As predicted, Hades 2 officially launched to rave reviews last month, instantly becoming one of the biggest games of 2025.
Like its 2020 predecessor, Hades 2 is the perfect marriage of superbly designed run-based gameplay, incredibly enjoyable combat and a compelling story involving attractive quarrelling gods. It’s a shining example of the “roguelike” genre, which is built around gradual progression through failure and tinkering with different builds to find your preferred play style.
But it’s far from the only game in this genre that’s worth your attention.
Here are three others you should download when (or if) you’re able to put Hades 2 down.
Rogue Legacy 2
The original Rogue Legacy was one of the most important games in the roguelike (or roguelite if you want to get all pedantic) genre, and its sequel improves on it in nearly every way.
The basic setup is this: you begin the game as a knight tasked with exploring procedurally generated dungeons in a castle overrun with enemies that range from slugs to skeletons.
Each time you die, you’re replaced by your heir, which might be a mage in one run and a surprisingly capable chef in the next.
As in Hades 2, you can use currency collected in a previous run to upgrade your base and grow stronger. The castle serves as a hub to a variety of distinct biomes, all of which are a delight to explore thanks to Rogue Legacy 2’s hand-drawn 2D visuals and general good-time vibe.
Just like Hades 2, death in Rogue Legacy 2 never feels like punishment, and there’s so much variety in its class system that every session is totally different.
Absolum
Hades 2 is clearly the biggest roguelike event of 2025, but you really shouldn’t sleep on Absolum if you enjoy the genre.
Released a few weeks after Supergiant’s sequel, Absolum is a high fantasy Streets of Rage-style beat ‘em up with roguelite elements mixed in, resulting in something that feels decidedly old-school and fresh at the same time.
Set in the land of Talamh, you play as one of four rebels – a sword-wielding elf, a dwarf, a half-puppet ninja, and a frog wizard – in pursuit of the Sun King Azra, who has drained the world of its magic
Absolum can either be played solo or in two-player co-op, and absolutely nails the arcade-style brawling (no surprise given the developer previously worked on the superb Streets of Rage 4). But, where it differs from the classics is in its roguelike structure, which lets you pick up new spells and passive abilities as you progress through a run, while investing in more permanent upgrades each time you die.
Absolum requires a fair bit of grinding during its punishing early hours, but its deceptively deep combat system and vibrant Saturday morning cartoon-inspired visuals make it a real treat.
Balatro
On paper, Balatro’s warped assortment of playing cards aren’t quite as exciting as Hades 2’s glorious combat and sexy gods, but the former is just as moreish in its design.
Like Hades 2, Balatro is a roguelike where you're meant to fail a lot before you triumph in a run. But here, as opposed to frantically slaughtering dungeons full of demons, you’re deckbuilding and playing poker hands.
But where in real poker you’re meant to win within the framework of existing rules, Balatro asks you to break through them. Each run sees you levelling up your hands to amass more chips, which you can use to make traditionally weaker hands comically powerful.
Then there are the Joker cards, which when used properly can completely break the game – in a good way.
It’s a game that can make you feel like a god one minute, and then mercilessly crush you the next when it suddenly decides you’ve been relying a bit too much on one strategy. Never has being humbled felt so satisfying.
Balatro’s open encouragement of cheating, coupled with its for trippy visuals and hypnotic looping music, make this a card game for everyone – including those who usually hate them.
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