Rogue Legacy 2 launches on both PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 on June 20th. Plus, the game will be listed directly in his PlayStation Plus games catalog, so extra and premium members can download and join right away. We are going all out by releasing RL2 with full cross-buy support from PS4 to PS5. The game also includes the latest free content updates, Fabled Heroes and Swan Song, packed with additional challenges and exciting new game modes.
The original Rogue Legacy was released nearly a decade ago, and it’s incredible to think back to how it helped popularize roguelites on PlayStation. Community support for our little indie dream has been nothing short of impossible. He expected a few hundred thousand players at most, but somehow he ended up with over 3.5 million players across all PlayStation platforms. To say we were blown away is an understatement.
With the upcoming release of Rogue Legacy 2, we’re excited to see if history repeats itself. And to celebrate, Cellar Door Games takes a look at some of his favorite roguelikes/lites (not Rogue Legacy) on PlayStation and offers a personal insight into why they’re so good. increase.
kill the spire
what is that: A deck building roguelike where you slowly build your own deck while climbing towers.
what we liked: One of the first deck-building rogue-like games to truly take advantage of the “do it again” addiction. The synergy between the cards shows that the developers have a deep understanding of how deck building works. The balance and tempo of each run is also impeccable on both the micro (length of enemy encounters) and macro (time taken to handpick the final deck) scales.
Besides being incredibly stable and consistently fun, the map progression system is one of the big influences on the roguelike genre as a whole. Since the release of Slay the Spire, the “Tower Pass” progression format has been endlessly copied for being ridiculously elegant and simple.
Crypt of the Necrodancer
what is that: A dungeon crawling roguelite that moves to the beat.
What we liked: This is just a great all-around rhythm-based roguelite. It’s fun, very unique, and incredibly catchy. But one of the coolest things it does is completely invisible to the player. If you ever get off track, the game will subtly change the tempo of the music to get you back on track. This level of player consideration is not often seen in games these days.
It’s very easy to tell the game what you want it to do. I expect the character to jump when I press jump. However, “right” isn’t always “fun” because no one can actually play the game perfectly. In some cases, pressing the jump button is one frame too late. In that case, you’ll need an input grace period as it falls off the shelf to compensate for it. This is commonly known as coyote thyme. To make your game feel good, you need to recognize and respond to the player’s intentions. The Crypt of the Necrodancer understood this and implemented some very creative ways to make it as fun as possible.
gunfire reborn
what is that: A 1v2 player roguelite looter shooter.
What we liked: I’m a huge sucker for mobility shooters, but Gunfire Reborn is really great in this regard. I tend to avoid random number generation (RNG) heavy roguelites and likes. Sometimes luck plays a bigger role than skill in these games, but this game’s balance of both is pure fun and co-op is hard to beat. I also liked their take on class diversity and character building design. They streamline each class to only 3-4 specific builds of him, but they’re unapologetic and candid about it.
Hades
what is that: You know what it is.
What we liked: There are so many things I love about this game that it’s hard to pick just a few, but what really stuck with me was the story design. One of the major drawbacks of roguelike/lite “play it over and over” game loops is the way the story is told. Progression in these games isn’t always guaranteed, nor is narrative progression, which often feels disjointed and repetitive. Hades somehow took advantage of the seemingly monotonous nature of repetitive playthroughs and used it to its advantage. I won’t spoil it, but for that reason, no story is told as much as Hades.
Many other
There are so many great roguelikes/lights out there that it seems like it could go on forever. I’d like to think that the original Rogue Legacy played a small role in blazing this trail, and its sequel is now on that path as well. If you value creativity, few genres offer more variety. We look forward to seeing how Rogue Legacy 2 pushes the boundaries even further.
We hope that Rogue Legacy 2 will also be on your favorites list when it launches on PlayStation on June 20th.
