It’s one of the most exciting times of the year to be a gamer, with Summer Games Fest delivering a wave of major reveals and Steam Bullet Heaven Fest offering hands-on access to a host of promising upcoming titles. Among them, one game immediately caught my attention and shot straight to the top of my download queue was Warhammer Survivors.
Developed through a collaboration between Auroch Digital (Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun, Boltgun 2, and Words of Vengeance) and poncle (Vampire Survivors), Warhammer Survivors brings the addictive horde-slaying action to both the Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer: Age of Sigmar universes.
Before getting into my impressions of the demo, it’s worth mentioning that I’m not particularly familiar with Warhammer’s lore. What I am familiar with, though, is Vampire Survivors and the many survivor-likes that followed in its wake. From my time with the demo, Warhammer Survivors feels every bit as polished and addictive as the original, while giving the formula a distinctly Warhammer-inspired twist.
The demo offers a taste of both Warhammer settings, with one character from each available right from the start. Malum Caedo serves as the Warhammer 40,000 representative, wielding a hefty chainsword to carve through enemies at close range, while Neave Blacktalon flies the flag for Age of Sigmar. There also appears to be an additional unlockable champion for each universe, though I didn’t manage to meet the requirements to unlock them during my time with the demo.
Similar to the original Vampire Survivors, your goal is to survive waves of enemies for as long as possible, collecting fallen blue skulls to level up and enhance your character’s skills. You then strategically build your loadout from a pool of upgrades that steadily expands as you complete in-game objectives. These largely function in the same way as the main attacks and abilities in the original, but with a distinct Warhammer flavour layered on top.
I was surprised by how separate the two universes feel. Each has its own progression tree, and the perks you unlock during runs are unique to that setting. It’s a decision I actually really liked, as it helps Warhammer 40,000 and Age of Sigmar establish their own identities. Rather than feeling like different skins on the same game, they come across as two distinct experiences with their own characters, enemies, and progression paths.
If Vampire Crawlers wasn’t quite what you were looking for and you’re after an experience that feels closer to the original Vampire Survivors, I’d strongly recommend giving the Warhammer Survivors demo a try. It’s hard to judge too much from my limited time with the demo, but I’m glad it’s one that, even with a surface-level understanding of Warhammer, remains easy to enjoy.
The demo I played is part of Steam Bullet Fest, which starts on June 8th at 6 pm UK time, so hit this link and try it for yourself while you/we wait for Warhammer Survivors to arrive on Android, iOS, PC (Win), PlayStation, Switch, and Xbox at some point in 2026.
You can also check out our guide to everything you need to know about Warhammer Survivors here for more details on the game’s trailers, playable champions, and confirmed enemies.
