Published: 22 Mar 2026
- Developed and Published by: Cellar Door Games
- Released on: 2013
- Genres: Roguelite, Roguevania, 2D Platformer
- Rating: 3/5
In hindsight, I don’t think Rogue Legacy 1 has aged all that well (partially as a function of the genre evolving quickly in the intervening time, partially as a function of being developed on an indie/shoestring budget), and has a myriad of flaws (repetitive, weak story, mediocre graphics, the “legacy” concept is rather tacked on) - but the core gameplay loop of exploring -> kill enemies, open chests, get gold, inevitably dying -> cashing in gold for meta-progression/future heirs, rinse and repeat is still good enough to carry the game all on its own. Ultimately its rather basic at its core, and honestly a little slow to begin (until you unlock the double-jump and dash runes), but after that initial hurdle it really comes into its own and there’s lots of fun getting into the groove of a run (especially once you have some mastery of the gimmick the chosen class has) - any enjoyment thereafter is how long you can stay locked in that groove (for me, it took a good ~20hrs). Not a bad game by any means despite its flaws, although Cellar Door Games would iterate and improve many-fold on this concept in the following sequel - there’s really no point checking out this game now that Rogue Legacy 2 exists.
