Let Them Come: Onslaught was one of the first standout games that I came across during my short time on the news desk at Rogueliker.
Teased at the MIX Kinda Funny Spring Showcase 2025, this survivors-like tasks players with staving off death for as long as possible on a hostile planet populated with ruthless aliens. The game is due to arrive on PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series and Switch at an unconfirmed date later this year.
The action in this one looks explosive, with you being able to wield the likes of flamethrowers, blasters and autoguns simultaneously to deal with the ramping threat. It also has a gritty VHS visual style that was inspired by the Alien franchise and games like Starcraft.
Klemen Lozar, founder of Tuatara Games (the game’s developer), very kindly took some time out of his schedule recently to answer some of our most burning questions. But before we dive into just how awesome this one sounds, why not check it out for yourself? You can add the game’s demo to your download queue here.
RL: What is Let Them Come: Onslaught for those unfamiliar?
KL: Let Them Come: Onslaught is our entry in the roguelike Survivors genre with an 80s VHS aesthetic and Synthwave soundtrack.
You’re stranded on a hostile planet surrounded by ruthless aliens, and the only way to escape is to survive long enough to nuke the area. If you’re a fan of the genre, you’ll be able to dive right in – collect experience, choose your upgrades as you level up, and survive as long as you can against the neverending hordes.
We’ve worked hard to make sure you’re facing a wide variety of enemies, with plenty of weapons to choose from, and we can’t wait for people to play it.
RL: What inspired you to do a roguelike take on the Let Them Come series?
KL: Like a lot of other people, I was drawn to the simple but exciting gameplay of the Survivors genre and immediately saw the adaptation potential of our Let Them Come IP.
We released the first game in 2017 – it was a pixel art 2D shoot ‘em up where you took on waves of oncoming aliens with a lot of firepower. Survivors-like games are similar, but you have the added challenge of moving around the map to avoid enemies as well.
Surviving against a horde of creatures using an awesome weapon arsenal while jamming to a great soundtrack – it was impossible for me to resist! The scope of the potential game was also a good fit for our team composition.
RL: How does the game offer a next-generation take on the survivors-like formula?
KL: We decided not to stray too far from the formula but to refine the experience in a way we felt it was lacking and in a way that would be compatible with the strengths of our team.
When it comes to the game visuals, we’re focusing a lot on game feel, the atmosphere and artistic presentation – while we’ve stuck with a retro-style pixel art look that fans of the genre often enjoy, we’ve really upped the ante with moody lighting to add to the isolation and desperation. We’ve also used visual effects to make it more satisfying each time you take out an enemy – they don’t just disappear from the screen, you really feel it when they’re destroyed.
We put a lot of time into the weapons as well. We love classic sci-fi movies so a lot of the guns recreate that sort of feeling, like the blaster, flamethrower and autogun. But then we had a lot of fun adding other ways you can take on more enemies, like the rocket barrage that fires missiles at the horde in random directions and the orbital strike which fires deadly beams from above.
We’ve also got different playable characters, who each have their own special ability and stats, and we’ve introduced environmental hazards. This was a big one for us – it’s not just the aliens that pose a danger to you, it’s the planet as well. We’ve got lightning strikes, meteor showers and a ton of other surprises, so you need to keep on your toes as you play. And then there are our boss battles as well – we wanted each match to reach a climax, rather than just end, so you’ll be facing some massive alien creatures in the final minutes that are much more dangerous than anything you’ve dealt with before.
RL: The game has a gritty 80s VHS aesthetic. What film/gaming influences did you look to for this?
KL: The original Let Them Come took massive inspiration from the Alien franchise and games like Starcraft. This remains true for Onslaught. We’re huge fans of the retro sci-fi aesthetic at the company and we’re happy to see that come through in the game.
RL: With so many fun sci-fi-inspired weapons in the game, what exciting combinations can players expect, and how does the action escalate as the game progresses?
KL: With the weapons, our focus is on making sure they’re not repetitive and offer new interesting gameplay opportunities. For example, some weapons combinations might be great for mowing down large numbers of weaker enemies but less optimal for fighting fewer stronger ones or bosses.
Every weapon has a distinct evolution as you level it up, both visually and functionally. An overpowered prototype version of every weapon can also be obtained that can change things up in later stages of the game. We want to see what combinations players come up with as they experiment with all the upgrades.
We also have the Armoury system, which gives you permanent upgrades that improve your chances of surviving each match. These can be bought with the credits you collect in the game, but you also need to unlock certain achievements before they become available – it’s one of the things we do to encourage players to mix it up and try playing in different ways, a lot of them can modify gameplay in interesting ways.
RL: How do the battlefield hazards creep in throughout the game to shake up the action?
KL: The environmental hazards vary per level, so you’ll face different conditions as you get further through the game.
We’re quite gentle in our first introductory level but later on some of the hazards have larger gameplay implications. We wanted the players to feel like the planet itself is working against them and this adds another layer of spectacle and design we can play with.
Most of the environmental hazards harm your enemies as well so there are ways to turn things to your advantage. We like to ramp things up over the level sequence to introduce new elements the player has to stay aware about.
RL: What can players expect from the recent demo you released on Steam?
KL: We’re very proud of the demo and we feel it faithfully represents the experience we’re aiming for, in a limited way of course.
The demo contains a 20-minute level sequence in our first map, our first playable character and an assortment of weapons and upgrades to try.
The full game will have four very different levels, many more weapons, upgrades and enemies, and two additional playable characters that each have their own special ability.
RL: Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions! Now to save you scrolling back up for the link, head this way for the Steam page and the demo version of Let Them Come: Onslaught.
