Roguelikes are one of the biggest genres right now and it’s easy to see why. They harken back to the arcade days wherein players could drop in a few coins, and die, but that urge to win would make them want to keep going. That’s kind of the same dopamine feeling players can get out of roguelikes and there are a lot of great ones to choose from with interesting heroes.
For example, the titular Skul inSkul: The Hero Slayerhas a cool design for a hero. He doesn’t say much but his ability to switch between heads to gain new powers is great. Selene fromReturnalhas a lot more depth as a character in a roguelike comparatively. Those are heroes, but what about villains?
The Last Dimensional Pirate is the name of the final boss inMoonlighter.Moonlighteris an interesting roguelikein that players fight in dungeons during the night to gather materials to then sell in a shop during the day. It’s two games in one, making for an interesting combo that is satisfying for a gameplay loop.
These dungeons appeared in town one day and there was no official explanation until the end. The Last Dimensional Pirate leads expeditions to alternate realities, robbing them of treasure and damaging them in the process. It is a good reveal and he’s a tough one to beat.
The Hand of the King is the final boss of the original build forDead Cells. There have since been DLC updates to include more bosses such asDracula from theCastlevaniaseries. In the original though, players tried to get to The King who was presumed to be the main villain.
The meeting is bittersweet though as The King was no more than a husk of a man, guarded by his retainer, The Hand of the King. It’s going to take more than a few tries to knock him down and even in victory, The Hand of the King can reveal more lore tidbits each time players retry a run.
Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragonshas an interesting roguelike system. Players can choose to tackle a few areas at the start, each headed by a big boss. When one district falls, the others will rise. Once all districts are cleared and bosses are behind bars, players can then go to a congratulatory meeting with The Mayor.
Players can accept to rule the city with him by taking a bribe, or refuse to reveal The Mayor was behind the whole thing. He’s just another in a long line of corrupt politicians in games, but the big difference is that this one is incredibly ripped.
Ou is the final boss ofChildren of Morta. It is an entity that was bound to the land by the founders of the Bergson family. Years later, Ou and his plague known as The Corruption escape their shackles to wreak havoc once again. Players pick up as the new caretakers of the Bergson family who all play differently. The father John for example uses a sword and shield while his son, Kevin, uses twin daggers and stealth. Coming upon Ou feels like an event given everything that this god did to the Bergsons throughout the game.
Drill Knight is the main antagonist ofShovel Knight Dig, a roguelike spinoff to the mainline platformer series. It was a good idea to turn the series into a vertical digging game akin toMr. Driller, a classic arcade game from Bandai Namco.
Players will dig with Shovel Knight and get power-ups and currency that can then boost Shovel Knight on the next run. It’s a typical roguelike loop complete with an over-the-top villain at the end. Drill Knight uses a lot of drills and has a lot of drills on his body so much so that he seems like a lost villain from theGurren Lagannanime series.
Octavo is the main antagonist ofCadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer Featuring The Legend of Zelda, a pseudo-sequel toCrypt of the NecroDancer. The heroine from that series, Cadence, gets transported to Hyrule because of this mad musician experimenting with things he shouldn’t.
Together, alongside Link and Zelda, Cadence will go through the land and defeat classic bosses from the series. Octavo will be waiting at the end for a musical finaleThe Legend of Zeldaseries has never seen before. Unlike Ganon, Octavo has a different side to him which gets revealed at the end and is a big reason why this villain sticks out so much. No spoilers though.
This pick is a bit high-minded but follow this groove for a second. The big gimmick ofRogue Legacyis that the original hero had his family cursed upon entering a castle. Now, this family is chained to this evil castle forever unless they kill the entity inside.
When a player dies they will continue as their offspring. The final boss is Johannes (The Traitor) but one could argue that the castle itself is an enemy too. It rearranges itself constantly and spawns enemies to boot. Who says places can’t be evil?
Hades is the titular mainvillain ofHades, the father of the hero, Zagreus. Zagreus wants to escape the underworld to see what awaits him on the surface. He wants to be reunited with his mother, Persephone, which Hades is firmly against.
If players manage to beat Hades and get Zagreus to Persephone, that’s not the end of the game. Continuously beating Hades will reveal new details about this dark royal family. Hades is one of the most well-thought-out villains in a roguelike ever created and he ranks up there with the all-time greats of complex villains in video games.
