by Death is permanent in Rogue Legacy, but it is never final. When a plucky Barbarian Queen is invariably fried by a warlock or chewed up by a warg during her quest to conquer Castle Hamson, one of her children will always be available to take up the mantle.
Here’s the catch: almost everything in Rogue Legacy is randomized, procedurally generated, or otherwise the result of some cosmic roll of the dice. New adventurers’ class, skills, and traits are highly variable, ranging from the useless (an Archmage who shoots spells backwards) to the devastatingly powerful (a Hokage ninja with hypergonadism). Rogue Legacy is as much about genetics as it is throwing scythes at flying skulls, so it’s fitting that the once-recessive traits of ’90s classics – vibrant pixel art coupled with straightforward platforming, exploration, and hack-and-slash combat – are the foundational DNA of a surprisingly modern hybrid.
Rogue Legacy isn’t particularly flashy. Lich Kings and Paladins alike can run, jump, swing an oversized sword, and fire off some spells, but that’s about it. These have been staples of 2D action games for decades, but developer Cellar Door excels at the fine details – the way coprolalic characters curse when attacked, or how the near-sightedness trait applies a gooey, Vaseline-like filter across the screen. Rogue Legacy is brutally difficult, but its edge is tempered by wit, charm, and a wink toward the audience. It helps that the controls are tight, responsive, and natively supported in this Mac port; on a granular level, Rogue Legacy is a joy to play.
Cellar Door’s use of randomized content extends past each character’s genetic quirks – every time a character dies, the castle scrambles and rearranges its layout, repopulating its halls and dungeons with more walking skeletons and demonic horses. The castle’s four areas – a forest, a tower, the dungeons, and the halls – are generally found in the same place, but the paths to get there are always different. Starting over from the beginning after every death seems daunting, but gold, armor, and upgrades are passed down to the next generation, so each new adventurer is a tad better equipped to face the dangers of Castle Hamson than his or her predecessor.
