Rogue Legacylaunched in 2013 for PC platforms only. Following that, it started to appear on consoles in 2014 and beyond. It is available on almost every platform out there. It was a smash hit that can be thanked for redefining the roguelike genre and indie games as a whole.
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Every aggregate score for these platforms fell somewhere in the 80s. IsRogue Legacy 2better than the original? Will it outperform the first game on every level and reinvigorate the genre one more time? It has almost been a decade sinceRogue Legacylaunched so fans surely hope so. Let’s find out the results.
7Best: More Accessible Than Ever
The first game was one of the more well-balanced roguelikes of its time. It’s still very easy to get into since there is a lot of carry-over between runs.Rogue Legacy 2is even more refined, giving players plenty of opportunities to game the system.
There is a feature included that will help out those struggling. It’s called House Rules and they arelike assist options. For example, players can reduce enemy HP. If the game is too easy then HP can be increased instead to make things more challenging. The ability to fine-tune the experience to a greater degree is what will makeRogue Legacy 2stand out in the ever-expanding indie roguelike market.
6Best: Building Up The Castle
The aforementioned progression comes in the form of building up the family castle. Why building a room will increase health or defense is beyond anyone’s guess. It’s just a fun way to represent a skill tree like inother RPG systems.
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Not much has changed between the first game’s castle and this one. It’s bigger, that’s for sure. There are more options, like classes, to choose from, for example. While the entirety of the castle has not been put through the evolutionary ringer, it’s still a satisfying system to hook onto.
5Worst: The Randomness Of Upgrades
Besides sinking money into the castle, players can upgrade their family through weapons, armor, and special traversal abilities. Players will find blueprints that they can then hand over to the blacksmith. Making a leather weapon, for example, will increase attack power for all weapons. This will carry over to all future children. Then there are the Heirlooms.
These abilities will help with traversal, similar to gaining new powersin a Metroidvania. One of the first upgrades players will find will allow them to dash in the air. It’s a neat, more refined system than the previous game. However, the randomness of discovering these Heirlooms or blueprints can be a bit frustrating. Sometimes players will get lucky and find them right away. Other times it may take a dozen or more times. It’s a toss-up that comes with the territory of playing a roguelike.
4Best: The New Art Style
One of the most striking differences players will notice right away is thatthe pixel artis gone. It has now been replaced with a more cartoon-like art style. Fans of old-school games may miss the sprites inRogue Legacy 2.
However, the new art style is just as good. It’s like apples and oranges. It’s hard to compare the two because one doesn’t look better than the other. They’re great in their own way. One thing that this game does do better than the original offers more variety in the environments. There are more, brother colors too.
3Best: The Class And Weapons
No matter what class players had inthe original roguelike, they all used swords. Playing as a mage with a sword felt wrong.Rogue Legacy 2fixes that oddity by giving each class a normal starting weapon.
Rangers, for example, will start with a bow while a Chef will start with a frying pan. That does not mean they will always come with standard weapons. It just means there won’t be as many sword heroes. Sometimes players will get lucky and unlock a mythical weapon like a spoon. That may not sound special, but this spoon packs a lot of power behind it.
2Worst: Biomes Are Locked
Players will once again start in a castle environment. It would have been nice to start somewhere new but that is a small complaint. The new biomes in the game should be praised because there is more variety in them compared to the original. However,Rogue Legacy 2is less open now. InRogue Legacy, there were four biomes.
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Players always started in the castle but they could also head north, east, or south to eventually hit a new territory. There were no barriers to entry other than enemies were stronger. The southern area was the toughest. It was a fun risk rewards system for players wishing to test their merit and find better upgrades before they died. Theinclusion of the Metroidvania-likeHeirlooms was a good idea but it comes at a cost for a more linear experience. There is some leeway to this but not as much as before.
1Best: Maria The Pizza Delivery Girl
Players could warp between points that they discovered in the dungeons ofRogue Legacy. Once dead, these portals would reset. InRogue Legacy 2, players will meet a pizza delivery girl, Maria, in the second biome called Axis Mundi.
Doing so will allow players to purchase gateways. This means that they can fast travel to each biome once Maria is found within the said biome. It helps save a lot of time which is importantin a roguelikeas repetition is the name of the game. Her prices are high but they are worth it.
Rogue Legacy 2was released on August 03, 2025, and is available onPC,Xbox One, andXbox Series X.
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