Gameplay

This one is a bit slower and gives a good overview of what Rogue Legacy has to offer

In terms of gameplay, Rogue Legacy is a standard platformer game. You have 2D levels, but they're randomly generated each time you restart. You have your character, but you can pick a different class each time you restart. You take this character into the castle, kill monsters before they kill you and gather gold and blueprints for gear. You start over when you die, but you keep what you collected to upgrade yourself for future runs. That's it in a nutshell.

Though the gameplay is basic, it's actually all the little additions that make the game really shine. There are traits each character will have that can drastically change an aspect of the game, like making you immune to knockback. There are mini games, puzzles and challenges thrown across the levels, such as a guessing game with 3 chests, that reward you with better equipment.

Mechanics

The mechanics are the main reason this game is so addicting. Usually, people have a hard time with roguelikes, because a permanent death is a no-no in today's gaming. You want to help the player as much as possible, but this genre is still merciless. Cellar Door Games instead added variations between each playthrough that will keep you entertained even when dying.

Some traits can really change up the game!

Have you noticed that when you pick a new character you get a sort of "stat sheet"? There's a class (we'll get into that later) and then there's this trait on the side that gives you some special characteristic. Like ADHD to make you move faster, colorblind to drain the color out of the entire screen, you can be a tiny dwarf, or a giant etc. There's a lot of these. Some are obvious, some are meaningless and some will have that health boost running away from you. Don't be afraid to try new things. It keeps the game fresh.

And some are just there for show.