Mobile gaming has never been bigger, and neither has the selection of roguelikes and roguelites you can take with you. Whether you’ve gotten 10 minutes to spare while waiting for a train or an hour to sink into another run on the sofa, there are now plenty of rogue games proving you don’t need a PC or console to enjoy everything the genre has to offer.
This week’s pick is Soul Knight, and if you’ve never played it before, don’t let its age fool you. First released back in 2017, it’s become one of the most successful mobile roguelites ever made, attracting millions of players while receiving years of updates, new characters, weapons, and game modes along the way.
If you’re looking for a rogue game you can take with you on the go, here’s why Soul Knight is worth considering…
It’s Ridiculously Easy to Pick Up and There’s Always Another Weapon to Explore
One of the hardest things about bringing an action roguelite to mobile is getting the controls right. Soul Knight absolutely nails them. Whether you are playing on Android or Apple devices, you’ll find it easy to pick up and play.
Movement feels smooth, aiming is helped by a subtle auto-targeting system that never feels intrusive, and within a few minutes you’re weaving between bullets, clearing rooms, and wondering how you accidentally ended up carrying a laser fish, a giant carrot, or some equally ridiculous weapon because…
If there’s one thing Soul Knight certainly isn’t short of, it’s weapons.
With more than 400 to discover, you’ll find everything from traditional swords and shotguns to magical staffs, oversized hammers, bizarre sci-fi gadgets, and enough over-the-top firearms to make almost every run feel different.
Half the fun comes from stumbling across something you’ve never seen before and immediately wondering whether it’s about to become your new favorite weapon.
Combined with procedurally generated dungeons and random upgrades, every run feels like another opportunity to discover a combination you never dreamed of.
There’s More Here Than You Might Expect
Like many great rogue games, Soul Knight has slowly grown over the years. Today you’ll find more than 20 playable heroes, each bringing their own abilities and playstyles, alongside multiplayer co-op, seasonal events, tower defense, gardening, fishing, challenge modes, and a surprising amount of permanent progression to keep unlocking between runs.
It’s the sort of game that’s very easy to underestimate. What begins as a quick dungeon crawler gradually reveals layer after layer of new systems, giving players plenty of reasons to keep coming back long after those first few runs.
It Wears Its Inspiration Proudly
It’s impossible to talk about Soul Knight without mentioning Enter the Gungeon. The similarities are obvious, and the developers have never really hidden the fact that the game takes inspiration from one of the genre’s modern classics.
The difference is that Soul Knight has spent the last eight years becoming its own thing.
The huge roster of characters, constant stream of updates, mobile-first controls, and wealth of additional game modes have helped build an enormous community that continues to grow even today. At this point, it feels less like a game trying to imitate another roguelite and more like one that’s comfortably carved out its own identity.
Why It’s Our Mobile Game of the Week
One of my favorite things about Soul Knight is you don’t need a huge amount of free time to enjoy it. Open the game, jump into a run, collect an absurd weapon you’ve never seen before, and attempt another run the next time you have a spare 10-15 minutes. There’s plenty to discover, it’s enjoyable, and if you do have time on your hands it’s easy to spend hours playing.
That’s exactly why Soul Knight has remained one of mobile gaming’s biggest roguelites for so long. It understands what makes the genre so enjoyable, wraps it up in a brilliantly accessible package, and somehow keeps finding new ways to surprise players years after it first launched.
If you’ve never given it a proper chance, this week’s Mobile Game of the Week is well worth downloading. It may have borrowed a few ideas from Enter the Gungeon, but after all these years, Soul Knight has more than earned its place as one of the best roguelikes you can play on your phone.