There really isn’t anything better on the horizon for the rest of the summer so I am heading back into the dungeon where my backlog lives and I pulled from it Rogue Legacy 2. So I am going to talk about that game this week.

Rogue Legacy 2 is a rogue-lite Metroidvania from Cellar Door Games. The game was released for every single console and PC in April of 2022 and retails for $25.

There is a King, who very much enjoys being a king so he employs you, someone who is most certainly not cursed for their soul to inhabit their descendent when they die, to kill all of the estuaries and collect a magical apple from Purgatory so that the King can live forever. There is a lot more that goes into the story, told expertly in a non-linear fashion, through finding journal desks throughout the world. The journals tell a deeper story of love, deceit, boredom, and rebellion that rivals some of the best video game storytelling.

I skipped a lot of the journal entries because on my first playthrough, there were A LOT of journal entries and I really did not want to read, I wanted to play the video game. After I played enough of the game I went back and reread the journals and there is a surprisingly good story.

Rogue Legacy 2 is more Rogue Legacy. Everything that I can remember is just more of the same formula with some minor tweaks to combat it to make it feel new and more engaging.

Rogue Legacy 2 is a game of skill now. The first game was challenging, but this time around the player has to master the spin kick, and if you fail to do that then the rest of the game is a wash. The spin kick is the most satisfying thing because later in the game you are able to recover dashes through this kick and soon after you are literally never touching the ground. The movement can never be outclassed because in Rogue Legacy 2 it has been perfected.

The main boss is hidden behind six mini-bosses. Each mini-boss section is located in its own biome. Each biome has a specific ability requirement that the previous biome gives you when you beat the boss of that section. Completing each section evolves the power fantasy and the dash is the best part.

Combat itself has not changed much as you still run around killing smaller bad guys, collecting gold, and exploring areas for resources and money until the time comes to take on the big bad boss. To aid you in battle you have the ability to use the coins you acquire to buy new armor, new runes, and weapons.

You have a castle to build with the gold that you loot from your adventures and there is a BUNCH OF UPGRADES to be had. You have new classes to choose from, damage mana, critical hit chance/damage, weight capacity, health and mana increase, re-roll heirs, starting resolve, XP increase, THE LIST GOES ON FOREVER. That is not even the end of it because after you purchase upgrades for the castle you enter the docks where the blacksmith and the woman who runs the rune shop. The game gives the player everything they need to succeed in this battle against the bad guys. By the time that I completed the game for the first time, I do not think I even scratched the surface of the possible upgrades. I played through the game again and I STILL haven’t completed everything.

Rogue Legacy 2 has the most charm in any video game that I have ever played. Each biome is such a treat with outstandingly cartoonish enemies and bosses. The Sun Tower is the most beautiful section and it cannot be argued.

Each section has a badass piece of music behind it and man, does each song push the game forward, they are absolutely fantastic tracks.

I was hesitant for so long to buy Rogue Legacy 2 and I missed out on a really great video for a whole year. The gameplay is more of the same but with more perfection. The platforming is “chef’s kiss,” the combat is still really good and the lore is really good. The story is drip-fed to the player and it has enough cryptic messages that kept me wanting more. The game looks absolutely fantastic, with the seemingly infinite skill tree and purchasable armor, weapons, relics, and runes allowing the game to have infinite replay value. Rogue Legacy 2 is a fantastic video game with so much content that it is hard to imagine that it costs only $25.

Rogue Legacy 2 would have been my game of the year. 100%