Since Vampire Survivors set the indie world alight with its zany brand of bullet-heaven action, we’ve had a number of games that have taken a number of design cues from poncle’s smash hit. Asgard’s Fall is one such game, and I’ve just been playing the prologue: Asgard’s Fall: Origins.
What is Asgard’s Fall all about then?
As alluded to in the title, this new auto-shooter from Assemble Entertainment and developer Soulpotion is steeped in Norse mythology. These incredible myths and legends are central to everything that’s happening in Asgard’s Fall and it’s Origins prologue, and the devs clearly have a passion for ancient Norse culture.
As it’s an auto-shooter, you’ll be doing the usual dance of avoiding enemies and their attacks, while dishing out your own damage. Where Asgard’s Fall differs from Vampire Survivors is the addition of an aim reticule. Instead of single-stick controls, you’ve got the extra benefit of directional attacks on the right stick (of a controller).
You spend the majority of your time swinging your sword this way and that at an ever-shifting mob of enemies. This added directional attack gives the game much needed interactivity. I like that you can run while hitting things that are chasing you – a super useful move in a game like this.
They might look cute in the accompanying screenshots, but Asgard’s Fall fills the screen with ever toughening enemies. Straight away the player must weave in and out of danger, because even bumping into one baddie can take a chunk off your health bar. Once enough enemies have been slain, and you’ve picked up the XP dropped by your foes as they fell, you can do some upgrading.
Mid-game progression in Midgard
There are two types of in-game progression, and as such there are plenty of decisions to make as you play. Every time you get enough XP to level up, you’re given one of two choices. First, you are able to choose one of three new attack abilities or upgrades. These attacks use fire, ice, and good ol’ fashioned physical damage, and you can make a build over the course of a run that leans in a specific direction.
Every other time you level up you can also spend your collected XP directly, making incremental upgrades that affect the aforementioned abilities. This system allows you to “carve” upgrades that improve your stats during a particular run (see the image below). Different buffs have their own values, but you can’t spend more XP than you have.
The progression system is spread across a series of skill trees that players can improve between attempts. Upgrading these passive skills looks like it’s going to be the way to defeat tougher levels on new maps, however, at this stage, all of my attempts have taken place on the Midgard map. Like most of the skill trees, the other realms are currently locked for the demo.
Asgard’s Fall: Origins final thoughts
It’s a short demo so I won’t go over the top with detail, but I will wrap things up with a note on the production values, starting with the audio. The soundtrack to all this violence is surprisingly calming and rhythmic as it combines folky elements with more modern melodies.
The visuals, on the other hand, are simplistic yet charming pixel art, as you can see from the attached screenshots. Enemies, while small, bounce back when smacked with your main and different monster types have their own attack patterns. Again, this is more variety to keep things fresh.
I think my favourite thing about Asgard’s Fall is the way that Norse mythology is depicted in the game. For example, there are attacks that channel the spirit of Fenrir – a giant wolf that appears throughout the stories of the era – and these come in the form of giant slashes that take out multiple enemies. All of the abilities that you can unlock are similarly inspired by Norse legends, and I’m looking forward to discovering new abilities and creative attacks.
In this respect, Asgard’s Fall captures the spirit of its subject matter, albeit in a rather cutesy way thanks to the pint-sized monsters you must cut down on your path through the game. I enjoyed the Origins demo and I’m looking forward to more, although I’m not sure when that’ll be beyond the 2024 listed on the game’s Steam page.
As this is one of the many new demos that has landed for Steam Next Fest, there are several new previews on the site. Head over to the Article Archive for all the latest hands-on impressions.
