Epyx Rogue, the game that effectively helped coin the term 'roguelike', is now available on the Nintendo Switch eShop for a paltry £7.99 / $7.99, and while this would normally be cause for celebration, it seems as though some players have noticed a severe bug that effectively soft-locks the game.
To start with the positive, however, Rogue is a remarkable game that, if the opening paragraph didn't give it away, had a massive influence on the medium after its launch in the '80s. An Amiga port launched in 1986 and this version of the Switch seems to be a direct port of that specific release.
Here's a look at the official description:
However, players have noted that an item within the game - the Scroll of Wild Magic - soft-locks the experience due to an inability from the player to actually interact with it. You're presented with two options with the scroll: either read it or leave it alone, but you can't choose either of them.
The theory here is that because the original Amiga version required the use of a mouse, Publisher Pixel Games UK neglected to offer any feasible way of interacting with the dialog box on the Switch, thus creating a game-breaking bug.
We've reached out to Pixel Games UK to determine whether the issue is known and if a fix is in the works, but we have yet to receive a response at the time of writing. We'll let you know of any updates as and when we hear more.
