I’m trying really hard to keep my coverage of survivors-likes quite chipper, because there are now many games that are essentially copying the same basic template first laid down in Vampire Survivors. Burnout from over-exposure is a real risk, especially if you’re like me and you’re actively seeking out games that have so much in common.
It is with the above level of expectation and/or skepticism that I sat down this week with Achilles: Survivor, which is out now on PC in Early Access on Steam.
Regular readers will know that I’ve played a lot of auto-shooters, and there are several new games like Vampire Survivors dropping every single month. It’s impossible to keep up, and it is easy to dismiss a game before you have even tried it.
It turns out that I needn’t have worried, because this myth-themed auto-shooter is actually pretty fun and I really enjoyed my first hours with the game. Here’s how I got on…
What makes Achilles: Survivor interesting?
While there is not a huge amount of risk-taking going on here, Achilles: Survivor does have enough of its own personality to be quite entertaining. It looks great, too, making good use of its theme and combining that with detailed graphics.
The game has you playing as one of several characters drawn from Greek myth. Starting with Achilles, you must go on a rampage where you slaughter all before you using ethereal weapons, all the while levelling up and making yourself incrementally more powerful. You know the drill by now, I’m sure.
Your character doesn’t fight directly. Rather, it can feel like a massive game of Tag, with hordes of enemies chasing after you while your character weaves in and out of trouble. It’s a problem that I think is ubiquitious with this sub-genre, but I digress… While you sprint about the place, up to four different magic attacks surround you, damaging any enemies that get too close. In this respect, it’s a fairly traditional Vampire Survivors-inspired action-RPG.
Despite feeling quite familiar, however, I still enjoyed my time with the game and didn’t come away feeling bored. Naturally, I’m a fan of the underlying surviviors-like formula, but there is an element of push and pull around objectives that sets this apart from the pack. Achilles: Survivor has elements that feel almost RTS-like, especially when you start summoning minions to join you in battle. There are objectives all over the place to capture, and you can drop buildings and turrets to both create bottlenecks and boost your stats, too.
Taking the rough with the smooth
Achilles: Survivor is a fine-looking game, and it’s not long before the screen fills up with all manner of creatures drawn from Greek mythology. I’m hoping to see more added over time, but there is currently a solid selection of beasties to run around while your magic weapons beat them to death.
While it looks stylish, like Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor or Yet Another Zombies Survivors, one thing I did notice while playing was some serious frame-rate drops. This stuttering was noticeable during every run, and developer Dark Point Games has work to do in terms of optimisation.
The meta-progression could have a bit more spice, too, but what’s there is quite functional and there certainly looks like there’s a decent amount already to grind through. But really, the main thing I’m looking for when playing a game like this is an engaging gameplay loop and things to do. The mixture of capturing objectives, building structures, and the constant stream of little decisions kept me quite engaged.
Based on my time with Achilles: Survivor, I’d say that there’s a fun little auto-shooter in the works here, and I look forward to returning once it is content complete. The visuals are slick, save for some technical hiccups, and the gameplay loop offers plenty to engage (at least during the first few hours). There’s work to do and more to add, but this is a good start.
Achilles: Survivor is out now on Steam PC in Early Access, and I played the game via access kindly provided by the developer.
