It’s sort of hard to define what a roguelike is nowadays. There are so many games out there that take parts of the genre and roll them into themselves that picking the best of them can be like picking a needle out of a haystack, but the haystack is different every time you look. That’s why we’ve written this list. We’ve packed the list with what we think are the very best Android roguelikes and roguelites that are currently available to download from the Play Store.
You can click on the name of any of the best Android roguelikes below to download it, and if you think we’ve missed anything off the list be sure to let us know your suggestions in the comments section at the bottom of the article.
The Best Android Roguelikes
Let’s advance through the roguelikes, and hopefully not die and restart.
Slay the Spire
A magnificent card-based dungeon crawler that sees you building a deck, fighting against an ever-changing menagerie of monsters, and trying to get to the bottom of a weird and engaging story. If you haven’t played this yet, just go and do it now.
Hoplite
A turn-based strategy game set on tight maps with some super interesting twists. Hoplite turns fighting into a smart series of puzzles. It’s hard not to get fearsomely addicted. It’s free to download with an IAP to unlock more features.
Dead Cells
A hardcore hack-and-slashing platformer with branching biomes, massive bosses and a deep challenge waiting for anyone willing to put the work in. With the regular updates, it’s really easy to lose yourself in its fantastical world.
Out There
A game that catapults you into the depths of space and then tasks you with finding your way back. You’re going to die, a lot, but every tragic ending will teach you a valuable lesson for your next jaunt through the cosmos.
Road Not Taken
A lot of the games on this list are a little on the gloomy side. Road Not Taken takes a different tack. The game plays like a fairy tale come to life, and you’re going to love exploring the gorgeous wilds that it offers you. Part puzzler, part adventure, all amazing.
NetHack
A mobile port of a classic roguelike. An acquired taste, and the control scheme takes you a while to master, but it’s a brilliant blast from the past once things start to click.
Desktop Dungeon
A massive, expansive dungeon crawler with some city-building thrown in for good measure. It’s easy to sink into and once you’re down in the nitty gritty you’re going to love every second of it.
The Legend Of Bum-bo
From the creators of The Binding Of Isaac comes The Legend Of Bum-bo, a game with all the squishy and gross aesthetic of that other roguelike, but with a very different combat system. Take control of one of the Bum-bos and use your deckbuilding skills to advance. Now when do we get an Android port of Binding Of Isaac?
Downwell
A twitchy downwards shooting platformer that’s got gun shoes and evil bats and if you haven’t played it yet, you really should rectify that as soon as possible. It takes a while for everything to click, but when it does it’ll remain clicked for ages.
Death Road to Canada
A roadtrip roguelite that’s packed full of zombies and jerks and cars. It’s tough, it’s exciting and it’s pretty darn funny as well. There’s countless different scenarios, loads of different characters to discover and loads of zombies to take down. Or get eaten by.
Vampire Survivors
One of the undisputed GOATs of the roguelike world. The absolutely addictive gameplay is rivalled only by the developer’s commitment to giving a fun and fair experience. This exptends to to porting Vampire Survivors to Android in-house to avoid signing it over to any developer who would monetize it in a predatory way. Poncle is truly the hero we need.
Legend Of Keepers
Don’t you get tired of being nice? Don’t you just want to go villainous? Legend Of Keepers is the roguelike for you. Take on the role of dungeon middle management and use your strategic skills to keep adventurers out and away from your loot.
That wraps up our best Android roguelikes. Think we’ve left off something good? Feel free to champion your choice in the comments. Click here to read more lists about the best games for Android