Summary
The average roguelike is often a tense and suspenseful experience. Players are rarely more than a few mistakes away from dying permanently and being forced to start from scratch. This alone makes for some truly frightening and stressful moments.
But when October rolls around, some players will likely be looking for a more thematic experience. Some roguelikes are uniquely suited for the Halloween season,offering terrifying horror themesor aesthetics of undeath and dark magic that makes them uniquely suited for the holiday. Here are ten of the best roguelikes to trot out in order to keep things spooky.
As the name suggests, the explosive 2D roguelikeDead Cellshas some thoroughly macabre themes. The player character possesses a regular supply of headless corpses in their ongoing quest to escape an island kingdom felled by a sinister and virulent disease.
Each of the game’s procedurally generated levels has fallen to decay and is infested with sinister undead creatures. While the game’s swift, bombastic combat belies the horrifying nature of the world, the effects of the plague are inescapable, and a morbid haze hangs over the entire game.
Sundered’s distinctive hand-drawn art style brings to life a strange eldritch world inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft. The protagonist, a woman named Eshe, finds herself trapped in a shifting subterranean world, forced to rely on sinister supernatural powers to survive.
Twisted eldritch beings, supernaturally sinister foes, and even more conventional science fiction beings like robots haunt this strange underworld. As players progress deeper into this nightmarish realm, they’ll need to decide how far they’re willing to go in order to preserve their humanity and escape.
The old gods ofCult of the Lambare the stuff of Halloween nightmares, which makes the contrast between the game’s adorable bovine player character and their loyal cult of anthropomorphic creatures all the more jarring. The art style ofCult of the Lambis cute and cartoonish, but the sinister true nature of the player’s growing religion is always lurking just below the surface.
As players strive to keep their followers happy, healthy, and obedient, they will unlock sinister new ways to exploit them. The ritual sacrifice and grim rites the cult performs are every bit as terrifying as the monsters that prowl the surrounding woods.
WhileReturnalis primarily a fast-paced shooter, it’s not shy about its horror influences either. The protagonist, Selene, is stranded on an alien world full of mysterious architecture and terrifying foes. The planet is dark and gloomy, and it’s also haunted by Selene’s own past, forcing her to wander through her childhood home in sequences eerily reminiscent of the lost horror masterpieceP.T.
Thepunishing difficulty ofReturnal’s shootoutsadds to this menacing atmosphere. Every encounter is tense and pulse-pounding, and even the smallest creatures can pose a major threat. This all combines to makeReturnalan especially terrifying roguelike for Halloween.
Halloween doesn’t have to mean horror.Have A Nice Deathpresents a more lighthearted take on the holiday’s macabre themes by casting players as an overworked, corporatized version of the Grim Reaper, who must track down his rogue employees and bring them back to work the hard way.
Thegloomy underworld and undead monstersare offset by the game’s charming art style, sense of humor, and stylish, fast-paced combat. Players who are looking for a Halloween experience that’s more quaint than scary should certainly give it a try.
Halloween celebrations are known for combining ghoulish monsters with dances and parties, and few games emulate this combination better thanCrypt of the NecroDancer. This dungeon-crawling roguelike forces players and enemies alike to stay on beat, timing all their moves to the rhythm of the music.
As the name suggests,Crypt of the NecroDancerdeals primarily with undead foes, which makes it perfect for the Halloween season. Aspiring adventurers will find themselves hitting the dance floor with skeletons and zombies in their quest to bring down the NecroDancer himself.
The unique feedback loop ofVampire Survivorshas made it an instant hit with countless players. The game lets fans assemble a wildly powerful protagonist who can launch screen-clearing attacks to wipe out the endless hordes of vampiric foes that are constantly assailing them.
Vampire Survivorsis also a very casual game, making it extremely easy for new fans to pick up and play. Thesatisfying loop of unlocking new charactersand new powerful moves gives it a lot of replay value, and its casual nature makes it easy to play in the background of another seasonally appropriate activity.
Since it takes place largely in the underworld, the firstHadesgame is already a solid pick for Halloween.Hades 2takes the game’s macabre and dark elements and intensifies them by centering on Melinoe, who is training as a witch under the goddess Hecate. The dark magic of the protagonist is prominent throughout the game, as Melinoe hexes her enemies and performs incantations at a large cauldron.
As Melinoe struggles to free her family from Cronos' grip, she develops even more sinister spells and abilities. The ghosts of fallen heroes like Odysseus advise and guide her on her mission, adding to the spectral atmosphere of this decidedly spooky sequel.
The world ofDarkest Dungeonis a world of horror and despair, as vast swathes of the landscape have grown into wretched, monster-infested labyrinths. The player has the unenviable task of clearing out these abominations and eradicating the vast, ancient evil that lurks under their ancestral estate.
Every single aspect ofDarkest Dungeonis engineered to emphasize the player’s hopeless situation. The heroes players use to fill out their adventuring teams are fragile and expendable, as likely to be cut down by the endless hordes of foes as they are tobreak under the strain of their own fear.Darkest Dungeonis not a game for the faint of heart, but there are a few titles more perfectly suited for the Halloween season.
Inscryptionis a bizarre and fascinating game. This card-battling roguelike traps players in a sinister cabin with a menacing figure cloaked in darkness. Players will have to balancechallenging this demanding opponentwith exploring the cabin and looking for a way out, engaging with fiendish puzzles and horrifying twists in the process.
This game’s ominous vibes and frightening atmosphere only deepen as players learn more about the nature of the game they’ve been trapped in. The story and gameplay ofInscryptiongo in some truly strange and startling directions, and its terrifying plot will keep fans guessing until the very end.
