A dark fantasy roguelike where you play as the Devil! Lead famous evil geniuses through events and turn-based fights to spread terror and corruption. Create synergies between your disciples, use your evil powers and take revenge on those miserable Demon Hunters.
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I really want to like this game. It's beautiful, well voice acted and it shows that a lot of love went into it. The game's core gameplay loop and main mechanic devil mode are so cool too.
So why the negative review? Well, while the main mechanics and look/feel/story are great, there are some really bad design decisions holding this game back.
The game's story is split into several chapters, each with their own story, but each one seems pretty long. Combined with the crazy difficulty curve, this means over the almost 5 hours I've played now I have only seen the first chapter on 4 separate runs. Now yes, the roguelike genre is supposed to be punishing and focus on meta-progression to advance, but my failed first chapter runs are longer than my successful runs in other roguelikes, and the meta progression rewards seem pretty bad when failing a run, at least when compared to the time spent.
Now yes, this could all be a "get gud" issue, but the game doesn't really do a good job of explaining how to do that either. Despite the lengthy tutorial, I keep encountering mechanics I don't understand. For example, on my last run I made a full spirit damage team of Headless Horseman, Bloody Mary and the White Lady, and it worked perfectly well until I ran into an enemy which inexplicably stopped taking spirit damage from anyone except Bloody Mary. He had no buffs, and his max SP kept decreasing every turn so I assume there was some mechanic I didn't know about going on, but I have no idea what it was still.
The other issue is some otherwise good runs can completely fail due to RNG. In the same run as the above, I entered an event to to warn some witches of inquisitors. I failed it with a 90% chance to pass, which happens, but it triggered a crazy hard encounter which destroyed my otherwise good run. Now yes, a good run ending to bad RNG also happens in other roguelikes, but man it feels a lot worse when I know that I'm going to get a single skill for my last hour or more of play AND have to go back through the same story beats again because despite being 5 chapters in, I'm still in the first story.
I kind of feel like I'm complaining about something that could be a skill issue, but it feels more frustrating than fun and I don't feel like I'm progressing much with failed runs. It's a shame because this game shows so much promise. I'm probably going to put it down and play other roguelikes for a while and come back to it after a few more patches.
So why the negative review? Well, while the main mechanics and look/feel/story are great, there are some really bad design decisions holding this game back.
The game's story is split into several chapters, each with their own story, but each one seems pretty long. Combined with the crazy difficulty curve, this means over the almost 5 hours I've played now I have only seen the first chapter on 4 separate runs. Now yes, the roguelike genre is supposed to be punishing and focus on meta-progression to advance, but my failed first chapter runs are longer than my successful runs in other roguelikes, and the meta progression rewards seem pretty bad when failing a run, at least when compared to the time spent.
Now yes, this could all be a "get gud" issue, but the game doesn't really do a good job of explaining how to do that either. Despite the lengthy tutorial, I keep encountering mechanics I don't understand. For example, on my last run I made a full spirit damage team of Headless Horseman, Bloody Mary and the White Lady, and it worked perfectly well until I ran into an enemy which inexplicably stopped taking spirit damage from anyone except Bloody Mary. He had no buffs, and his max SP kept decreasing every turn so I assume there was some mechanic I didn't know about going on, but I have no idea what it was still.
The other issue is some otherwise good runs can completely fail due to RNG. In the same run as the above, I entered an event to to warn some witches of inquisitors. I failed it with a 90% chance to pass, which happens, but it triggered a crazy hard encounter which destroyed my otherwise good run. Now yes, a good run ending to bad RNG also happens in other roguelikes, but man it feels a lot worse when I know that I'm going to get a single skill for my last hour or more of play AND have to go back through the same story beats again because despite being 5 chapters in, I'm still in the first story.
I kind of feel like I'm complaining about something that could be a skill issue, but it feels more frustrating than fun and I don't feel like I'm progressing much with failed runs. It's a shame because this game shows so much promise. I'm probably going to put it down and play other roguelikes for a while and come back to it after a few more patches.
This game is currently in the Humble Choice for March 2023, this is part of my coverage of the bundle. If you are interested in the game and it's before April 4th, 2023, consider picking up the game as part of the current monthly bundle.
An RPG version of Slay the Spire.
Rogue Lords is going to look like yet another Slay the Spire title, and it borrows a lot from that game, especially the map design. However, Rogue Lords also does a lot differently. Instead of a card or a deck, players have three characters, and each uses attacks and skills. Players are playing the Devil, using disciples like Dracula, fighting against Van Helsing, and trying to increase the terror. And the design of the world is quite good. It’s a unique idea.
Yet with this being a rogue-lite, RNG is going to be important, and there appears to be a focus on getting three of each skill to level it up, meaning players may have to invest in certain abilities with the hope of getting a payoff that may never come. Also, Rogue Lords talks about each book, their form of a run, having six chapters, which sounds like a lot, but the tutorial is far faster than a typical run.
Pick this up if you want yet another rogue-lite. This is the issue I have. I have so many rogue-lites I doubt I’d have space to add this to the rotation. Nothing here jumped out at me as must-play, but if you have more time or really like the idea of a more RPG-style combat system as I’ve been showing here, check this out. It’s an interesting twist on a common style.
If you enjoyed this review or want to know what I think of other games in the bundle, check out the full review on or subscribe to my Youtube channel: https://youtu.be/JA8-MbCM6v0
An RPG version of Slay the Spire.
Rogue Lords is going to look like yet another Slay the Spire title, and it borrows a lot from that game, especially the map design. However, Rogue Lords also does a lot differently. Instead of a card or a deck, players have three characters, and each uses attacks and skills. Players are playing the Devil, using disciples like Dracula, fighting against Van Helsing, and trying to increase the terror. And the design of the world is quite good. It’s a unique idea.
Yet with this being a rogue-lite, RNG is going to be important, and there appears to be a focus on getting three of each skill to level it up, meaning players may have to invest in certain abilities with the hope of getting a payoff that may never come. Also, Rogue Lords talks about each book, their form of a run, having six chapters, which sounds like a lot, but the tutorial is far faster than a typical run.
Pick this up if you want yet another rogue-lite. This is the issue I have. I have so many rogue-lites I doubt I’d have space to add this to the rotation. Nothing here jumped out at me as must-play, but if you have more time or really like the idea of a more RPG-style combat system as I’ve been showing here, check this out. It’s an interesting twist on a common style.
If you enjoyed this review or want to know what I think of other games in the bundle, check out the full review on or subscribe to my Youtube channel: https://youtu.be/JA8-MbCM6v0
Haven't beat a single book yet but it's good and fun and I love the art style
misunderstanding of formula meets blind pursuit of flavor of the month money. in slay the spire--to which this owes everything--the map is a pared down blueprint for your run. click your choice and you're in, a gamer and his destiny. here the map itself wants to be your run, this cluttered 3d space you slowly crawl around being ""wowed"" by assets that took three-quarters of the game's budget which is the same % of players who absolutely do not want to trek your 3d forest anymore please just get me into the card game it's my fiftieth run today. gone too is the concise reward prompt. i hope you enjoy vn-style sequences that never tell you what you're going to get for your choices. this is a genre built on respecting your time and rogue lords desperately seeks to waste it.