


There’s a sense that the sequel is in conversation with other successful roguelikes that have launched in the time since the first Rogue Legacy was released. That’s the power (and perhaps danger) of a good “one more” game. Before I knew it, I checked my phone and it was already 4 p.m. With each run growing my heirs more and more, I found myself muttering “OK, last run” for hours. On Saturday afternoon, I decided to lay down on the couch at noon and play a few rounds on Steam Deck. Those hooks led me to a sort of lost weekend with the game. Nothing I do in Rogue Legacy 2 ever feels like a waste of time. Even runs that don’t result in much gold become important as they build toward those passive bonuses. For example, each class can gain experience and level up, granting them permanent stat boosts. Rogue Legacy 2 goes even farther than its predecessor, though, by adding several more progression hooks. The allure of tangible growth, something that’s not always part of the die-and-try-again genre, is enough to catch me in a “one more run” loop that can unexpectedly push dinner back an hour or two if I’m not careful. Every time I finish a run, I find myself boosting a stat like attack and instantly wondering if that means I’ll stand a better chance next time. It was an addictive system in 2013 and it still works today. The clever hook means that players actually grow stronger each time they complete a run, whether they die or not. That’s accomplished by buying upgrades on a sprawling skill tree, which gives players anything from more health to new character classes.
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During each run, players collect gold, which can be spent back at their base to upgrade a castle. Some of them have positive traits, while others have hereditary quirks that can be a hindrance (being born with vertigo means the entire screen will be upside down).īut the sequel’s most important returning feature is its manor-building system. Every time a player dies, they choose an heir from a randomized selection. All of its main hooks return, including its defining feature: Heirs. It’s still a roguelite where players travel through a castle slaying monsters and killing a handful of bosses to unlock a final encounter. Just one moreĪt first glance, Rogue Legacy 2 is nearly identical to its 2013 predecessor, save for its cartoon art style. It’s not just that players will feel like they can do better next time - it’s that they actually will. Every individual attempt is a building block that sets players up for long-term success. The secret to its success lies in its approach to progression.

Over the weekend, I found myself playing it for four hours at a time as I kept instinctively loading up another run every time I died. The roguelite, which exited early access at the end of April, is a polished sequel that improves on its predecessor in just about every respect. Rogue Legacy 2 is the most effective “one more” game I’ve played so far this year.
