Warhammer Survivors is out today on a whole bunch of different platforms, and I’ve been looking forward to sitting down with this one ever since it was first announced. Well, it’s out now on Android, iOS, PC (Windows), Nintendo Switch 1+2, PS5, and Xbox Series, and it brings a whole mountain of 40k and Age of Sigmar fan service to the table.
Courtesy of access provided by the developers, I’ve spent much of my day today working through both halves of the game, and before I head to bed, it’s time to get whatever thoughts I’ve got out of the ol’ noggin and onto the screen.
What is Warhammer Survivors?
As suggested by the title, we’re looking at a reworking of Vampire Survivors but with a Warhammer theme, as developed by Auroch Digital. It officially borrows the formula from poncle’s genre-defining title, and then injects a bunch of Games Workshop flavour into the mix. The result: wholesome, grimdark bullet heaven fun that delivers exactly what you think it’s going to, for better or worse.
I know a bit about Warhammer, certainly enough to appreciate that Auroch Digital has done a good job with the license. And so they should, as this is the studio that gave us the pixel-art 40K boomer shooter, Boltgun. In other words, this is a safe pair of hands, and I don’t think they’ve dropped the ball here.
That’s also not to say that this is a bullet heaven masterpiece because there are areas where it could be enhanced, but I think any limitations I have encountered stem from the game’s adherence to the Vampire Survivors formula, from the feel of the movement through to the progression system, right down to the chonky loading times when opening chests.
It also suffers from a unique problem in the sense that it feels like it’s part of Vampire Survivors because it is so true to the source material, but it also feels a little bit weird to be starting from scratch and going through that early game feeling so underpowered. Perhaps this uneven pacing could have been mitigated by a bit more variety during the earliest hours, where it sometimes feels throttled by its need to follow the well-established progress loop widely used across the whole genre.
Fantasy battles and sci-fi chaos
There are two halves to Warhammer Survivors, with one focused on the sci-fi world of Warhammer 40,000, while the other is steeped in the lore of Age of Sigmar, its fantasy counterpart.
There is some crossover between the two; for example, Nuln Oil appears as an ability in both. Nuln Oil is a shade that miniature painters will be very familiar with, and it’s a good example of how it doesn’t take long for Warhammer Survivors to find the point of whimsy between the two franchises. It’s not long before dice roll across the battlefield, bouncing between the puddles of Nuln Oil into packs of onrushing hordes against the backdrop of your painting desk.
It’s all very over-the-top and silly, just like Warhammer and just like Vampire Survivors.
There are a few interesting points of difference, such as the companions who follow you around in battle. I liked those, and I like the thematic attacks, too. Although it does definitely feel like a Vampire Survivors game, it’s also a well-implemented theme that feels true to the source material that inspired it.
I generally liked that they split things out into two different sections, but it does have an impact on pacing. Keeping them apart allows the different mechanics and characters to have more room to breathe; however, it forces you to go through that early game loop yet again. If you’re like me and enjoy this part of the bullet heaven experience, you’ll be fine. If you’re among those starting to feel fatigued by the well-worn pathways of survivors-like meta-progress, I daresay you might not be as enthused.
For what it’s worth, at the time of writing, I’ve got just shy of seven hours with the launch version of Warhammer Survivors, and I’ve enjoyed what I’ve seen of it thus far. As a fan of all of its component parts, I’m quite sure that I am going to keep chipping away at this in the background for some time, as there appears to be a lot of content still to unlock. What’s more, with Auroch Digital teasing plans to keep adding fresh champions and more new stuff to the game, there’s every chance that Warhammer Survivors will age quite well.
