Polygon called Children of Morta one of the best roguelike multiplayer games around, and the pitch stands up in 2026. The Bergson family angle, the pixel-art painterly cutscenes, and the run-to-run leveling are what fans keep coming back for. If you have played through every character’s arc and want more games that mix a story with a roguelike loop, this list covers the ones worth installing on PC now.
We looked at Children of Morta alternatives on Steam, GOG, and Epic. Each pick actually runs on Windows, most also on Mac and Linux, and every entry supports either co-op or a compelling solo replay hook that echoes what Morta does well.
Quick comparison
| App | Best for | Free plan | Starting price | Standout feature |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hades | Story-first roguelikes | No | $24.99 | Voiced NPCs after every run |
| Curse of the Dead Gods | Weightier, tenser combat | No | $19.99 | Corruption meter risk system |
| Wizard of Legend 2 | Sharper spell-combo pace | No | $19.99 | Online co-op, 100+ spells |
| Vampire Survivors | Late-night unwind runs | Trial | $4.99 | Under 30 minute runs, deep meta |
| Dead Cells | Metroidvania platforming | No | $24.99 | 3-player local co-op update |
| Have a Nice Death | Compact, hand-drawn runs | No | $24.99 | 250+ weapons and spells |
| Streets of Rogue | Chaos co-op with rules | No | $19.99 | 4-player online co-op |
Why Children of Morta works, and where the sequels have to earn it
Three things carry the game. The narrator threading every run into a family story. The six characters that each play differently enough to reset your habits. And the two-player couch co-op that lets a partner pick up a controller without needing a tutorial. What Children of Morta does not do:
- No online multiplayer. Local co-op only. This is the single most common complaint on Steam.
- No permanent character loadout after story end. Endgame runs feel same-y once every character maxes out.
- No real difficulty ramp for veterans. The New Game+ mode plays like a scaling patch, not a fresh challenge.
The alternatives below cover each gap.
Hades - Best for the story-plus-roguelike balance
Hades is the pick for anyone who says the story is the reason they finish runs. Supergiant’s dialogue system remembers what you did last run and reacts, which is the same trick Morta pulls with its narrator, executed at ten times the density. Isometric combat is tight and combos read clean.
Where it falls short: no co-op of any kind. If you love Morta because your partner plays too, Hades will not fill that slot.
Pricing: $24.99 on Steam, GOG, and the Epic Store. The macOS build is native Apple Silicon.
Download: Steam | GOG | Epic Games
Bottom line: the definitive single-player answer to what Morta was reaching for.
Curse of the Dead Gods - Best for weightier combat
Curse of the Dead Gods feels closer to a Diablo cousin than a spirit sibling to Hades. Three weapons at a time, a corruption meter that rises as you take shortcuts, and boss fights that punish greedy players. The temple settings echo Morta’s dungeon design more than Hades’ underworld sameness.
Where it falls short: no story after the intro. The narrative is thin and there is no co-op mode.
Pricing: $19.99 on Steam. Deep-discounted about twice a year.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: pick this if you liked Morta’s combat and can live without the family arc.
Wizard of Legend 2 - Best for online co-op mages
Wizard of Legend 2 landed in 2025 and delivered the online co-op the first game skipped. Two-player online drops you into pixel-art dungeons with over a hundred spells to mix. Runs last 30 to 45 minutes and combo-chaining is the actual skill floor.
Where it falls short: solo runs feel emptier than the first game after 20 hours. The meta progression is thin.
Pricing: $19.99 on Steam. First game still $15.99 for context.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: this is the online co-op replacement for Morta night sessions.
Vampire Survivors - Best for short, chill runs
Vampire Survivors is not the same genre, but it fills the specific Morta niche of “I have 25 minutes and want a whole roguelike arc.” Auto-attacks, weapon combos, and a meta-currency that respects your time make it the go-to unwind pick.
Where it falls short: no story. No narration. No world. What you see on the screen is the pitch.
Pricing: $4.99 on Steam. Base game runs on almost any laptop.
Download: Steam | Microsoft Store
Bottom line: install for the times you want a quick roguelike hit without committing an evening.
Dead Cells - Best for tighter platforming
Dead Cells brings the metroidvania half of what Morta hints at. The 2025 co-op update lets up to three players share a run on the same screen. Movement is faster than Morta and the biome variety is deeper.
Where it falls short: no character-swap story hook. You are one prisoner, one run, one voice.
Pricing: $24.99 on Steam, GOG, and the Nintendo Switch eShop. macOS and Linux native.
Bottom line: closer to Morta’s local co-op experience than most modern releases.
Have a Nice Death - Best for a compact, weird 30 hours
Have a Nice Death is Motion Twin’s follow-up to Dead Cells, wrapped in hand-drawn cartoon art. You play Death and clear his own bureaucratic underworld through a boss rush. It is shorter than Morta but denser.
Where it falls short: no multiplayer, and the humor is niche. If dark cartoon animation is not your thing, the whole game reads flat.
Pricing: $24.99 on Steam. Native macOS build.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: a solid solo pick when you want a smaller, meaner run than Morta gives you.
Streets of Rogue - Best for chaotic co-op nights
Streets of Rogue is the most different pick here. Top-down, procedurally generated cities, and every NPC has actual behaviors. Play as a chef, hacker, wrestler, or vampire and clear objectives however you want. Online co-op scales to four players.
Where it falls short: pixel-art density can feel busy on a big monitor. The systems reward reading Steam guides.
Pricing: $19.99 on Steam. Streets of Rogue 2 is in early access at $29.99 if you want the newer version.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: bring three friends and this outlasts a full week of Morta reruns.
How to pick
Pick Hades if the story was the reason you played every character to the end. Pick Wizard of Legend 2 if you played Morta for co-op and moved on when nobody was around. Pick Vampire Survivors if you want the roguelike loop at 25 minutes a session. Stay with Children of Morta if what you love is the family arc and you can live without online play, since no game on this list recreates that specific hook.
FAQ
Is Children of Morta 2 coming out? As of August 2026 there is no announcement. Dead Mage has spoken about the Morta universe on interviews, but no sequel or DLC is in active development that we can find in the Steam news feed.
Does Children of Morta have online co-op? No. Local co-op only, and that stays true as of the latest patch. Steam Remote Play Together is the workaround most players use to share the couch mode over the internet.
What is the best free Children of Morta alternative? There is no strict free equivalent on PC. Vampire Survivors at $4.99 is the cheapest real match. Wizard of Legend 2 offers a demo on Steam that is worth trying.
Which alternative is closest to Morta’s story hook? Hades, by a wide margin. Curse of the Dead Gods and Have a Nice Death both cut the story back in favor of combat.
Can I play Morta on Steam Deck? Yes, Steam Deck Verified. It runs at native resolution and battery life sits around four hours per charge, which is generous for the genre.
