It’s that customary ‘I love Team17‘ opener, as they’ve published another decent title with Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos, this time from developers Heliocentric Studios. However, it is a bastard of a game that has a cruel centre under a kawaii shell.
Why? Because this is a 1-4 player co-op game, and while you could freeball on your own, it can be hard. Having a friend or two may help with triggering switches, slashing at, or on, enemies, but more importantly, carrying your bones to a resurrection altar.
Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos is a classic top-down RPG in the mould of a Zelda title, though not have as much depth in terms of story or characters. But that’s ok. The visuals are cute, all the colours you’d find in a Smiggle, and no overly complex lore to swot on.
Like any rogue-like dungeon crawler, Rogue Heroes: Ruins Of Tasos presents you with a series of floors; the further you go down, the more challenging it becomes, but the greater the rewards. As a procedurally generated game, each map differs from the last. With a Dark Souls–like death rate, you will see patterns, but switches elsewhere, or you face different enemies.
Levelling up isn’t like the conventional RPG. Gems increase attack power, stamina, inventory and supplies, plus unlock the occasional class. Stats are recorded, like how many types of enemies you’ve killed (for research purposes, of course), and how many bushes you’ve destroyed. At the time of writing, it was about 3000+.
The class system is an interesting one, as you need to unlock a thread with a tailor. Sometimes these are achieved through dialogue; other times, you can buy them in a shop. Once you own the class, you can swap them out when returning to your room.
Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos is a bit divisive in places. It’s not a huge game, but you repeat the same areas a lot due to the challenging nature. In an attempt to OP my character, I found the game adapted to my levelling. I could be reading into it, but the game felt like HAL and watched my every move and learned from it.
Irrespective of the deaths, you feel a sense of achievement like you took it up a notch, albeit only a little. Like those tiny Biro marks on the door frame when you were growing up as a kid. A centimetre here and there. Wait until you get to be an adult, then you’re rated on inches.
Playing with others is a huge benefit. Not only do you share the brunt, but the loot too; a player with more health can take a risk, collect some hearts, and all players benefit. The same applies to the gems. But the greatest aspect is the lifeline of someone carrying your bones to a revival point to respawn.
There did come a The Truman Show moment, where I wanted to be free of the dungeon shackles when playing solo and explore Tasos. But broken bridges and conveniently placed rocks meant completing one section at a time.
Playing with others made it better, other than when someone stepped on a trap or did not keep up when running through a booby trap section that makes Indiana Jones look flaccid. At least they could revive you, giving you hope that you could make another dent and get past the boss.
Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos is a brilliant game, but it’s sometimes a love-hate relationship. You love the serenity of Tasos, the customisations, and exploration (albeit restrictive), but then you enter those erratic dungeons of hate once more and wish you had a nuke.
