3 Incredible Rogue-Like Games You Need To Try Out!

A Rogue-Like with a clear fondness for the timeless classics of fairytale and folktale icons, Ravenswatch brings forth an incredibly fun take on characters like Little Red Riding Hood, The Pied Piper, and Beowulf. With a visual style akin to League of Legends, Dota 2, and Heroes of the Storm, their quick and fluid combat mechanics offer a distinctly different feel than Halls of Torment. So if you prefer a more ability-focused style of gameplay, Ravenswatch may be more your speed.

A gripping story with gorgeous cutscenes and wonderfully voice-acted characters, Ravenswatch wants you to feel more connected to the world that is plagued by Nightmares that threaten to spread their corruption. You begin every run within a temporally-locked platform where you are introduced to the Sandman, the key merchant for all your upgrade needs. The moment you step foot beyond his little bubble, the game starts. You must travel the randomly generated map, finding mini-quests, health shrines, and quick-travel locations, all the while vanquishing the horrors that await you with weapons and claws eagerly drawn.

The run will go through a day and night cycle, causing cool variations in enemy aggression as well as character-specific changes. For example, Scarlet (Little Red Riding Hood) will change between her human and werewolf form during these day/night cycles. By day, she’s a quick-stepping, dagger-happy rogue. By night, she becomes a mountain of flesh and fur, slashing away with bloody claws and pouncing on her unfortunate prey.

Should you survive, you are met with the boss-battle at the end of the run, where your skills will be tested, and your accomplishments pre-battle will prove vital. Upon slaying this vile Nightmare Boss that threatens their world, you will progress to new locations, fight more fierce enemies, and be pushed to hone your skills further. And when you inevitably succumb to the Nightmare’s efforts, you will start to unlock character-specific voice entries that add to the lore and your understanding of these heroes who face the nightmares head-on. With a respectable Steam price of $24.99 for the base game ($29.99 PlayStation & Xbox) and new hero and skin DLCs, you’re in for a nightmare of a time.

#3 Tesla Force

Now, if Diablo II or fairytales aren’t your thing, then perhaps a bit of Lovecraftian cosmic horror tickles your fancy? How about the legend himself, Nikola Tesla? The Iconic Mary Shelly? Tesla Force is a rogue-like with a very unique take on the already varied genre, and with the fast-paced nature of its gameplay loop, you’re in for a twin-stick shooter’s dream. Endless hordes, an interesting teleporting mechanic, and multiple weapons to choose from make the game super easy to get into and start laying waste to the out-of-this-world enemies that dare stand in your path.

You follow a fairly straightforward story where you travel between locations you’ll recognize if you’ve read any of H.P. Lovecraft’s work. Each stage is uniquely generated and offers one of a few types of objectives to complete before moving on to the next stage. Oh, and did I mention you start each stage operating a sick mech with dual rapid-fire guns? No? Well, it’s not forever, as it will eventually self-destruct. But not to worry! If you’re skilled at weaving in and out of the hordes that chase you down, you can collect the components to rebuild your mech for another short burst of carnage!

With a fun, stylized aesthetic of glowing greens and purples, hilariously over-the-top upgrades and abilities, there’s a chance that you may need to lower your graphics settings if you’re playing the PC version. I’ve personally only played the PS5 version, and let me tell you, when I pick up several stacks of fire ammo, the impressive lightshow that ensues is nothing short of jaw-dropping. Bonus points if you happen to pick up Slow-mo as well. You’ll feel like you’re in some bullet-time haven of beautiful annihilation.

While I was able to effectively “beat” the game, having finished the relatively short storyline and upgrading everything, it’s still more than worth the $16.99 on Steam, PlayStation, and Xbox. And with a split-screen co-op mode, there’s bound to be a lot of hours of fun and destruction to be had.