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Updated 2026-06-09 · 12 games

The Best Roguelike Games on iPhone

The best roguelike and roguelite games on iPhone in 2026 — run-based dungeon crawlers, deckbuilders, and bullet-heavens with permadeath, hand-tested by our editors.

Roguelikes are the genre of the perfect comeback — die, learn, build a smarter run, and finally crack it on attempt forty. The 'just one more run' loop is tailor-made for a phone, and iOS now hosts some of the best in the genre, period. We ranked these on run variety, meaningful permadeath, and how addictive that climb-back-up cycle truly is.

Our Top 12 Picks

Ranked by our editors. Tap a game's blurb to see why it made the cut.

1
DC

Dead Cells

Playdigious Action

A brutal, gorgeous action-roguelite with the tightest combat on mobile. Randomized castles and lightning-fast dodges make every run feel fresh — a console game in your pocket, offline.

2
ST

Slay the Spire

Humble Games Card

The roguelike deckbuilder that crystallized the whole sub-genre. Every ascent is a fresh puzzle of card draft and relic synergy — die, refine your strategy, and climb the tower again, forever.

3
H

Hades

Supergiant Games Action

The award-winning roguelite, masterfully ported to touch and controller. Escape the underworld through razor-sharp combat and writing so good you welcome every death.

4
VS

Vampire Survivors

poncle Action Free

A hypnotic bullet-heaven where you barely move and screen-filling chaos snowballs around you. Free, offline, and physically impossible to put down once the upgrades cascade.

5
SP

Shattered Pixel Dungeon

Evan Debenham Role Playing Free

A pure, traditional turn-based roguelike with deep item synergies and genuine permadeath stakes. Free, open-source, and endlessly deep — a roguelike purist's dream.

6
B

Balatro

Playstack Card

A poker-roguelike that reinvents the deck into a slot-machine of escalating chaos. Build absurd scoring engines run after run — a premium masterpiece and instant classic.

7
WS

Wayward Souls

Rocketcat Games Action

A fast, replayable action-RPG roguelike built from the ground up for touch. Procedural dungeons keep every run fresh, with controls that are a masterclass in mobile design.

8
SK

Soul Knight

ChillyRoom Action Free

A frantic top-down roguelike shooter packed with guns, heroes, and chaos. Generous, endlessly replayable, and one of the most purely fun free roguelites on the store.

9
B

Brotato

Erabit Action Free

A chaotic arena roguelite where a potato wields up to six weapons against waves of aliens. Snappy runs and absurd build variety make it the perfect bite-sized fix.

10
PD

Pixel Dungeon

Watabou Role Playing Free

The free roguelike that launched a thousand forks. Classic dungeon-crawling with permadeath, hunger, and devious items — distilled, demanding, and deeply moreish.

11
C

Cardpocalypse

Versus Evil Card

A charming roguelike deckbuilder set in a '90s playground, where you rewrite card rules with stickers. Inventive, funny, and a refreshing twist on the formula.

12
N

Nethack

NetHack Team Role Playing Free

The legendary, decades-old ASCII roguelike that defined the genre, playable on iPhone. Impossibly deep and famously unforgiving — the ultimate run-based rabbit hole.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best roguelike on iPhone?

Dead Cells, Slay the Spire, and Hades are the premium standouts; Vampire Survivors and Shattered Pixel Dungeon are the best free roguelikes on iOS.

Are there free roguelikes on iPhone?

Yes — Vampire Survivors, Shattered Pixel Dungeon, Soul Knight, Brotato, and Nethack are all free to play.

What is the difference between a roguelike and a roguelite?

Roguelikes (like Shattered Pixel Dungeon) feature permadeath with no permanent progress, while roguelites (like Dead Cells and Hades) let you keep some upgrades between runs.

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