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Freedom251 › Blog › action roguelikes

Games Like VaultBreakers: Co-op Action Roguelikes to Try Next

By Freedom251 Team · · 8 min read

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If Vaultbreakers’ mix of top-down combat, extraction tension, persistent Haven upgrades and online teamwork appeals to you, start with Risk of Rain 2 for third-person shooting and explosive loot combinations, Ravenswatch for dark-fantasy top-down hero runs, or Ember Knights for fast melee combat with up to four players locally or online. None is a one-for-one replacement: each matches a different part of Vaultbreakers’ appeal.

What makes Vaultbreakers different

Vaultbreakers is a top-down extraction RPG from BetaDwarf and Square Enix, released on Steam on October 8, 2026. Its adventures can be PvE or PvPvE, so a run may focus entirely on fighting computer-controlled threats or add the danger of other players. A persistent Haven gives progression a home between expeditions, while artifacts, weapons, armor and perks let you shape a build around particular synergies.

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The demo supports online co-op for the host and up to two friends, making three players total. That party size and the extraction structure matter when choosing an alternative. A game can resemble Vaultbreakers in camera angle and still feel very different if it removes extraction risk, uses only melee combat, or expects a different group size.

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Steam describes the core loop as going on “PvE or PvPvE adventures,” then equipping a Vaultbreaker with legendary weapons and armor, unlocking game-changing perks and experimenting with synergies. The recommendations below are therefore organized by the element you want to preserve rather than by a universal ranking.

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Quick comparison

Game Camera and combat Co-op format Build focus Run model Best fit
Risk of Rain 2 Third-person shooting Online solo or with up to three friends (four total) Stacking randomized items around a character Escalating survival run with randomized stages, enemies and items Players who want ranged combat and dramatic loot scaling
Ravenswatch Top-down action with distinct heroes Online co-op; party-size limit is not stated in the cited Steam material Hero identity and run upgrades Action-roguelike combat runs Groups looking for dark fantasy and coordinated abilities
Ember Knights Top-down melee One to four players, online or local shared/split-screen co-op Weapons, skills, modifications and relics Room-based action-roguelite runs Friends who want responsive melee and couch play
Vaultbreakers (reference point) Top-down extraction RPG Demo: host plus up to two friends online Artifacts, perks, weapons, armor and Haven boons PvE or PvPvE extraction adventures Players who want persistent progression and extraction risk

Risk of Rain 2: the closest match for shooting and loot escalation

Why it belongs on your list

Risk of Rain 2 is the strongest choice when the part of Vaultbreakers you want to keep is the feeling that a build can become unexpectedly powerful during a run. It is a third-person action roguelike in which you fight across randomized stages against randomized enemies while collecting items. The item pool encourages combinations rather than a fixed equipment route, so two runs with the same character can develop very differently.

The game supports solo play or online co-op with up to three friends, for four players total. That is one more player than the Vaultbreakers demo allows, which can be useful for a larger regular group. It is online-focused in the cited Steam description, so it is not the pick for a shared-screen session.

How its run structure differs from an extraction game

Risk of Rain 2 is an escalating survival run, not an extraction loop. The pressure comes from the run becoming more dangerous as you continue, while your item combinations also grow stronger. There is no Haven-style persistent home described in the cited listing and no PvPvE extraction decision to make. You stay in the run, search stages for items and decide how long to push before moving on.

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That makes the game easier to recommend to players who enjoy Vaultbreakers’ build experimentation but do not specifically need the possibility of losing an expedition’s haul. If you want the social tension of deciding when to extract or avoiding rival players, Risk of Rain 2 will not reproduce that part.

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Who should choose it

  • Choose it for third-person shooting instead of top-down attacks.
  • Choose it when stacking a large randomized item pool is more important than a persistent base.
  • Choose it for a four-player online group.
  • Choose it when you want each run’s stages, enemies and items to change the plan.

Steam lists Risk of Rain 2 as released on August 11, 2020. Its Steam review snapshot was 95% positive from 164,767 English reviews when accessed on October 18, 2026. That percentage is a time-specific storefront snapshot, not a guarantee that every group will prefer its pacing or camera.

Ravenswatch: the dark-fantasy top-down alternative

What it shares with Vaultbreakers

Ravenswatch is the most natural pick if you want to remain in a top-down action perspective while replacing Vaultbreakers’ extraction setting with a dark-fantasy world. Passtech Games and Nacon released it on September 26, 2024. Its premise centers on legendary folk-tale heroes fighting a Nightmare invasion, with each hero providing a different way to approach a run.

The Steam listing identifies it as a roguelike action game playable solo or in online co-op. Its tags include Roguelike, Co-op, Action Roguelike, Online Co-op, Top-Down and Dark Fantasy. Those labels describe the overlap clearly: you get readable top-down combat, run-based progression and a cooperative reason to coordinate, but the setting and character-driven structure are distinct from an extraction RPG.

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Hero choice replaces Vaultbreakers’ equipment-first identity

Vaultbreakers asks you to shape a Vaultbreaker with artifacts, perks, weapons, armor and Haven-related progression. Ravenswatch starts from the other direction: your selected folk-tale hero is the foundation of the run, and upgrades develop that hero’s abilities. This makes character selection a major strategic decision before the first fight.

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For a group, that difference changes how you plan. Instead of everyone assembling an equipment loadout around the same extraction objective, players can coordinate a set of heroes whose strengths complement one another. The cited Steam material does not establish a specific maximum party size, so confirm the current in-game or storefront limit before planning a group larger than the Vaultbreakers demo’s three-player party.

When it is the right follow-up

  • Pick Ravenswatch if top-down combat is non-negotiable.
  • Pick it if you want a darker fantasy atmosphere and recognizable heroic archetypes.
  • Pick it when online coordination and distinct hero roles matter more than local co-op.
  • Skip it if extraction decisions, persistent Haven development or PvPvE are the features you most want to retain.

Ravenswatch had an 85% positive Steam snapshot from 8,510 English reviews on October 18, 2026. The figure reflects that date and review pool; it does not establish a universal quality ranking against the other games here.

Ember Knights: the best melee and local co-op option

Why groups choose it

Ember Knights is an action rogue-lite for one to four players. Doom Turtle and Twin Sails Interactive released it on July 18, 2023. It combines quick top-down melee with weapons, skills, modifications and relics, giving a party several ways to create a build without requiring the ranged-shooter perspective of Risk of Rain 2.

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Its defining practical advantage is flexibility: Steam lists both online co-op and shared/split-screen co-op, and the game description supports up to four players. If your Vaultbreakers group sometimes plays on one screen, Ember Knights is the only recommendation here that directly covers that format.

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How its build system compares

Ember Knights’ build expression is assembled from the interaction of a weapon, active skills, modifications and relics. That is closer to Vaultbreakers’ emphasis on combining gear and effects than a purely character-locked action game, but it remains a melee-first system. Positioning, timing and room control are central because attacks happen at close range.

Runs are organized around action-roguelite combat rather than extraction. You will not be managing the PvE-versus-PvPvE choice described for Vaultbreakers, and the cited information does not describe a persistent Haven equivalent. The trade-off is a more immediately readable co-op loop: enter rooms, fight, improve the build and keep moving.

Who should start here

  • Choose it for sword-and-skill combat rather than shooting.
  • Choose it for four-player sessions that may be online or local.
  • Choose it when build experimentation should be understandable to a mixed-skill group.
  • Do not choose it expecting extraction tension or a rival-player layer.

Steam’s October 18, 2026 snapshot shows 95% positive from 3,890 English reviews. As with every storefront percentage, that is a dated review sample rather than a performance or compatibility guarantee.

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Choose by the feature you actually want

If your priority is… Start with… Reason
Third-person ranged combat Risk of Rain 2 Its core perspective is third-person shooting, with randomized loot combinations.
Top-down dark fantasy Ravenswatch It pairs a top-down view with folk-tale heroes and a Nightmare invasion.
Fast melee Ember Knights Weapons and skills drive close-range room fights.
Local four-player play Ember Knights It supports shared/split-screen co-op as well as online play.
Four-player online runs Risk of Rain 2 or Ember Knights Both list support for four total players; Risk of Rain 2 does so as a solo-plus-three-friends format.
Hero-based coordination Ravenswatch Distinct heroes define how each player contributes to a run.
Extraction and PvPvE Vaultbreakers That combination is the feature the three alternatives do not reproduce.

Build systems: what changes from one game to another

Vaultbreakers

Build shaping is spread across artifacts, legendary weapons, armor, perks and Haven progression. The breadth lets you think about both the current expedition and the persistent state between expeditions.

Risk of Rain 2

The main expression comes from stacking randomized items. A run can pivot when an item changes how attacks, survivability or movement interact, and the same character can feel different from one attempt to the next.

Ravenswatch

The selected hero supplies the identity of the build, while run upgrades develop that hero. The strategic question is less “which equipment combination do I extract with?” and more “how do we develop these heroes so their abilities work together this run?”

Ember Knights

Weapons, skills, modifications and relics form the build. Because combat is melee-first, the value of an upgrade is tied directly to timing, spacing and how safely the party can enter the next room.

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Co-op planning before you launch

  1. Count the players. For three people, the Vaultbreakers demo, Risk of Rain 2 and Ember Knights all fit the stated party sizes. For four, Risk of Rain 2 and Ember Knights are the clear matches in the cited information.
  2. Decide whether local play matters. Ember Knights lists shared/split-screen co-op. The cited descriptions for Risk of Rain 2 and Ravenswatch specify online co-op, so use those when everyone is playing from separate systems.
  3. Agree on the desired camera and attack range. Risk of Rain 2 is third-person shooting; Ravenswatch and Ember Knights are top-down; Ember Knights is melee-focused.
  4. Set expectations about failure. Vaultbreakers adds extraction and possible PvPvE risk. The alternatives emphasize survival or action-roguelike runs instead, so a failed run has a different meaning.
  5. Pick a build conversation. Discuss item stacking for Risk of Rain 2, hero combinations for Ravenswatch, or weapons, skills and relics for Ember Knights before starting. That keeps co-op decisions deliberate without assuming the games use the same progression rules.

Which game should you play first?

Start with Risk of Rain 2 if “games like Vaultbreakers” means third-person shooting, randomized stages and loot combinations that can escalate dramatically. Start with Ravenswatch if the top-down view, cooperative action and a darker fantasy setting are the draw. Start with Ember Knights if your group values melee responsiveness, four-player flexibility or local co-op.

Keep playing Vaultbreakers when the non-negotiable features are a persistent Haven, extraction decisions or the possibility of PvPvE encounters. The three alternatives are best understood as focused substitutes: each preserves a different reason to enjoy a co-op action roguelike while changing the camera, party format, progression system or risk model.

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

action roguelikesco-op gamesEmber KnightsRavenswatchRisk of Rain 2Vaultbreakers

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