Unexplored 2: The Wayfarer's Legacy is an action RPG roguelike with sandbox elements and a procedurally generated open-world map. Players control a wayfarer who’s on a quest to destroy the Staff of Yendor, an evil magical item. The story is based on the choices players make and the consequences that follow. One key feature of the game is its take on permadeath. In this roguelike, when a player dies, they have the option to load into the same world a few years later as a new character. The choices they made in the previous run impact the world around them. This makes replaying Unexplored 2: The Wayfarer's Legacy exciting because not only is the world procedurally generated, but the plot is constantly evolving. Even the lighting adjusts as the weather conditions and time of day change.
Players will encounter tribes, traders, magical creatures, and more across the map. There’s a trading system based on bartering, confrontation with monsters and imperial soldiers, ancient ruins to explore, and weapons and historic items to collect. This indie game has an aesthetic similar to Tunic, but with the methodical gameplay of an old-school roguelike just with extra adventure. The character creation feels similar to that in roleplaying games, and the risk and reward system calls back to tabletop RPGs. Players gamble with social decisions to do things such as deciphering riddles and climbing up passages, but instead of rolling dice, they pick tokens from a pool.
4 Think Of Your Future Self
It's possible to forget sometimes that Unexplored 2: The Wayfarer's Legacy is a roguelike, especially when initially going through the tutorial. But the game is challenging and players will likely die. There’s no autosaving or a way to load back in quickly though. The adventure can still continue in that first world, but not with the same character. The new character will be impacted by the player's choices from previous adventures.
There’s a way to set this system up for success. The legacy system in the game allows players to pass on legacy items to the next character. Fortune shines on the people that plan for the future. The Wayfarer can leave items like weapons in safe spaces to pass down to the next generation. So, players shouldn’t sell all the items that aren’t being used if they are still high quality.
3 Put Thought Into Traveling
Traveling costs time and journeys can last a long time. The Wayfarer will need to eat each day and though players start with a few supplies, eventually they will run out. Players will need to plan a course that takes into account the need for hunting and foraging or else they must make sure to stop by villages.
Travel fortunes on the map are important to keep in mind, such as ones that indicate possible dangers or opportunities. Some travel fortunes to remember are prey icons that indicate food locations, diamonds that indicate risk and reward spots, and some locations even have a question mark that will only reveal what’s there once players get close. Travel fortunes tell people not only the hazards of a place but also the distance.
2 Combat Isn't Always Best
Permadeath is a key element of this game. Once a character dies, they can’t come back. Instead, players must make a new hero and either return to the same world or begin a fresh run-through. Because of this, taking a cautious approach to the game can be beneficial. The game itself says as much in the tutorial when players learn to hide.
Players can hide, sneak, and avoid enemies most of the time. Fighting can gain players loot or give them free rein to collect items in the area, but sometimes it’s easier to go past some enemies to get to the next location without taking damage. If fighting is needed or wanted, a good option that often works is to circle enemies while attacking.
1 Careful With The Staff Of Yendor
There are multiple types of magic the player can cast when wielding the Staff of Yendor. The Wayfarer’s main goal is to destroy the staff, but along the way, they can use the weapon. Any source can be used to power its destructive spells. If the player uses the staff too much, the positive of being able to use magic will be balanced out by other negative effects.
One impact of overusing the Staff of Yendor is that it can damage and destroy its power sources and that can increase a player’s presence. Many creatures and hunters around the map are magically attuned and can sense when there’s a high presence of magic nearby. This will draw them nearer to the Wanderer and make them act more aggressively. Not only that but it can increase hearsay about the player to neutral NPCs. If the player flaunts the staff to other characters, word can spread and make it easier for hunters to follow the rumors and hunt down the player quicker.
Unexplored 2: The Wayfarer's Legacy is available on Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and Microsoft Windows.