Getting Lost: Rogue Legacy Review

Getting Lost: Rogue Legacy Review

As I’m sure most of you have picked up from my past articles, I like to play games for nostalgia’s sake. I love the feeling of being whisked back to my childhood through gameplay, remembering the good ole times of sitting back and playing to my heart’s content. I am constantly searching for more and more games that can do this, and so my list of favorite games is ever-growing. But there is one game that I always love going back to: Rogue Legacy.

I could not stop playing this game. Seriously. It sucked me in, made me obsessed. I had to keep playing, I had to beat the levels, I had to keep going. I played this game as much as I could, and I never wanted to stop. It’s one of my favorite Indie games.

Rogue Legacy is a 2D sidescroller that is all about the action. The point of the game is to go into a castle and fight all the bosses, so you can reach the top of the tower and destroy Evil. With a capital E. 

But the best part about this game is the gameplay itself. There is a storyline you can follow if you want, but really, it’s about the action. You just have to keep playing, for playing’s sake. You have to beat the level, you have to get past that boss, you have to finish that room. You get focused, centered on the game. You learn, you get faster, and you get determined. It’s just addicting.

The soundtrack is pretty good too. You won’t get a variety of tracks since it’s the same song for each level, but the music is good enough that you don’t really mind. Once you go to a different section in the castle, then the music changes.

What makes this game so unique is that every time you enter the castle, the map is randomly generated. The first room is the same, but after that, everything is different. That means different traps, more deceiving pictures, new spikes, random cannons, altered illusions, etc. You won’t know where items are, where the bosses are, or where to go. It definitely keeps the game exciting and intense.

But the random maps mean you will die. A lot. There is no way anyone can play this game and not die. It’s basically impossible. Actually, dying is kind of the point of the game. You see, when you die, your next of kin takes over, so really, you never die. But you get to choose your heir. The game gives you three choices, each of a different class. Of course, the class has an effect on the heir, such as spells and even appearance. Dwarves are small, and mages tend to have beards. They can be different genders, have different secondary weapons, even have characteristics particular to them, such as being far-sighted, or dyslexic.

But you only have three choices. So you can either make the best of it, or decide that they’re going to have a really short lifespan.

However, if you do decide to kill your character quickly, I suggest first grabbing as much money as you can. When you die, your money goes to your next of kin. But you can only use that money to buy skills, weapons, etc. Or, you can upgrade your manor. But once you go to the castle, the gatekeeper takes away all your money. You start at zero every time you enter the castle.

Another hint for this game: play with a controller. I bought this game on my PC and tried to play with my keyboard. It did not work out. It doesn’t feel right to play this on the keyboard, and it’s pretty difficult to do. On a controller, the buttons are closer together, making your response time much faster. The controls are pretty simple: D-pad to move, A to jump, X to hit. Anyone can pick it up and learn it quickly, and the tutorial makes it even easier.

At the end of the game, once you’ve beaten the whole thing, you see a list of all the family members you played as. Let me tell you, it’s a huge list. HUGE. But it really makes you appreciate all the time and effort you put into the game.

All in all, this game is easily one of my favorites. It’s the best go-to game, and I can’t praise it enough.

 

Price: $14.99
Enjoyment: 10/10
Learning Curve: Easy-Medium
Systems: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux, Mac OS