The original Rogue Legacy hit the scene back in 2013, so getting to play Rogue Legacy 2 in 2022 feels a bit like coming home. And that is because the original was the first "rogue-lite" to popularise the idea of spending currency/point between runs to grow in power. A legacy that led to the release of the brilliant Hades, among others.

So it's a good thing this presents a massive leap forward from the original.

Rogue Legacy became an instant cult favourite, and paved the way for the likes of Dead Cells and the peerless Hades, which took the somewhat simple framework of the rogue-light laid out by Rogue Legacy and introduced a more skill and choice-driven approach to growing in power. Hades in particular introduced a complex narrative that played into its whole complex structure, and in such a way that it’s hard not to think of it as the benchmark for the genre-within-a-genre going forward.

The fact that you can see shades of Dead Cells and Hades throughout Rogue Legacy 2 is a wonderful thing, because it all sits on top of the core experience found in the original. Where your Heir (see: next life) can spawn with a random class, random abilities and often humorous attributes. Vertigo as an example offers up a massive boost to Gold (the primary upgrade currency) at the cost of playing that run from an upside-down perspective. Everything here is expanded and evolved in such a way as to feel definitive, classes are more diverse and robust in their playstyles, skills and magical abilities feel more pronounced and can drastically change both how you approach a situation and how successful you may be.

Our Full Rogue Legacy 2 Review