Awesome Roguelite

Pixeljam’s vector art game Utopia Must Fall combines elements of arcade shooters, roguelites, and tower defense games. We love its frenetic pace and retro vibes that pay homage to classic arcade games ranging including Tempest, Missile Command, and Galaga. Available for Mac and PC on Steam Early Access.

Metal Slug Tactics brings the arcade shooter’s eye-popping pixel art and over-the-top action to a more manageable yet no less chaotic form. The game features a turn-based battle system with roguelite elements. It features 110 handcrafted maps, 36 weapons, and nine characters with different skill trees. Drops 11.5.24 on Steam and all major consoles.

First-person shooters are getting bloated with poorly written stories and cinematics, microtransactions, and shoehorned RPG progression systems. I Am Your Beast says to hell with all of that and delivers a no-frills experience in the form of a roguelite. Each level has a small area, a handful of objectives, and a timer. Go do your best.

(PG-13) Mullet Mad Jack is a roguelite first-person shooter with ’90s anime aesthetics. Instead of having limited health, you have only 10 seconds to play. You must kill enemies to keep topping up your timer. It also has a mode with no timer if you just want to enjoy the animated story scenes at your own pace, as well as a randomized endless mode.

Kill time, literally and figuratively, in Hades II. A direct sequel to one of the best games ever made, Hades II sees you playing as Melinoë, the Princess of the Underworld and Zagreus’ sister, as she enlists the help of Olympus against the Titan of Time. The Early Access version is meant to give PC players a peek at the new story, gods, weapons, spells, and more.

Ubisoft and Netflix just dropped this lighthearted take on Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six franchise with a cartoony Roguelite shooter. Build your squad and head out on stealth missions to save the world of SMOL by defusing bombs, freeing hostages, and taking down baddies. It’s free to play but requires a Netflix subscription. Available now on iOS and Android.

From Supergiant Games, creators of Bastion, Transistor, and Pyre, comes a roguelike set in the Greek underworld. In Hades, you summon the powers of the Greek gods as you try – and try, and try – to make your way out of hell.