Wednesday, November 14, 2018

"Rogue Legacy" Switch Review


Upon its release four years ago, "Rogue Legacy" set a standard for other throwback roguelikes to aspire to. A winning sense of humor, fascinatingly instanced levels and a compelling reward loop separate it from the pack. Now that Cellar Door Games' creation has made its Switch debut, it's as clear as ever that its innovations and attributes hold up in a lasting manner.

As with all roguelikes, permadeath is an expected and accepted part of progress. Each time you give up the ghost, a descendant comes along to resume the family obsession.

Playing along a family line, you leave inheritances for future generations along the shared quest. No two generations are alike, with variants including characters with disabilities, upgraded abilities and quirks.

The action is everpresent and gripping, but it's the humor int he writing and design that  grants the game the majority of its charm. "Rogue Legacy" is at its best when thrusting a comically underpowered hero against an absurd challenge, forcing you to scramble haplessly in order to inch onward. A "they killed Kenny!" vibe permeates the fatalistic feel.

While there are few visible enhancements for the Switch version, it clearly wasn't necessary to mess with the formula. "Rogue Legacy" was polished and vibrant out of the gate, and survives the port to Nintendo's console without losing any of the luster that it had. Adapting seamlessly to both portable and console modes, this is a game that's tough to put down no matter where you are.

Four years on, "Rogue Legacy" is reborn to uphold the family name.
Publisher provided review code.

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