Roguelike done right.
For those unaware, “roguelike” is a genre in video games defined by its procedurally generated levels. They are also often synonymous with punishingly brutal difficulty are often thought to be inaccessible to most but the more hardcore gamers.
However, Rogue Legacy ends up being a title that falls neatly into the aforementioned genre but at the same time defies the notion that roguelikes are supposed to be cater towards a niche crowd.
Holy mother of slimes!
MSRP: $14.99
Platforms: PC, PS3, PS4, PSV
Multiplayer: Cross-save between playstation platforms.
Demo Availability: Yes (on PC).
Length: About 5-7 hours for the first play-through and much more for NG+.
Considering the fact that Rogue Legacy has been out on PC for a while now, I’ll assume that most people know what it’s all about.
For those that don’t, I’ll just say that it’s a title about exploring, killing monsters, upgrading and dying.
Lots and lots of dying.
It’s a typical hack and slash adventure on the surface but the controls are extremely tight and the range of movements are expanded over time as more upgrades are earned. In fact, by the end of the game, I was sporting triple jumps, two dashes and limited flight which made navigating the perilous dungeon into a graceful acrobatics exercise.
As this is largely a review of the PlayStation release of the title, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the use of the cross-save system which is simply the best of its implementation I’ve seen thus far.
Ending a session on my PS4 and then loading the game on the Vita, it would simply ask to download the latest save and it would do so in a matter of a second and I can pick up exactly where I left off.
There’s no going through menus, no separate saves for local and network or anything of the sort. Just load up and play. It’s more or less how I hoped the system would be used in its inception and the title is all the better for it.
Naturally, Rogue Legacy feels right at home when controlled using the DualShock controllers and while the PSV isn’t quite as comfy to hold in my hand, it works fine.
Using the precious gold left over from your ancestors to upgrade your stats and weaponry is the key to success in Rogue Legacy.
My only major complaint with this title is the lack of variety in the enemies where each monster has three different colored/size variations with more dangerous attacks.
Considering how often I encountered the same enemy, it was disappointing to enter a new section of the dungeon only to see a bigger version of previous enemies I’ve already vanquished dozens of times.
Outside of that, I consider Rogue Legacy to be the most accessible and addictive roguelike I’ve played thus far and with the implementation of the cross-buy/save, it’s the perfect time to pick up the sword and succeed where your ancestors have failed.
Fun Tidbit – It took me fifty lives to finish the game on my first play through but it didn’t feel nearly as much since I just went straight to the next one whenever I died.
Review copy of game provided by publisher. Primary play on PlayStation 4 and PS Vita.
