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Have you ever gone to bed at night wondering how to get those old-school Zelda vibes back? The ones where you are suddenly transported to the Dark World in Link to the Past? Well, Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos probably won’t get you there – but it might evoke some of those feelings of adventure from the SNES era. Maybe, just maybe, it could satiate your hunger for a hero’s journey until we have more news on the Breath of the wild suite.
Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos released yesterday on PC and Switch, and the features and mechanics on paper are compelling. Old and new concepts come together to create a playful and adventurous landscape to explore. You can build a town to scratch your itch in Stardew Valley, unlock classes along the way, use the resources you amass to permanently improve your stats, and explore a vast world with a variety of tools and unlocks. It’s a bit like Rogue inheritance meets the classic Zelda… and that’s pretty cool. So far I have a few hours under my belt and it holds my attention admirably.
Also, and I haven’t tried this yet, there is local and online co-op for up to 4 players, which seems like a fun social outing instead of tackling another round of Among us, Valheim, or Jackbox.
The benefits of repeated dungeon attempts are substantial, as you unlock huge increases in health, damage, critical strike chance, and more. While modern roguelikes can turn players off with constant, repeated kills, Rogue Heroes is definitely on the “roguelite” end of the spectrum, you gain a lot more power while playing. You don’t just inflate your stats, either. Along the way, you can unlock and upgrade a variety of useful tools such as boomerang, shovel, lantern, bow, etc. These upgrades help keep things interesting as you move around the world, as you’re not just stuck with the starting version of an item. Multiple progression paths for you and your gear help keep things fresh even after a bunch of dungeon deaths.
While the overworld is static and has plenty of quests and secrets to explore, the dungeons themselves have some important randomization elements in how they can be built. Much like Zelda, bombs are used to blow up walls to unlock hidden areas as you roam the floors in search of the dungeon boss. Of course, you’ll be smashing all the pots in sight along the way in the hopes of finding hearts, arrows, and other items.
Finding the boss key and heading to the boss room are all part of the exploration process, which is often punctuated with a balance between killing monsters and solving puzzles. Instead of going through all floors on each visit, you can unlock shortcuts to a dungeon’s deeper levels so that when you’re ready to take on the boss, you can jump back in an instant. Fast travel is also available in the upper world, so you can focus on the gameplay anytime you want – you can level up in town and dive back into the depths in a matter of moments.
Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos also offers up to 4 players in co-op, both local (!) And online. While I’ve been enjoying the game for a few hours solo, this aspect may be the one that seals the deal for some. Over the past year, my online playgroup have explored many games together, from Fall guys to World of Warcraft, but it’s always disappointing to go our lonely path when we stop to play deckbuilders, roguelikes, and RPGs of all kinds. Rogue Heroes could allow us to explore together a landscape traditionally reserved for solo experiences, which alone makes me want to continue to venture.
Are you planning to check out Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos? Let us know in the comments!
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