The Best Deckbuilding Games on Steam

Like a lot of other niche subgenres, all it took for the deckbuilding card-battler to blow up was one really good game that perfectly executed the formula. There were other deckbuilding games before Slay the Spire, but its success and widespread acclaim proved that the subgenre had legs, with it ultimately going on to become one of the most popular formats for a roguelike. Since Slay the Spire, there have been countless card-battling deckbuilding games that mix RPG mechanics, turn-based tactics, and even survival horror into the formula to great effect, and these are the best titles in the growing subgenre precisely because they offer something unique that other games don't.

• Release Date — April 25, 2025
• Developer — Konafa Games
• Publisher — No More Robots
• Steam User Score — 84% (Very Positive)

One of the newer deckbuilding games on this list, Starless Abyss is an addictive blend of card-battling, tactical combat, and Lovecraftian horror that seemingly gets better with each run. As the commander of a last-defense crew fighting against the "Old Gods" creeping into our reality through dimensional tears, you must collect both ships and cards while maneuvering them strategically on a hexagonal grid. The cards themselves showcase some interesting defensive and offensive abilities that are continually rewarding, and the sense of power creep in each run is just enough to dangle the carrot for another go after you fail for the 10th (or 20th) time.

• Release Date — December 2, 2021
• Developer — Ground Shatter
• Publisher — Raw Fury
• Steam User Score — 91% (Very Positive)

One of the first games to blend turn-based tactics with a deckbuilding roguelike, Fights in Tight Spaces is a brilliant title that asks, "What if John Wick were a tactical card-battling game?". If there's one downside to Fights in Tight Spaces, it's that the title's meta-progression is tied to unlocking more cards, which means you're still at the mercy of RNG and which hand you pull in each round. Still, the visuals and art style of Fights in Tight Spaces work overtime to emphasize the viscerality of its combat, and its core gameplay loop trims everything back to just the essentials: playing cards and punching bad guys.

• Release Date — June 1, 2021
• Developer — Klei Entertainment
• Publisher — Klei Entertainment
• Steam User Score — 93% (Very Positive)

Klei Entertainment has a strong track record at tackling new genres, so it should come as no surprise to see the studio's one and only deckbuilding roguelike end up on a list of the best deckbuilding games. Much more narrative-led than several of the other best games in the subgenre, Griftlands' writing and characters are just as strong as its excellent combat and branching progression paths, and it's honestly impressive how every new run can still feel different from the last. Griftlands also happens to be one of the harder deckbuilders at first, but gradually unlocking more cards and improving each character's abilities provides a worthwhile sense of progression.

• Release Date — March 4, 2021
• Developer — Four Quarters
• Publisher — Devolver Digital
• Steam User Score — 92% (Very Positive)

Part deckbuilder, part old-school RPG, and part auto-battler, Loop Hero is more than just one of the best deckbuilding games. It's one of the best roguelikes, period. A large part of what makes Loop Hero so special is its aesthetic and art direction, both of which are seemingly loving tributes to the golden era of Strategic Simulations' "Gold Box" Dungeons & Dragons games. Underneath its style, though, Loop Hero has plenty of substance to back itself up, complete with one of the more addictive gameplay loops where the cards players collect are used to rebuild the world around the player and grant them buffs or debuff enemies while the AI takes care of the rest.

• Release Date — April 30, 2025
• Developer — Pengonauts
• Publisher — Joystick Ventures, Playworks
• Steam User Score — 98% (Overwhelmingly Positive)

The newest game on this list, and already one that's making a major splash as an early contender for one of the year's best indies, is StarVaders. A hybrid turn-based tactics and deckbuilding roguelike game, StarVaders undoubtedly shares a lot in common with classics like Into the Breach, but is much more accessible and fun thanks to a lighthearted tone and combat that centers around some incredibly satisfying cards. Each of the different mechs players can pilot has access to different card decks that transform each encounter, and a single run is so tightly paced and fun that it's almost impossible not to jump right back in after a loss.

• Release Date — September 5, 2024
• Developer — Roboatino
• Publisher — Goblinz Publishing, Gamirror Games
• Steam User Score — 95% (Overwhelmingly Positive)

Describing Shogun Showdown will never come close to the experience of simply picking up and playing it, but it's worth trying just to spread the word about one of the best deckbuilding roguelikes there is. In Shogun Showdown, players progress through a series of levels in which they have to use their deck of cards to attack, dodge, and defend against encroaching enemies. It sounds simple enough on paper, but like the best games do, Shogun Showdown takes its relative simplicity and transforms it into something endlessly entertaining and complex through how its systems all work together and intertwine, ultimately creating one of the most satisfying deck-building card-battlers in the process.

• Release Date — October 19, 2021
• Developer — Daniel Mullins Games
• Publisher — Devolver Digital
• Steam User Score — 96% (Overwhelmingly Positive)

There's a reason that Inscryption was high up on many "Game of the Year" lists for 2021, and its brilliant deckbuilding gameplay is just one small slice of it. Truthfully, Inscryption is one of those games that both defies description and is cheapened by it, as the best way to experience it is to go in completely blind lest any of its biggest and best surprises get spoiled for you. Underneath the mystery that the game holds is a rock-solid foundation of deckbuilding card-based gameplay that mixes elements from that genre with survival horror and board games to create something wholly unique.

• Release Date — February 20, 2024
• Developer — LocalThunk
• Publisher — Playstack
• Steam User Score — 97% (Overwhelmingly Positive)

Is Balatro the most addictive game ever made? There's a strong case for the answer being "yes", and it wouldn't be so were it not for its finely-tuned and perfectly balanced deckbuilding gameplay. Unlike the other games on this list, Balatro uses a traditional pack of playing cards as its deck of choice, but it enhances and mutates the experience of playing poker into something all its own through the use of unique Joker and tarot cards that modify and transform your number and face cards into megaton bombs with the potential to create 7 or 8-digit scores. Endlessly replayable and practically perfect in its execution, Balatro is deserving of every bit of hype it continues to get.

• Release Date — May 21, 2020
• Developer — Shiny Shoe
• Publisher — Good Shepherd Entertainment
• Steam User Score — 96% (Overwhelmingly Positive)

Shiny Shoe's Monster Train strikes a balance between being similar enough to Slay the Spire and unique enough to stand on its own, to the point where it justifies its place as one of the best deckbuilding games ever made. Part deck-building card-battler and part tower defense game, Monster Train is all about defending your locomotive's fragile pyre from increasingly challenging and numerous waves of enemies, strategically placing units on the different floors of battle, and using card abilities to do so. Monster Train, much like Slay the Spire, also absolutely nails its meta-progression loop while still providing a significant and rewarding challenge, meaning the game regularly keeps you on your toes even after dozens of hours.

• Release Date — January 23, 2019
• Developer — Mega Crit
• Publisher — Mega Crit
• Steam User Score — 97% (Overwhelmingly Positive)

Alongside games like Hollow Knight and Hades is Slay the Spire, whose execution of a particular niche genre formula led to it becoming a breakout indie success and inspiring legions of imitators. Ultimately, though, Slay the Spire stands the test of time thanks to its interesting array of cards, perfectly scaled challenge, and rewarding (and incredibly addictive) gameplay loop that seemingly never gets old. Card-battling RPGs had been done long before Slay the Spire, but there's an argument that no one has done it better either before or since.