Highlights

  • PlayStation 5 offers challenging roguelike games like Risk of Rain 2 , Hades , and Dead Cells .
  • Titles like The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth and Returnal are known for their unforgiving difficulty.
  • Spelunky 2 , a PlayStation 4 game, is also rated as one of the hardest roguelike games on PS5.

Roguelikes are among some of the most challenging games in history, with the genre's difficulty trend only having genres like soulslikes for competition. While there may be countless great roguelike games on the PlayStation 5, players who are looking for those with difficulty can still find a challenge for themselves on the latest generation of the Sony console.

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While the PlayStation 5 may be praised for allowing roguelike titles to have receptive combat that allows players to quickly dodge out the way of attacks or make fast decisions, these roguelike titles are by far the hardest on the console, ranked using GameFAQs ratings.

6 Risk Of Rain 2

3.85/5 Difficulty - Tough

Risk of Rain 2

Platform(s)
Xbox One , Nintendo Switch , PC , PS4
Released
September 11, 2020
Developer(s)
Hopoo Games
Genre(s)
Third-Person Shooter , Roguelike

Players who are looking for a roguelike game on the PlayStation 5 that has as much vibrancy as it does difficulty, then they should look no further than Risk of Rain 2. A lot of the difficulty of Risk of Rain 2 comes from the hordes of enemies that players are expected to defeat through third-person shooter combat.

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While playing Risk of Rain 2 with a friend on PS5 may make the roguelike easier, players who decide to fight alone may find themselves easily overwhelmed. With a selection of difficulties to choose from, too, players have a lot more control over how hard of an experience they want.

5 Hades

3.86/5 Difficulty - Tough

Hades

Released
September 17, 2020
Developer(s)
Supergiant Games
Genre(s)
Action RPG , Roguelite

Hades is a roguelike experience where players take on the role of Zagreus as he attempts to escape the underworld to find his mother, Persephone, on the surface. Fighting through the different levels of the underworld may not be as challenging as other games mentioned in this list, but it's still quite a tough challenge for players on the PlayStation 5.

The more successful runs of the game the player achieves, the harder it will become for players. For example, bosses like Megaera will be swapped out for one of her other sisters, who has a completely different set of moves, as well as being able to increase the damage done by enemies once the player has beaten Hades at least once.

4 The Binding Of Isaac: Rebirth

3.94/5 Difficulty - Tough/Unforgiving

The Binding of Isaac

Platform(s)
PC
Released
September 28, 2011
Developer(s)
Edmund McMillen , Florian Himsl
Genre(s)
Roguelike

The Binding of Isaac is a classic roguelike title that has been enjoyed on countless platforms, including the PlayStation 5. However, no matter how much The Binding of Isaac is enjoyed, it cannot be denied that it is also an incredibly difficult roguelike title.

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The difficulty of The Binding of Isaac has only gotten harder with the expansion known as The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, which made the roguelike title feel like an entirely new experience. GameFAQs deemed The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth to be an incredibly challenging experience, with many players feeling the title is incredibly unforgiving as dying will see all the player's progress lost as they must make it to Mom's Heart or deeper all over again.

3 Dead Cells

4.02/5 Difficulty - Tough/Unforgiving

Dead Cells

Platform(s)
PS4 , Xbox One , Switch , PC , Android , iOS
Released
August 7, 2018
Developer(s)
Motion Twin
Genre(s)
Roguelike

Risk of Rain 2 isn't the only game filled with vibrant color, which is also one of the hardest roguelike games for players to try on the PS5. Dead Cells combines the difficulty of two incredible genres as players not only fight for survival possessing various bodies but also find themselves taking part in combat that is fitting of a metroidvania title.

Besides the usual difficulty of combat, players will eventually unlock the ability to make the game harder for themselves in Dead Cells, which will not only increase the number of bosses the player faces during their run, but also how much damage normal enemies deal too.

2 Returnal

4.19/5 Difficulty - Tough/Unforgiving

Returnal

Platform(s)
PS5 , PC
Released
April 30, 2021
Developer(s)
Housemarque
Genre(s)
Third-Person Shooter

Returnal was an exclusive PlayStation 5 game that players were unable to experience on any other platform until recently, when it was brought to PC. Players have found this game, which was developed by Housemarque, to be incredibly unforgiving as they are forced to fight for their lives in the hope of escaping an alien world.

However, this planet isn't what it seems, as dying causes the cycle to restart once more, pushing the player back to the beginning. With bullet hell combat and an assortment of deadly foes to face, any player that has attempted Returnal has to first overcome its difficulty before falling in love with it.

1 Spelunky 2

4.75/5 Difficulty - Unforgiving

Spelunky 2

Released
September 15, 2020
Developer(s)
Mossmouth , BlitWorks
Genre(s)
Roguelike , Platformer

Out of all the roguelike games available on the PlayStation 5, it's of no surprise to see the PlayStation 4 game Spelunky 2 rated one of the hardest. The original Spelunky title was already a challenge as players avoided various traps and enemies while searching for treasure.

Spelunky 2 increased the number of traps and enemies with an assortment of new types, which means players should always be watching their steps while exploring deep underground on the moon. Like any good roguelike title, dying leads the player straight back to the beginning, where an entirely new run will be waiting for them, with plenty more challenges.

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