Somewhere between Sir Elroy the II (while I was still hording MP and ignoring my crit stat) and Lady Lisa the VI (when I was routinely humiliating the monsters of the Depths), I thought, 'gee, wouldn't it be handy if someone could write down some tips for all the new players who never played rougelikes, and all the rougelike veterans who will probably play this game wrong?' (Add an unspoken 'like me' to the end of that sentence.)Īnd so I started writing this survival guide. I played the absolute hell out of Rogue Legacy and made my fair share of boneheaded errors and dumbfounding revelations figuring things out. For such a cute looking game, there is a lot to learn and a lot to screw up. It's the perfect entry point for a new audience just dipping their feet into roguelikes.ĭespite the fluffy exterior of being a new audience friendly 'rogue-lite', it's still damn tough. Of course someone had to make a game like this. It's a lovely blending of genres that, like many blindingly brilliant ideas, is so amazing that it somehow becomes obvious in retrospect.

But that's okay, because success in Rogue Legacy isn't just determined by how far one gets, but what they amass and pass on. You know it's unlikely you'll take your first few heroes all the way to the end, or maybe even to the first boss. Unlike Isaac where the entire game is a mission to see the end (or at least how far you'll get), Rogue Legacy has more of a gradual slope. Bizarre elements foreign to the roguelike mindset, such as stat upgrades and ability expanding items, enter the mix. While each hero may only have one life to live (and impale upon a spike), the treasures and items he or she accumulates is passed to their next of kin. Where it differs from it sadistic peers is its sense of continuance. The developers, Cellar Door Games, have dubbed the genealogical mis-adventures of the Rogue family a 'rogue-lite.' Similar to other recent roguelike games such as Binding of Isaac and Spelunky, Rogue Legacy features an ever changing dungeon filled to the brim with ridiculously lethal monsters and flagrantly unfair traps, all presented with a perversely masochistic glee. This is a game that takes its cues from roguelikes and celebrates a long trail of dead grandpappys and gam-gams as one of its main selling points.

Rogue legacy mist form