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The roguelike action of Vampire Survivors took the world by storm, rocketing up the Steam charts and helping to popularize a new breed of ‘bullet heaven’ horde-based games. Since then, we’ve seen others adopt the wave-based ARPG style, whether they favor auto-casting skills or offer more control in the vein of games like Diablo. Achilles: Survivor builds on the format, quite literally, with the ability to construct defensive towers to help you hold out in a world inspired by Greek mythology, and you can try a free demo right now on Steam.
Achilles: Survivor offers a range of characters to choose from each run. Each of its heroes brings a unique set of abilities to the table, with one core starting skill that you’ll build on as you defeat enemies and level up. Opt for the close-quarters melee of Achilles, the precision archery of Paris, the destructive magic of the Pythia, or the sheer titanic might of the Cyclops. As you’d expect from the best roguelike games, you’ll get a choice of upgrades each time you rank up, from all-new skills to improvements and buildings.
Your skills will automatically fire off targeting nearby enemies, meaning you’ll want to ensure careful movement and positioning to stay alive and maximize your damage output. Buildings, however, are where Achilles Survivor more dramatically mixes up the classic Vampire Survivors formula, with the ability to place down various defensive structures to help you hold off the swarms. You can make all manner of flame turrets, distraction traps, or even banners that boost your own abilities when nearby.
Alternatively, you can put down ‘challenge’ structures that will make your life harder, but grant a worthwhile reward if you can stand the extra heat. You’ll gather resources to construct buildings mid-run, along with Obols that can be used for the between-run meta progression that allows you to gradually grow the power of both your heroes and the defensive tools at their disposal.
As you progress, you’ll also have to handle some more devastating bosses from Greek mythology, such as the mighty Minotaur of legend. Learning your chosen hero’s strengths and vulnerabilities is essential to success, then, as is ensuring you make the right build choices to deal with the threats that lie ahead.
An Achilles Survivor demo that’s available during Steam Next Fest is a great way to get a feel for the new game yourself. It allows you to play across four of the 12 locations for the Greece Coastline realm, which itself is one of three realms planned for the full release. You can choose between three of the 11 heroes, giving you a good taste of their distinct play styles, although I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious to get my hands on the mysterious chicken that lurks at the bottom of the character select screen, tantalizingly out of reach for now.
The Achilles Survivor demo is playable now as part of Steam Next Fest, which runs until Monday October 21. You can download it right now, or wishlist the full game if you’re eager to try it out when it arrives.
Alternatively, get even more hands-on with the best games like Diablo, or find the best fantasy games to escape into all manner of wondrous worlds.
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