What Are Roguelike Games and Why You Should Try Them

Most video games are finite, with a beginning, a middle, and an end. But imagine if your favorite video game—whether that’s Elden Ring, a Zelda title, or Animal Crossing: New Horizons—could still surprise you after dozens of hours of play, offering new stuff to find and a fresh experience every time you played it. A vibrant subgenre of video games, the roguelike, offers exactly that kind of experience.

In most video games, every surprise is a surprise only once, and almost everything you see is the result of meticulous planning by the people who made it. We love roguelike games because they take familiar traits from our favorite genres and games and put a twist on the formula by randomizing certain elements. Imagine if a game like Super Mario Bros. changed the order of its platforms and moved the locations of the hidden stars every time you restarted, and you had no way to predict what items you would pick up or where to find them. Then, raise the stakes so that dying and losing a run has more punishing consequences, and you have the premise for a quintessential roguelike. Wirecutter’s tech team has played a slew of roguelikes, and we recommend them if you’re looking for a unique—and challenging—take on the games you may already love.