Rogue Legacy

 Switch
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 8 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 8
  3. Negative: 0 out of 8
  1. Switch Player
    Feb 11, 2019
    70
    By ditching some classic elements of the rogue-like genre in favour of a permanent progression system, Rogue Legacy delivers a more welcoming and rewarding experience – even if it can get a bit repetitive with time.
  2. FNintendo
    Dec 29, 2018
    70
    Rogue Legacy comes with some good ideas that break away with some of the roguelike genre conventions. Its combat system is simple and fun and it features a progression system that can motivate players more easily to advance. While it still suffers from of the genre's ills and its difficulty level is not correctly implemented, Rogue Legacy has something that can appeal to fans of the roguelike genre and beyond, also thanks to its very good audiovisual environment.

Awards & Rankings

82
#82 Best Switch Game of 2018

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 17 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 17
  3. Negative: 2 out of 17
  1. TheFlannelFox
    Dec 31, 2018
    8
    Originally released in 2013, from developer Cellar Door Games, this rogue-light platformer feels familiar right from the start, but a bitOriginally released in 2013, from developer Cellar Door Games, this rogue-light platformer feels familiar right from the start, but a bit limiting. At first you can only jump and use your sword, having a particularly satisfying bounce slash that only works if timed juuuuuust right.

    When beginning the tables are turned against you and it you really feel it. Death after death you will keep running into the castle, which is procedurally generated each run, meaning that each time you explore it, the layout will be different than before.

    As the title of the game suggests you are in fact leaving a legacy, as each new life you start as a descendant of the character you’ve previously played. With each new life you can choose one of three descendants to play as, each with varying size, class, personal trait, and magic ability. For example you can get a colorblind mage and while you can defeat enemies by casting fireballs that circle around you, it’s pretty hard to navigate through the level safely. Some will have glaucoma, making the entire level blurry, others have Vertigo, forcing you to play through the level upside down with the UI mirrored. In the beginning these characters just feel like torture to play, but if you embrace the challenge it can be an intriguing test of your skills.

    Speaking of torture, Rogue Legacy is HARD. Like NES platformer, take a break and come back hard, especially in the beginning. The way that you progress in Rogue Legacy is using the coins that you collect each round to purchase upgrades to your estate which raises things like your attack stats, health, unlocks new characters and much more. You can also spend that money to unlock weapons, armor, and runes if you have found their blueprint in the game.

    Even then Rogue Legacy will still give you a realty check if you aren’t giving it your all, but after you get deep into your unlocks you’ll be able to level the playing field a bit. For each piece of armor or weapon that you wield you can equip a rune. Runes can vary from giving you an extra jump, which can be stacked so that you can have a triple or quadruple jump, a dash ability or earning more coins throughout the level.

    Currently, I’m utilizing a double-jump, a dash, two extra coin modifiers, vampirism perks, and an almost complete set of vampirism armor, which gives me health with every enemy slain.

    Overall, the game runs great on the the Switch, except for one crazy glitch that occured when I was in a middle of a great run, which really sucked, but the glitch was fun to experiment with.

    Rogue Legacy is an addictive rogue-light platformer with a rewarding progression system once you get into the meat of the video game. The quick runs lend it to a great portable experience that I can wholeheartedly recommend if you are a fan of difficult retro platformers.    … Full Review »
  2. Pete112
    Mar 25, 2022
    10
    A simple but surprisingly addictive rogue lite. After each run you can spend your coins on permanent upgrades allowing you to progress furtherA simple but surprisingly addictive rogue lite. After each run you can spend your coins on permanent upgrades allowing you to progress further as you level up.

    The combat is fun and I ended up putting almost 50 hours into this game. Brilliant value.

    It's easily up there with other roguelite games like Dead Cells and Hades.

    If the developers are reading, please, please bring Rogue Legacy 2 to the Switch.    … Full Review »
  3. Daisuk
    Apr 9, 2021
    9
    Extremely addictive roguelite. It's a lot of fun, and the gameplay loop will just completely lock you in - turning it off is difficult! IExtremely addictive roguelite. It's a lot of fun, and the gameplay loop will just completely lock you in - turning it off is difficult! I really hope the sequel makes it to Switch eventually, this one was brilliant. Highly recommended.… Full Review »
See all user reviews »