Rogue Legacy 2 will arrive on both PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 on June 20. Furthermore, it will be rolling directly into the PlayStation Plus Games Catalog, so Extra and Premium members can download it instantly and join! We will do our best by releasing RL2 with full cross-purchase support for PS4 to PS5. The game also includes the latest free content updates, Legendary Heroes and Swan Songs, filled with additional challenges and exciting new game modes.
The original Rogue Legacy was released almost a decade ago, and it’s amazing to think back on how it helped popularize roguelites on PlayStation. Community support for our little dream of independence is nothing short of impossible. We were expecting several hundred thousand players at the most, but somehow ended up having over 3.5 million players across all PlayStation platforms. To say we were overwhelmed is an understatement.
With the upcoming launch of Rogue Legacy 2, we can’t wait to see if history repeats itself. And to celebrate, Cellar Door Games is taking a look at some of our favorite roguelikes/lites (not Rogue Legacy) on PlayStation, and I’ll give some personal insights into what makes them so great. so.
Kill the tower
What is it: A deck-building roguelike game where you slowly build your own deck as you climb a tower.
What we like: One of the first deck-building roguelikes to really capitalize on the “run once more” addiction. You could tell the developers had a deep understanding of deck building mechanics because of how well the cards work together. The balance and pacing in each run is also perfect, both on the micro scale (length of encounters with enemies) and macro scale (the time it takes to align your final deck).
Besides being incredibly solid and always fun, the map development system is one of the things that has had a real impact on the entire roguelike genre. Since the release of Slay the Spire, the ‘tower path’ progression format has been replicated endlessly, because it’s surprisingly simple and elegant.
The Necrodancer’s Code
What is it: A roguelite crawls in dungeons where you move to the beat.
What we like: This is just a great rhythm-based roguelite all around. It’s fun, it’s unique, and it’s extremely engaging. But one of the coolest things it does is completely invisible to players. If you gradually get out of tune, the game subtly changes the tempo of the track to get you back on track. That level of player consideration isn’t enough in games these days.
It’s easy to tell a game what you want it to do. If I press jump, I want my character to jump. But what is ‘right’ may not always be ‘fun’, because in reality, no one can play a game perfectly. Sometimes you can hit the jump button one frame too late, and to compensate, you need input grace period when falling off the ledge, commonly known as coyote time. Making a game interesting requires recognizing and responding to player intent. Crypt of the Necrodancer understands this and implements very creative ways to make it as fun as possible.
gunfire reborn
What is it: A single-player, two-player loot-shooting roguelite.
What we like: I’m an avid mobile shooter, and Gunfire Reborn is absolutely amazing in this regard. I tend to avoid roguelites/prefer random number generators (RNGs), where luck can sometimes play a bigger role than skill, but the balance of the two in this game is pure fun and Cooperation is hard to beat. I also like the variety in their class and character design. They streamline each class to just three to four specific builds but are blunt about it.
Hell
What is it: You know what it is.
What we like: There’s so much to love about this game that it’s hard to pick just a few, but what really impressed me was the narrative design. One of the main downsides of roguelikes/lites’ “replay” game loop is the way the story is told. Since progress in these games is not always guaranteed, so is the progress in the story, which sometimes makes it feel fragmentary and repetitive. Hades somehow took advantage of the seemingly monotonous nature of repetitive levels and used it to his advantage. I won’t spoil anything, but for that, there is no story told quite like Hades.
And more
There are so many great roguelikes/lites out there that I could go on forever. We like to think that the original Rogue Legacy played a small role in paving the way for this path, which even its sequel now traverses. If you love creativity, few genres offer more variety than this one, and we’re excited to see how Rogue Legacy 2 pushes the boundaries further.
We hope Rogue Legacy 2 will also be on some of your wish lists when it launches on PlayStation on June 20.
