Summary
Most people think ofroguelikesfrom a third-person perspective, and it’s hard to blame them considering the vast majority of roguelike games use these kinds of camera perspectives. But isn’t it time that their first-person counterparts got some love too? Even if they are in the minority, first-person roguelikes do exist, and a few of them are some of the best titles in the genre.
Not all first-person roguelieks are FPS roguelikes, though some of them certainly are. Others take a more retro approach, mimicking the style of old 1980’s and 90’s computer RPG dungeon crawlers with first-person views. Ready to take your roguelike gaming to an all-new perspective?
8Eldritch
Starting with the Lovecraftian, Eldritch is an action roguelike that has you exploring underground caverns in search of - you guessed it - Eldritch truths and their corresponding jewels and demons. This game takes on a retro look and feel with simplified visuals and controls.
The key to succeeding in Eldritch is to use as many magical abilities as possible when you locate them. This will increase your odds of besting the most diabolical beasts that block the shortcuts back to the beginning of your adventure.
7Slasher’s Keep
Similar to Eldritch, Slasher’s Keep is another first-person action roguelike but with a very different combat style and setting; you’re placed in a pirate-themed dungeon, and there’s a huge focus on melee combat instead of casting spells. With procedural generation, every run after each death mixes up everything from level layout to enemy placement.
Slasher’s Keep is arguably defined by both its perils and its unique stylized art direction. Every floor has various traps you need to avoid, and the cel-shaded graphics make this easily one of the most unique-looking indie roguelikes ever made.
6Ziggurat
Ziggurat will satisfy fans of more fast-paced combat; in this first-person roguelike, you’ll be collecting spells, perks, new staffs, spells, and experience points as you battle your way through level after level of escalating magical threats. This is a modernized take on old-school first-person games like Quake, so die-hard fans of 1990s PC gaming will feel right at home here.
Though this is a roguelike, it is most definitely a skill-based game despite the RPG elements. You won’t be able to rely on simply dying over and over to gradually unlock new permanent abilities, so your aiming, timing, and speed are what truly matters here.
5Gunfire Reborn
If you’ve always wanted to see a marriage of roguelikes and first-person shooters, one of your first stops should be Gunfire Reborn with its wacky combat and dynamic level generation. It’s also a great game for either solo adventures or four-player coop.
What truly makes Gunfire Reborn so fun is the sheer weapon variety, as it will take dozens of hours to see every weapon the game has to offer, let alone master them, which is important consideringhow tough some of the bosses can be. And thanks to the way level generation is coded, you will have to adapt to changing landscapes and geometry over and over, adding in a huge amount of replayability.
4Delver
Delver is a game that has you doing exactly what the name implies: delve. You’ll delve deep into its dungeons in classic dungeon-crawling fashion, as it constantly pays homage to the PC RPG games of the 1990s with their tougher difficulty and classic combat features.
Keep in mind that even by roguelike standards, Delver is deceivingly simple and easy to pick up, but very difficult to master. Understanding the effects of traps and the attack patterns of enemies is much more important than relying on XP or rare item drops.
Void Bastards
Void Bastards has drawn many comparisons to BioShock and System Shock, and for very good reasons. If you’ve played those games, imagine they have been outfitted with the randomized elements that typify roguelikes, such as randomized loot and sequences, but with the strategic element that makes these games rise above their peers.
Void Bastards is less about running and gunning (though you do have the option to do that if you wish) and more about commanding a team aboard a derelict ship andguiding as many people as possible to safety and victory. It’s not just guns and explosives you need to learn to master, but workbenches and airlocks as well.
2Heavy Bullets
First-person shooting and dungeon-crawling have made up the bulk of our list, so if you’ve been wondering what it would be like to combine the two, you’ll have an interesting time playing Heavy Bullets. The name of the game is simple, but the game itself is a little more complicated than meets the eye.
Though it initially feels like a modernized dungeon-crawler, the levels have a much more maze-like quality to them, meaning it is a lot easier to get lost here. Not only that, but many of your foes have security and surveillance on their side, so part of becoming successful in Heavy Bullets means having great situational awareness skills, as well as the ability to outsmart any computers or security devices blocking your path.
1Roboquest
The newest first-person roguelike on the list today is also one of the best the genre has ever conceived. Roboquest is a very high-octane FPS bullet hell roguelike that can be played solo or through a two-player co-op mode, and this is a game that prioritizes customization above all else, from weaponry toclasses, leading to crazy levels of replayability.
Roboquest has tons of features that will make you keep on coming back for more, but what it does well is the sharpness of its controls. Shooting, running, and jumping all fell unbelievably smooth, and upgrading your base for subsequent runs always provides an immense sense of satisfaction.
