Rogue Lords

Rogue Lords offers an interesting Roguelike offers but fails to really live up to its devilish premise

Rogue Lords will really annoy your fundamentalist relatives, but is it any fun? Well... that's a complicated question.

Rogue Lords, then, isn’t a roguelike for the masses. And even those keen on the genre might not gel with it. The long-term rewards just aren’t all that rewarding, especially with each run feeling like a slog. And while its unique mechanics separate it from its peers, they also overcomplicate matters. Still, its horror theme is definitely alluring, so roguelike fans who like a bit of darkness might want to give it a go.

An initially delightful roguelike, held back from greatness by rough edges and stingy unlocks.

Slay the Spire changed the roguelike landscape forever. This was a game that proved that you could literally make a roguelike out of anything, even a freaking turn-based deckbuilder. Turn-based RPG combat and brutal roguelikes feel almost like they have been almost meant for each other thanks to that game’s success. One of the many, many roguelikes to take inspiration from Megacrit’s gargantuan hit is Nacon’s brand new Rogue Lords. It’s a devilish little title that takes some of what ...

I play a lot of games, both as a critic and simply for enjoyment, and one of the things I look for and appreciate is a game that takes a familiar set of mechanics and changes them up just enough to make me have to pay attention or really think. I thought of that while playing Rogue Lords, which is essentially a turn-based card battle game but without the cards, and where you play the bad guy –actually, the ultimate bad guy, the devil — trying to exact revenge on the heroic vampire slayer Van Helsing.

Command your own legion of evil and exact revenge upon your bitterest enemies in Rogue Lords. Summon your Disciples and learn their strengths and weaknesses, so that you can launch a bloodthirsty three-person army - and play some devilish, overpowered tricks of your own.

Rogue Lords is exactly the kind of game we love to watch crop up around October. Hiding behind this somewhat generic name is a turn-based roguelike that holds all the makings of a perfect Halloween game: It’s got a gothic, Dark-Ages setting full of vampires and witches, it’s got famous Halloween monsters like Dracula and the Headless Horseman, and, oh yeah! You play as the Devil. It’s the perfect setting to lead you to to the spooky season. Being the hero in video games is all very well...

While the game tries mitigate this by having its tutorial walk players through their first run, it often feels like Rogue Lords is trying to do too much and likely would have benefited from some brevity and simplicity. Still, as imperfect as it is, the game has a lot to offer fans of the genre, and it's especially fun to play this time of year.