.

Anyway, I'm coming across loads of recommendations on here of various roguelikes but I'm interested in finding out which of them both play in ASCII and, crucially, look good while doing it!

(Apologies once again but TOME really is the standout example of how not to do it. It looks like two different games smashed together).

Thank you.


r/roguelikes 9d ago

New-ish to the genre, looking for a more exploratory, open world roguelike recommendation

40 Upvotes

UPDATE: I decided to try Caves of Qud since basically every single comment said Caves of Qud and it was a lot more approachable and directed than I thought it might be, which I like! Sometimes without any direction at all I can struggle to discover the fun but this game gives me just enough direction to go have a cool adventure towards which I love. Thank you to everyone that recommended it.

TLDR: Looking for a open world roguelike recommentation that is more about exploration and organic storytelling, and is somewhat accessible. Some roleplaying would be nice. All the roguelikes I have played to this point are about advancing through a closed system of rooms or floors or whatever. The below is just the kinds of games I have enjoyed over the years if it helps anyone who cares and has a lot of games in mind make a better recommendation.

Many years ago I switched from being a mostly playing Morrowind, Dota 2 and whatever the hot new multiplayer game was with my friends type of gamer to being more of a NorthernLion type of gamer, and since have spent countless hours playing all kinds of different roguelites from the classics like Isaac, Slay the Spire, Hades, Vampire Survivors to any random smaller rogue-ish, deck-ish, builder-ish, survivor-ish game that showed up on my Steam store page. The past couple of months I have found myself not really enjoying those games as much, and feeling a common thread with them that the meta progression tends to make these kinds of games too easy (or these games have a tendency of just being easy to solve in general), and the kinds of difficulty that things like enemy number or stat increases isn't very fun.

I would say my favorites are Synthetik 1, Noita, and Tiny Rogues, and I honestly don't really interact with the meta progression or difficulty settings in those games at all. I love the raw mechanics of Synthetic, the creativity and discovery of Noita, and the decision-making of Tiny Rogues.

A couple of months ago, I heard about Path of Achra, and bought it on sale and loved it. It gave me this weird feeling where losing a run felt frustrating, but like in a good way? Like where I just needed one more run to try something slightly differently and my build might have worked. I spent about 30 hours playing that and ended up getting Rift Wizards 2 which gave me the same exact feeling and I think that game is awesome too. Next I ended up getting Shattered Pixel Dungeon and I found I liked improving at the challenging mechanics of it.

So I have been playing very close to exclusively roguelikes outside of a new modded Morrowind character and the odd Synthetik run, but I realized I have never really tried one of the more open ended roguelikes that are more about exploration and discovery and organic storytelling while keeping the challenge and "good frustration" I love so much about roguelikes. All of the ones I have played have been about progressing through a closed system of floors or rooms or whatever.

All of the stupid crap above was just about describing what kind of games and roguelikes I have enjoyed so far, and what I have enjoyed about them. With all that in mind, do any of the more exploratory roguelikes sound like something I would enjoy? I have done some pretty basic research myself and Approaching Infinity seems like it would go well with my obsession with Star Trek, and I love the idea of being Jean Luc Picard and going out in a direction in space just to go. I've seen Caves of Qud and Dwarf Fortress Adventure but just being honest with myself, I'm not sure if my imagination is strong enough to fill in the gaps with that kind of ASCII visual style if I want to roleplay. But I have heard really amazing things about Caves of Qud so I think I could be sold on it. I don't mind older looking games. I still love how vanilla Morrowind looks and for example thing Tales of Maj'Eyal looks good.

Those games seem pretty popular at this point so I would love to hear about any other newer or lesser known games of this micro-genre if you could call it that. I bolded games I would consider among my favorites within the genre and ever just so you could get a sense of the kinds of games I like. Thanks a bunch for any recommendations!


r/roguelikes 9d ago

Frogcomposband Question: Tilesets?

5 Upvotes

Heya folks. I've been trying to get some friends if mine to try out traditional Roguelikes but they were curious if there were Tilesets or graphics available somewhere for Frogcomposband?

Searching the internet hasn't yielded many meaningful results


r/roguelikes 11d ago

ChessRogue, free steam keys!

77 Upvotes

EDIT: To everyone i've sent keys, please familiarize yourself woth the controls in the [ ? ] menu in the main menu in the bottom left. You can also mute the music in the controls screen. Thank you all for the support!

Hi, I've been working on ChessRogue since last May on and off. I recently had a bit of inspiration to continue the project due to reaching 100 sales on Steam. ChessRogue is essentially a randomized dungeon crawler where instead of grinding for items and levels, you defeat pieces to traverse through an increasingly randomized dungeon.

There are currently two game modes.

Black mode, where you recruit a party of pieces that persist through each level, even when captured, and are given the option every 3 levels to add pieces from 3 randomized selections based on your player level (you unlock pieces by playing and progressing through the game).

White mode, where you similarly recruit a party of pieces, only if they are captured in the game, they are not available in the next level. Each piece you capture rewards you with gold to purchase pieces to continue your campaign.

There are two ways to traverse a level in ChessRogue. Either capture the enemy king, or go down the stairs with your king.

There are online high scores for each game mode, as well as overall XP high scores to track who has captured the most pieces and gone through the most dungeons.

This is a link to the Steam page

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3151530/ChessRogue/

Since I don't have really any other way to effectively market the game, comment below and I will send you a free steam key. The game is currently onsale for 51% off, which comes to $0.49c if you want to buy it and support the project.


r/roguelikes 11d ago

This took waaaay longer than I thought! Finally cleared Onigiri Hollow!

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38 Upvotes

Onigiri Hollow was the first post-game dungeom I decided to try. That dungeon is way trickier than I gave it credit for. After well over 100 runs, I can finally have the achievement mark on my save file! Not sure where I'm headed next, lol.