Legacy Code is a game I’m surprised I haven’t seen more in the same vein of. It has such a fluid and interesting concept that honestly I can see it being a speed-runners dream when it releases in 2021. Developed by Cytosoft, Legacy Code is a rogue-like action with solid platforming with a focus on combat and platforming. The game is very must still a work in progress but I was given the pleasure of access to a hands on demo build of the game.

I’ll be the first to admit as it’s a demo there are a few issues here and there and controls aren’t finalised yet but it’s not releasing for another year and this is a very early demo version so I will not be dwelling on bugs as they are to be expected this early in the development cycle.

The aim of the game is simple, you spawn on a procedurally generated level and need to traverse the map, jumping, kicking shooting and wacking until you find enough keys to unlock the exit (which you will also have to find and survive to). At the moment the main idea is survive as long as possible and complete as many levels as you can before you eventually die horrifically.

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One of the things I enjoyed about this game the most is the art style, the simple pixel art really plays into this idea of coding and basic computing that the game themes itself on. It builds on this with the score system being represented by small discs and floppies you can find around the map from boxes that give you KBs. But something I found even more enjoyable about this retro pixilised art style was how it contrasts with the fluid and dynamic movement you experience from the game.

Speaking of the movement, it’s such an enjoyable system to use. When you finally pull off a combo, manage to do that difficult jump or somehow avoid certain death with a perfectly timed manoeuvre you really get to experience the true potential this game has to offer. One of the best moments I had in my time playing was being chased by a flying robot shooting lazars at me and I accidentally managed to duke out the way and lose it by doing a backflip, entirely by accident. The only thing that could of made that moment more satisfying would have been if I had actually done it intentionally.

By inputting a combination of controls at the right times you have a vast variety of movements available to you: backflips to reach higher areas, slide kicks to duck under objects, transitioning a slide kick into a long jump, mid air downward kicks, rolling to avoid fall damage. There’s a lot here and it’s fun to play around with and is tough to master but it definitely gives a feeling of gratification when you managed to finally pull it off.

The combat in the game also offers a fair amount of variety with the ability to chain attacks allowing you to even juggle enemies. There’s different weapons in the game as well with you starting each level with a melee and ranged weapon of which there are various different versions scattered around the levels. Each ranged weapon controls differently with various ranges and effects and a lot of them have friendly fire and the amount of times I killed myself by blowing up a giant bug and myself by accident truly is a credit to my poor skill level with games.

The various enemies each offer different ways of dealing with them. Some are easy one shots but are sometimes hard to dodge, some are fast, some have range and all of them want to kill you.

Unlike a lot of games the tutorial is actually a blast and I fully recommend trying it out if and when you get your hands on the game. It gives you a good overview of everything to expect and teaches you the full range of what you can do without holding your hand. I even managed to die in the tutorial while I got myself blown up by those flying robots I mentioned earlier.

The game is set to release in 2021 for Switch and PC with a target price of $15. I fully recommend giving LegacyCodeGame a follow to keep up to date with their various updates as the game progresses. With the promise this games shows from this early build I’m sure it’ll be more than worth the asking price when it launches.