izigame.me

If I could thumbs-sideways this game I would. This game sits somewhere between "fine" and "good" for me. I think it looks and plays all right but it doesn't really stand apart from anything else. The original Rogue Legacy was a fantastic game in 2013, but this feels like a sequel from 2014. We've had 9 years of amazing Roguelikes and combat platformers over the last nine years, but it feels like Rogue Legacy 2 was too busy copying the first game to find much inspiration outside of Hollow Knight. It's only really a thumbs-down from me because I think there are better roguelites and combat platformers out there already. I'll get a little more nuanced below.
The combat feels pretty similar to the first game while also feeling vaguely Hollow Knight inspired. Having played a great deal of Hollow Knight I frequently found myself attempting to play *this* game *that* way, which usually didn't end well for me. Hollow Knight features the ability to attack downwards to 'pogo' off of enemies and environmental hazards during platforming, whereas Rogue Legacy 2 gives you a 'spinkick' which you perform with down and jump which allows you to jump off of enemies and *some* specific environmental hazards. Hollow Knight features a 'shade cloak' upgrade which allows you to dash through enemies and projectiles to reposition during combat, whereas Rogue Legacy 2 features a very similar dash upgrade which allows you to dash through *some* enemies and *some* projectiles during combat. Hollow Knight allows you to attack above and below you whereas Rogue Legacy allows you attack up and down with *some* of the weapons but not most of them. I don't need Rogue Legacy to do exactly what Hollow Knight did with its combat, but I found the combat much tighter and more consistent in Hollow Knight. The approach in Rogue Legacy feels inconsistent. You can pogo off of *some* projectiles but not others, and you can dash through *some* things on the screen but not others, and this turns into kind of a mess once the game starts trying to mix platforming with bullet hell after the first couple of bosses.
Speaking of bosses, these bosses can feel like stat checks moreso than cool encounters. They have huge amounts of health and deal heavy amounts of damage in sequences that often feel like bullet hell. Most of the time you can get the pattern down and simply 'get good' to take down the boss with out needing to brute force your way through upgrades but the massive health pools make them feel like chores or endurance trials. I could hit them 100 times without upgrades or die 30 runs trying and eventually double my damage to make it easier. Upgrades do less to make me feel more powerful than they make me feel like I'm wasting less time getting around and fighting the bosses.
Speaking of the *upgrades*, this is the bit where Rogue Legacy 2 feels more like a Free To Play game than a roguelite to me. Every time you die you bring back your gold, and you can invest into permanent upgrades for your characters. You can buy and upgrade weapons and armor as well as skills on the 'skill tree.' Unfortunately the overwhelming majority of these upgrades are completely inconsequential in small doses. Sure, you can eventually double your damage output, but that isn't just a few upgrades to do. That's a new sword and about twenty damage upgrades on the skill tree worth of investment. Similarly, there are about 30 life upgrades, 40 armor upgrades, and a truckload of other upgrades for other systems in the game that feel like otherwise arbitrary limitations like weight restrictions or limitations on the aforementioned upgrades themselves. Is it fun to spend twenty minutes on a run and then die so you can spend all that money you gathered on an upgrade like, "2% more int scaling with food?" How about two more points of damage reduction on top of the 80 you already have? If those sorts of upgrades sound exciting to you you'll be right at home grinding away in this game.
I've been harsh here but I don't think the game is "bad," per se. I think it's just kind of rote I've done all this stuff before in games that handled each of those aspects a little bit better than this one. The endless grind for trivial stat increases makes dying feel tedious and boring instead of exciting. The 'variety' offered by the various classes the game offers feel less 'quirky and fun' and more like lists of restrictions and limitations to how I can play. This guy can't attack up or down? This one needs to spin kick off of his attacks to hurt anyone? Not the most inspiring group of characters. I did appreciate the lancer and chef classes, for how much more interactive they felt with the game than the others.
You might love it or you might think it's boring. You probably won't regret spending the money on it but you *might* end up disappointed with the final product.