Rogue Legacy

 PC
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
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  1. 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 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    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.    … Expand
  2. Dimonte
    Jun 29, 2013
    5
    When you start the game, it feels really fresh. Traits are absolutely wonderful, upgrades look enticing, all is well. The bit where you actually play the game is much, much worse. Controls are imprecise, randomly generated rooms often present insurmountable obstacle for average gamer, and some enemies' semi-cheating attacks are outright infuriating.

    If you are very good at platformers,    When you start the game, it feels really fresh. Traits are absolutely wonderful, upgrades look enticing, all is well. The bit where you actually play the game is much, much worse. Controls are imprecise, randomly generated rooms often present insurmountable obstacle for average gamer, and some enemies' semi-cheating attacks are outright infuriating.

    If you are very good at platformers, you certainly should try this game. If you aren't and do mind endless die-restart-die-restart cycle, then skip it.    … Expand
  3. pacoda
    Aug 30, 2013
    6
    Its a fun and mechanically difficult metroidvania-like game. I lost interest half-way through though because it just became too repetetive. You earn gold by looting chests and defeating enemies inside the castle which has 4 "settings". These settings with its rooms and enemies are randomized each time you die. You use the gold to unlock items, classes etc. and buy stats. All of this isIts a fun and mechanically difficult metroidvania-like game. I lost interest half-way through though because it just became too repetetive. You earn gold by looting chests and defeating enemies inside the castle which has 4 "settings". These settings with its rooms and enemies are randomized each time you die. You use the gold to unlock items, classes etc. and buy stats. All of this is fun, yes, but after 24 hours of playing it just feels like a grind and i cant find the motivation to complete it.… Expand
  4. Sjalka
    Sep 10, 2013
    5
    the concept is sound, a fast paced, short lived and rather challenging experience for both the casual and the hardcore (more the hardcore though). there is good progression and feeling of improvement via upgrades.

    what i personally do not like is the art-style; but maybe i am just tired of the "wanne-be-nostalgic-retro-look" which just too often feels like they were too lazy or    the concept is sound, a fast paced, short lived and rather challenging experience for both the casual and the hardcore (more the hardcore though). there is good progression and feeling of improvement via upgrades.

    what i personally do not like is the art-style; but maybe i am just tired of the "wanne-be-nostalgic-retro-look" which just too often feels like they were too lazy or uninspired to make it better looking. the 8 bit or is it 16 bit look does not do much to the game play other than being a reminder of games from another era. (yes, i know that was probably the intention)

    in terms of game play, i wished there was more attachment to my char. it is just a "bit" too short lived. i did not care for any of my chars like at all. and while it is an aspect of the game to go through heirs like nothing a little bit more attachment would have done nicely and with that in mind maybe a bit more longevity.

    also the balance between the classes and characteristics are not well enough. some are worthless, some are really just a joke. there was a feature wasted imo an AI that would evaluate the progression of what the player picks and determines a sort of evolution due to "survival of the fittest" along with a lot more characteristics.

    but in the end after a while, you start to wonder why you seem to grind as if it was an old school mmo. there is little to explore or be surprised about and it becomes a bit repetitive.
    but every game has flaws, every game can be better but for me, RL is but an average plat-former with very good ideas that are not fully realized.    … Expand
  5. Ganscaile
    Aug 4, 2013
    5
    I'm sure Rogue Legacy is a really fun game, but having such horrible performance issues on a machine that plays 3D games quite decently is just a no-go. Playing in slow-motion with considerable control lag has a huge impact on my experience. And considering the technically simplistic nature of the graphics I really can't understand why the game performs so bad.

    Thus, a 5 is the best I    I'm sure Rogue Legacy is a really fun game, but having such horrible performance issues on a machine that plays 3D games quite decently is just a no-go. Playing in slow-motion with considerable control lag has a huge impact on my experience. And considering the technically simplistic nature of the graphics I really can't understand why the game performs so bad.

    Thus, a 5 is the best I can give, until those issues are resolved.    … Expand
  6. jonizerror
    Jun 30, 2013
    5
    this game is fun at first but after you die a million times without accomplishing anything you realize that this game is unrealistically hard because theres no point to it. just a randomized castle with the goal to reach the end. if it was at a fair difficulty setting then this game would be beaten in 5 mins top
  7. theNILE
    Jul 6, 2013
    5
    Far from perfect but a challenging hack n slash RPG. A few minor tweaks and bug fixes (having to restart your exe gets a bit old) and this game could of been really good, however you have to run through the weakest area every-time you enter unless you want to lock-down which reduces your income, it gets boring very fast and locking down every time when attempting a boss again isFar from perfect but a challenging hack n slash RPG. A few minor tweaks and bug fixes (having to restart your exe gets a bit old) and this game could of been really good, however you have to run through the weakest area every-time you enter unless you want to lock-down which reduces your income, it gets boring very fast and locking down every time when attempting a boss again is time-consuming, and when you just want a specific character and you don't have the Randomize upgrade (which is conveniently placed behind a class upgrade for some reason), it's not really fun. Another flaw is that bosses are either incredibly irritating and tedious, or incredibly easy if you know the trick. I encountered a bug several times where I actually didn't take damage or knockback when being hit. Haggle is also pretty useless early on, yet it's not far up the tree and it's pretty expensive for what it does at that stage.… Expand
  8. ovinophile
    Dec 22, 2013
    6
    Let's start with the good: The graphics and animations are spectacular, very charming and cute and detailed. The music and writing are also great, with a good bit of light-hearted humor thrown in.

    Now the rest: What could be a very fun game is ultimately doomed by its own rogue-like nature. You're stuck fighting the same 5 or 6 enemies. Rooms are randomized, but quickly start to all    Let's start with the good: The graphics and animations are spectacular, very charming and cute and detailed. The music and writing are also great, with a good bit of light-hearted humor thrown in.

    Now the rest: What could be a very fun game is ultimately doomed by its own rogue-like nature. You're stuck fighting the same 5 or 6 enemies. Rooms are randomized, but quickly start to all look the same. There's zero "legacy" from one hero to the next outside of the gold you inherit. Your character class choices for each new attempt are completely random. You could spend all your gold upgrading your favorite class and then not even see it as an option for the next few runs. Even after hours of playing, venturing into new areas or boss rooms leads a swift and unavoidable death. The real difficulty comes not from learning to recognize and adapt to enemy attacks, but from floaty controls and cheap hits. The cost of upgrades scales so sharply that you'll soon find that unless you have a series of simply amazing runs, you're unable to make any progress at all. It's a fun diversion for a night, but without the ability to steadily progress, it's hard to see myself coming back to it again and again.    … Expand
  9. TitaniumDragon
    Dec 2, 2013
    5
    Rogue Legacy is a 2D action platformer for the PC. The name is a play on the roguelike genre; in most roguelike games, every time you die, you start the game over from scratch. In Rogue Legacy, the central premise is that your character is the descendant of the previous character you were playing as, and you inherit their equipment, though you may not use the same fighting style or knowRogue Legacy is a 2D action platformer for the PC. The name is a play on the roguelike genre; in most roguelike games, every time you die, you start the game over from scratch. In Rogue Legacy, the central premise is that your character is the descendant of the previous character you were playing as, and you inherit their equipment, though you may not use the same fighting style or know the same class. Every time you die is a new opportunity to upgrade the next generation, and over the course of numerous deaths, you slowly unlock the entire castle and every ability and piece of equipment in the game. While the underlying idea of your character dying and your descendants carrying on in your place is an interesting one, the game itself is not good enough to make it interesting. Early on, it is too hard, and later on, it is too repetitive, making the overall experience bland.… Expand
  10. Maitrify
    Jun 6, 2014
    6
    First of all, if you do not have a controller do not bother with this trash game. I would assume that this game would be pretty fantastic with a proper controller, however the default controls that come with it are some of the most ridiculous rubbish I've ever played with in my life. Common sense and my history of gaming make me wonder if the creator even played his own game beforeFirst of all, if you do not have a controller do not bother with this trash game. I would assume that this game would be pretty fantastic with a proper controller, however the default controls that come with it are some of the most ridiculous rubbish I've ever played with in my life. Common sense and my history of gaming make me wonder if the creator even played his own game before releasing it.

    So, with that tidbit out of the way, I will admit that I really WANT to like this game. It has a good premise for an indie game and the concept is solid. However the control scheme makes me tend to quit after about 2 playthroughs due to the sheer stupidity of it. Basically, this game is a side-scrolling Metroid-esque game with hack'n'slash features. What you see is what you get really. It has quite a lot of replay value as long as you have some alternate method of control or you enjoy being defeated due to poor control schemes (looking at you Resident Evil, can't run while shooting. Makes sense in a zombie game...)

    Basically you start out as some sort of 'knight' that has no real background or story and the main goal of the game is to wrack up as much gold as possible. The gold is used for progression AFTER dying. Yeah, you heard me, Not going to use that gold while you're alive. The only way to access the 'store' (dubbed 'The Manor') in which to spend all your hard (read: VERY HARD) earned gold is to perish. Once you perish, you get to pick one of three 'descendants' that have varying abilities and skills (called traits).

    There is a wide array of these traits that keep it fresh and replayability high and subsequence playthroughs amusing. After perishing you are brought back to 'The Manor', a series of unlockable options, such as a blacksmithy, more health or mana, additional abilities, etc. They build off one another, with the player unlocking one making it so that three more are able to be looked at and purchased.

    The monsters are pretty standard fare, hailing from NES and SNES times with predictable patterns and bullet-hell firing paths that are usually dodgable sans the terrible controls.    … Expand
  11. Outlander999
    Nov 16, 2013
    6
    Note: my true vote should be 6.5/10 but Metacritic doesn't permit that, so I give it a "6".

    Rogue Legacy is an addictive rogue-like game, but its lack of variety makes it boring quickly. The controls aren't extremely reactive and the gameplay isn't enough deep. Could have been better, but if you love the extremely hard games, you'll appreciate it. VIRTUALINN.IT
  12. NewZealander
    Aug 5, 2013
    6
    Play Spelunky instead. This game is not very good. How well you do depends 90% on the amount of upgrades and items you have collected in previous lives. It starts off impossible and gets easier over time. That is the opposite of how a game should be. They should start fairly easy and get harder once you beat the easier levels.
  13. zombox5000
    Jun 30, 2013
    7
    Tons of platforming fun reminiscent of the Metrovania style of game play made famous by Nintendo back in the 80's. This game features a steep, unforgiving level of challenge and nearly infinite replay ability. The one great knock on it is that this really should have been a console game, it needs a traditional console joystick as the PC controls are a bother. If you use an X-BoxTons of platforming fun reminiscent of the Metrovania style of game play made famous by Nintendo back in the 80's. This game features a steep, unforgiving level of challenge and nearly infinite replay ability. The one great knock on it is that this really should have been a console game, it needs a traditional console joystick as the PC controls are a bother. If you use an X-Box controller on your PC you are ahead of the curve, otherwise this can be tough going.… Expand
  14. Thordane
    Jul 18, 2013
    7
    You come from a long line of VERY stubborn knights who are chasing an immortal traitor in a castle that changes for every generation that enters. The game takes it's mechanics and even puts a nice back story on why each subsequent character you make in a lineage matters. You grind through generations of a family until finally one offspring can have the skills and equipment needed to bestYou come from a long line of VERY stubborn knights who are chasing an immortal traitor in a castle that changes for every generation that enters. The game takes it's mechanics and even puts a nice back story on why each subsequent character you make in a lineage matters. You grind through generations of a family until finally one offspring can have the skills and equipment needed to best the castle, and by the time you finally win you'll feel it is much deserved. That said, this game is a great title for spending 15 minutes to an hour here and there, grinding and learning, until you (randomly) get a castle you can actually beat. I'd rank the game higher, but the controls are not as tight as I'd like, especially for a game that demands immense precision sometimes.… Expand
  15. naroom
    Sep 19, 2013
    7
    I love hard platformers with upgradey/RPG elements Zelda 2, the Castlevania series, Megaman, Terraria, and so on. And I love roguelikes. This game is a great synthesis of all those. It takes many of the best features of a wide spectrum of games, puts them together, and adds its own spin. Awesome.

    It's really fun... for a while. BUT. Once you get over the initial learning curve    I love hard platformers with upgradey/RPG elements Zelda 2, the Castlevania series, Megaman, Terraria, and so on. And I love roguelikes. This game is a great synthesis of all those. It takes many of the best features of a wide spectrum of games, puts them together, and adds its own spin. Awesome.

    It's really fun... for a while.

    BUT. Once you get over the initial learning curve finding out what all the items and classes do, and how each enemy type moves and attacks there's nothing more to the game than a repetitive, infinite grind.

    I don't play MMOs. This started out as a roguelike platformer/RPG (yay!) and turned into a grindy Korean-style MMO. Blehhh.    … Expand
  16. mrrgl
    Sep 12, 2013
    7
    Kudos to the designers for trying something new; a rogue-like with progression from game to game. The graphics and feel of the game are very good. I was totally hooked for the first eight hours of play maybe... but the flaws of the design started to become apparent as I was preparing for the second boss. There is not enough content to keep the player entertained between frustratingKudos to the designers for trying something new; a rogue-like with progression from game to game. The graphics and feel of the game are very good. I was totally hooked for the first eight hours of play maybe... but the flaws of the design started to become apparent as I was preparing for the second boss. There is not enough content to keep the player entertained between frustrating deaths... this should be the highlight of the rogue-like, weird diverse content that keeps you surprised. Not a lot of surprises here. The character classes are bland, some of them entirely worthless. Gear progression is predictable and dull. Still deserves a high rating given the slick production, originality, and true thrill that the first third or so of the games presents.… Expand
  17. Gzhindra
    Sep 14, 2013
    7
    Rogue Legacy is simple in its mechanics and doesn’t bring a lot of variety but it works. The game is super addictive and can be very challenging if you want it to. Actually the first playthrough is not very hard and it just takes time but from new game (you can restart the game in a harder castle after each playthrough ad infinitum) it gets very hard.

    A must have for plateformers and    Rogue Legacy is simple in its mechanics and doesn’t bring a lot of variety but it works. The game is super addictive and can be very challenging if you want it to. Actually the first playthrough is not very hard and it just takes time but from new game (you can restart the game in a harder castle after each playthrough ad infinitum) it gets very hard.

    A must have for plateformers and Metroid-like fans.    … Expand
  18. gabriot
    Jul 31, 2013
    7
    This is an alright game with a good amount of replay, but in my opinion it does fall slightly short as a rogue-like. If I'm comparing it against Binding of Isaac, they are somewhat similar in that they loosely follow some old-school well known games (in BoS it was Zelda, here in RL it is castlevania).

    My first complaint and complement are intertwined and it has to do with the    This is an alright game with a good amount of replay, but in my opinion it does fall slightly short as a rogue-like. If I'm comparing it against Binding of Isaac, they are somewhat similar in that they loosely follow some old-school well known games (in BoS it was Zelda, here in RL it is castlevania).

    My first complaint and complement are intertwined and it has to do with the character selection screen. You get a choice between 3 different characters, each of which has different "traits" (can be positive things like larger knockback, or negative things like hallucinating enemies that aren't really there), and each of which is a different class (if you've unlocked them). What I like about that: different traits. This is a cool concept. What I don't like about it why can't I just choose which class I want to play? If you've unlocked a class, it shouldn't be random whether or not you get to play them. This game would be infinitely more fun if I could do successive playthroughs getting better with one class at a time. The classes are so vastly different in how they're played that it makes it TONS more difficult than it needs to be to ramp up in skill, because you're constantly having to switch between classes that have completely different skill sets.

    My next complaint would be the controls. They are not atrocious but they are not great. The downward slash move is very inconsistent and random in both when it wants to hit and how high it's going to fling you after hitting. I'm fine with it being a hard move to pull off, but the difficulty of it should not be in the awful control of it, and that's what it currently is.

    On each playthrough you earn coins that you basically use to purchase "upgrades" and unlock new things such as classes, weapons, and powerups for your characters. You can also "lock" down a dungeon for the price of 75% of all gold you make, which is a cool feature. You lose all the gold you don't spend once you re-enter the dungeon on each playthrough. There is an expensive upgrade you can get which lessens how much you pay to enter the dungeon, but it is an absolute joke of an upgrade and in all honestly even fully upgraded you'd still be paying all your money back essentially.

    So this sort of leads in to my main qualm with this game. It's not really a "rogue-like" to me. The only rogue-like aspect of the game is that when you die, you're dead, and that the levels are randomly generated. One would think that's all it takes to be a rogue-like, but playing this game made me realize that's just not what makes a rogue-like a rogue-like. Rogue Legacy is a game that you basically have no chance of beating on your first play through. This is because you have no upgrades to handle anything past the first 2 "stages" of the game. You'll get to areas where enemies just 1-hit you, only because you didn't get the "stats" required to do that area.

    This to me is not a quality of a rogue-like. You basically have to play the game over and over and over again, until your stats get to a point where everything is just easy to you. Along with that, the bosses are not random, and once you kill them (there are only 4, 1 for each "stage", then some final post-game bosses) they are dead for good, and you never face them again on the "stage" on subsequent playthroughs. That is just who thought that was a good idea? The bosses aren't that great either, compared to the bosses in Binding of Isaac it's night and day in terms of how well they are designed. The bosses are a very "low" point for rogue legacy.

    Also as you advance in stages, every enemy is just a rehash of a previous one, so variety is not a strong suit of the game either.

    All in all, rogue legacy is a game that you probably won't regret purchasing, you'll get many hours of fun/frustration out of it and it is solid for the most part. It's no binding of isaac but in terms of side scroller "rogue-likes" (I use the term loosely) it's probably your best option at this point.    … Expand
  19. jjhill001
    Jul 28, 2013
    7
    Interesting and humorous game mechanics in this game with the generation class selection thing. It's a solid platformer. Some of the upgrades are ridiculously expensive for what you get. The game is hard, and it's a time sink, you don't have to commit more than 15 minutes to it or you can play all day if you want. It's good in between playing some of my multiplayer games.
  20. aust
    Jul 29, 2013
    7
    it's really fun gets a little repetitive but the infinite character possibilities helps over shadow that. the game takes a lot of trial and error but when you beat it you feel like you conquer the world.
  21. NjC121
    Aug 1, 2013
    7
    I have done everything in this game, aside from go beyond New Game +5. I have all the gear, upgrades, and runes unlocked. I have become proficient in every class, and I know how all the traits and spells interact. So, do I feel like I got enough value from Rogue Legacy?

    Yes, of course! The initial exploration and the detailed character progression provides a lot of fun times. The first    I have done everything in this game, aside from go beyond New Game +5. I have all the gear, upgrades, and runes unlocked. I have become proficient in every class, and I know how all the traits and spells interact. So, do I feel like I got enough value from Rogue Legacy?

    Yes, of course! The initial exploration and the detailed character progression provides a lot of fun times. The first few runs, you will struggle to survive. But you will find that exciting and fun since knowing each death is one step closer to victory. Once you start to struggle less, you it gets really good. You start to figure out how to clear rooms not easily, but handily with some skill involved. And each character plays a bit differently, shifting your tactics. Even long into the game, you're still exploring to find new items, unlock better stats, and defeat new deadlier versions of enemies.

    But it's not all sunshine. The game begins to drag around when you start New Game +2. At this point, the new enemies are not so much different as they are positively annoying. Many rooms will see you wading through impossible bullet hells as each enemy fires off ridiculous amounts of shots. Most of these shots go through walls, so you have literally nowhere to hide for a reprieve. A couple of powerful abilities can counter this, like time freeze and mist form, but it's quite a shame that many characters essentially become obsolete later in the game due to poor balancing.

    The controls are a mixed bag. They are generally tight and responsive. Both the keyboard and the Xbox controller I used worked well, though the controller is a bit more comfortable for me in these types of games. There are several annoying decisions Cellar Games made with character control though. For one, your character doesn't turn left-to-right (and vice versa) as you would expect. They actually step backwards a bit, as if wheeling around, which can lead to the character being slightly out of position from where you think he/she should be. Plus, you can't turn around at all while attacking. This can lead to times when you'll be furiously attacking in the wrong direction despite mashing the correct direction.

    One final control problem I've encountered is the lack of mid-air recovery from hits. It doesn't matter how many air jumps or how much flight you have left. When you get hit, you fall aaaaall the way to the bottom of the room. This presents an extra challenge to certain rooms, but with later level design being all but unfair, it turns every single hit into a frustrating ordeal.

    At this point, I have no more desire to play the game. I've gotten many hours of enjoyment from it, but it does not persist like a true rogue-like such as The Binding of Isaac. The latter has its own balance and control issues (though far less game-breaking), but it sticks around due to the amazing amount of interesting and game-changing items to be found in every playthrough. Rogue Legacy by comparison only has a handful of classes (some become obsolete), spells (some are not very useful), and traits (many are pointless or even to be avoided).

    If Rogue Legacy want to remain relevant, Cellar Door Games needs to update it with:
    1. Redesigned late-game enemies and new enemies for more variety.
    2. More interesting spells, traits, abilities, and in-game pick-ups. A *lot* more.
    3. New-Game+ feature should unlock more upgrades/equipment/runes to buy.    … Expand
  22. AAKN
    Oct 13, 2013
    7
    Game Play- 10 ]
    controls 10 ]
    contactable easter Eggs 0 ]
    Innovation 8 ]
    graphics 4 ]
    sounds 1 ]
    replay Value 10 ]
    gaming Satisfaction 10 ]
    price playtime 8 ]
    technical Issues 10 ]
    ------------------------------------
    Over All 7.1
  23. GreekStapler
    Jul 16, 2013
    7
    First of all, when diving into this game, you have to mentally prepare yourself because you are going to die, many, many times.
    The gameplay is simple to learn, but hard to master as it has you fighting numerous enemies while dodging projectiles and booby traps. The controls are, unfortunately clunky and awkward if a keyboard is used I used one) and it takes longer than it should to be    First of all, when diving into this game, you have to mentally prepare yourself because you are going to die, many, many times.
    The gameplay is simple to learn, but hard to master as it has you fighting numerous enemies while dodging projectiles and booby traps. The controls are, unfortunately clunky and awkward if a keyboard is used I used one) and it takes longer than it should to be able to learn the basics. Mainly because up is not jump and I am used to that in side scroller games.
    All enemies in the game are challenging and different strategies have to be used to defeat each one. But the lack of variety of goons is overwhelming. Even the bosses are variations of the weaker enemies you fight through out the castle (eg: eye that fires one projectile, eye that fires 6 projectiles and (boss) eye that fires projectiles in a circumference) and the stronger variations are punishingly harder than their counterpart making ignoring them and pass by them the best strategy even if you are strong.
    The level design and platforming part of this game are genius and very entertaining and adding some very interesting sections like the fairy chests that can only be unlocked by reaching it in 5 seconds or not taking any damage (between many) although these can be ludicrously difficult for what they give.
    The re-playability is huge, there is a lot to unlock buy and improve. From the beginning you are presented with your manor, a place where you improve stats, unlock classes and level them. It is here where you will be spending most of your money earned in your previous run. There is also a blacksmith, an enchantress and an architect which respectively sell you armor, runes they improve stats and give the ability to dash and double jump) and offer you the chance to keep the castle from randomly generating for one attempt for 70% of the gold you receive that attempt.
    Now, the legacy part of the game. Everytime you die you are presented with a screen showing how well your characters have done by nicknames, from Useless to Legendary. Next you will have to choose your heir from a "roster" of three, each having it's own name, traits and spells falling into classes that you have unlocked. It is great and some of the traits are hilarious and funny but, there is one slight problem.
    Quoting UnclearImage you upgrade certain types of charas (knights, mages, or barbarians) and the game still won't let you specifically pick that type. So you die and get a knave (nothing at all) a bard and a mage, but you've been leveling knights.... Basically you're gonna just spawn, run into castle and die because playing that class is pointless.". Because there are only 3 children to choose from, not all classes can be choosed and that leads to unneeded frustration and killing off characters.
    Rogue Legacy has an average, but very well delivered story that helps you become more determined to finish. Journals of the man who first entered the castle can be found randomly throughout your runs. These give a purpose to what you are doing and have tips if you are having trouble finding out what to do.
    This game is fun, but hard, sometimes too hard. It is the kind of game that is fun but you should never play more than 30 min 1 h to avoid raging.    … Expand
  24. m0rb
    Jul 8, 2013
    7
    great idea, but excercised only decently...
    it is too difficult to progress your characters, drop-rates are too low and everythinbg is much too expensive-
    IF these 2 last things were changed just a little bit, the game would be a straight 10/10! but, since these flaws are small, yet have a devastating effect, I cannot rate this game too high. It is clearly above average, possibly    great idea, but excercised only decently...
    it is too difficult to progress your characters, drop-rates are too low and everythinbg is much too expensive-
    IF these 2 last things were changed just a little bit, the game would be a straight 10/10!

    but, since these flaws are small, yet have a devastating effect, I cannot rate this game too high.

    It is clearly above average, possibly even a good game, but unfortunately it is so maddening to understand that only minor changes would make for a perfect game...

    7/10 it is if one of the next updates/patches changes the drop-rates and/or makes building your hero a bit more affordable, I'd have to revise my rating to a 9/10.    … Expand
  25. SkySlam
    Oct 4, 2015
    6
    Enjoyable game for those who appreciate the genre (platformer+roguelike). This title can provide some good hours of mindless fun, don't expect a deep story. It can feel a bit too grindy at times.
    The gamplay is not bad, but sadly the graphic/sound departments are pretty weak and that brings down my score. Rogue Legacy is not bad, but could have been better. I'm looking forward for the next title.
  26. notyourbuddy
    Jan 27, 2014
    7
    Rogue Legacy is a combinination of Metroidvania and Rogue-like where you enter a randomly generated castle, try to get as far as you can before dying (with the ultimate goal being to kill 5 bosses), then repeat. This might sound like pretty standard fair, but where Rogue Legacy sets itself apart from its competition is its unusual character creation and its progression system.

    Character    Rogue Legacy is a combinination of Metroidvania and Rogue-like where you enter a randomly generated castle, try to get as far as you can before dying (with the ultimate goal being to kill 5 bosses), then repeat. This might sound like pretty standard fair, but where Rogue Legacy sets itself apart from its competition is its unusual character creation and its progression system.

    Character Creation:
    When it comes to starting a new game Rogue Legacy offers up three random characters chosen from what basically amounts to a Mage class, a Warrior class, and a Roguish high critical rate class (later on a Lich class is also unlocked). Each is given a random spell, sometimes a special skill, and a couple of rather peculiar traits. Maybe your character is colorblind (the game will be in black & white); or your character can't see in 3D (meaning all the enemies look paper thin); or is short-sighting (everything far away is blurry); or maybe he just has gas and can't stop farting. Very strange but kinda cool. It definitely gives the game a unique charm that you won't find anywhere else.

    Once you get in the gameplay feels really good; the level designs are simple yet effective; the controls feel just right; and the enemies/bosses have very balanced/fair AI to them. There is lots to explore and all kinds of treasures to find. Blueprints for new weapons/armor, runes for improving your character (ability to fly; triple jump; steal HP from enemies; etc.), or just little easter eggs like mini-games or developer goodies. It all makes for a fun platformer.

    Progression System:
    The second thing that makes Rogue Legacy different is when you die... you don't really die. This isn't permadeath like you'd find in other Rogue-likes. Nope, all the money, blacksmith blueprints, and runes you've collected in your previous run will transfer over to the next character you choose to play as. You take the money you've earned and use it to buy upgrades (more HP, more damage, more armor, more skills, higher critical % chance, etc.) At first, this sounds really really cool! Unfortunately, in about your 4th or 5th run you begin to realize exactly what this means. It means that future playthroughs are not about beating the game so much as its about farming and grinding for gold. Just like an MMO you are spending your time leveling your character up to the cap in the newbie areas over and over simply so you can participate in the end-game content later on. Not only does it become excruciatingly repetitive, but it has the adverse effect of devaluing your progression. You aren't making it further into the castle because you are getting better at the game or lucky breaks are going your way like other rogue-likes. No, you are getting further simply because your character is much stronger than the previous one. You'll be easily one-shotting enemies, regenerating your hitpoints like crazy, or just tanking hits with your armor that the game can lose its fun/challenge. It makes comparing how far you were able to get in one run with that of another useless and thus takes away one of the great appeals of the Rogue-like genre.

    All that said, if you can handle the grind, the game will keep you busy for a long time. Its not easy to beat with weak characters so you'll have to devote many hours to gold farming if you want to say you've beaten it. Final Score: 7/10

    One final note. There is something funky about this game's settings. Some controls and keyboard keys have been hardcoded into the game and thus unchangeable through keybinds. This goes for controllers as well. Why has the developer done this? Who the heII knows. You might even think you'll circumvent this limitation by using 3rd-party joy-2-key software, but you'll still run into problems. Its impossible to disable the in-game controller if you have one plugged in thus your custom 3rd party settings will always conflict with what the game has hardcoded in. ****in' retarded developers.    … Expand
  27. TheZebra
    Sep 6, 2014
    7
    Let me start this review off by saying that I'm not very good at this game. However, despite my sometimes colorful expressions after my character's death, Rogue Legacy still makes me want to keep playing.

    For the most part, Rogue Legacy is a retro throwback that attempts to capture an audience who grew up playing Ghosts 'n Goblins and Castlevania. Also for the most part, the game does    Let me start this review off by saying that I'm not very good at this game. However, despite my sometimes colorful expressions after my character's death, Rogue Legacy still makes me want to keep playing.

    For the most part, Rogue Legacy is a retro throwback that attempts to capture an audience who grew up playing Ghosts 'n Goblins and Castlevania. Also for the most part, the game does very well, and provides a solid combination of RPG-like progression (in the form of stat upgrades and new classes,) side-scrolling gameplay, and sometimes brutal combat. This is where my biggest complaint about the game comes in. Combat sometimes feels like a chore, and can be frustrating due to enemy spawning and floaty jump controls. Also, a few of the added traits your character can have seem to have no point, sometimes impeding the gameplay more than adding a layer to it (I'm looking at you, upside down screen!)

    Overall, Rogue Legacy's flaws don't keep it from being a bad game by any stretch of the imagination. It's difficulty, while sometimes over-the-top for the average gamer, still adds replayability, and the price tag of $15 on Steam makes it worth your time.    … Expand
  28. Type4101
    Sep 10, 2014
    7
    A well made side-scrolling plat-former with a unique twist on character advancement, this game is definitely worth the reasonable price-tag. It is a full game (no micro-transactions! Nice!), so you need not fear getting ripped off. It does get a little repetitive, with its grind-based design, but is still worth the effort. A few more environments and enemy diversity would have madeA well made side-scrolling plat-former with a unique twist on character advancement, this game is definitely worth the reasonable price-tag. It is a full game (no micro-transactions! Nice!), so you need not fear getting ripped off. It does get a little repetitive, with its grind-based design, but is still worth the effort. A few more environments and enemy diversity would have made this game a classic. Nonetheless, an excellent indie game.… Expand
  29. Benden
    Jul 14, 2019
    5
    I do not understand the over rating in this game.
    It s an ok platform game but it is NOT a ROGUE like game where jumping, avoiding thing n slashing n stuff should not take place like this. Many games like this and thism this one is not bad but not particularly good.
  30. carlosgtardon
    Jun 10, 2014
    5
    Conceptualmente interesante pero no especialmente bien desarrollado sus mecánicas y el potencial que podría tener. Es interesante para verlo si se lo ha comprado un amigo.
  31. austinkeeley
    Nov 22, 2014
    7
    I knew the game was going to have some grind elements to it, but I wasn't quite expecting it to really hit so hard in the last quarter of the game. Everything about the game's feel works pretty nicely, but the "economy" of upgrades feels a little off. After about 12 hours into the game, I basically was at a point where the only way to make progress was to go into the castle and hunt downI knew the game was going to have some grind elements to it, but I wasn't quite expecting it to really hit so hard in the last quarter of the game. Everything about the game's feel works pretty nicely, but the "economy" of upgrades feels a little off. After about 12 hours into the game, I basically was at a point where the only way to make progress was to go into the castle and hunt down enough gold to get a single upgrade and then repeat the process.

    The controls felt tight and I never felt like I died a cheap death from bad platforming. I like the novelty of using death as a regular aspect of the game along with all the traits. Somewhere, there's a story, but I honestly wasn't following it; the final boss's monologue tries to wrap it all up, but none of it seemed to really be engaging. There's a lot of meta jokes and developer commentary in the game which I appreciated a lot. Overall everything was fun and I was satisfied with the entire package, but after beating the final boss, I don't plan on pursuing New Game+.    … Expand
  32. pesho_one
    Jan 21, 2015
    7
    This is one fairly addictive game. It is hard to put down some times, as you want to continue and explore it all. To gain gold and buy upgrades. I would recommend it to every fan of the old school 2d games - it has great ideas, polished and fluid game-play. Now on to the criticism - it didn't last for me, - yes I might easily have killed over 10 hours with it, but then suddenly it feltThis is one fairly addictive game. It is hard to put down some times, as you want to continue and explore it all. To gain gold and buy upgrades. I would recommend it to every fan of the old school 2d games - it has great ideas, polished and fluid game-play. Now on to the criticism - it didn't last for me, - yes I might easily have killed over 10 hours with it, but then suddenly it felt old and boring and even unfair - I did sooo many upgrades and my powers and armor were very strong now. My level was at least 120 (which sounds insane), but the game difficulty was almost the same - again sometimes it took over 2 hits to kill a common enemy with paladin class - it felt almost exactly like I was level 1 and just beginning this game. So there you have it - I feel cheated by the game progress system.
    Overall: the game was well worth my time trying it out and I had a lot of fun with it.    … Expand
  33. FrannyFantastic
    Nov 15, 2014
    6
    Not a terrible game by any means, but the level design is average at best and in place of any genuine challenge there is level-grinding and gold-farming

    That's what ultimately bothers me about Rogue Legacy. The game treats its audience to a 'Skinner Box' experience, and when you strip away all the bells and whistles, all the rogue and rpg elements - all you're left with is a rather    Not a terrible game by any means, but the level design is average at best and in place of any genuine challenge there is level-grinding and gold-farming

    That's what ultimately bothers me about Rogue Legacy. The game treats its audience to a 'Skinner Box' experience, and when you strip away all the bells and whistles, all the rogue and rpg elements - all you're left with is a rather underwhelming platformer.    … Expand
  34. aditya1101
    Oct 5, 2017
    7
    Really cool roguelike that has found an innovative way for your progress to carry over between iterations. My main qualm is that the controls aren't as nice as I would like, which leads to some deaths that feel pretty unfair.
  35. Babutto
    Aug 24, 2023
    7
    Not a big fan of rogue-like games but...

    Pros.:
    - Family manor and many upgrades.
    - Gameplay is quite simple. Easy to navigate.
    - Map and its design.

    Cons.:
    - Some bosses are quite annoying even with good lvl.
    - High lvl of adjustment. You kind of need to like this type of games to play it. Otherwise, it gets boring too fast.
  36. hileger
    Oct 15, 2022
    5
    Этот Рыгалик заебал нет никакого чувства прогресса , помер качнулся помер качнулся
  37. F3T1W
    Aug 27, 2021
    6
    A tube bagel with my favorite medieval atmosphere, a good leveling system and bosses
  38. IdleSpace
    May 5, 2022
    7
    Довольно неплохой рогалик с не самой лучшей кривой сложности, на мой взгляд.
    Получилось в неё влиться только с 3 раза, и то после прохождения второй части, где с этим гораздо лучше обстоят дела и такого резкого скачка сложности со старта не ощущалось, а даже наоборот, после неё достаточно быстро пробежал на все ачивки (25 часов - НГ++).
    Второй ступор в этой кривой случился на НГ++, где    Довольно неплохой рогалик с не самой лучшей кривой сложности, на мой взгляд.
    Получилось в неё влиться только с 3 раза, и то после прохождения второй части, где с этим гораздо лучше обстоят дела и такого резкого скачка сложности со старта не ощущалось, а даже наоборот, после неё достаточно быстро пробежал на все ачивки (25 часов - НГ++).
    Второй ступор в этой кривой случился на НГ++, где все враги превратились в мини-боссов, и будет очень грустно, если у вас неправильная прокачка или вы просто прошли НГ+ слишком рано, т.к. именно на НГ++ в силу вышесказанного сложность слишком резко повышается.
    Лично мне сначала приходилось убивать по 5 врагов за забег, собирать копейки и по 1 уровню повышать замок, прежде чем я смог как самолет пролетать все локации, аннигилируя все на своем пути.
    И третья ложка дегтя из этого же разряда - боссы становятся слишком простыми уже с НГ+, да и в обычном НГ они гораздо проще некоторых комнат, в которых рандом шаманит абсолютный буллет-хелл.
    Внимания заслуживают только нео-боссы - с ними пришлось попотеть, но все проходится.
    Еще не понравилась примерно половина представленного саундтрека. Не то, чтобы "обычно", а именно "не понравилось". Уж больно некоторые композиции на репите начинают давить на уши.
    В остальном достаточно простой в плане наполнения и игровых механик рогалик с малым количеством контента, который для некоторых растягивается за счет высокой сложности.
    ПС: для меня ситуация оказалась схожей с серией Dark Souls, где точкой входа в прохождение всей серии послужила именно 3 часть за счет более главного "введения" сложности в игрока)
    ПСС: если вам не понравилась первая часть - это не причина не пробовать вторую. Она просто прекрасна почти во всем, а в чем не очень - разработчики активно прислушиваются к сообществу и исправляют недочеты.    … Expand
  39. Hyperfailure
    Apr 29, 2023
    6
    Fairly fun rogue-lite game with decent platforming and interesting builds in the late game. Did not hold my interest until the end tho.
  40. Pmstz
    Feb 25, 2023
    7
    nice game
    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
  41. Magical_Viktor
    Apr 30, 2023
    6
    Существуют просто Зло и Большое Зло, а за ними обоими в тени прячется Очень Большое Зло. Очень Большое Зло, Геральт, это такое, которого ты и представить себе не можешь, даже если думаешь, будто уже ничто не в состоянии тебя удивить. И знаешь, Геральт, порой бывает так, что Очень Большое Зло схватит тебя за горло и скажет: «Выбирай, братец, либо я, либо то, которое чуточку поменьше»Существуют просто Зло и Большое Зло, а за ними обоими в тени прячется Очень Большое Зло. Очень Большое Зло, Геральт, это такое, которого ты и представить себе не можешь, даже если думаешь, будто уже ничто не в состоянии тебя удивить. И знаешь, Геральт, порой бывает так, что Очень Большое Зло схватит тебя за горло и скажет: «Выбирай, братец, либо я, либо то, которое чуточку поменьше»

Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
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
  1. 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]
  2. RPG Fan
    Dec 9, 2013
    85
    Amazing old-school mechanics meet modern conventions.
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  3. 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.
    Read full review
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