Roguelike fans are one group of gamers that love nothing more than a challenge. Whether they’re playing a pure roguelike that relies on a combination of good luck and sharp mechanics, or playing a roguelite that allows them to upgrade after each death, roguelike fans love the satisfaction of finally completing a run after losing — sometimes hundreds of times.
Luckily, the Nintendo Switch’s library is filled to the brim with fantastic roguelike games, and even though the Switch is considered a more casual system by many, many of these roguelikes have absolutely no mercy on its players! Whether their RNG is tuned completely against the player or they force the player to turn their reflexes up to 100, these roguelikes are sure to challenge any Nintendo Switch player!
Not only isWorld of Horrorone of the hardest roguelikes on the Switch, it’s one ofthe hardest games on the Switch— period!World of Horrorfeels almost like playing a tabletop board game that is based on a perfect hybrid of Junji Ito and H.P. Lovecraft, and there are even references to both throughout the game.
The difficulty ofWorld of Horroris in how unforgiving it is. During runs, players must continually investigate areas, which leads to random events where the player must choose an option and make a successful skill check. If the player fails a check, the consequences can mean anything from losing money to receiving a cosmic hole curse that deals damage after each mystery. Mix these curses and injuries with fight after fight against gruesome and cosmic horrors, and beatingWorld of Horrorquickly becomes a daunting task.
5Dicey Dungeons
Dice-Based Roguelike Dependent On RNG
Dicey Dungeonsis one of the few roguelikes that has taken some of themost popular roguelike mechanicsand added in something that players never knew was missing; dice!Dicey Dungeon’s difficulty lies in its RNG, which is to be expected in a dice game. Players will find themselves quite literally unable to win due to poor rolls, but that just makes victory all the sweeter.
On top of the heaviness of the RNG,Dicey Dungeonalso has added challenges in each episode. The main challenge inDicey Dungeonfor players, beyond hoping for good rolls, is to figure out how to work around and abuse whatever the challenge is, which adds another layer of puzzles to the difficulty.
Risk of Rain 2has maintained popularity as one of the best modern roguelikes that fans of the genre can play, even with its difficulty, just because it’s so fun.There are a ton of characters to choose from inRisk of Rain 2, and each one feels unique and can lead to very broken (and extremely fun) builds.
What makesRisk of Rain 2so difficult is its randomness. Power ups that players can collect throughout a run are completely random, so players never know when they’ll receive 5 super-synergizing items and stack them until their build is completely busted — or, more likely, when their luck will be completely dried up, and they’ll be left facing hundreds of enemies with power ups that basically do nothing with their character. This RNG, however, is what makes the game so fun and what makes successful runs so satisfying!
We Need To Go Deeperisone of the best co-op roguelikes on the Switch, but playing with friends does not make it any easier!We Need To Go Deeperplaces players on a submarine where they must steer the ship, use its guns to blow away deadly fish, and repair the submarine as holes form and enemies get in and barnicalize everyone’s faces.
We Need To Go Deeperis best played with multiple players, but the game can be enjoyed solo. The difficulty ofWe Need To Go Deeperis in the stress of managing the submarine. It always feels like something is going wrong, something needs to be torpedoed, something needs to be repaired, or something has broken in and needs to be killed. So, players need to be very good at multitasking and staying calm under pressure, no matter how many players are in the game.
One Step From Edenlooks and feels a lot like aMega Man Battle Networkgame with deck building on a 4x4 grid. However,One Step From Edenintroduces a new type of difficulty in the form of reaction time! InOne Step From Eden, players don’t just need to build a strong deck for their character; they need to be able to react in combat and learn attack patterns to come out on top.
Despite not being the most popular,One Step From Edenis one of the best roguelikes available, whether on the Switch or anywhere else. With that being said, the gameplay fits extremely well on the Nintendo Switch, as does its entire UI and style.
Darkest Dungeonhas been hailed as one of the best and most difficult roguelikes, basically, since its release.Darkest Dungeon’s themes and difficulty will remind players ofall the hardest Fromsoft games. InDarkest Dungeon, however, players will not have to rely on quick reflexes. Players will have toagonize over every move during the turn-based battles— unless they want to be at the mercy of merciless RNG that is tuned completely against them.
Darkest Dungeonis difficult because it forces players to really think about every single move they make or be forced to lose their party to unfortunate happenstance.Darkest Dungeonplays very well on the Nintendo Switch and, despite its grittiness, feels like it was almost made for the system.
