by Dayv
A few weeks ago, in a desperate attempt
to find a new roguelike to fulfill that undying hunger in my heart, I
stumbled on the disappointment that was Weird Worlds. While
I've played quite a few games since then, that need never really
subsided, and I've felt a relentless craving for a new roguelike
experience. Luckily, thanks to Steam's Greenlight, I think I may
have found it.
Rogue Legacy, by Cellar Door Games, hasn't actually been
released yet, but thanks to rabid fans (not unlike myself) it will be coming
to Steam in the near future. If you haven't checked-out Greenlight,
it is basically the American Idol of indie games, except it's
actually enjoyable to watch, and instead of there being only one
winner that will go on to sing mediocre songs for a few years before
we realize they are actually terrible, more games are being selected
all the time to be added to the Steam marketplace (and most are definitely not terrible). So...I guess it
isn't a lot like American Idol, but there is voting!
Anyway, Rogue Legacy. I've only played
the demo (available with pre-purchase), but...this game, it's just,
I have been waiting so long, it's so much of what I've wanted. It's
like Castlevania meets Super Ghouls and Ghosts meets Ancestory.com
with a touch of posthumous rpg. And if that description alone
doesn't blow your goddamn mind then I recommend you read on.
The Stuff of Legacies
Rogue Legacy is an action platformer
with some RPG elements to help develop your lineage between lives.
You play as a warrior looking to regain your family's good name, so
you (and your prodigy) will be fighting through countless
unforgiving, procedurally-generated dungeon rooms in your quest for
familial salvation.
 |
| He takes such pride in marching to his inevitable death. |
The combat is pretty straight forward,
just hit things with your sword and try not to let them hit you back,
but as you die and return (as your own offspring), you'll be affected
by a variety of different genetic variations, from minor things like
colorblindness that don't really affect gameplay, to things like
gigantism or dwarfism, both of which have advantages and
disadvantages which you will quickly notice.
 |
| Just like in real life, dwarves have it SO much easier. |
With each new life you'll also start
with one of a variety of spells, many of which seem to harken back to the
weapon attacks from Super Ghouls and Ghosts, with each spell flinging
projectiles in a different trajectory across the room. Also in similar
fashion to SG&G, you'll likely spam them spasticlly before being mercilessly slaughtered by the denizens of hell.
Because you see, like any good roguelike, the world of Rogue Legacy
really
wants
you
to
die.
The Seed is Strong
Each time you die in Rogue Legacy, you
will return to the keep that killed your father/mother as one of
three of their offspring, each of which will potentially have a
different class, traits, and starting spell.
However, Rogue Legacy brands itself as
a 'rogue-lite', not because it's a low-calorie thief alternative, but
because, between sending one generation after the next to their doom,
you'll be using the money and artifacts they find to upgrade your
keep and buy new equipment, giving your progeny a bit more of a fighting
chance each time you dive back in.
Upgrading and expanding your keep will
give passive bonuses like more life or damage and class special
abilities (such as the totally original Barbarian Shout ability)
 |
| Totes original |
Upgrading your gear at the smithy will
give similar, but more noticeable bonuses, and may give other
interesting little extras like a higher gold drop-rate. But where it
really gets fun is with the equipable runes.
The demo only had a handful of runes
you could find and equip, but even just swapping between those few
seemed to pretty significantly changed the way I played. Some runes
gave me abilities like double-jumping or a charge, and another gave a
passive life leech when I killed enemies (which was amazing
considering how rare life-replenishing items seemed to be). One rune
could be placed on each armor slot, and it was possible to find the
same runes for different slots to enhance their effects, such as more
life-drain or triple-jumping.
While most roguelikes have you
replaying over and over just to try and get a little further, Rogue
Legacy actually allows you to build up your character with each
consecutive attempt, making each death seem a little more meaningful.
I've already spent hours on the demo just trying out different
set-ups with the small number of runes and equipment available, so needless to say
I'm excited to see what all the final version will have.
Pedigree for Success
Thanks to Steam Greenlight and gamers
with amazing taste, Rogue Legacy should be out in the next month or
so, and I have to say, I'm getting antsy. Though I covered most of
the basics, there was more to just the demo than what I mentioned here.
Things like mini-game rooms, secret passages filled with treasure,
random mini-bosses, less-random big bosses, and I expect quite a bit more in the final version.
 |
| And of course, the customary disembodied-body-part boss was present |
Rogue Legacy is available for pre-order
now for only $10, by far the greatest deal of this millennia.
Pre-ordering also gives you access to the demo, which will hopefully
tide you over...but holy shit I've never played a demo as much as
this one. If you're not wanting to ruin the surprise or have some
sort of god-like level of self-control, the full version will be
available on Steam sometime this summer. Personally, I'm now going
to go spend the rest of the day replaying the demo in hopes it might
calm the demon-possessed-level of impatience I'm harboring for this
release.
Fun: 6
Yup
Originality: 4
Few of RL's mechanics are exactly new, but Cellar Door Games took the best qualities of some of the greatest oldschool games and mashed them together into a beautiful menagerie of awesomeness.
Fart Jokes: 4
They're subtle, but they're there.
Additional, seemingly pointless features just because they can: 5
Things like colorblindness, IBS, nearsightedness, and stereo blindness all do pretty much nothing to gameplay, but it really shows CDG's dedication to making an amazing, utterly insane title.
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