After a few years in Steam Early Access, Rogue Legacy 2 launched at the end of April. Its creator, Cellar Door Game, has dubbed the game a "spiritual successor" to the original Rogue Legacy released almost nine years ago, as this second title has no direct story ties to its predecessor.
The latest addition to the Rogue Legacy series carries the same core functionality as the original. Players are still given a roguelite where a new character is chosen after each death, with the Heir given randomly assigned Traits that can aid or hinder a player's run. Still, after nine years there are definitely some massive differences that set the two games apart.
How Rogue Legacy 2 Improves Upon the Original
Right off the bat, the biggest change that fans will notice is Rogue Legacy 2's visuals. The praised Rogue Legacy 2 has revamped its visuals from the ground-up while maintaining the series' core feeling. While the original Rogue Legacy game featured a purely two-dimensional pixel art style, this latest game features an illustrated 2.5D style.
Even the "death screen" that appears after each Heir's death has undergone a visual makeover. In the original Rogue Legacy, the screen had Heirs dramatically face-plant under a spotlight, with a portrait of them appearing in the background as all the enemies encountered are tallied. However, in Rogue Legacy 2, the Heir doesn't die under a spotlight. Instead a map will be shown that traces the Heir's journey during that run.
Rogue Legacy 2 also features a huge upgrade in terms of the map. Not only are there six biomes compared to the original's four, but each one is also highly distinct – both in terms of design and layout. The original Rogue Legacy's biomes featured only visual differences. For example, the starting Citadel Agartha biome has a mix of vertical- and horizontal-linked rooms, while the Axis Mundi rooms are all horizontally connected.
Certain biomes in Rogue Legacy 2 also require Heirs to acquire a certain skill before being able to go through them. Heirlooms are permanent items introduced in the second game that, once unlocked, will pass related skill down from Heir to Heir. For example, Aesop's Tome allows players to read Memories scattered throughout the game, unlocking the roguelike's deep lore and calming Nightmares so they will no longer attack them. In order for players to be able to progress through the Stygian Study biome, they need to unlock the Aether's Wings heirloom.
Since Rogue Legacy 2's overall map size is much larger, players will have to journey longer distances to get from one biome to another. Even with the in-game map, journeying from one area to another makes Rogue Legacy feel like a massive puzzle game. Another big change made by Cellar Door Games is the addition of warp points that players can unlock using gold earned during their run. There are a number of warp points scattered throughout the map, at least two in each massive biome, making it easier for players to traverse back-and-forth if they need to.
While players can enjoy the original Rogue Legacy on PlayStation and Switch, they may have to wait longer before a port of the sequel arrives. Speaking to Game ZXC, lead designer Teddy Lee said the team only has two programmers, making it more difficult to just bring the roguelite to Xbox consoles. For the time being, players who enjoyed the original will have to enjoy all of its sequel's changes either on PC or Xbox.
Rogue Legacy 2 is available now on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.