Top 25 best roguelikes and roguelites for Android phones and tablets

The developer of Crying Suns has clearly played a few games of FTL. This tactical rogue-lite has many of the same spacefaring elements, but it also adds a compelling narrative and entertaining flight-squadron combat mechanics.

We're most intrigued by all the possible events and story outcomes, which makes it not only intriguing to play, but also pretty challenging with the fact that you never know what to expect from it. Oh, and it looks absolutely amazing, landing it the first spot on our best roguelikes for Android list.

Want more? Read our Crying Suns review.

Bad North combines RTS and tower defence elements with a run-based roguelike structure. It makes defending your islands from a Viking onslaught endlessly replayable.

One of the distinguishing elements of this game is, however, its graphics style. The minimalistic feel-good graphics that it features feel at home in Bad North, so if you haven't had a chance to dive into it, make sure you do so ASAP!

We still don't have the ultimate roguelike twin-stick on mobile (that's Enter The Gungeon by the way), but Juicy Realm is a cracking alternative, with super-detailed cartoon graphics and a constant supply of zany firearms.

If you love a good Android roguelike, you're going to love every single aspect of Juicy Realm - it's got more than enough elements to keep you playing for hours, and the variety of items and weapons you can pick up is out of this world.

The developer of Card Crawl, ENYO and Card Thief has produced this exquisite turn-based swiping puzzler. Move a mouse around a randomly arranged 4x4 grid, vanquishing clockwork enemies. We haven't even started mentioning the stunning graphics and 3D amazing clockwork mechanics you're faced with.

The entire creation is unique, and all the different elements combine into one of the best strategic roguelikes for Android you'll ever get a chance to play.

While The Legend of Bum-Bo is set in the same dark scatalogical universe as The Binding of Isaac, its turn-based match-four combat mechanics bring something different to the table. It is a game that feels intense and fun at the same time, all the while challenging you to pick and upgrade the best items.

It's a unique deckbuilding Android roguelike that you'll most definitely enjoy quite a lot, the more you play. Trust us, it might not look like much at the start, but it'll grow on you.

Downwell practically buzzes with kinetic energy, whether you're bouncing on the head of a frog, blasting through layers of rock with your gunboots, or ducking into time bubble to buy some weapon upgrades. A truly thrilling roguelite which only needs red, white and black to make it feel at home on any mobile device.

Did you know we have a Downwell review? That's right - we loved this intense jam so much that we felt like a review would only do it good!

Dead Cells provides one of the slickest, most satisfying action-platformer experiences on mobile. Run, leap and dodge through randomised levels, picking up a deadly range of swords, shields, projectile weapons, automated turrets and magical attacks. Then die and do it all again - but a little differently.

There's so much replay value to this game, making it a must-play in every Android roguelike enthusiast's book! Dead Cells Cavern key guide and Gardeners keys await for those who decide to dive right in. You don't have to thank us.

This stunning Android roguelike hack and slasher is so slick, you can play it with one hand. It's far from brainless or shallow, though. Each fearsome enemy requires a different approach, while there are plenty of decisions to be made with your warrior's progression.

Each decision will impact the gameplay, so you can't just randomly select whatever comes easier. You need to think about the bigger picture each time, and that says something. You can have a well-done game even without brain-twisting mechanics, but still, make it plenty challenging!

Don't miss our Immortal Rogue review!

Vampire Surviviors is probably the best roguelike that appeared on mobile in the last two years. It got some awards, deservedly and its popularity soared for a good reason. You just can't put it down...It's so damn fun and you just want to play one more run.

Although it's out on PC as well, I believe that the mobile release is much more appropriate. Same with MOBA games, they are just easier to play on touch screens, and that's it. All you have to do in VS is control your character's movement and choose your weapons and their evolutions. Every weapon has its own effect and you need to utilise it through the right movement. Graphics is pixellated and at the later stages there might be a lot of flashy lights, but try it yourself since it's free to play and see if it bothers you. We didn't mind.

A brutal survival game with a distinctively spindly comic book aesthetic. Guide Wilson through a hazardous alternate world, crafting your way to some form of temporary safety. There will be battles to be had, food to be cooked, and sanity to be restored - it's pretty much got everything to keep you going for hours on end (at a time).

In the Don't Starve: Pocket Edition review we wrote we've stated that it's just as good as it is on PC. Despite the touch controls, it's well worth your time (oh and how much of it it'll take).

A sequel to Meteorfall: Journey that mixes roguelike deck-building mechanics with tense, strategic battles and a glorious cartoon art style. This time the latter incorporates a much deeper grid-based system.

Krumit's Tale feels as though it's meant to immerse you into a carefully animated genre-mixing game, with heavy roguelite elements and witty jokes arriving at the best time possible. Just take a look at our Meteorfall: Krumit's Tale review. It's spot-on.

Who says Android roguelikes can't have narrative heft? Out There is an atmospheric choose-your-own space adventure where no two runs are exactly the same. The comic-book-like graphics make this game feel like it just came off your shelf and into your mobile device, only to take you on a stunning gravity-defying adventure. We'd strongly suggest playing it on a tablet to enjoy it even more!

Oh, and did you know we wrote an Out There review? In there we've got details on every single aspect that we loved about this game and what we found to make this game well worth a playthrough.

Hoplite is the roguelike stripped down to its basics, and we love it for that. Guide your Spartan hero through successive randomly generated grid-like levels, waging snappy turn-based warfare on your foes, just like we mentioned in our Hoplite review.

The hexagon shapes present at each depth in this dungeon crawler allow for a lot of options, while also making it all the more challenging. Another one of its defining features is that, unlike many other Android roguelikes and roguelites, you won't be transported to a super challenging level in the blink of an eye. Instead, it takes its time so you can truly get used to the difficulty.

Void Tyrant is a colourful deck-building game built on solid roguelike foundations. At the heart of it is a game of interstellar Blackjack, as you aim to draw higher than your space alien foes without going bust.

If deck building and card battlers are your bread and butter, make sure you give this one a shot - you might be surprised by how well it's made and who knows, you might even find your next favourite interstellar roguelike game in Void Tyrant.

OneBit Adventure is here to fill the needs of a thirsty retro gamer, looking to find something similar to "that game he played back in the '80s". Even the music is 16-bit, and the sound is done in the same fashion. OneBit Adventure is a pixelated dungeon-crawler roguelike that has a nice dash of RPG in it. The first thing you'll notice is that combat is turn-based, which some might find unusual in this genre.

You'll equip your brave champion, level him up and stand bravely against the dragons and other foes until they smash you so hard that you end up as another stain on the walls of their dungeons. There are a lot of secrets to uncover, and you can use different character classes, so the fun should last a while.

Black Paradox juices up the classic 2D shooter with the judicious application of roguelike elements. It's got a bullet-hell vibe but with a little extra spice.

The pixel and brightly-coloured neon graphics feel at home and the option to customize your ship makes it even better. It's easily one of the best shoot-'em-up space roguelites on Android. We loved it quite a bit, and so we've decided to write a Black Paradox review. Give it a quick read!

Roguelike dungeon crawlers have flooded the mobile RPG space in recent years, and this PC conversion is one of the meatier examples, thanks to an overarching kingdom-building element.

The best part about that is if you've already started playing Desktop Dungeons on your PC you can continue off from mobile. The game allows for cross-platform play and that is something really cool especially if you want to dip your toes into a little bit of dungeon crawling when you're not at home.

Want more? We have a Desktop Dungeons review for your reading pleasure!

Road Not Taken splices roguelike elements into the tile-sliding puzzler, and the results are brilliant. Add into the mix a gorgeous cartoon art style and a surprisingly emotive story, and you have one of the best roguelikes for Android on this list.

Just don't get fooled by its appearance. The game is unforgiving, and the levels get tough pretty quickly. Also, the touch controls might not be exceptional at times, so you will also need to be mindful of where you tap!

Sproggiwood is a roguelike dungeon crawler in a similar vein to Desktop Dungeons. It sets itself apart with an altogether quirkier and more appealing Finnish fairytale aesthetic.

On a different note though, you can grow your own civilization, capture villagers of different classes, and adventure into the dungeons by using any of them. It's one of those games where you've got a lot of things to do outside of killing stuff, so that feels like a fresh breath of air when you want a short break from slaying.

A neon-soaked twin-stick shooter set in a rich cyberpunk universe. Neon Chrom's gunplay is gloriously hard-hitting, while its procedurally generated levels and run-based gameplay give it cybernetically enhanced legs.

You can enjoy fairly smooth touch controls and, something that you won't often see in games belonging to the genre - auto-aim in case it becomes too much to handle. Though we doubt it'll be necessary. And for an even more zoomed-in approach, we have a Neon Chrome review.

There's another similar roguelike on this list - Vampire Survivors. It just has a bit of an unserious tone when you compare them, this one is a bit more cartoony. Survivor.io came out at the right time, really. Apparently, everyone is yearning for titles like this one.

For those who aren't familiar with the concept, you are leading a character through a 2D world where hordes of monsters are trying to kill you. And if they do, it's game over. For that run, at least. What's good about it, is that you can always try again. Usually, when you get killed it means that you're either moving too aggressively or that you didn't pick the right weapons. It's rarely because Survivor.io is unfair, because, that's the whole point, your character against the whole world!

Cultist Simulator is described as a roguelike narrative card game, but that doesn't adequately prepare you for the sheer freewheeling possibilities of this cosmic Poker. Draw cards, explore arcane rites - then die and try it all again.

There are a lot of strategic elements in place, and if you leave your guard down for just a second, it might as well be game over. Make sure to check it out - it's likely going to keep you playing for hours. For more, don't miss our Cultist Simulator review.

Ah, good old Death Road to Canada.

Zombies have infected every gaming genre known to man, so a zombie roguelike survival action RPG was always on the cards. That's Death Road to Canada in a slightly unwieldy nutshell. It's pixelated, it's intense, it can be done in multiplayer more, but most importantly - it's awesome.

You'll rarely run into a gem like this one belonging to the roguelike genre, and if you're looking to loot, kill, and try to not die among other stuff, you need to check it out. And if you want more DRTC, we also have a Death Road to Canada review!

A solo card crawl with hefty roguelike elements, Card Quest is an absolute treat. Its finely balanced card combat leaves ample room for experimentation, and inching through its rich retro-RPG world is a delight.

Traverse the cities in search of new dungeons, loot as many treasure chests as you can, and try your best to beat all the bosses in Card Quest. It's all pretty straightforward, and it's done right. We did make a detailed Card Quest review if you want to learn more about this brilliant game.

Roguelikes might be having a bit of a phase right now, but it's not a new phenomenon. OneBit Adventure is a dungeon crawler RPG that looks rather retro with its pixelated graphics. Of course, death can be permanent (you can turn this on and off) and this is why it's a roguelike. Similar to some of the other titles on this list, you'll equip different items and level up your character in hopes of surviving another level.

Gameplay is rather simple, you'll move across the world in a pre-set path that's rather blocky, and when you encounter a foe, you just need to run into it. If you're stronger, you'll prevail! If not, well...turn off the permadeath option, or struggle a bit more.