As a longtime gamer, I didn’t immediately gravitate towards strategy games. I grew up on platformers, and it was a monumental shift going from those to games like Fire Emblem and Final Fantasy Tactics. But once I made that shift, I really enjoyed strategy games.
Over the years, though, the lasting value of many strategy games began to diminish. Which is why I was pleased that so many modern strategy games started to incorporate roguelike mechanics. Yes, not everyone loves the subgenre, but it can add a lot of lasting value.
Here’s our list of several fun and challenging strategy games filled to the brim with roguelike mechanics. Whether it’s a grid-based darling or a dark and bloody RPG, there’s a game that will force you to adapt and learn on the fly, or suffer the consequences.
10 Crowntakers
A Medieval Fantasy Adventure
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Platforms |
PC |
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Publisher |
Kasedo Games |
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Genre |
Strategy |
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Release Date |
November 7, 2014 |
The king has been abducted, and the realm is in chaos. What better setting could there be for a strategy roguelike such as Crowntakers? As an added stressor, you have a limited amount of time to rescue the monarch.
Crowntakers uses procedural generation to provide a different map every time, and it’s your job to assemble a dream team of mercenaries to get the job done. Though it doesn’t feature super stylish graphics, the art is still charming and enjoyable.
The only slight downside for me personally is that I have a hard time with hexagonal maps in strategy games. They tend to force you to think three or four moves ahead instead of a couple, and can lead to disaster much faster if you’re not careful.
9 Tyrant’s Blessing
From Monarchs to Tyrants
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Platforms |
mobile, PC, Nintendo Switch |
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Publisher |
indie.io |
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Genre |
Strategy, Turn-based tactics |
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Release Date |
August 8, 2022 |
As someone who was really infatuated with games like Final Fantasy Tactics, I was pleasantly surprised to find a mix of that sort of gameplay with rogue-like challenge. Which is just what indie.io gave us in Tyrant’s Blessing.
The realm is free from war, suffering, and death. There’s just one small problem — there’s a LOT of undead as a result of the tyrant’s so-called blessing.
You play one of the last bastions of living warriors, struggling to survive and topple the tyrant’s reign. Every choice matters, and that includes which battles you fight. If you’re not cautious, you might just end up another magical thrall of the Tyrant themselves.
While the game can be pretty demanding, it’s a fun challenge for those who feel up to the task. Unfortunately, a lack of balance means you’ll be playing for a while until you can finally topple the Tyrant.
8 Evertried
A Moody Afterlife
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Platforms |
PC, Mac, Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S |
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Publisher |
DANGEN Entertainment |
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Genre |
Isometric strategy |
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Release Date |
October 21, 2021 |
While many of the games on this list are on the difficult side, Evertried takes the cake. I’ve only been able to get past the second boss of the game, and that’s after spending hours and hours playing it.
That said, it’s also incredibly stylish and compelling, and it keeps demanding you try one more time. The good news is, the enemies don’t move until you do, and you can always see the area of effect for attacks.
The bad news is, things escalate quickly, and the foes love to corner you and pounce. It’s best to find ways to draw them close to you without getting within their range of attack.
Mix in the roguelike mayhem of which relics you have equipped each run, and you can start to see the true difficulty. Evertried is really, really challenging. But maybe you’ll persevere and get out of this purgatory, along with your lost memories.
7 Star Renegades
Survival Against the Imperium
While most of the games on this list are grid-based, turn-based affairs, Star Renegades is a bit of a rebel. It’s very much a turn-based adventure with lots of rogue flair, but it’s also one where you control a team of warriors, not unlike classic Final Fantasy.
The key hook of the game is quantum possibility, with each failure recorded by a robot named J5T-1N, who relays that to the next team of scrappy heroes.
And they’ll need all the help they can get, because much like the last game, Star Renegades can be brutally hard and has some severe difficulty spikes. Most notably, the epic boss battles, many against giant, fierce mecha.
On the plus side, Star Renegades is one of the downright prettiest games on this list. So it will hurt just a bit less every time you suffer an ignominious defeat.
6 Plunge
Sliding Into the Depths
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Platforms |
PC, Nintendo Switch |
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Publisher |
Spooky Buns Games |
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Genre |
Strategy |
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Release Date |
August 23, 2019 |
I’ve played plenty of strategy games, but not too many that are also ice puzzles. Generally, I’m not fond of the latter, but in Plunge, they managed to mix the two quite effectively.
You’re just another prisoner trying to fight your way out of a mega prison full of mercenaries, monsters, and freaks. And though you start with Billie, you’ll eventually unlock a whole rogues’ gallery of inmates to control, each with unique ways to play.
When the game works, it’s really smooth and effortless, with you moving into and attacking foes. But things go off the rails a bit when faced with gigantic, over-the-top boss battles.
5 Inkbound
Take the Train to Atheneum
Most folks know Shiny Shoe from the Monster Train games. But they also made a tactical, roguelike adventure called Inkbound, where written words are brought to dangerous life.
Though turn-based, you’ll have to strategically alternate between when you attack fast and when you carefully bide your time. As you progress, you’ll unlock a variety of new character classes to mix things up in your favor.
Unlike almost every game on this list, Inkbound does feature cooperative play as well as single player. So if you need a helping hand, why not join some mates while traveling inside literal story worlds?
4 Loop Hero
Ouroboros Tactics
Usually, Devolver Digital focuses on crazed action experiences over strategy games. Which is part of why games like Loop Hero stood out so much.
It’s the tale of an abominable Lich who has trapped the entire land in a never-ending loop. Even more unique, it’s your job to place everything on the board, from structures to allies and even monsters.
You do this all with a set of mystical cards, and as you play, you’ll unlock powerful new perks which just might help you secure victory. Just don’t expect it quickly, because Loop Hero is one hell of a temporal knot to untie.
3 Darkest Dungeon
Can You Withstand the Shadows?
Generally, most strategy games have you focus on the combat itself. But Darkest Dungeon takes a page from classics like The Oregon Trail, and has you balance factors like your hero’s health and sanity.
As you might imagine, this can make it much trickier, especially when you factor in the roguelike randomness of each quest. Stress will always be a factor, thanks in large part to the eldritch horrors that await you.
Still, this is a pristine dungeon crawler that forces you to balance several factors if you have any hope of survival. Just don’t expect an easy trip, since this roguelike strategy adventure also includes permadeath.
2 Shogun Showdown
Deckbuilder Meets Ancient Japan
It’s possible you haven’t heard of Shogun Showdown, despite being familiar with many others on this list. That’s okay, because it’s a pretty recent entry, and one that flew under my radar at first.
But after having played it, I can confirm it’s both highly demanding and one of the better strategy games I’ve played. And it doesn’t hurt that it’s also a simple and stylish deckbuilder.
Every movement is key in the game, and gives the enemy a chance to attack. You’ll use tiles drawn from your deck to attack, and can even choose the order they’re activated in, which is key.
There are also plenty of new weapons you’ll unlock, as well as additional classes. No matter which you choose, though, this is a game that rewards careful and deliberate planning.
1 Into the Breach
Save the Future
There have been a lot of amazing strategy games with roguelike mechanics on this list, but the one that had to take the gold was Into the Breach. Not necessarily because it’s my favorite, but because it’s immaculately conceived despite being brutally hard.
Earth is on the ropes, and gigantic alien monsters called Vek are burrowing to the surface, causing damage and chaos. You get to pilot a team of desperate heroes to try and defeat them while protecting the remnants of your cities.
Each mission has different objectives, and the game is great about showing where attacks will connect. That’s not the same as saying it’s easy, since this game can kill you in a couple of turns easily.
Thankfully, Into the Breach has a multitude of different pilots to unlock, as well as various mechs, each with distinct abilities to aid you. Master how each plays and work efficiently, and maybe enough of your team will survive to see the future.
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Author: 360 Technology Group
