TL;DR
Rogue Spirit offers a cool concept: play as a spirit prince who possesses fallen enemies to fight chaos. With tons of characters and levels, it should be a unique roguelike. However, despite its potential, the game quickly becomes repetitive, limited by a single attack button and a "hit-and-run" style. You can't switch hosts mid-combat, meaning dying forces you to replay sections, and progression feels stagnant. While the graphics are nice and it runs smoothly, the core gameplay loop doesn't evolve, making it a bland and ultimately unfulfilled experience. Want to know if it's worth a shot despite the drawbacks? Read the full review!
In Rogue Spirit, players assume the role of the Prince of Midra, now deceased and residing in the spirit world. Despite his spectral state, he continues to combat the forces of Chaos. The Prince possesses the ability to inhabit the bodies of fallen enemies, leveraging their strengths and knowledge in his quest to liberate his land. When a host body is depleted, he returns to his spiritual form, ready to re-enter the fray. Throughout the game, a variety of skills and abilities can be acquired and mastered.
Rogue Spirit presents an intriguing premise that could have evolved into a compelling gaming experience. The game offers a foundation with considerable potential. With 18 different characters available for possession and ten levels spread across five distinct regions, each playthrough should, in theory, feel unique. However, Rogue Spirit unfortunately descends into repetitiveness rather quickly. Regardless of the possessed character, the player is limited to a single attack button, enforcing a “hit-and-run” playstyle. While the Prince can enter and exit host bodies, this cannot be performed during combat. Consequently, the death of a host necessitates repeating sections of gameplay.
Rogue Spirit hints at a richer narrative, but the lack of clearly defined objectives (beyond eliminating a set number of enemies to progress) leads to a sense of fatigue. This is particularly disappointing, as the core concept of Rogue Spirit possesses the DNA for a truly unique and engaging title. However, the developers ultimately failed to fully realize its potential.
Despite the presence of numerous skills and abilities, the player character does not exhibit a tangible sense of progression in terms of power, speed, or overall effectiveness. The gameplay loop remains largely unchanged. Furthermore, the kill counter resets upon death within a section, and also when transitioning to and from spirit world portals, even without dying. This proves to be an exceedingly frustrating element.
Rogue Spirit does possess some redeeming qualities. The graphics are visually appealing, and the game runs smoothly on Playstation 5, the platform on which it was tested. No graphical glitches or texture flickering were observed.
In conclusion, Rogue Spirit had the potential to be a distinctive and engaging game. Instead, it delivers a merely adequate experience, ultimately feeling somewhat bland and repetitive.
505 Games provided a review code for this assessment. The provision of materials does not influence editorial objectivity.
