56 posts in this topic.
Slay the Spire didn't invent the deckbuilder — Dominion has been on tables since 2008 — but it did something more important: it proved a single-player roguelike deckbuilder could be a complete, lasting genre. A decade later, the field is genuinely crowded in the good way. Balatro turned poker into a slot machine for math nerds and won every award in 2024. Inscryption made you afraid of your own deck. Monster Train added vertical lanes. Cobalt Core stacked positioning on top of card draft. Wildfrost, Griftlands, Roguebook, Across the Obelisk — each one finds a different lever to pull on the same core loop.
What unites them is the dopamine of building something that wasn't there at the start of the run. You begin with a mediocre starting deck and twenty minutes later you've assembled a machine that ends fights in two turns. That moment — when the synergies you've been hoping for finally line up and you watch your engine fire — is what the genre is really selling. Everything else is presentation.
Granny's Gambit is our entry in the genre. Victorian setting, stubborn grandma, a deck of tea cards, spectacles, and increasingly dangerous tricks. We built it because we wanted to see what a deckbuilder looked like with manners and menace. The posts below cover the genre broadly — recommendations, breakdowns, comparisons, and the dev work behind our own.
The May and June 2026 roguelite releases worth your attention, from confirmed launches to Early Access entries to wishlist.
The roguelites that resist meta collapse, with multiple distinct strategies viable at the highest difficulty.
The roguelites that genuinely commit to the power fantasy, with meta progression that makes you measurably stronger between runs.
The best roguelite deckbuilders in 2026, from foundational classics to new entries worth a demo this week, plus an honest take on the Slay the Spire 2 controversy.
Roguelike vs roguelite — what the terms actually mean, where they came from, and why the difference matters when you're picking your next game.
All 5 Slay the Spire 2 characters ranked for high Ascension clears. Ironclad is still the king. Necrobinder is the surprise. Regent needs help.
All 4 Slay the Spire characters ranked for Ascension 20. Watcher is busted, Silent is deep, and Defect is the friend who's either brilliant or useless.
All 150 Balatro Jokers ranked from S to D tier for Gold Stake clears. Blueprint is still broken. Cavendish still hasn't self-destructed. We checked.
The most addictive games — the titles that turn 'one more run' into 3 AM and 'just five more minutes' into five more hours.
Best Nintendo Switch games in 2026 — exclusives, indie gems, and the must-play library as the Switch era enters its final chapter.
The 12 best iOS games of 2026. Premium games, Apple Arcade picks, and free games that aren't predatory monetization dressed up as gameplay.
The 15 best Android games of 2026. No pay-to-win garbage, no ad-infested clones. Games that respect your time and deliver real gameplay on your phone.
The history of roguelike games — from Rogue in 1980 to Hades, Slay the Spire, and Vampire Survivors, tracing how a niche genre conquered gaming.
Best games under $10 on Steam — cheap games that deliver dozens of hours without feeling cheap.
The best games under $20 — indie masterpieces and discounted classics that deliver more hours and more quality than most $70 releases.
The most replayable games — roguelikes, sandbox games, and narrative RPGs with enough branching that every playthrough feels different.
The most influential video games of all time — the titles that invented genres, defined eras, and changed how every game after them was designed.
The best games for Steam Deck in 2026 — Deck-verified picks that play great on a handheld, organized by genre and session length.
The best games like Hades 2 — roguelikes with deep combat, narrative between runs, and the specific Supergiant Games polish.
BG3 class tier list ranking all 12 classes for Tactician and Honour Mode — raw power, flexibility, multiclass potential, and which classes actually carry late game.
The best 2D games across every genre — pixel art masterpieces, hand-drawn adventures, and side-scrolling classics that prove 2D remains essential.
The best cozy games — relaxing, stress-free gaming experiences that let you build, explore, and unwind without combat pressure.
The best deck building games across roguelikes, strategy, and tabletop-inspired formats — from Slay the Spire to hidden gems.
The best indie games released in 2026 so far — from bullet heavens to horror to narrative experiments. Updated as new standouts ship.
The best indie games ever made — from genre-defining classics to hidden gems most people missed. No filler, no padding, just games worth your time.
The best indie games on Nintendo Switch — hidden gems and essential titles that make the Switch the ultimate indie gaming device.
The best metroidvania games from Hollow Knight to hidden gems — exploration-focused action platformers with ability-gated progression.
The best roguelike and roguelite games worth playing — from traditional dungeon crawlers to deckbuilders to bullet heavens. Every subgenre covered.
The best roguelite games — run-based action games with persistent progression that make death feel like progress instead of punishment.
The best single player games worth your time — from narrative masterpieces to deep RPGs and indie experiences that don't need multiplayer to shine.
The best story games worth playing — narrative-driven experiences from indie masterpieces to AAA classics that prove games can tell stories no other medium can.
The best games like Balatro — math-driven roguelikes, poker variants, and deckbuilders where scoring combos takes over your brain.
The best games like Baldur's Gate 3 — deep CRPGs, D&D-inspired adventures, and narrative RPGs with meaningful choices and party-based combat.
The best games like The Binding of Isaac — top-down roguelikes with grotesque charm, item synergies, and hundreds of hours of replayability.
The best games like Buckshot Roulette — short horror experiences, psychological tension games, and strategic deadly encounters that get in your head.
The best games like Cult of the Lamb — management games with dark themes, roguelite hybrids, and indie games that mix cute aesthetics with disturbing content.
The best games like Disco Elysium — narrative RPGs with exceptional writing, meaningful choices, and worlds that treat you like an adult.
The best games like Hades — action roguelites with tight combat, narrative progression through death, and builds that make you feel unstoppable.
The best games like Hollow Knight — metroidvanias, atmospheric exploration games, and challenging action platformers with that same magic.
The best games like Inscryption — meta-narrative card games, fourth-wall-breaking experiences, and deckbuilders with secrets hiding under the surface.
The best games like League of Legends — MOBAs with deep strategic depth, team-based online games, and alternatives to Riot's dominant franchise.
The best games like Outer Wilds — exploration games where knowledge is the only progression and discovery is the reward.
The best games like Palworld — monster-catching survival games, creature-collecting crafters, and open-world games with companions you can tame.
The best games like Pokemon — monster catching RPGs, creature collection games, and indie tributes to the franchise that defined the genre.
The best games like Slay the Spire — roguelike deckbuilders that scratch the same strategic itch with their own unique twist.
The best games like Stardew Valley — farming sims, cozy RPGs, and life sims that scratch the same itch without just copying the formula.
The best games like Undertale — RPGs that subvert expectations, break the fourth wall, and make your choices genuinely matter.
How to actually make indie games — engine choices, scope management, AI tools, publishing, and what nobody tells you about finishing a project.
The best indie horror games — from psychological terror to co-op chaos. These are the ones that stick with you after you close the game.
The most popular indie games people are actually playing right now — what's trending, what's lasting, and what makes them work.
What makes a game indie? The real definition, how indie games differ from AAA, and why the indie scene keeps producing the most interesting games in the industry.
What is a roguelike game? The history, the mechanics, the roguelite distinction, and why this genre structure has taken over indie gaming.
The best free browser games you can play right now without downloading anything — from bullet heavens to deckbuilders to puzzle games.
Indie deckbuilder roguelikes are evolving fast. Here's what's driving the genre forward and the games pushing it in unexpected directions.
The best games like Vampire Survivors — bullet heaven and survivors-like games that actually do something new with the formula.
The story behind our first shipped game. A Victorian deckbuilder roguelike starring a grandma who refuses to go quietly.