Top 25 best roguelikes and roguelites for iPhone and iPad (iOS) | Articles

Updated June 25, 2024: New entries added

You’ve doubtless seen the descriptions ‘roguelike’ and ‘roguelite’ bandied around a lot in recent years. But you might not know what that means, exactly.

No, it doesn’t mean being a bit of a scoundrel – or indeed, not much of one. Rather, it’s a reference to the classic 1980 video game Rogue, which added permadeath (one strike and you’re out) and randomly generated levels to its turn-based dungeon-crawling gameplay.

When a modern game follows all of these elements, it’s described as roguelike, because it’s like Rogue. When a game copies some of those elements (typically permadeath and random levels) it’s sometimes described as roguelite because… well, you get the picture.

There have been plenty of games that fit this description over the past four decades, but the roguelike and roguelite genre has really experienced a massive resurgence in recent years. These distinctive elements, which create both challenge and replayability, are everywhere you look, from big budget console games to humble indie efforts.

Needless to say, there are loads of roguelikes and roguelites on iOS. We’ve rounded up 25 of our favourites in the following feature.

Don’t see your own personal favourite roguelike or roguelite listed here? Let us know in the comments below.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE LIST »