Rogue Legacy 2 Review Summary

A top-tier roguelike with varied classes and smooth responsive gameplay, but excessive grinding and repetitive pacing make the true ending a tedious chore.

Overwhelmingly positive overall reception: The vast majority of reviewers describe the game as good, fun, well-polished, and one of the best in its genre. The feedback is consistently enthusiastic with no notable negative themes.

Distinct and varied classes: The game features many classes, each with unique weapons, abilities, and playstyles that significantly change how the game is played. This distinctiveness is a major source of praise.

Top-tier roguelike: Many reviewers consider it one of the best roguelikes or roguelites available, with some calling it a masterpiece of the genre. It is frequently described as a top contender in its category.

Smooth and responsive gameplay: The gameplay is frequently described as smooth, fluid, and gratifying, with excellent basic game feel and responsive controls. This contributes to an overall enjoyable experience.

Pleasant graphics and art style: Reviewers appreciate the pleasant graphics, smooth animations, and nice ambiance. The visual presentation is often highlighted as a strong point.

Excessive grinding required: Multiple reviewers complain that the game is very grindy and forces excessive grinding. This is a central issue that detracts from the overall experience.

Repetitive and tiring gameplay: The game requires a lot of repeated play, which can feel very tiring and is not suitable for everyone. Some find it boring and tedious.

True ending requires grind: Getting the true ending requires grinding through multiple playthroughs, which is tedious. The NG+7 requirement adds an absurd amount of playtime.

High difficulty level: The game is described as quite difficult, with difficulty being harder than expected and excessively high. Players find it challenging.

Upgrade costs too high: Upgrades get progressively more expensive while gold gain is woefully small, leading to excessive grinding for gold. This is especially problematic for class upgrades.

Metroidvania and Roguelike Blend: Many reviews describe the game as a blend of Metroidvania and roguelike/roguelite genres. The nonlinear exploration and platforming are highlighted alongside procedural elements.

Grinding and Progression Systems: Grinding is a core part of the game, especially for gold to purchase stat upgrades and castle improvements. Progression systems include leveling, skill upgrades, and meta-progression.

Extensive New Game Plus: Players note that New Game Plus mode goes up to NG+7, with NG+ cycles that introduce new challenges, enemies, and bosses. Some even mention NG+ up to 100.

Multiple Classes with Unique Weapons: The game features around 20 distinct classes, each with unique initial weapons and abilities. Classes provide different playstyles and gameplay variety.

2D Platformer with Tight Controls: The game is frequently described as a 2D platformer with precise movement and challenging mechanics. It combines side-scrolling action with roguelite elements.

Excellent optimization on various devices: Reviewers praise the optimization on multiple platforms including Odin 2 Portal, M4 Mac, PlayStation, and PC. The game is described as running smoothly and with rock-solid performance.

Low system requirements: Multiple reviewers report that the game runs smoothly on low-end PCs, laptops, and even minimum specs like 8GB RAM and a GTX 680. This accessibility is highlighted as a positive for players with older hardware.

Steam Deck compatibility confirmed: Users report that the game works perfectly on Steam Deck, indicating good compatibility with the handheld platform.

Aiming issue for ranged classes: For ranged classes, the aiming analog stick is interfered with by aim expansion, causing excessive screen movement when adjusting aim at enemies. This affects gameplay precision.

Frequent crashes reported: One user experiences crashes almost daily, requiring ctrl+alt+del to resolve. This indicates a stability issue for some players.

Recommended for Roguelike Fans: Many reviewers recommend the game to fans of roguelikes and roguelites. This is a common theme across multiple clusters, indicating broad appeal to the genre's enthusiasts.

Great for Platformer Fans: The game is recommended for fans of platformers, especially those who also enjoy roguelikes. Its platforming elements are a key draw.

Fans of First Game Will Enjoy: Reviewers who liked the first game in the series highly recommend this sequel. It is seen as a worthy follow-up that builds on the original's strengths.

Highly Recommended Overall: Many reviewers give a strong, unconditional recommendation. Phrases like 'fully recommend' and 'strongly recommended' are common.

Appeals to Metroidvania Lovers: Reviewers often recommend the game to those who enjoy metroidvania and roguelite hybrids. The combination of exploration and challenging combat is frequently praised.

Community fair range: $7.00 - $13.00.

Game completion: 30.0h.

Session length: 0.3h.

Endgame: 111.0h.

Many players find Rogue Legacy 2 immediately addictive, but the fun often fades once the meta-progression grind and repetitive upgrades dominate, with one report marking the shift after about ten hours. A conflicting strand says the game opens up after the first clear and NG+.

Friction: Massive meta-progression grind; Trivial stat upgrades and poor upgrade scaling; Difficulty scaling outpaces player power; Repetitive procedural level layouts after a few hours; Slow gold earning before higher threads; Base difficulty makes progress tedious without high platforming skill.

Unlock drivers: House Rules can adjust difficulty and progression without penalties; The Skeleton Key improves Fairy Chest progression; Armor and Mastery systems provide steady stat increases; Higher threads yield faster gold; First clear and NG+ open up the game; Overall changes make the early game more approachable and ease power progression.

Roguelite Metroidvania Enthusiast: Switches classes, relics, and traits frequently across runs to explore varied playstyles. Motivation: Fluid combat, class variety, and progression that rewards experimenting with different builds. Stance: buy.

Accessibility-Seeking Casual: Uses House Rules and lowered difficulty, avoids optional grind, and plays at a patient pace. Motivation: To experience the game's content without being blocked by high skill demands or heavy grinding. Stance: buy.

Franchise Veteran: Approaches the game through the lens of the first title, comparing systems and engaging with long-term progression. Motivation: To see how the sequel builds on and reworks the original's death-growth and class systems. Stance: buy.

Steam Deck: The filtered reviews present a strongly positive Steam Deck picture. Users report rock-solid performance, native Linux support, and excellent full-release Deck compatibility. Controller support is praised, with only a minor input caveat tied to aging analog stick hardware. Low PC resource demands further support battery-friendly play. No evidence appears for external launchers, Proton tweaks, small text, anti-cheat errors, battery drain, or crashes.

Linux and Proton: The limited user feedback is uniformly positive regarding Linux and Steam Deck compatibility. Reviewers highlight a native Linux port and rock-solid performance on Steam Deck, with no mentions of Proton tweaks, launch failures, anti-cheat issues, or graphical glitches. This supports a low-friction Linux/Proton experience.

Improves on original in every way: Many reviewers consider this game a vast improvement over the first Rogue Legacy, with refined controls, more content, and enhanced mechanics. It is often described as a perfect version of the original.

Sequel to Rogue Legacy: The game is a direct sequel to the original Rogue Legacy, continuing its premise and expanding upon it. It retains the core spirit while adding new features.

Similar to Dead Cells: Reviewers frequently compare this game to Dead Cells, noting similarities in map design and combat. Some mention it motivates them to play Dead Cells.

Works great on Steam Deck: Multiple players report that the game runs phenomenally well on the Steam Deck. It is described as a delicious game to play on the handheld.

Compared to Hollow Knight and Silksong: Some reviewers compare the combat and movement to Hollow Knight and Silksong, with mixed opinions on smoothness and tightness. The downward slash and lunges are specifically mentioned.