Rogue Labyrinth Review: An Accessible, Narrative-Driven, Bullet-Hell Roguelike | The Gamerheads Podcast

Platform reviewed: PC (Steam and Steam Deck)

Price: $14.99

I only somewhat recently discovered my love for roguelikes while reviewing a wide range of genres. Hades, Dead Cells, and Rogue Legacy are obvious standouts, but now Rogue Labyrinth is joining that list. I first tried it at PAX West, and reviewing it has only deepened my appreciation for the game. The humor, art style, and bullet-hell gameplay are all well executed, but what impressed me most is its accessibility. The game is challenging without ever feeling overwhelming, and each run leaves me with a sense of accomplishment. Rogue Labyrinth is a perfect entry point for newcomers to the genre, while still offering enough unique twists to keep seasoned roguelike fans engaged.

Rogue Labyrinth is a narrative-driven roguelike, a tricky balance to achieve since the story has to move forward while depending on the player’s progress. The game handles this well by dividing the adventure into acts, each unlocked after completing a run. I play as Iris, a young woman seeking an audience with the great tree to become a Guardian of her homeland, Lantanas. After returning from two years away, she discovers her world has been exploited by a billionaire named Echelon. He has transformed her land into the stage for Rogue Labyrinth, a deadly TV game show filled with monsters and mayham, where contestants are tempted by the chance to become the Monarch of Lantanas.

In some ways, Rogue Labyrinth reminds me of Smash TV, the retro top-down shooter where contestants battle through a series of rooms. While Smash TV leaned heavily on its arcade-style action, the similarities are hard to miss. Interestingly, the developers stated they had never heard of Smash TV, though several others at PAX West made the same comparison.

One of the things I love about Rogue Labyrinth is that, while it is a bullet-hell, I still have control over the action. I can deflect incoming projectiles back at enemies, turning their attacks into damage against them. It is not just arrows and spikes either, because downed enemies and even the environment can become weapons. Knocking down trees or breaking walls sends debris flying across the arena, and this often became my strategy when I was out of mana or when enemies were too dangerous for close combat. Pulling off combos this way also builds my hype meter, which earns extra money from the spectators cheering me on. This system highlights what Rogue Labyrinth does best: letting me approach each run in my own style.

Beyond melee combat, I also have a few tricks up my sleeve. One of my core abilities is tossing Thornballs at enemies, but I can also earn new powers during a run by defeating other contestants in the labyrinth. These encounters are marked on the map with crossed swords, and while I can skip them if my health is low, the promise of extra attacks is hard to resist. Each contestant brings a unique ability into the mix, such as throwing boomerangs, tossing potions, or unleashing a short-range area attack. I never know what I’ll gain, but I can carry two abilities at a time and swap them out as needed.

The game features several different currencies, and this is probably the most confusing aspect, at least early on. Tree sap is earned by defeating bosses and is used to upgrade or unlock new main weapons, such as additional bramble projectiles. Meal tickets also come from bosses, and these strengthen relationships with characters at the home base. As those bonds grow, new missions open up, providing me ways to increase Iris’s abilities. E-coins are earned by impressing the audience and can be spent at vending machines for health or power-ups. Any leftovers convert into dollars at the end of a run, which can then be used to purchase permanent upgrades like health or strength. After most rooms, I also earn an orb from the great tree that grants temporary boosts, such as dealing lightning damage on a dash or increasing weapon strength. Finally, there are special coins called Fugio Coins. I earn these by clearing difficult rooms, marked with a green circle. Fugio coins are used to open chests scattered throughout the game, which grant me more powers and weapons. While all of these systems provide different ways to level up my character, I often had to stop and remind myself what each currency actually did. For a game that leans so heavily on accessibility, the sheer number of currencies felt like too much to track.

A system I did enjoy is the use of artifacts, items that drop after defeating a boss or another contestant. Equipping an artifact gives Iris a sickness level, tracked by a percentage next to her health. Stronger artifacts increase sickness more quickly, and if that percentage ever drops to zero, she begins to take damage. It creates a risk/reward element, though in my playthrough I was never truly in danger of losing health. That might say less about the balance of the system and more about my cautious playstyle.

Beyond the standard rooms, Rogue Labyrinth also features a variety of bonus chambers. These often include minigames such as soccer, card-matching, or plinko. Winning grants boosts to my abilities, but failing deals damage to Iris. I often skipped the ones that felt too risky, since the reward didn’t always justify the cost. While I appreciated the change of pace these minigames provided, not all of them felt worthwhile.

The boss battles are one of the highlights of Rogue Labyrinth. Each biome introduces new enemies, but it was the bosses that truly stood out with their creativity and variety. The first boss, Toadster, is a massive king toad who rides around in a car while launching spikes and frogs. After I defeated his vehicle, the fight shifted into a second stage where he leapt and dashed across the arena, dealing heavy area damage. Other memorable encounters include a rock creature piloting a tank and a giant dragon that swam beneath the arena, forcing me to dodge wave attacks while striking its tail and body when it surfaced. I was surprised by the sheer number of bosses and impressed by how distinct each one felt. I can tell the devs put a lot of thought and creativity in creating the bosses.

Final Grade: A-

Rogue Labyrinth is a hidden gem in the crowded roguelike genre. It is one of the most accessible roguelikes I have played, with progress after each run feeling meaningful and gameplay that is easy to pick up. That accessibility does not eliminate the need for skill, but the challenge never feels unfair, which I appreciate. The boss battles are the true highlight, providing moments where my abilities were put to the test. If anything holds the game back, it is the abundance of currencies, which could have been streamlined without losing depth. However, they still offer plenty of ways to strengthen my character between runs. If you’re into Hades or Smash TV, Rogue Labyrinth will be right up your alley.

Review code provided by Indie.io