Recently,the roguelike/rogue-lite genre has exploded with popularity, thanks to their ever-changing dungeon crawler-like gameplay, randomly-generated maps, and often the permanent death of the playable character. Their highly addictive nature makes them a blast for players to sink hours into with their replayability.
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Horror roguelike games are entirely in a league of their own, featuring difficult learning experiences that allow players to apply their prior knowledge to their next playthrough, delving deeper into brutal and challenging landscapes. Thebest roguelike horror gameskeep players on the edge of their seats with an adrenaline kick from surviving macabre worlds and living to see another day.
Dead Estateis a gruesome roguelike shooter with blood, guts, and gore galore as players must ascend a spiraling mansion filled with plenty of monsters. With its fluid animation and quant pixel art, there are eight different playable characters, each with its unique aesthetic and playstyle.
Ascend the many floors of theDead Estate, each with a compacted and claustrophobic design for intense close-quarters combat for that adrenaline rush. The rooms are locked until all the aggressive creatures in the room have been vanquished. There’s an extensive arsenal of over 90 weapons and 200 other items to make each run different, adding to the replay value.
7Monstrum
Monstrumis acompact and claustrophobic survival horror gamereminiscent of stealth games likeAlien: Isolation.Players will be isolated on a cargo ship in the middle of the ocean, only they are not alone. One of three unique monsters will be aboard the boat, each with different behaviors and attack patterns. Planning a direct attack or hiding and utilizing stealth, players need to plot their escape route carefully.
Scavenging for tools and other scarce resources, the player must use their wits to outsmart the creature and find their way to freedom with one of three potential escape routes.Monstrumfocuses on intense replay valueas the ship’s interior environment and item locations change with each new playthrough.
6Don’t Starve
Don’t Starveis a twisted survival horror game that thrusts players straight into a gothic Lovecraftian wilderness where survival is their only option. Everything poses a dangerous threat. Utilizingan immersive day-night cycle, the player must search for food sources and valuable resources to craft life-saving tools during the day, and fend off dark Eldritch horrors that lurk in the shadows at night.
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As with most roguelike games, each world inDon’t Starveis procedurally generated, so no two playthroughs are the same. Add the additional threat that death is permanent and, frustratingly, players must start again from scratch.
5The Guise
Who said curiosity killed the cat? InThe Guise, players take control of a little orphan named Ogden, who disobeys his headmistress and pokes his nose where it doesn’t belong inside a forbidden room, transforming into a feral four-legged beast.
Inthis gothic-inspired Metroidvania roguelike, players must cling to their last shreds of humanity as danger lurks everywhere. Using their new monstrous abilities to evolve and grow stronger while uncovering the truth about this eerie world, players can collect eyeballs as currency to upgrade their powers with the Eye Collector.
4Binding Of Isaac: Rebirth
Based on the biblical tale of the same name,TheBinding Of Isaac: Rebirthfollows the titular character Isaac as he attempts to escape his mothers' plans to sacrifice him. Unfortunately for Isaac, his mothers' basement becomes a sprawling labyrinthian landscape, as dangers and other fearsome creatures lurk in every room.
Using his tears as weapons, the player cancollect additional upgrades and other useful itemsto become more powerful and kill their way through the randomized dungeon rooms, defeating bosses and even Isaac’s mother to reach their freedom. Each run ofThe Binding Of Isaac: Rebirthallows new upgrades and other characters to be unlocked.
3World Of Horror
Inspired by classic Lovecraftian horror and Junji Ito manga artwork,World Of Horrorfeatures a nightmarish roguelike experience withturn-based combat systemsand grotesque 1-bit artwork to really get under the players' skin.
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Heavilyinfluenced by the nuanced art of cosmic horror,World Of Horror’s detailed setting is Shiokawa, Japan, as supernatural occurrences mysteriously plague the town. Using old-school point-and-click adventure mechanics andRPG elements, the player takes on an investigative role as they must solve a series of mysteries to try and prevent the fast-approaching doomsday.World Of Horroris a horror RPG not to be missed and is currently in Early Access.
2Eyes In The Dark
In thisironically dark rogue-lite platformerset in a monochromatic England, players take control of a young girl named Victoria Bloom. She must fight against the encroaching darkness that threatens to overrun the Bloom Manor, wielding her flashlight as her primary weapon.
Eyes In The Darkhas many powerful perks and weapon upgrades for players to peruse, discovering synergies that can efficiently dispatch their enemies. Bloom Manor’s environments evolve with every run, allowing hours of intense gameplay as the foes become deadlier the further players progress.
1Cult Of The Lamb
Cult Of The Lambis a deceptively adorable yet somewhat dark horror roguelike game, taking inspiration fromThe Binding Of Isaac. Players take control of a possessed sacrificial Lamb andrecruit a cult followingdedicated to the mysterious divine presence known as ‘The One Who Waits.’ The goal is to recruit as many devoted followers as possible.
Weaving whimsical cartoon cuteness in randomly generated environments with Eldritch terrors,Cult Of The Lambis an entirely unique roguelike experience. Playersperform dark rituals to appease their deitiesand defeat rival cult leaders to absorb their powers on their journey to become the mighty lamb god to rule them all.
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