Rogue Legacy (PlayStation 4) Review

Rogue Legacy begins much like other adventure games - a hero sets out on a quest. Almost immediately, however, the game's most unique feature presents itself: upon dying, players choose between three randomly generated heirs to the hero's legacy, with whom they will strike out and pick up where their ancestor left off.

Not all of these heirs are the same. There are several classes (such as mages, knaves, and barbarians, to name a few) as well as "traits." Traits can include things like gigantism (the character will be abnormally large), near-sightedness (everything far away will be blurry), or even vertigo (the entire game world will be presented upside-down).

The dungeon central to Rogue Legacy is also randomly generated, although eventually an architect will appear and offer the option of locking it down to one layout, for a price. This randomisation is the core of the game - it isn't meant to be finished in one sitting as one character. Instead it divides progress across a legacy of heirs taking on the brutal dungeon and failing repeatedly, each time gaining gold that is used to upgrade stats and armour to make the game marginally easier.

Unfortunately, its most distinct feature can also be seen as its biggest flaw. Picking a character and heading into the dungeon over and over again can be addictive and add replay value, or it can be annoying and frustrating. The first few dozen ventures into the castle are fun, but after a while it begins to feel stale. A comparison can be drawn to so-called "pay to win" games, only Rogue Legacy doesn't offer any magical gems that can be bought to speed things along.