Roguelikes have seen a recent resurgence with phenomenal titles injecting life back into the genre, with the likes of Returnal, Darkest Dungeon, and Don't Starve being among the top of the list. But, unfortunately, roguelikes are often extraordinarily challenging games, which can be incredibly frustrating to newcomers to the genre.

However, the good news is that there are plenty of excellent roguelikes out there that are a perfect entry point for beginners to dip their toes in. There's nothing quite like having a roguelike finally click, which only needs to happen once to have you hooked to the genre for life.

Updated March 29, 2024 by Jacob Whaling: We've added even more games to this list, further expanding your options for beginner-friendly roguelikes you can try out.

17 Enter The Gungeon

Enter the Gungeon is a pixelated roguelike game that seamlessly blends bullet-hell chaos with quirky humor. In this challenging dungeon crawler, you embark on a relentless quest for the fabled Gun That Can Kill the Past. The game's allure lies in its vast array of imaginative firearms, each with unique, often humorous effects.

Its procedurally generated levels keep every playthrough fresh, ensuring a constant test of skill. As you dodge intricate bullet patterns, face diverse enemies, and conquer epic bosses, the adrenaline rush is undeniable. With its clever blend of challenge and charm, Enter the Gungeon is a must-play for any gamer seeking an exhilarating, unpredictable experience.

16 Into The Breach

Into the Breach is a turn-based roguelike strategy that nails everything it aims to accomplish. Not only is Into the Breach one of the most accessible roguelikes out there, but it is also one of the most approachable strategy games as well.

Into the Breach is an excellent jumping-on point for beginners of every genre it expertly blends together. The combat is straightforward while maintaining a complex depth hidden beneath its surface that you don't have to explore to find success. Its turn-based nature lets you take each encounter at your own pace, making you feel in control of most situations.

15 Slay The Spire

Another genre-mixing roguelike is Slay the Spire, a deck-building game with intense action and a thoughtful story. You will have to work your way up a tower by fighting many different monsters in the process. While the game will get unbearably hard in the late stages, you will likely have the deck-building concepts and decisions down by then.

Additionally, Slay the Spire throws in several choices to make along the journey that give you a sense of agency over the story and outcome of the adventure. With multiple branching paths to choose from when working your way up the tower, you can stumble into a shop, campfire, or formidable foe, making each decision feel high-stakes and crucial to the run.

14 Dead Cells

It could be a hard sell to some when it comes to Dead Cells, as you are expected to die many times throughout your time with the game. However, that's what makes this particular roguelike accessible and unique. Unlike most roguelikes, Dead Cells allows you to keep some upgrades and abilities across different runs, alleviating some of the pressure that comes with the genre.

With Dead Cells' unique approach to death, you will feel a consistent sense of progression and be more willing to explore and take more risks as you reach new areas. Besides being a roguelike, Dead Cells also mixes in the world design of a Metroidvania with the combat of a fast-paced hack-and-slash for a gripping experience.

13 Loop Hero

Loop Hero has a brilliant mix of deck-building, strategy, and RPG elements, all tucked ever so nicely under the roguelike umbrella, making it a fascinating and unique experience. Watching your character lap around the map while placing cards around the board to spawn enemies, earn resources, and ultimately summon the stage's boss is fascinating, engaging, and exhilarating.

The only downside here is that Loop Hero can get a bit overwhelming and has a pretty significant difficulty spike toward the end of the game. Still, we feel beginners will fall for Loop Hero's compulsive gameplay in the early goings.

12 Vampire Survivors

In a similar vein as Loop Hero is Vampire Survivors, which seems like a simple and generally okay roguelike on the surface, but it grabs hold of you and refuses to let go as you see countless hours flash before your very eyes. Vampire Survivors is a shockingly deep game, but the way it implements all of its systems and mechanics is flawless, allowing beginners of the genre to jump in and easily digest everything it meticulously feeds them. The moment Vampire Survivors clicks, all bets are off, and you will be mowing down hoards of monsters while utilizing everything at your disposal to push further than ever before.

Vampire Survivors is a one-stick shooter that mixes roguelike elements in to give it a satisfying gameplay loop that will keep you engaged for the remainder of your life. As you defend yourself against endless hordes of enemies, die, earn better gear, and return stronger than before, your "just one more try" will turn into you wide awake at three in the morning, regretting your decisions.

11 Risk Of Rain 2

Not only is Risk of Rain 2 one of the best roguelikes to release in the past few years, but it's also a solid third-person shooter that will keep you on the edge of your seat as you hop from one alien planet to another, getting progressively stronger. One of Risk of Rain 2's best beginner-friendly features is the co-op mode, which allows you to team up with a buddy or random player and take a stab at a new run.

Additionally, Risk of Rain 2's difficulty goes off time, meaning the longer your run takes, the more complicated things get. This feature is particularly great for beginners because the more you familiarize yourself with the maps, enemies, systems, and mechanics, the faster you will move from one area to the next, making the later sections more tolerable.

10 Brotato

Brotato is a Vampire Survivors-like bullet heaven roguelike where you fight against waves of enemies using a variety of weapons and characters. Similar to Vampire Survivors and other one-stick shooters, at first, Brotato's gameplay loop may seem incredibly simplistic, maybe even detrimentally so.

However, just below the surface is a shockingly deep game that is surprisingly fun to play. There are tons of different character and weapon combinations to try, and with each run, you'll have a different goal in mind for your next unlock. Brotato's simple controls and easy-to-understand mechanics make this game great for beginners, but there's definitely something here for all fans of roguelikes.

9 Balatro

Balatro is a deck-building roguelike themed around poker. Rather than using your cards to fight monsters in a dungeon like Slay the Spire, you'll instead build your deck of playing cards, empowering your poker hands using Joker cards. These cards have unique effects that can buff the amount of coins you score with each hand. With the right combination of cards, you can hit scores in the millions.

If the poker aspect of Balatro is off-putting at first, don't let it stop you from playing this game. Actual runs feel less like you're playing poker and more like you're playing a card-combo game; the poker hands are only how your "turns" are scored. Even if you've never played poker before, you should have no problem getting into Balatro.

8 Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor

Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor is another game in the one-stick shooter, bullet heaven genre that we've come to know and love. Themed around the original Deep Rock Galactic, you play as one of four dwarves tasked with mining minerals from the hostile planet of Hoxxes IV, using various weaponry to fight against the bugs that stand in your way.

DRG: Survivor puts a spin on the bullet heaven genre, giving you the opportunity to mine minerals from the stage with your trusty pickaxe. While fighting off swarms of bugs, you'll also be responsible for efficiently completing side objectives to ensure your quotas are met.

7 Downwell

Downwell is one of the best examples of a creative Roguelike that expertly blends multiple genres to create something fun and unique. The game's premise has your hero, Welltaro, descend into a neverending well that reveals more strange and formidable monsters the further down you go. Welltaro's only means of attacking is to stomp on the enemy's head or shoot them with his gunboots.

As you make your way down the well's multiple floors and rooms, you will accumulate Red Gems used to purchase items or upgrades from a shop that can help make your run less daunting, especially in later areas. Downwell is an excellent title for beginners as -while admittedly difficult the further you press on- there aren't tons of mechanics or options. The game is pure fun and simple to grasp, which is never a terrible thing.

6 Rogue Legacy 2

Rogue Legacy 2 is one of the sequels that improves on everything its predecessor got right and adds in additional twists and systems to make it stand on its own as one of the best roguelikes of the year. One thing it also does much better is its onboarding process, making it a much more welcoming experience for newcomers to the genre.

While Rogue Legacy 2 is still a very challenging game, especially in the later areas, it does enough in the early goings to let you grasp the fundamentals and get your footing. Furthermore, the series' unique Heir system forces you to try out different classes, abilities, and gameplay styles, opening the door for exploration and experimentation. Though some perks can be frustrating to deal with, the vast majority of them are a blast to mess around with and see how far it can take you in your next run.

5 Cadence Of Hyrule

The Cadence of Hyrule is a spinoff of the Legend of Zelda series with the brilliance of Crypt of the NecroDancer's rhythm-based roguelike gameplay. And while the Crypt of the NecroDancer is something a newcomer to the genre may want to avoid, Cadence of Hyrule makes things much more digestible for beginners.

Despite its full title being Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer Featuring The Legend of Zelda (a mouthful, to be sure), it isn't a mere Zelda reskin of the original Crypt of the NecroDancer. Instead, what gets offered here is a fun and joyful experience that genuinely feels like a Zelda game from Nintendo themselves. Its scaled-back difficulty also feels balanced, rewarding, and exciting, which is a relief as it easily could have been watered down and cheap feeling. Fortunately, Cadence of Hyrule is an excellent jumping-on-point for genre newcomers!

4 The Binding Of Isaac: Rebirth

The Bind of Isaac: Rebirth provides a from-the-ground-up remake of the original Flash game, and has since been updated with several expansions. While this is one of the longest-running and most popular roguelikes, its initial appearances may be off-putting.

At its core, the Binding of Isaac is an extremely deep experience that doesn't hold your hand. The gameplay itself is fairly simple, the items and upgrades rarely have helpful descriptions, which means it can take a while before you get the hang of things. That said, the Binding of Isaac is one of the pillars of the roguelike genre, and is definitely worth playing, even for beginners.

3 Monolith: After The End

Monolith is an exceptional roguelike for fans who love the fast-paced action classic top-down shooters provide. Each zone is procedurally generated and overflowing with creative and devastating enemies. Additionally, Monolith has permadeath, encouraging you to try a clean run if your last one wasn't successful.

Furthermore, Monolith received a free update titled "After The End," which provided a breadth of new content, such as a whole new floor, AI, weapons, enemy types, etc. There's lots to see and do in Monolith, and its exhilarating combat is sure to capture the interest of many newcomers to the series.

2 Cult Of The Lamb

We've seen deck-building, Metroidvania, and even rhythm-based roguelikes, but what about a management sim roguelike? Enter Cult of the Lamb, an adorably twisted game that puts you in the shoes of a cult leader who has to clear dungeons, fight horrific monsters, and take proper care and manage your followers to keep them loyal to your cult. While it may seem like a lot to pay attention to, the way the game handles these systems and mechanics is straightforward, allowing you to dive in with no previous experience in the genre.

There is nothing quite like Cult of the Lamb on the market today, and the praise it has received ever since is well deserved. Its adorable art style, demonic themes, and engaging gameplay make this title an absolute must-play for anyone looking to get into the genre.

1 Hades

One of 2020's best games, and one of the best roguelikes ever conceived, is Hades, which makes things even more exciting considering just how accessible it is. Many people have probably already caught the roguelike bug from Hades, and if you haven't taken a stab at it yet, maybe now's the time since it's finally available on every platform.

Hades' exceptional storytelling, characters with phenomenal voice-over, and gripping gameplay are enough to hook anyone who tries it. What's unique about Hades is that each failed run allows you to learn more about each character in the hub, building bonds with them and unlocking new, exciting things in the process. The gameplay is also exhilarating, snappy, and chaotic in the best way possible. Hades brings a modern spin to the genre and makes it enjoyable for anyone who picks it up.