Rogue Legacy

Rogue Legacy built its entire concept on a simple idea: when the hero dies, the game is not taken over by them again, but by their descendant. Before each expedition, the player chooses from several heirs, who differ in class, abilities and, above all, inherited quirks. One is colour-blind and sees the whole castle in black and white, another is a giant who barely fits through the corridors, another has reversed controls or suffers from excessive flatulence, a purely cosmetic joke. This small detail gives every attempt its own personality and keeps a sense of humour alive even after dozens of deaths.

The castle is regenerated each time from four interconnected areas, and the player fights, jumps, dodges projectiles and searches for treasure within it. The gold earned, however, does not carry over; upon returning it is entirely swallowed by the construction of the family manor, where new classes, spells, blacksmith and rune upgrades and permanent stat increases are unlocked. Progress therefore works in two ways: the bloodline as a whole improves, and at the same time so does the player's own ability to read enemies and time their attacks. Combat is fast and demands discipline, since even a weaker enemy can punish carelessness.

The pixel art is clean and colourful, the music alternates heroic motifs with tenser tracks in later areas, giving the expeditions the right amount of drive. The Vita release was part of a cross-buy with other Sony consoles, and the handheld format suits the game well, since a single expedition is short and can be stopped at any point in between. Critics received the title very well, and Rogue Legacy is today considered one of the games that helped bring roguelite principles beyond a narrow circle of enthusiasts. The combination of permanent progression and randomized runs became a model for a whole line of successors and still works remarkably well. After finishing it, a New Game Plus mode with tougher enemies also awaits, so there is reason to keep returning long after the last of the original castle guardians has fallen.