Deckbuilding roguelikes are of a genre that, while somewhat difficult to explain, are easily identified once you know what they are. They are essentially games based around collecting playable cards from the spoils of increasingly difficult battles. The true novelty comes from the RPG and roguelike elements that make progressing and building your decks exciting, adding in elements of randomness that make each “run” just as thrilling as the last, if not more so from all the new card options you permanently unlock in the process.
This genre is a mostly indie dominated one. The most well-known, stand-out titles are short yet very repayable entries made from smaller teams of developers. Whether it’s the myriad of mechanics at play or the presentation and visuals, this list breaks down the games that keep us excited see more of this genre.
5 Ring Of Pain
If you are familiar with Slay the Spire and wanted more of… everything, Ring of Pain should be of interest to you. The somewhat ominous atmosphere and mysterious setting of The Spire is cranked up to a very creepy eleven in Ring of Pain. The monsters are all the stuff of nightmares, and the soundtrack is just as fitting for such a hellish dungeon crawler.
All of this is coupled with a brutal difficulty that compliments the usual unforgiving nature of roguelikes. There are many combinations of cards and artifacts to try out, but choose wisely, or you will soon be reminded why it is called the Ring of Pain.
4 Inscryption
While its gameplay is not as intricate in terms of its RPG systems, this game must still be talked about among the greats of this genre for its presentation. The mechanics are simple as far as card battlers go: you play creatures that each have attack points, health points, and possibly an ability referred to as a sigil. You must sacrifice something in order to play them, whether it be the creatures themselves or the bones of ones who have died. It is engaging without ever becoming overwhelming.
Inscryption’s greatest strength however, lies in everything surrounding the gameplay. It is an interesting horror experience where, through the course of gameplay, you are also unraveling the mystery of the game itself. Inscryption’s clever narrative is best experienced in a dark room with headphones on for maximum enjoyment, a fact that should be no surprise to those who have played the developer’s previous games, The Hex or Pony Island.
3 Hand Of Fate
Hand of Fate is another early adopter of the category that predates and likely influenced the making of Slay the Spire. It combines roguelike choices and encounters with directly controlled battle sequences, all with cards being the driving force of the gameplay.
Its sequel game, Hand of Fate 2, is a worthy successor that doubles down on the immersive atmosphere of the original game. Your destiny unfolds one card at a time as The Dealer narrates the events that shape your journey. The battles from before are much more action-packed than in the first game as animations feel much more fluid and cinematic, making the transition from cards to combat that much more enjoyable.
2 Monster Train
This title takes the usual formula and mixes it up just enough to provide something unique. The name says it all in describing this one: the game revolves around a train run by an army of monsters. Although you are progressing towards the end of the track in typical roguelike fashion, the main gameplay comes from defending against waves of enemies attempting to ascend the levels of your train. They want to extinguish your pyre, the only thing capable powering your hellish locomotive.
This tower defense-like setup adds interesting gameplay opportunities. Each floor houses a number of units, and cards can add various buffs and debuffs to allies and enemies. Every floor has its own state, and so you can employ different strategies on each floor, including the pyre’s floor, which has its own attacks that let it retaliate instead of simply losing health. This is only a few of the ways that this game spices up the roguelike gameplay; find out for yourself all the creative ways you can lead your monsters to victory.
1 Slay The Spire
Perhaps the pinnacle in terms of gameplay design, Slay the Spire is one of the most popular deckbuilding roguelikes, and for good reason. The amount of options presented to you for builds is staggering. Each hero type has their own unique cards and artifacts alongside the neutral ones that will allow you to create crazy interactions like dealing hundreds of instances of damage that each set off all of your on-hit effects or generate near infinite amounts of energy.
This game, while not the one that started the trend, will undoubtedly be the biggest title to influence future games of its kind. If you have yet to immerse yourself in any roguelike deckbuilder games, you’ll find no better option to try first than this one.
