The roguelike deckbuilder has definitely become one of the most popular genres around. So much so, in fact, that some completely lose interest in an upcoming game when it's described as such. While it's true that we've seen an awful lot of these games in recent years, there's also a very good reason why. For those who enjoy carefully tweaking decks, experimenting with different cards' effects, plumbing the hidden depths of a title and steadily progressing further and further, these games are absolutely perfect.
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A lot of the best roguelikes eschew a main story to focus solely on the runs themselves, and lots of them have embraced the deckbuilding concept. If it's the latter you're looking for in particular, these are perhaps the very best examples ever released.
7 Inscryption
A Fascinating, Horrifying Experience That May Be Too Cryptic For Some
It's often suggested that players brand-new to Inscryption should go into the experience with no foreknowledge and no guide, if at all possible. This is because it has a fascinating, enigmatic narrative to delve into, surprises around every corner, and some incredible moments that you just don't want to have spoiled beforehand. Suffice it to say that the seemingly simple tale of Luke Carder and his discovery of the mysterious card game known as "Inscryption" will have far-reaching consequences.
It's far from a traditional horror game, but it provides an enormously spooky atmosphere in everything from the living cards to the teeth-removing mechanic for scoring purposes. The notion of being trapped in the cabin to play, but able to move around and interact with certain objects there like a grim escape room, just heightens this. The fact that the game mixes genres and keeps the player guessing ensures that you never quite feel comfortable with the game and what it's trying to do as you proceed, which is surely just the feeling the developers were aiming for. At the same time, though, it also reduces the focus on the core deckbuilding, and those looking for a pure experience of just that may find this somewhat detrimental.
6 Griftlands
A Huge Amount Of Intrigue To Get Lost In
Roguelikes and rougelites aren't often focused on storytelling and characterization. This is part of what made the remarkable Hades and its sequel such a success, lending additional depth to Zagreus and Melinoe's relationships with their companions in the House of Hades and the Crossroads. Klei's Griftlands took a similar direction, tasking the player to take the role of one of three very different adventurers on their own unique mission in the Griftlands.
Each campaign takes place over the course of several days, and during them, you'll need to maintain, customize, and upgrade two different decks: One for battles (focusing on attacks and shielding in Slay the Spire fashion), and one for negotiations. In the latter, cards instead deal damage to an opponents' argument or protect your own, and the goal remains to reduce the opponents' HP to zero. This dual system allows the player different choices. For instance, you might simply choose to fight and kill a guard in order to pass by them, but you could instead opt to negotiate your way into the building they're protecting. This is important because, on your journey across the map and while exploring different areas, you'll meet all kinds of fascinating characters. You develop relationships with them and they have their own with others, and they can grow to love or hate you depending on your actions. Taking out a prominent villain, for instance, might lead a character they had been threatening to love you, but at the cost of causing one of their loyal followers to pursue you.
It's a brilliant and involved system, with these extreme relationships with others in the Griftlands resulting in different perks. The thing is, there's such a lot to think about that it can become tricky to manage, and you don't quite know whether a decision you made earlier in the campaign might ruin your chances near the end. Griftlands looks fantastic and combat is nicely varied, but there's a lot of unpredictable twists and turns that could frustrate.
5 Monster Train 2
Be Sure You're Ready For The Ride Before You Board
2020's Monster Train is one of the most celebrated deckbuilding roguelikes of recent years. Where a lot of titles are quite content to emulate certain aspects of genre legend Slay the Spire, Monster Train and its sequel followed its own path. It introduced the concept of a train transporting the pyre, the last of the underworld heat, and heavenly forces' efforts to extinguish it for good. Your goal is to defend this critical resource, by arranging your monstrous forces across the different levels of the train and fighting back.
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You select a clan and a secondary clan, each of which plays rather distinctly, from which to create your army. They will battles foes that attempt an assault on the Pyre automatically, when they're accessible from their position. There's a lot of freedom to customize in Monster Train 2, along with exciting, high-stakes and fast-paced combat. You might find, though, that there's something of a learning curve, with the sheer amount of different effects and strategies taking considerable time to get to grips with. If you want grasp everything quickly and steam away right from the off, this title's a bit more of a slow-burner that needs considerable time investment to get the best from.
4 Shogun Showdown
Some Of The Most Vicious Combat You'll Find In the Genre
Not to be confused with fighting series Samurai Shodown, this title is instead an intense deckbuilder, starring a samurai who is constantly beset by bloodthirsty enemies. A lot of genre titles also embrace turn-based combat and timers that show how long you have until enemies attack and/or what they're about to do, but here, things are a little different. Your character and the enemies both fight on a horizontal stage of sorts, allowing for movements forward and backwards. Your cards consist of different attacks, from a rather standard ranged arrow shot to melee moves that might send you darting backwards to strike the opponent behind you. Turning around also takes a turn, so you've really got to cue up each action and bear in mind what all your enemies are planning.
There's a lot to juggle simultaneously, with a range of potions that all have different effects, the cool-downs of your moves to consider, and the fact that waves of enemies spawn in and become active immediately. It's relentless, and requires you to be constantly adapting to situations you may never have predicted. The controls are rather unorthodox and the unique approach may take some time to gel with players, but when it does, it might well keep you gripped.
3 Cobalt Core
Tangling With Unfriendly Lifeforms In Space
Cobalt Core is a deckbuilder that focuses rather more on its narrative than some. We begin with quite a rudimentary understanding of events: We're playing as a group of three pilots who are trying to get their spacecraft out of a peculiar time loop they're trapped in. The attempt will involve battling with other spacecraft, in a manner that demands positioning your ship in the midst of battle to ensure its weapons line up with an appropriate point on the enemy vessel. This is much of the appeal of the adventure: Tinkering with your spaceship and trying out different attacks and abilities that your combination of crew members gives you (in your deck).
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What keeps the action compelling is that new pilots who join as you progress don't just mean new cards. They advance the narrative and have their own unique pieces of the puzzle. This spurs the player on not just because they're improving and unlocking more options, but because there's a story to advance as well. Hades pulled this idea off brilliantly as well (though of course there are no cards involved there). Cobalt Core is one of the finest entries in the genre, and it's really only the fact that its content isn't quite so broad that and it hasn't made quite such a name for itself that presents it from ranking any higher. Our final two titles, after all, are the very best of the best.
2 Balatro
It's Poker, Jim, But Not As We Know It
As noted, a lot of roguelikes completely abandon the idea of a main story. Balatro has no need for such trivial matters. You're here to sling cards and aim for increasingly ludicrous high scores, and that's exactly what you're going to do. No more, no less. Some might disregard Balatro at first sight. From static screenshots, it's far from impressive to look at. When the hypnotic effects start to capture your attention and those numbers and multipliers begin to dance around the screen, though, you realize the true beauty of it. When it clicks with you, it clicks hard, and you realize it's 5 am and you're still playing.
Balatro is a wonderful lesson in the purity of the best game design. There's not a superfluous pixel on the screen. You've got everything you need, it's all perfectly functional, and not a moment wasted. It can take some considerable time to learn the finer points of Joker interactions, what's effective and what isn't, when you should hold onto your cash, and other familiar roguelike stumbling blocks, but stick with it through the initial frustration and you'll see why this one caused such a furor on its release. Even if you know nothing at all about poker, you owe it to yourself to give it a try if you're a genre fan.
1 Slay The Spire
Still The Genre Great To Beat (If Possible)
Of course, we know now that Slay the Spire 2 is on the way, even if it hasn't graced us with a 1.0 release yet. This is the title that genre fans are going to be descending on in droves as soon as possible, though, because the original was an absolute phenomenon. Though it's very different to Balatro gameplay-wise, it shares a very important trait: a streamlined, confident design. It knew exactly what it wanted to be, and there isn't a superfluous element in its makeup.
From its card balance to its relics, from its enemy action icons to its potion effects, this is the game that so many have tried to emulate since. Officially, there are four different characters (talented modders have added all sorts besides, naturally), and the balancing is sublime. Each plays entirely differently and has their own unique mechanics, with an exclusive deck of cards. Those who stick arouund long enough to climb the Ascension ranks with each one will find themselves developing new tricks and unexpected synergies at every turn, and might find themselves switching favorite characters multiple times. You can pick up the basics in minutes (some beginner tips will help), but continue learning new strategies and tricks for months and perhaps even years. This is the benchmark by which all roguelike deckbuilders are measured, and knowing that the sequel is on the way is a real thrill.
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