One of the highest-rated roguelikes of all time is now officially out, and it's only gotten better

A red-bandana potato wielding two SMG is ready for battle in key art from Brotato
(Image credit: Blobfish)

During its ten-month tenure in early access, Brotato has slowly become one of the highest-rated roguelikes of all time on Steam, and now it’s only gotten better thanks to its official 1.0 release last month. 

Brotato is what you’d get if you mixed Vampire Survivors with The Binding Of Isaac, but the main character is instead the most powerful potato in existence. The setup is simple: a lone spaceship housing our titular potato bro crashes into a mysterious planet, forcing us to shoot through waves of deadly aliens in some top-down goodness. 

The roguelike elements come into play with the game’s wild customisation options. Dozens of playable potato variants and hundreds of randomised items all let you mod your playstyle to extreme degrees. Oh, and despite not having limbs, our potato bro can hold onto six weapons at any time, including expected favourites (shotguns and wrenches) and funkier options (potato throwers and cacti clubs.)

Brotato can be quite challenging at first, but there are thankfully a ton of accessibility options to help you along, and runs rarely last for more than 30 minutes. An auto-shooting toggle makes the game play even more like last year’s breakout roguelike, Vampire Survivors, so everyone should be able to pick up and play Brotato.

Mashing, frying, and boiling down enemies seems to have worked its magic on roguelike fans, as Brotato currently has an Overwhelming Positive rating based on over 38,000 Steam user reviews. The game still has its sights on getting even better, though, since developer Blobfish recently added 5 new elites, 6 new characters, 7 new weapons, and 12 new challenges to celebrate the game’s full release out of early access. 

The best part? Brotato is cheaper than a sack of potatoes, meaning you can grab it on Steam for the low price of £3.99/€4.99/$4.99. Although it's currently 20% off as part of the Steam Summer Sale. The game is also making its way to the Nintendo Switch later this year, so wannabe alien-slaying potatoes should keep their eyes peeled for a release date soon.

For more, check out the other upcoming indie games of 2023 and beyond.

Freelance contributor

Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.

Read more
Hades 2
Playing Hades 2 in Early Access makes it feel like a roguelike soap opera, and it's the only reason I still use Steam
Balatro
Balatro creator started "properly playing the game myself about a week before launch" and had "a pretty emotional moment" where he realized it's "actually fun"
Caves of Qud
After thousands of "Overwhelmingly Positive" Steam reviews, Caves of Qud dev says the roguelike RPG has done "100x better than anything we ever expected"
Hades
The 25 best roguelike games to play right now
Key art for Caves of Qud, showing someone riding next to a horse next to a giant tortoise, looking at a figure in the foreground.
Caves of Qud co-creator's tip to tackle this sci-roguelike epic is also my tip for learning RPGs like Baldur's Gate 3: beef up and get a big ol' sword
Cult of the Lamb screenshot of the Lamb levitating above a ritual site
I'm late to the party, but ewe were all right - Cult of the Lamb is fast-becoming one of my favorite roguelikes
Latest in Roguelike
Balatro
Balatro creator started "properly playing the game myself about a week before launch" and had "a pretty emotional moment" where he realized it's "actually fun"
Balatro screenshot showing an assortment of card packs
Balatro creator initially considered a Steam release in part to help "get a game developer job somewhere," and after 5 million sales I'd say he found one
Challenging The Manacle in Balatro, which limits hand size by -1 and playing two Jacks
From "I stopped working on the project entirely" to "we are so back," Balatro creator says the roguelike's development was always about passion and taking breaks was essential
Balatro screenshot showing an assortment of joker cards
Balatro creator intentionally avoided roguelikes but did eventually play and "steal from" Slay the Spire anyway: "Holy s***. Now that is a game"
Vampire Survivors screenshot showing a character shooting beams of light at surrounding enemies
Before selling millions of copies, Vampire Survivors creator says he'd "given up on the idea of success," and he's not interested in making something just to be successful
Balatro Joker card
"I was in super crunch mode": Balatro creator opens up on the toll the stress of indie development took on his "physical and mental health"
Latest in News
Balatro
Balatro creator started "properly playing the game myself about a week before launch" and had "a pretty emotional moment" where he realized it's "actually fun"
Death Stranding 2 Collector's Edition
Hideo Kojima reveals Death Stranding 2: On the Beach release date, and the Collector's Edition includes exactly what I predicted it would
Kingmakers
Kingmakers is a strategy game about taking on medieval armies with a gun, but its devs thought the giant mech was too much
The Witcher 3 lead says "not many games" were trying to match the RPG back in 2015, and that meant "there was a risk" to making it in the first place
The Blood of Dawnwalker
The Witcher 3 dev says his new vampire RPG Blood of Dawnwalker wants to challenge genre conventions, but only if "we're changing them to actually achieve some goal"
Daredevil recap: The Defenders
Marvel fans are discussing which of the Netflix series characters would have survived the Blip