Best Roguelike Games for PS5 & PS4 (2026)

The best roguelike games on PS5 and PS4 are Hades, Balatro and Returnal, three very different takes on the run-based, start-over loop that has become one of gaming's defining ideas. This list ranks 15 genuine PlayStation roguelikes and roguelites across every subgenre the form has grown into: action roguelikes, roguevanias, deckbuilders, bullet-hells, survivors-likes, RPG roguelikes and co-op roguelite shooters. Every pick earns its place on what it does with permadeath and procedural generation, not on a loose genre tag.

By Ugur Saritepe · Updated Jun 28, 2026

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15 games found

1Hades
Best overall

Hades

4.8(18,448)2021
PS+ TrialPS Plus PremiumESRB Teenfantasy
GreatReview analysis

Overall, players have overwhelmingly praised Hades for its addictive gameplay, engaging story, and beautiful art style. While some reviewers expressed frustration with aspects of the roguelike format, the majority celebrated its character progression and replayability, indicating that it successfully captivates both genre enthusiasts and newcomers. However, a small minority found the game repetitive and expressed dissatisfaction with certain gameplay mechanics.

Why it's here: Death is the narrative engine, not the fail state: each time Zagreus falls escaping the Underworld he wakes back home to fresh dialogue, a shifting family drama, and a permanent upgrade. For players who usually resent a run reset, the question is whether that story scaffolding redeems the repetition or merely dresses it up.

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2Balatro
Best deckbuilder

Balatro

4.6(20,062)2024
PS+ TrialPS Plus PremiumESRB Everyone 10+fantasy
GreatReview analysis

Overall, players find "Balatro" to be an incredibly addictive and enjoyable game, praising its unique blend of poker mechanics and roguelike elements. While the game is lauded for its fun gameplay loop and variety, some critics express concerns regarding RNG reliance and some design aspects that might lead to frustration.

Why it's here: The weapons here are a poker deck, and winning means breaking it: every run hunts Joker cards whose effects stack into score multipliers that spiral past reason. For deckbuilders who live for the perfect snowball, the open loop is whether the luck powering it is the thrill or the catch.

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3Returnal
Best on PS5

Returnal

4.4(25,745)2021
PS+ ExtraCo-op: 2PS Plus ExtraESRB Teensci-fi
MixedReview analysis

Overall, player feedback for Returnal reflects a strong appreciation for its challenging gameplay, stunning graphics, and engaging audio design, although many also express frustration with technical issues, particularly on PC. The game's difficulty and roguelike mechanics receive mixed reactions, with some players finding them rewarding while others view them as punishing and tedious.

Why it's here: Sony handed a genre of scrappy indies a blockbuster budget: a third-person bullet-hell where the alien world of Atropos and Selene's arsenal reshuffle on every death. It is built for players who want runs that genuinely hurt, with hours sometimes riding on a single cycle. Whether that pressure thrills or exhausts is the real divide.

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4The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
Most popular

The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth

4.6(75,444)2014
ESRB Maturedark
GreatReview analysis

Overall player feedback for The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth is overwhelmingly positive, with players praising its addictive gameplay, extensive replayability, and variety of items. Despite a few criticisms concerning balance and RNG elements, the community largely appreciates the game's unique charm and depth. Many reviewers highlight their long playtime and continuous enjoyment of the game, indicating a deep connection with its mechanics and thematic elements.

Why it's here: Isaac flees into the basement after his mother, hearing the voice of God, comes for him with a knife. The twin-stick dungeon crawler that follows hands out hundreds of grotesque pickups that rewrite his body and tears, so no two runs play alike. Whether its cruelty and RNG reward years of study or wear thin is the open question.

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5Dead Cells
Best roguevania

Dead Cells

4.7(15,508)2018
PS+ ExtraPS Plus ExtraESRB Teenfantasy
GreatReview analysis

Players seem overwhelmingly positive about Dead Cells, highlighting its addictive gameplay, rewarding combat mechanics, and replayability. While some reviews point out frustrations with difficulty and repetitiveness, the majority reflect a high level of enjoyment and recommendation for the game.

Why it's here: A roguevania that bolts Metroidvania traversal onto roguelike runs: permadeath wipes each build at death, yet the map keys and movement unlocks earned along the way persist, widening where the next attempt goes. Built for players who want twitch-fast combat and the freedom to bail on a level mid-run. The tension it leaves is simple: does the loop stay electric, or does repetition catch up?

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6Slay the Spire
Best card battler

Slay the Spire

4.5(10,325)2019
ESRB Teenfantasy
GoodReview analysis

Overall, players widely praise 'Slay the Spire' for its addicting gameplay, strategic depth, and character variety, making it a standout title in the roguelike deckbuilding genre. However, there are notable criticisms regarding its difficulty, RNG elements, and some technical issues that impact the experience for a minority of players.

Why it's here: Every climb deals a fresh pile of cards and a procedurally shuffled tower, so the deck that survives is one assembled mid-run rather than brought in ready-made. It fused collectible-card combat with roguelike permadeath and effectively invented the subgenre. Whether its relentless RNG reads as fair or cruel is the argument that never settles.

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7Vampire Survivors
Highest rated

Vampire Survivors

4.9(12,923)2024
PS+ TrialCo-op: 4PS Plus PremiumESRB Teenhorror
GreatReview analysis

Overall, players are overwhelmingly positive about Vampire Survivors, praising its addictive gameplay, extensive content, and excellent value for money. Many enjoyed the simple yet engaging mechanics that promote a satisfying progression loop, despite some noting occasional repetitions and minor bugs. Overall, it stands out as a must-have title within its genre, with players highly recommending it for both new and seasoned gamers.

Why it's here: What the player does here is steer, and nothing else: weapons fire on their own while a single character threads a thickening swarm and the build snowballs underneath. It birthed the survivors-like wave and won a BAFTA at a pocket-money price. Whether that auto-piloted minimalism reads as genius or too thin is the question this list keeps circling.

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8Enter the Gungeon
Best bullet-hell

Enter the Gungeon

4.5(23,988)2016
Co-op: 2ESRB Teenunderground
GoodReview analysis

Overall, player feedback for 'Enter the Gungeon' is highly positive, with many praising its engaging gameplay, unique weaponry, and replayability despite noting a steep learning curve. While a significant number of players express frustration towards its difficulty and steep learning curve, the majority of comments highlight the game's charm and fun factor especially for fans of the genre.

Why it's here: The treasure at the bottom is a gun that can erase your own past, and earning it means dodge-rolling through curtains of fire spat by a cult of sentient ammunition. It rewards pattern memory over twitch reflex, built for players who read death as a lesson. Whether the grind toward unlocks earns that payoff is the open question.

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9Inscryption
Best roguelike-horror

Inscryption

4.7(12,800)2022
PS+ TrialPS Plus PremiumESRB Maturehorror
GreatReview analysis

Overall feedback for Inscryption is overwhelmingly positive, with players expressing deep enjoyment for the gameplay, visuals, and unique blend of mechanics, particularly praising its creativity and engaging atmosphere. Many have described it as a revolutionary card game experience that's more than meets the eye, with intricate elements that keep them invested.

Why it's here: A candlelit cabin table, a deck drafted from woodland creatures, and an unseen opponent who deals the cards and narrates his own rules. It is built for roguelike players who want a run carrying real dread. The deckbuilding, though, is only the surface: this one refuses to stay a single kind of game, and finding out why is the draw.

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10Cult of the Lamb
Best roguelike hybrid

Cult of the Lamb

4.5(21,195)2022
PS+ TrialCo-op: 2PS Plus PremiumESRB Teenfantasy
GoodReview analysis

Overall, player feedback for Cult of the Lamb is predominantly positive, with many praising its charming visuals and engaging gameplay loops that combine roguelike mechanics with cult management. However, some players expressed frustration with repetitiveness in gameplay and issues with base management. Players are generally excited about the game, its mechanics, and the community surrounding it, though some critiques hint at gameplay flaws that can diminish the experience for a few.

Why it's here: Every dungeon crusade here is really a supply run for the cult waiting at home, where a flock of woodland followers needs feeding, converting, and occasionally sacrificing. The roguelike combat is the engine; the management sim is the point. For players who came for the macabre charm, the question is whether the fighting earns its keep.

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11Risk of Rain 2
Best co-op

Risk of Rain 2

4.5(11,805)2019
PS+ ExtraCo-op: 4PS Plus ExtraESRB Teensci-fi
GreatReview analysis

Overall player feedback for Risk of Rain 2 is extremely positive, with many praising its unique gameplay mechanics, engaging music, and replayability. However, there are mixed feelings regarding the game's multiplayer balance and difficulty, as some players find it frustrating and repetitive after extended play. The positive experiences are noticeably more prevalent than the negative ones, indicating a strong player satisfaction.

Why it's here: The clock is the enemy here: difficulty climbs the longer a run lasts, so every minute spent hunting loot also tightens the noose. A 3D action roguelike where 110-plus items stack without a cap, built for a squad of up to four online. Whether that escalation thrills or grinds players down is the run's real question.

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12Darkest Dungeon
Best RPG roguelike

Darkest Dungeon

4.7(12,004)2016
ESRB Teendark
GoodReview analysis

Overall, player feedback on Darkest Dungeon is largely positive, highlighting its challenging mechanics, unique atmosphere, and engaging gameplay. However, several players express frustration with the game's reliance on RNG elements and the steep learning curve, leading to a divide in opinion. While many recommend the game for its depth and replayability, others find its difficulty and mechanics overly punishing.

Why it's here: A gothic turn-based dungeon crawler where the real enemy isn't eldritch horrors but a party's nerves: heroes accumulate stress until they crack into paranoia or masochism, and death is permanent. Built for strategists who treat a wiped roster as a lesson rather than a tragedy. Whether its punishing RNG reads as honest tension or cheap cruelty splits the genre's faithful.

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13Remnant II®
Best shooter roguelite

Remnant II®

4.3(20,758)2023
Co-op: 3ESRB Maturefantasy
MixedReview analysis

Overall, players' feedback on Remnant II is highly polarized, with many praising its gameplay mechanics, exploration, and co-op capabilities, while a significant portion of reviews express strong dissatisfaction with the story quality, optimization issues, and gameplay repetitiveness. The game is particularly commended for its customization and replayability, yet criticized for technical problems and a lack of narrative depth.

Why it's here: Finish the campaign and the world resets: Remnant II reshuffles its zones, bosses and loot on every reroll, so a soulslike built around precise third-person gunplay also leans on roguelite-style replay. It's aimed at a trio chasing new Archetype builds online. Whether that procedural variety offsets a thin story is the open question.

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14Rogue Legacy 2
Best for newcomers

Rogue Legacy 2

4.3(2,408)2023
ESRB Everyone 10+fantasy
GreatReview analysis

Overall, player feedback on Rogue Legacy 2 is overwhelmingly positive, with users praising its addictive gameplay, diverse mechanics, and improved graphics over the original. Many appreciate the challenge it presents while still offering a rewarding progression system. A small fraction of reviews express frustration with some elements of gameplay pacing and complexity.

Why it's here: Each death promotes a fresh heir, a descendant with randomly inherited quirks that range from useful to absurd, and the family castle keeps every upgrade the last one bought. Pitched as the entry point for roguelike newcomers, it lets struggling players bend the rules until the climb feels fair, blurring where tailored difficulty ends and earned mastery begins.

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15Spelunky 2
Best platformer

Spelunky 2

4.5(2,651)2025
Co-op: 4ESRB Teenexploration
GoodReview analysis

Overall, players are overwhelmingly positive about Spelunky 2, praising its challenging gameplay, beautiful design, and high replayability. However, there are notable criticisms regarding its difficulty and some issues with multiplayer functionality. Despite these concerns, the game is widely regarded as a standout sequel in the roguelike genre.

Why it's here: A dropped bomb, a spooked shopkeeper, a dislodged boulder: in this platformer every trap, creature and object obeys the same rules, so the cave's chain reactions feel authored by the player rather than dealt by the game. Built for anyone who wants a roguelike that earns each death honestly, it leaves open whether that honesty reads as fair or cruel.

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What Makes a Great Roguelike

A roguelike builds its whole appeal on starting over: each run is procedurally generated, death is permanent, and progress comes from what the player learns rather than what they keep. The distinction fans argue over is roguelike versus roguelite, where a roguelite softens the reset with permanent upgrades that carry between runs. This list includes both, because on a controller the line between them rarely changes how a game feels. The 15 picks span the subgenres the form has branched into: action roguelikes like Hades and Returnal, the roguevania Dead Cells, deckbuilders like Balatro, Slay the Spire and Inscryption, the survivors-like that Vampire Survivors started, bullet-hells like Enter the Gungeon and The Binding of Isaac, the RPG attrition of Darkest Dungeon, the management hybrid Cult of the Lamb, and co-op runs in Risk of Rain 2 and Remnant II. Several, including Returnal, Dead Cells and Risk of Rain 2, have been included with PS Plus Extra.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is a roguelike game?
A roguelike is a game built around short, self-contained runs that are procedurally generated, where death is permanent and sends the player back to the start. The name traces to the 1980 dungeon crawler Rogue. The appeal is mastery through repetition: each failed run teaches something that makes the next one go further. Hades, Dead Cells and Spelunky 2 are clear examples on PlayStation.
What is the difference between a roguelike and a roguelite?
The difference is what carries between runs. A pure roguelike resets almost everything on death, so progress lives mainly in the player's skill and knowledge. A roguelite keeps some permanent upgrades, currency or unlocks that make later runs easier, softening the restart. By that definition Hades, Dead Cells and Rogue Legacy 2 are roguelites, while Spelunky 2 and The Binding of Isaac sit closer to the strict roguelike end. In practice the labels blur, and this list includes both.
What is the best roguelike game on PS5?
Hades is the best roguelike on PS5, an action roguelike that turns every death into story progress and pairs fast Olympian combat with an award-winning narrative. Balatro is the best deckbuilder, Returnal is the best big-budget roguelike, and Vampire Survivors is the best pick-up-and-play survivors-like. Every game on this list is playable with a DualSense.
What is the best roguelike for beginners?
Rogue Legacy 2 is the most beginner-friendly roguelike on this list: permanent castle upgrades and adjustable house rules let new players ease into the difficulty. Hades is also welcoming, since its God Mode gradually raises the player's resilience after repeated deaths, and Balatro rewards patience over reflexes. These three are the gentlest entry points into the genre.
Are there roguelike games on PS Plus?
Yes. Several roguelikes rotate through the PS Plus Extra and Premium catalogs. Returnal, Dead Cells and Risk of Rain 2 have all been included with PS Plus Extra, and Vampire Survivors has appeared in the Premium tier. Check our PS Plus Extra games page to see which roguelikes are currently included before buying them separately.
What is the best roguelike deckbuilder on PS5?
Balatro and Slay the Spire are the best roguelike deckbuilders on PS5. Balatro reinvents the form around poker hands and score-multiplying Joker cards, while Slay the Spire is the title that defined the subgenre, building a deck card by card up a procedurally shuffled tower. Inscryption is a strong third, wrapping its deckbuilding in an unsettling mystery.