Fight your way through uniquely generated dungeons to your death in roguelike games… only to rise stronger every time. Learn from your early mistakes, collect useful items, and grow your character into an unstoppable force that can plow through the dungeons you once struggled to face.
If you love endless exploration, keen attention to detail, and fights that keep you on your toes… pick up your Nintendo Switch and head to the eshop!
Here are 10 incredible roguelike recommendations for Nintendo Switch that will have you cozied up for hours.
10. Vampire Survivors
Vampire Survivors - Launch Trailer - Nintendo Switch
Sitting at a shocking price of $4.99, Vampire Survivors is a must buy. You play as one of the vast array of vampire characters in the roster (some you unlock over time using gold), each one sporting different abilities and weapons that diversify your gameplay.
Your only goal? Survive the stage. As long as you can.
Set in 2021 Italy, the game follows a simple plot: The big bad of the title, Bisconte Draculó, has sent out monsters to destroy the lands. Each run, you will fight those monsters to level up, upgrade your abilities and weapons, and do your best to survive your chosen sessions’ time limit.
After every run, you get to take back gold that unlocks new power ups and characters to play. If you survive past the time, it is considered a successful run and you are awarded bonuses!
There are multiple different stages to play, each of them auto-generated! It’s a game you can pick up whenever you feel like crushing some bad guys with low stakes. With simple controls and graphics nostalgic to the eye, Vampire Survivors is a good budget-buy for those looking to start playing roguelikes on the Nintendo Switch.
9. Wizard of Legend
Wizard of Legend Launch Trailer - Co-op Spell-Slinging Action - Nintendo Switch
Deep within the Kingdom of Lenova, young wizards from all over the world travel far and wide to participate in the chaos trials. You are one of these young wizards, and it is your job to collect items and learn spells in order to face procedurally generated, elemental dungeons. These dungeons consist of fire, air, water, earth, electricity themes.
Customize your character by unlocking new cloaks that provide advantages, and learn new elemental magic in order to find your favorite playstyle. After each death, bring back chaos gems with you to unlock whatever you’d like to become stronger.
Use patience, strategy, and keen observation to become a Wizard of Legend!
This title shines for its fluid, fast paced combat system. It wants you to be experimental with spell combinations, as there is such a huge opportunity for individuality with over 100 spells to choose from.
Not only this… but this title has a multiplayer feature! Feel free to couch co-op these chaos trials with a friend.
8. Dicey Dungeon
Dicey Dungeons - Switch Trailer
In "Dicey Dungeon," you can select to play as an array of characters known as Dice Heroes! These heroes have a distinct theme, abilities, and playstyle, all the way from a witch to a robot with lasers. They are, most literally, little dice with faces and unique characteristics.
The main antagonist, Lady Luck, is the host of a game show (named for the title) that you are forced by her to play for a chance to win a single wish. In her mind… there will never be a true winner. Your quest is to prove her wrong by continuing to venture into the dungeons.
In a perfect world, a player would make it to the final floor and beat the boss
The kicker of this game lies in the gameplay. Players use chosen abilities and a set of dice to engage in turn-based combat, each roll impacting the effect of your abilities on the enemies you encounter in each stage. Combine this title’s unique gameplay with its charming art style, and there’s a title that’s more than worth the price ($14.99 on the eshop, but it goes on sale for under $5 frequently… keep an eye out!).
7. Moonlighter
Moonlighter | Nintendo Switch Release Date Trailer
This title brings together two unexpected gameplay elements: fighting your way through dungeons, and running your own store!
Set in the fictional village of Rynoka, Moonlighter follows Will, a young man who wishes to be a hero. Will is the manager of a shop, named for the title of the game.
Will discovers several strange gates near his village, each leading to various dungeons. Each dungeon has valuable loot, but it comes with a price: you must fight your way through. Delve into deep caverns, overcome various challenges, and face fierce bosses to collect it.
On the other side of things, you must manage the shop Moonlighter. After each run, sell your collected items in Will's shop to generate income, then, unlock new areas and improve Will's combat abilities with what you earn! The shopkeeping aspect of this game adds depth through individual customer behaviors, special events, and more.
If you enjoy captivating graphics, inventory management, and critical decision making during fights, Moonlighter is a great pick.
6. UnderMine
UnderMine - Nintendo Switch Release Date Trailer
Released in 2020, UnderMine has you play as a series of procedurally generated peasant characters, allowing you to experience the consistent growth.
Set deep in the mines, Arkanos, an arch mage in the game, has sent you out to find a missing blacksmith and discover the source of the tremors that are happening there. Pick up UnderMine to uncover that story!
Alike many other roguelikes on this list, each level is procedurally generated, meaning that there are a vast array of challenges to find along your way. On each run you can discover relics that give you different powers to use, and you get to take back some gold with you every death to upgrade your characters.
It takes an equal amount of skill and upgrades to take on these bosses, so gear up and get ready to learn!
Armed with your pickaxe and determination, UnderMine’s uniqueness factor is its charm. The gameplay will feel familiar if you have played roguelikes before, but the graphics and steady flow of the character roster will make it feel new, light, and fun.
Head to the eshop and check out UnderMine today!
5. Dead Cells
Dead Cells - Announcement Trailer - Nintendo Switch
Dead Cells is one of the most well-known and adored roguelike games… thankfully, it's available on the Switch! While the narrative of Dead Cells isn’t as vivid as some other titles, this game concentrates on its fighting aspect heavily in order to provide a rounded, entertaining playthrough.
You play as dead cells… literally! A mass of cells reanimate a corpse, and you play as that corpse who is often referred to as ‘the prisoner’.
The game hints at a curse, at a cycle of death and rebirth, but it's up to you to decide what all of it means.
Explore an array of gothic locations such as dungeons and castles, and f ight through each of the interconnected levels to collect weapons and abilities. After each death, use the cells you’ve collected to unlock permanent upgrades to make you even stronger for the next attempt.
Your main goal: reach the final boss.
While that is the primary goal, the true joy of this game comes from honing one's skills to master the fighting styles of your choice. Choose from several weapons that all inspire different playstyles, and feel free to try different approaches whenever you need something new.
If fighting is your favorite aspect of roguelike, check out Dead Cells!
4. Cult of the Lamb
Cult of the Lamb - Release Date Trailer - Nintendo Switch
Cult of the Lamb is so unlike other roguelike games, its unique features pushing it above some other titles on this list. If animal crossing and roguelikes had a baby, here it is, alive and well and ready to be discovered by you!
Picture this: You are the last of your kind. The last sacrificial lamb, about to be brought to the altar by an old religion for slaughter. It truly feels like the end. Suddenly- you are whisked away to another world and face to face with a brooding God(or so it seems).
This God offers to give you power beyond belief and the chance for survival, but only if you start a cult in his name… do you take the opportunity?
If you do- I welcome you to the cute and equally terrifying world of Cult of the Lamb!
Start your cult by venturing out into the DarkWood to recruit followers. Like other roguelike games, you fight your way through procedurally generated dungeons to collect resources. Along your way, you’ll find tarot cards that will give you impactful abilities to use on your run. There are four large worlds to explore, and four powerful heretics to defeat.
Whenever you die, you get sent back to your cult, and your job is to take care of your cult members to keep your organization alive and well!
Cook for your cult to keep them fed, lead sermons to increase their devotion to you, and use that devotion to upgrade the Lamb! Customize your cult with different decorations to create the home base of your dreams.
(Don’t tell anyone I told you, but you can even get married in this game! To multiple cult members… but be careful, if you have multiple spouses they can get jealous of each other!)
Set in an old world- venture out to uncover the history of the Old Faith. Why is everything happening? Who is the God who contacted you?
Cult of the Lamb is an absolute treat for anybody looking for a roguelike with a twist.
3. The Binding of Isaac
The Binding of Isaac - Gameplay Trailer
The Binding of Isaac places the player into the life of Isaac, a young boy making an effort to escape his mother’s pursuit. His mother hears a mysterious voice that commands her to sacrifice her son in order to prove her devotion.
Fleeing her, Isaac makes his way into the basement, which is brimming with creepy crawlies that you must encounter in order to continue running.
The gameplay has you navigate through randomly generated dungeons, battle enemies, collect items, and ultimately face VERY powerful bosses. Each playthrough is a new experience due to in-game items that change up the strategy.
The Binding of Isaac sports dark and mature themes that separate it from other roguelikes, his story mirroring the biblical story of Isaac. Grotesque graphics are presented to the player through a cartoon art style that makes them digestible.
If you’re looking to be whisked away, plop this title onto your wishlist.
2. Slay the Spire
Slay the Spire - Launch Trailer - Nintendo Switch
Let the cards decide, they say… well- in Slay the Spire, you use the cards to decide the fate of various enemies through battle.
In a dark and mysterious world with the spire at the center, Slay the Spire gives you the opportunity to choose from a cast of characters to play as. Each character comes with their own individual card deck style to choose from, aka, new ways to play!
With the opportunity to experience random events in game, you use your card deck to play against many foes. You work through a series of levels, or acts, collecting cards and relics along the way. Practice your decision making by choosing which paths to take. At the end, ideally, you’d reach the top of the spire.
Though this game is not narrative driven, the fact that this title marries roguelike with card games makes it a special play. Build your deck your way and, ultimately, conquer the spire. Pick up this beloved title for the switch to be whisked away to another world.
1. Hades
Hades - Launch Trailer - Nintendo Switch
Widely considered one of the best roguelikes ever made, Hades makes the #1 spot on this tier list. This title relies heavily on its narrative-driven plot and elaborate storytelling, but does not lose any fun in the combat aspect for it.
You are Zagreus, prince of Hell, son of Hades. You are trapped in the underworld with your father wasting away while he preaches to you that escape is impossible. With the help of Nyx, goddess of the night and your adopted mother, you decide that won’t be true.
Download Hades and embark on an epic journey to find your mother, Persephone, on the surface.
There are several weapons to master, and several ways to customize and upgrade them. Even when you fully ‘master’ a weapon- there are ways to customize your dungeon runs to up the difficulty and earn more loot.
Every time you attempt to climb out of Hell, you run into a beautifully drawn cast of Greek Gods who want nothing more than to help you along your way. Use their abilities to traverse the underworld and uncover the extensive story.
This game gives you the opportunity to use in-game items to increase your relationship level with characters, unlocking more of the story AND unlocking powerful items to assist you as you fight on.
The art style is so high quality that you may find yourself staring at the immersive world for quite some time. Every character is voice acted, which even further draws you into the gameplay experience.
Even if you do find your mother on the surface, just know… there is so much more to be uncovered. If I could recommend you one roguelike game, it would be this one.
This concludes my list of the top 10 Best Roguelike games for Nintendo Switch. Roguelikes remain a fan favorite among many gamers, and if you’re looking to explore (or even just dip your toes in), there’s a title here for everyone.
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