GAME REVIEW: Rogue Legacy (PS4)
(Original Post made on 2015-02-07 -- I have no idea what the hell I was thinking when I wrote this. Rogue Legacy is certainly not a Metroidvania game. It's a proceeduratelly generated 2D Rogue-Like. And it's still bloody phenomenal even as I play it again on Nintendo Switch.)
(Everyone's Fool - Evanescence)
The 'Metroidvania' game style is almost always a sure fire ticket to entertainment when it comes to 2D Side Scrollers. Putting aside the numerous titles that spawned the genre, several games have come and gone over the years, their success predicated on this relatively simple recipe.
The challenge, then, is to create a game that's still a blast to play, follows the basic rules of the 'Metroidvania' lifestyle, and to bring something different to the mix as well.
Rogue Legacy claims to have done that, but has it truly?
THE SHORT VERSION:
Oh yes.
THE LONG VERSION:
Rogue Legacy is, in a word, brilliant. It's yet another example of an 'Indie' game that contains top notch production values, incredible gameplay, a great hook for more than one pass into the game, and a shamefully small price tag.
Triple A studios need to wake up and smell what's cooking. I've got a brand new copy of 'Shadows Of Mordor' sitting on my table, unopened, because my wife and I have been spending so much time playing this thing instead, a habit that I don't see changing anytime in the near future.
SOUND
Every single audible aspect of this game is a delight to hear. The game's soundtrack, available on their website, is very nearly perfect. Not so complicated that you get lost in it and flub your gameplay, it perfectly suits the light-hearted castle romp that you're engaging in. It's still good enough to stand on its own, however, a clever mix of synth and chip tune. The sound effects are all high quality, sharp audio samples that don't grate on the ears in any way.
GRAPHICS
You might choose to chastise Rogue Legacy because of its art style, but you shouldn't. Yes, this is clearly the 'low' point of the game's presentation, but you just don't care. There's a small mixture of hand-drawn sprites and fashionably pixellated images, but the animation for these things is all buttery smooth. It leaves you completely unable to do anything other than enjoy the experience. In addition, the light-hearted art style of the game serves to keep the energy of the game up. It's not overly bloody, so it's safe for kids to watch, and in some places, it's downright cute.
GAMEPLAY
With the sound and graphics in play, it would be enough to drop Metroidvania play mechanics into the game and make it an instant success. Rogue Legacy does this without question, but it doesn't stop there. Great gameplay mechanics are complimented by the most razor sharp controls that I've experienced since the 8-bit era. Platforming, sword play, jumping, dropping, all of it is perfectly done. Again, Rogue Legacy could have stopped. Not only does it not, these items don't even cover the part of the game that makes it so damned enjoyable.
Death is permanent, and yet not a hinderance at all.
When your knight dies, the game chooses to give you your next 'life' in the form of your next of kin taking up the sword and shield to avenge you and complete the 'quest'. The problem is, your bloodline doesn't appear to be as pure as the stories make them out to be. Each new generation of hero runs the risk of suffering from a variety of genetic problems. Some of them are less severe, like having IBS. You fart a lot, which is gut-busting to behold on screen, but that doesn't really interfere with your gameplay. Being near-sighted, on the other hand, makes everything at a distance blurry and indistinct. That's a death sentence in a platformer. Not good enough? How about being far-sighted instead? Glaucoma? Tunnel-Vision? Dwarfism? Hypergonadism? P.A.D.? Baldness? A fear of chickens? That's just the tip of the iceberg. Each trait changes the way you play the game and makes it different. And yes, there are parts of the castle that you cannot explore unless you're a dwarf or can fly.
Yeah, don't ask me.
Then there's the upgradable armor and weapons, the four classes that you start out being able to choose from, each with its OWN unique mechanics, and then there's the other FIVE classes you could unlock. And the enhancements system. And the best part is that every last scrap is easy to use, easy to understand, and it persists from one character to the next.
STORY
You know, by God, I'm not sure what the story is. Someone killed your ancestor. To avenge them, you're running around in a castle.
Uh...
I think that's it. They could have called this game "The Quest For Phat Loot', except that I'm pretty sure that name is already taken.
For $15, this game is a steal. If you're balking at that price tag for an indie game, consider that $15 is two CHEAP movie tickets. Four hours of entertainment. (A tip of the hat to Kevin Saugier for this rationale.) The instant you get more than four hours of enjoyment out of this game, it's worth it. And believe me, you'll get WAY more than four hours out of this sucker.
Play the game. Secure the legacy.
(Everyone's Fool - Evanescence)
The 'Metroidvania' game style is almost always a sure fire ticket to entertainment when it comes to 2D Side Scrollers. Putting aside the numerous titles that spawned the genre, several games have come and gone over the years, their success predicated on this relatively simple recipe.
The challenge, then, is to create a game that's still a blast to play, follows the basic rules of the 'Metroidvania' lifestyle, and to bring something different to the mix as well.
Rogue Legacy claims to have done that, but has it truly?
THE SHORT VERSION:
Oh yes.
THE LONG VERSION:
Rogue Legacy is, in a word, brilliant. It's yet another example of an 'Indie' game that contains top notch production values, incredible gameplay, a great hook for more than one pass into the game, and a shamefully small price tag.
Triple A studios need to wake up and smell what's cooking. I've got a brand new copy of 'Shadows Of Mordor' sitting on my table, unopened, because my wife and I have been spending so much time playing this thing instead, a habit that I don't see changing anytime in the near future.
SOUND
Every single audible aspect of this game is a delight to hear. The game's soundtrack, available on their website, is very nearly perfect. Not so complicated that you get lost in it and flub your gameplay, it perfectly suits the light-hearted castle romp that you're engaging in. It's still good enough to stand on its own, however, a clever mix of synth and chip tune. The sound effects are all high quality, sharp audio samples that don't grate on the ears in any way.
GRAPHICS
You might choose to chastise Rogue Legacy because of its art style, but you shouldn't. Yes, this is clearly the 'low' point of the game's presentation, but you just don't care. There's a small mixture of hand-drawn sprites and fashionably pixellated images, but the animation for these things is all buttery smooth. It leaves you completely unable to do anything other than enjoy the experience. In addition, the light-hearted art style of the game serves to keep the energy of the game up. It's not overly bloody, so it's safe for kids to watch, and in some places, it's downright cute.
GAMEPLAY
With the sound and graphics in play, it would be enough to drop Metroidvania play mechanics into the game and make it an instant success. Rogue Legacy does this without question, but it doesn't stop there. Great gameplay mechanics are complimented by the most razor sharp controls that I've experienced since the 8-bit era. Platforming, sword play, jumping, dropping, all of it is perfectly done. Again, Rogue Legacy could have stopped. Not only does it not, these items don't even cover the part of the game that makes it so damned enjoyable.
Death is permanent, and yet not a hinderance at all.
When your knight dies, the game chooses to give you your next 'life' in the form of your next of kin taking up the sword and shield to avenge you and complete the 'quest'. The problem is, your bloodline doesn't appear to be as pure as the stories make them out to be. Each new generation of hero runs the risk of suffering from a variety of genetic problems. Some of them are less severe, like having IBS. You fart a lot, which is gut-busting to behold on screen, but that doesn't really interfere with your gameplay. Being near-sighted, on the other hand, makes everything at a distance blurry and indistinct. That's a death sentence in a platformer. Not good enough? How about being far-sighted instead? Glaucoma? Tunnel-Vision? Dwarfism? Hypergonadism? P.A.D.? Baldness? A fear of chickens? That's just the tip of the iceberg. Each trait changes the way you play the game and makes it different. And yes, there are parts of the castle that you cannot explore unless you're a dwarf or can fly.
Yeah, don't ask me.
Then there's the upgradable armor and weapons, the four classes that you start out being able to choose from, each with its OWN unique mechanics, and then there's the other FIVE classes you could unlock. And the enhancements system. And the best part is that every last scrap is easy to use, easy to understand, and it persists from one character to the next.
STORY
You know, by God, I'm not sure what the story is. Someone killed your ancestor. To avenge them, you're running around in a castle.
Uh...
I think that's it. They could have called this game "The Quest For Phat Loot', except that I'm pretty sure that name is already taken.
For $15, this game is a steal. If you're balking at that price tag for an indie game, consider that $15 is two CHEAP movie tickets. Four hours of entertainment. (A tip of the hat to Kevin Saugier for this rationale.) The instant you get more than four hours of enjoyment out of this game, it's worth it. And believe me, you'll get WAY more than four hours out of this sucker.
Play the game. Secure the legacy.
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