Rogue Legacy

 PC
Metascore
85

Generally favorable reviews - based on 43 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 42 out of 43
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 43
  3. Negative: 0 out of 43
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  1. D+PAD Magazine
    Oct 16, 2013
    100
    Roguelike games have become increasingly popular of late and it’s great to see one which rewards you for all the time spent by allowing a form of character progression. It’s mitigated to a point by having you lose all your money before entering a castle and each purchased bonus makes all the others more expensive.
  2. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Sep 19, 2013
    100
    An addicting platformer with its hardcore difficulty, which is fair at the end of the day. A absolute must, if you're not afraid of a challenge. [Issue#232]
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  3. Games.cz
    Aug 28, 2013
    90
    An absolutely fantastic RPG platformer that is old-fashioned in the one thing only - it won't give you anything for free, and it keeps you gaming till your death. This is not for the one-hit wonderers. There are few of this kind of games, of this kind of fun. Rogue Legacy is a fantasy miracle made of pixels.
  5. PC PowerPlay
    Aug 27, 2013
    90
    Rogue Legacy isn't reinventing the wheel, but it is an incredibly well designed wheel and one that's fun to spin. [Sept 2013, p.86]
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  6. Hyper Magazine
    Aug 8, 2013
    90
    Rogue Legacy might not change the face of gaming, but hell if it isn't one amazingly addictive, well designed, good-looking, goddamn fun game. [Sept 2013, p.79]
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  7. Everyeye.it
    Jul 30, 2013
    90
    Rogue Legacy is a true masterpiece, backed by a meticulous balancing.
  8. IGN
    Jul 26, 2013
    90
    One of my favourite games of 2013 so far. It’s a hugely compelling mix of 2D action-platforming and Roguelike game design, with excellent pixel art and just the right level of challenge. It’s the wildly inventive traits system, however – and the fact that it’s meaningful – that really elevates Rogue Legacy.
  9. Eurogamer Italy
    Jul 18, 2013
    90
    Rogue Legacy is simply too engaging and fun to be missed. The brilliant adaptation of the unforgiving roguelike formula makes it accessible to a wider audience too.
  10. InsideGamer.nl
    Jul 12, 2013
    90
    Rogue Legacy is a brilliant little game the offers a very cool experience. The tight 2D gameplay is perfectly combined with roguelike-elements, and this makes for a challenging game that, unbeknownst to its player, makes entire chunks of days disappear. That it looks great and has great humor only makes this already delicious pie taste better. The sometimes unnecessarily expensive upgrades do halt the pacing here and there, but this challenge makes Rogue Legacy a tough game that will surely be fun for hours upon hours.
  11. Hardcore Gamer
    Jul 11, 2013
    90
    Rogue Legacy is pure action platforming addiction, endlessly playable and fun from its low level beginning to high-powered end.
  12. Gamer.no
    Jul 8, 2013
    90
    A difficult, but at the same time very rewarding rogue-like platformer. It won’t be the best choice of entertainment for the impatient or people who get easily frustrated, but if you like a challenge then you should definitely check out Rogue Legacy.
  13. Polygon
    Jul 2, 2013
    90
    Rogue Legacy rewarded my patience and tenacity; that's a lesson any developer can take from its twisted family tree.
  14. Armchair Empire
    Jun 30, 2013
    90
    In the end, Rogue Legacy is great. It's gobbled up a large amount of my time with untold more hours likely to be consumed in the days and weeks to come.
  15. GameFront
    Jun 26, 2013
    90
    It’s not for everyone, and I’d hesitate to recommend Rogue Legacy to those who get discouraged and frustrated easily. But for those who are looking for a challenge, Rogue Legacy is a must-play and a steal at its $15 price tag.
  16. Hooked Gamers
    Jul 8, 2013
    87
    Despite the occasional control annoyance and underdeveloped trait system, this is a fantastic game that I am going to spend many more hours with to continue building my legacy.
  17. GamingTrend
    Jun 28, 2013
    87
    Rogue Legacy is one of the shiniest gems to come out of the Steam Greenlight program – it really does a fantastic job of mixing the better parts of a Roguelike experience with a solid 2D platformer, with a whole lot of polish on top of it all.
  18. Pelit (Finland)
    Mar 11, 2014
    86
    If you look up the word addiction in a dictionary, you will find out what that word means. But the dictionary might just as well display a picture of Rogue Legacy. [Dec 2013]
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  19. RPG Fan
    Dec 9, 2013
    85
    Amazing old-school mechanics meet modern conventions.
  20. GameCritics
    Sep 20, 2013
    85
    Despite these minor blemishes, Rogue Legacy is an engaging game that holds up over numerous trips through its diabolical castle.
  21. XGN
    Sep 17, 2013
    85
    Rogue Legacy has a fresh concept with a lot of humour. The idea of playing with a different character in every dungeon is something that speaks to us. Despite having an addicting upgrading system, the game works better with a controller.
  22. Riot Pixels
    Aug 6, 2013
    85
    An excellent arcade game with nice RPG elements and a massive replayability factor. You will enjoy Rogue Legacy if you’re not afraid to die – a lot.
  23. Gamer.nl
    Jul 25, 2013
    85
    Dying, again and again, every time in an unknown world. Roguelikes are tough, but Rogue Legacy makes the journeys slightly lighter with rpg elements that make progress attainable every single run. Rogue Legacy also gets a lot of personality and humor from the addition of character specific traits, like a handicap or disability. Rogue Legacy is tough, hard and unforgiving, but still very accessible thanks to these additions. Just what this genre needed.
  24. IGN Italia
    Jul 15, 2013
    85
    Engaging and entertaining, Rogue Legacy is a solid remix of classic arcade cliches bend together with a pair of original twists. The result is a solid action game which will keep you playing for a long time.
  25. Vandal
    Jul 9, 2013
    85
    Addictive, fun and unique. If you like 2D action platformers this is a game you cannot miss.
  26. GameSpot
    Jul 8, 2013
    85
    Still, Rogue Legacy's few blemishes are easy to overlook when the game is so good at rewarding persistence. Rogue Legacy is simple yet deep, easy to pick up yet hard to master.
  27. Destructoid
    Jun 27, 2013
    85
    The visual glitches and lack of enemy variety do little to take away from what is a lovingly crafted game unlike any other I've played before. This is a game that won't just eat up your time, but it will devour it.
  28. PC Gamer
    Aug 16, 2013
    84
    While Rogue Legacy lacks the balance and crispness of Spelunky, it mostly makes up for its shortcomings with heart, imagination, and a killer compulsion loop. [Oct 2013, p.75]
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  29. GameTrailers
    Jul 5, 2013
    84
    Rogue Legacy gives a fresh take on old thoughts, plays well with a keyboard and better on a controller, and stands strong even if some of its own biggest traits are ever-so-slightly underdeveloped. Superbly designed and balanced, this game rides the line of frustration and fun to deliver that one-more-go feel that will have every barbarian king and queen roaring a battle cry, then gearing up to take on that ancient evil one more time.
  30. Multiplayer.it
    Jul 4, 2013
    84
    Rogue Legacy succeeds in both being a difficult title and a compelling role playing game. Quick, deep, satisfying: that's how all roguelikes should be alike.
  31. Games Master UK
    Sep 2, 2013
    80
    The tone of the whole experience is refreshingly jocular. [Oct 2013, p.77]
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  32. games(TM)
    Jul 29, 2013
    80
    There’s a slight monotony to the enemy design after some time, but each complaint we try to construct feels all but meaningless in the face of how pure and satisfying an experience Rogue Legacy manages to be.
  33. Edge Magazine
    Jul 25, 2013
    80
    Rogue Legacy offers the silly, slapstick cruelty of the best roguelikes, but twins it with something just as appealing: a tantalising hint of control over your fate.
  34. Eurogamer
    Jul 18, 2013
    80
    Canny enough to keep you hooked, but sufficiently honest to throw in something a little more nourishing too, the genetics are pretty strong with this one.
  35. DarkStation
    Jul 17, 2013
    80
    Its fluid mix of combat, platforming, and smart humor made me enjoy each of my 100+ run throughs just as much as any other. After spending nearly 20 hours with the game I can honestly say I’d love to jump right back in, if only to conquer the castle just once more.
  36. 3DJuegos
    Jul 17, 2013
    80
    Old School's Rogue Legacy tests you, with a gameplay experience that rewards patience and death.
  37. Game Informer
    Jul 16, 2013
    80
    Rogue Legacy doesn’t come close to replacing Metroid or Castlevania in my heart, but it isn’t supposed to. It’s a fun popcorn game, fine for killing 15 minutes here and there or eating an afternoon with a series of runs if you’re in the mood. Don’t expect any story or epic adventure so much as a neat little action game with a compelling upgrade system, and you’ll find plenty to love here.
  38. Metro GameCentral
    Jul 16, 2013
    80
    An inspired mix of roguelike and platformer that dares to be fair with its rewards and its penalties for death – although not necessary its random medical conditions.
  39. Gameblog.fr
    Jul 12, 2013
    80
    Charming, accessible, yet of unforgiving (but not frustrating) challenge, Rogue Legacy is first and foremost of great fun. This blend of rogue-like with permadeath and Metroidvania gameplay is refreshing and well-balanced, and even though it may appear repetitive, it's an addictive game.
  40. NowGamer
    Jul 4, 2013
    80
    Cellar Door have taken the frantic bursts of roguelike, woven them all together and created a game with near-limitless longevity that may just snare you for good.
  41. Digital Spy
    Jul 3, 2013
    80
    It becomes difficult to tear yourself away from Rogue Legacy, as the repetitive flow is brilliantly augmented by randomly generated traits and dungeon layouts.
  42. PC Games
    Jul 30, 2013
    79
    An addictive, elaborate little platformer with rewarding upgrades, great controls and challenging gameplay. Its repetitive nature, small scope and lack of variety hinders it from reaching its true potential though.
  43. GameStar
    Jul 7, 2013
    75
    Quotation forthcoming.
  44. CD-Action
    Aug 2, 2013
    70
    I just couldn’t get away from this simple platformer – it gave me a clinical just-one-more-attempt syndrome. [CD-Action 09/2013, p.69]
    All this publication's reviews

Awards & Rankings

25
#25 Best PC Game of 2013
54
#54 Most Discussed PC Game of 2013

User Reviews

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User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 703 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 496 out of 703
  2. Mixed: 147 out of 703
  3. Negative: 60 out of 703
  1. Kluge
    Jun 29, 2013
    10
    Expect to win the game about as frequently as in vanilla Nethack. RL offers a challenging, fun, casual (hardcore-casual, though!) experience.Expect to win the game about as frequently as in vanilla Nethack. RL offers a challenging, fun, casual (hardcore-casual, though!) experience. You can pick the game up, head off and die a few times, then set it down and go do something else the dying actually serves the game very well to break the overall game up into bite-size chunks.

    In RL, you're effectively grinding the game to get gear, stats, and abilities for the "over-game" which is the point in which you actually have a shot in Hell of getting through to the final area. There are a few glitches here and there, usually which'll kill you by, for example, having a character apparently undecided if he's on or off a ledge, so he can't jump but dying is fun.

    RL adds quite a bit of fun easter egg type content throughout the castles to ensure things are always fresh, and that you always want to explore. The best part about this content is that it's very rare. You can die 50 times and never see more than a small handful of the "fun" rooms, so the freshness of these unique rooms doesn't wear off quickly like if you were seeing repeats so often, they become "normal."

    I would say, if you like games similar to Binding of Isaac or Nethack, you'll appreciate the intentional imbalance in this game.    … Full Review »
  2. Bunkerfox
    Jun 29, 2013
    4
    I came into this game expecting an enjoyable side scrolling Castlevania style game. Full of challenge, exploration and just overall fun. But,I came into this game expecting an enjoyable side scrolling Castlevania style game. Full of challenge, exploration and just overall fun. But, with added replayability thanks to the random designs. I was very disappointed.

    What I found instead was a very poorly deigned fighting game with atrocious platforming. The jump controls are awful, and it all feels so floaty and poorly done.

    The combat. Well, you have a few spells that are either not that useful or just taken straight from Castlevania. The actual sword combat is crap too. Only a few characters can block, and that takes up MP, so that makes it mostly useless. Enemy attacks are very hard to avoid thanks to the floaty jumps and the fact that you often have several coming at you at once, making them unavoidable. Thankfully the stunlock has a good invincibility length, so that somewhat lowers the frustration. A major problem seems to be fighting anyone or anything that is slightly above or below you. jump attacks are dodgy, at best, and more often than not just result in you getting hit. The combat never fells like you are actually physically hitting things, and this, what should have been the main thing in a fighting game, just feels very amateur.

    The difficulty just feels too artificial as well. It's not a game made hard by good design to make it challenging but not frustrating. It's just hard because they throw loads of enemies at you and give you crap ways to fight them

    Now, we have the major selling point of the game. The hero legacy, where when your character dies and his or her heirs take up the fight, but with new and improved bonuses that your previous generations have unlocked. An epic time line of heroes fighting to overcome the evil castle, getting stronger and stronger. Shame it's crap as well. there is ZERO sense of connection to the previous characters. This in no way feels like a line of heroes fighting, just some random characters kicked out of some random number generator. It is, in essence, a very crap levelling system. You go in with a terribly underpowered character, get some gold, and when you die (Which will be soon) you spend some money on upgrades so you can repeat this seemingly endless progress. There is no sense of progress, it's just grinding done poorly. Even upgrading the manor is taken from a cool idea into a levelling up menu.
    Even the randomness of the castle doesn't help the grinding feel of the game. It changes a lot each time, but seeing as you do pretty much the exact same thing and each room in an area looks exactly the same regardless of shape, it never feels like I am exploring a whole new level each time. Just one where they've muddled stuff around so it doesn't flow together well.

    The end result is a game that just isn't all that fun and has a very poor feel to it. Bad controls, bad combat, bad levelling system disguised as another feature it isn't.
    The graphics are nice, the sounds are good and I give it a bonus point for it's portrayal of homosexuality. In fact, I may say it's one of the best I've seen in a game. I take that point back again after it uses disability's as a joke for it's traits. "We wanted to show anyone can be a hero" You don't do that by making fun of serious conditions for a few laughs
    Overall, a title with great promise let down by very sloppy execution    … Full Review »
  3. Kattsylt
    Jun 28, 2013
    6
    A castlevania-ish platformer with an interesting twist.
    You dont play a single character, you play a branch in your family tree. You will    A castlevania-ish platformer with an interesting twist.
    You dont play a single character, you play a branch in your family tree. You will begin with an almost useless character and quickly find out that evil castles can be deadly. But hopefully you got the chance to gather some gold for your dear descendants, because they will continue the quest.

    And thats basically the game. You gather gold, upgrade your family castle in order to improve your fighters and crafting items, die, die again, die some more, gather gold and die.

    The game itself feels fresh, interesting and is initially very addictive, but it actually gets old pretty quickly. The lack of story that makes it me wonder why im still entering evil castles generation after generation.    … Full Review »
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