The game inverses the usual tropes, with the player taking on the role of the Devil who, weakened following a terrible defeat, is seeking to regain his powers. His goal is to once again spread corruption throughout a world left destabilised by his absence. To achieve his dark designs, he directs a team comprised of illustrious Disciples of Evil, such as Bloody Mary, Dracula, the White Lady and Baron Samedi.

In Rogue Lords, the player explores a 3D map and chooses how he will sow chaos during numerous interactions with other characters. He also launches his Disciples of Evil into difficult turn-based combat and uses their skills as best he can to overcome adversaries. If he loses, it’s game over. The player then loses all character progress and has to start a new run. He will have to choose wisely in order to find a balance that will enable him to avoid defeat. As a last resort, the player can call upon the Devil's special powers and cheat via the game interface in order to turn the situation on its head in a brand-new way!

Rogue Lords is the only roguelike where cheating is encouraged! You play as the devil, and you can use your powers to influence and transform reality by sacrificing some of your Diabolic Essence.

In Rogue Lords, you play as the devil, who was defeated by demon hunters several years ago. To regain your power, your disciples – nine evil geniuses who have signed a pact with you – must seek out some legendary artefacts. To defeat your enemies, you must use your diabolical powers to cheat, in exchange for some of your Diabolic Essence. But be careful! If you use up all your essence, your run will end.

Combat

You will face demon hunters on your way to achieving your goal. These vile paragons of virtue stand in your way at every fight as part of one or more waves of enemies. If the health bar of one of your disciples is fully depleted, the disciple can still fight but is vulnerable. However, their death is not the only option: each time they take damage in this state, you can use some of your Diabolic Essence to protect them.

To avoid this critical situation, you can sacrifice some of your life's essence beforehand to manipulate the health bars of your disciples and better withstand certain attacks. You can also do the same to the health bars of your enemies to weaken them. And your diabolical powers don't end there! You can also steal buffs from your opponents or return debuffs to those who inflicted them. It's up to you to defend enemy attacks and create devastating combos.

Interactive events

Your Diabolic Essence is also highly useful during interactive events. Your chances of success vary according to the actions required and the skills of your disciples. But by activating Devil Mode, you can tip the balance in your favour to obtain your preferred result and give mortals good reason to fear you. If successful, you can gain valuable bonuses for the rest of your run.

The map

With each run, the world map is randomly generated, and you will be offered several paths. You choose your route based on the events you want to trigger. But even when you have committed to a route, nothing is ever final for the devil. By sacrificing some of your essence, you can take secret paths to easily reach places with powers that can change the course of your quest.

But be careful, Rogue Lords is not played in Devil Mode only. The game includes other features that give it depth and provide a considerable challenge. Even though you are the devil, as soon as you have mastered the unique gameplay, you could find yourself condemned to start your journey all over again.

The macabre and poetic Rogue Lords is coming to Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4 and Xbox One in 2021.