8 Roguelikes to Play If You Love Hades

If you’re anything like me, you spent some of last year playing Hades to see what the hype was all about. And the hype turned out to be real: this is one of the most engaging and innovative games I’ve ever played!

It’s also a Roguelike, which refers to games modeled loosely after the 1980 game Rogue. These games usually involve procedurally-generated stages and killer difficulty that encourages players to keep dying and coming back for more.

Hades arguably perfected the Roguelike genre. And the good news is it’s coming to the Nintendo Switch on March 19.

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t other games that can scratch the Roguelike itch that Hades awakened in you. In fact, here are some of the best Roguelikes for anyone who loves Hades!

The Binding of Isaac

Part of what makes Hades so fun is that it combines cartoony graphics and Greek mythology. If you like that sort of thing, The Binding of Isaac (2011) basically does that but instead draws on the Biblical story of Isaac.

Honestly, before Hades, this was the last Roguelike that made a real splash. And it’s definitely worth a playthrough for any Hades fan.

Spelunky 2

The hallmark of a good sequel is that it seriously improves on the original. And Spelunky 2 does the impossible: it retains the best parts of the first game while improving on almost every aspect.

The fluid animation already makes this game worth playing. And the approach to puzzles (with multiple solutions to many of the biggest conundrums) will keep you coming back for more.

The game came out in September 2020 on PC and PS4. It’s getting a release on Nintendo Switch in Summer 2021.