Publisher: Cellar Door Games
System: Steam PC
Castlegrindia?
Wave based games and level grinding randomized adventures have been gaining momentum in 2013 with games like Rogue Legacy and Risk of Rain. They have the addiction power of a mobile app, the playability of a console game and the graphics of an indie art masterpiece. With that said, Rogue Legacy is easiest the perfect time killer.Rogue Legacy is a large dungeon crawler where you never play the same map twice. You take your choice of Paladin, Barbarian or Mage through a 16-bit retro castle and see how much gold you can collect. Then when you die (and you will die...a lot) your character gets added to the family memorial room and you must choose an heir to replace you. Like members of my family, each heir has a quirk or a disability about them that affects gameplay. Your next heir might be bald, near-sighted, have vertigo, be gay or have OCD. The nearsighted player sees things blurry from far away, while the warrior with vertigo plays the game upside down. Each death results in the player having to choose another heir, but before the game starts you can use the last heir's money to upgrade stats, unlock new items and equip new armor. You cannot save money in this game so you must spend all your money in each round.
Your character moves swiftly and controls smoothly as you jump, slash and cast spells. It is absolutely crucial that you invest in a Xbox wired gamepad to play this because of the tons of slashing and jumping cannot be handled by the keyboard. The game rakes up the difficulty as each randomization of the map is filled with baddies. You will constantly die Dark Souls style until your character is strong enough to last the dungeon. Eventually the goal of the game is to defeat the 5 bosses and reclaim the castle, but that is a goal you won't hit until hour 5 of the game.
What makes this game such a joy to play is that it combines fun and tight Castlevania mechanics with a trial and error system that is highly addicting. You never play the same game twice and each play through makes you a bit stronger with each level up. Since the main goal of the game is to unlock items and get gold, you are not bogged down by some complex stat system. The quirks of each heir are funny and occasionally helpful, but I noticed that they served more to brighten the humor of the game. I also learned that the average human being can have some pretty messed up problems (fear of chickens).
The only thing I would like to see changed in the sequel is that as you level up your stats with gold the prices are higher and higher. If you do a crappy run through the castle and only net a little gold it feels like a waste of a play if you cannot afford anything for the next heir. Maybe in the future the game should offer a mini store with low priced items so that you can at least get something for your efforts.
Rogue Legacy is charming as it is witty and the tight gameplay ensures that you will be saying, "just one more time." The game will cost you $15 dollars, which can seem kind of steep for a game that is only 400mb and has such simple play mechanics. I would argue that if you love level up adventures and you need a game that is as funny as it is functional then Rogue Legacy is right up your alley.
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