Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos – Review

Our Rating: 7/10

Throughout the years, we have seen the birth of an infinity of games inspired by popular titles. Sometimes these games can include elements from two or more different titles with very poor results. Others fair and some quite successful. Pleasant is the surprise when, in addition to all this collage of ideas, a game presents us with its personality that differ from their “parents or grandparents”. With great satisfaction, Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos is one of those success stories.

If you’ve ever played titles like The Legend of Zelda, you are going to quickly identify the RPG and action-adventure gameplay of this installment. It falls into the category of rogue-lite since it includes dungeons with procedural generation of their scenarios.

GAME OVERVIEW

Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos doesn’t have a particularly complex story. Instead, it revolves around the premise of a group of heroes who wake up in a mysterious house. As you leave, a man explains that you are in the world of Thasos, and his dream is to build a city in that area and call it Intori, so he asks you for your help to collect gems.

The only place where you can find gems is in a fortress to the northeast. Along the way, a mysterious voice tells you that 4 titans are conjuring an army of monsters. The only way to overcome them is by defeating the guardians of each dungeon. This is how your adventure begins.

GAMEPLAY

It should be noted that Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos is not a roguelike but a roque-lite, with “T”. The difference is that in roguelike games when you die you lose all your progress and must start from scratch. But in the Roquelite, you can keep the items you get and your progress in the game is saved. This is clear from the beginning when the voice that speaks tells you that if you die, he will be able to revive and preserve your treasures.

The controls are very similar to those of The Legend of Zelda. You have a command to use your sword and another to protect yourself with your shield. In addition, you will be able to find other additional weapons such as bow and arrow, bombs, boomerang, among others. You can also lift objects such as barrels, boxes, and some elements to solve puzzles. However, the use of your sword and your attack speed is not infinite. Your resistance bar will deplete if you launch swords very often. In general, you can say that you have fairly basic commands that work very well when it comes to playing. 

Dungeons and Gems

The dungeons have a procedural generation of their scenarios. That means that each time you visit them, they will be different. Each dungeon has three levels, where the difficulty will get stronger and stronger.

You will only find the precious gems inside the dungeons, once you enter, you will not be able to leave. Unless of course, you defeat the guardian or die trying. The good news is, if you die, you can return to town with all the gems you collected. Each section of the dungeon has different enemies such as bats, skeletons, or armed soldiers. It is also plagued with traps such as arrows, floors that open, or spikes that come out from the ground.

A very important point to highlight is that the scenarios will also have alterations, depending on the number of people who are playing simultaneously. This is noticeable in some puzzles that are designed to be solved through teamwork. That is why the best recommendation is to get together with three friends to unleash the true potential of the game.

Learning from mistakes

Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos is a game, best learned through trial and error. That means that in the beginning, you are going to die many times. But that does not necessarily mean that the game is very difficult. You just need to play a lot, make mistakes, and learn from your mistakes. 

Like any online multiplayer game, when playing as a team, everything becomes much more chaotic. Thus, you are more prone to errors, and unfortunately, this game does not forgive mistakes. However, the gaming experience becomes so enjoyable and entertaining, that you won’t mind dying so often. It is very important to highlight that just as it does not forgive the error, it also rewards the effort.

All the gems that you obtain, until the moment of your death, can be used to build different structures such as houses or shops. This will help you improve your skills and level points. In this way, you can infinitely visit each dungeon. You can come back to collect more gems and buy all the possible improvements for your weapons, health, resistance, among other aspects.

The game also includes many character customization options. When starting a game for the first time, you can choose the color of your skin, hair, and clothes. You can also choose from several classes such as knight, archer, thief, wizard, etc. Depending on the chosen class, they will change the level of their attributes such as an attack, defense, or magic.

Also, you have a command for the special attack, which varies depending on the class. Keep in mind that you will have to unlock different classes by collecting certain items and spending many gems. So once again, the importance of gem farming will become evident throughout the game.

The GOOD, the BAD, and the OVERALL GAMING EXPERIENCE

Sadly, it is worth mentioning that Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos suffers from many online connectivity issues. This may be due to server issues in the pre-release phase. However, while there are various noticeable improvements, several bugs remain which are important to note.

When the team enters a dungeon, the error can occur that the game drops a random player. The same thing happens when the four heroes go to a store to buy the same item, at the same time. This may happen to you more than once. A simple action like buying a suit may automatically expel other players from the game.

Worst of all, if a partner disconnects from the group session, there is no way for them to return. This is particularly annoying when you find yourself in the middle of the dungeon. If one of your teammates is expelled, he/she would be left without receiving the rewards. Consequently, your team can get stuck if you arrive at a stage with a puzzle to solve between 4 players.

Art and Soundtrack

Art-wise, this is a game that looks fantastic wherever it looks. The 16-bit art style is completely inspired by the aforementioned games, with a very varied, intense, and full of life color palette. The level of detail of each stage shows us the great care they have taken to design this whole world.

As you explore the various areas of the map, you will find a variety of terrain such as swamps, forests, volcanic or snow areas. The dungeons have a very entertaining puzzle design and some that will make you think for a while about the solution. The animations are very fluid, making the characters move quite fast, giving a lot of dynamism to the game. 

If there is something that differentiates this title from The Legend of Zelda, it is the music. The Nintendo franchise is characterized by epic music of adventure and exploration. With tunes that differ in each scenario that can be identified and repeated endlessly without ever boring. However, in Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos, music is an element that is present but does not particularly stand out at any point. Even the volume with which it sounds is almost imperceptible, so during 60% of the adventure. It will seem like it does not have any music. 

Conclusion

Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos is a fantastic collaborative game that rewards the player for every minute spent exploring. While the visual and gameplay design is inspired by other popular games, it adds enough elements of its own. Thus, making the adventure feel not like a copy, but rather a great tribute with a personality of its own.

While the single-player experience works very well, its true potential is multiplayer play. Sadly, the game suffers from various connectivity issues, making it difficult to have a fully satisfactory experience.

Although we do not have music that stands out in the game, the fun factor, sound effects, art, and stage design, make the game experience very entertaining. You could say that it is one of those titles that you spend playing for many hours. If you are a lover of classic Zelda games, you need to include Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos in your collection.