Achilles Survivor, A Review

Achilles Survivor is a new title in the increasingly popular bullet heaven genre. Or bullet hell - depending on who you ask. It's another game that aims to reach the level of hits like Brotato, Death Must Die, and builds on the foundation laid by Vampire Survivors with its colorful numbers and hordes of enemies on screen. 

Achilles Survivor attempted to shake up the formula, but in doing so, it failed to stand out in any way, which is why it ultimately lacks its own identity.

Looking for a completely different indie game? Check out our Let's Trade review!

The Story of Achilles Survivor

The first thing that caught my eye is the almost completely untapped potential of Greek mythology. Greece was home to many magical and mystical creatures in ancient times, which is why I find it puzzling that the enemy design is mainly limited to skeletons, scorpions, wolves, spiders, and ordinary soldiers. Okay, now and then I'd stumble upon a Cyclops, but the ratio of generic to thematically fitting monsters is relatively poor. The situation is only slightly better with playable characters.

You have around 15 heroes to choose from, including the titular Achilles or Trojan princes Paris and Hector. However, the selection of characters could also be better. For example, most of the game is focused on Troy, but there's no Odysseus among the playable characters for some mysterious reason.

There's no point in wasting time on the absence of creative characters like the gods themselves or Hercules if they've already decided to be bland with their selection, but why can we play as a Chinese warrior and a rooster wielding explosives? I believe there was a bit of everything on Mount Olympus, but even there, there was some consistency. For comparison, one Hades game is at least a thousand times better depicted and brought to life than the beautiful Greek picture book.

To be honest, in such a sloppy rendition, these characters don't even belong in this type of game. I don't know about you, but I don't see any epic heroism when powerful Achilles is running away from enemies and attacking them with a spear launched from behind.

One of the most intriguing Aspects of Achilles Survivor is its unique building mechanic.

The biggest, perhaps the only peculiarity of Survivor is building. On detailed but rather faceless maps, there are various fields where you can dig for stone. Digging happens automatically when you're in the designated field, and the resources you get are used to build multiple objects that help you in the fight against the endless waves of enemies.

You can build all sorts of things, from flamethrowers and diggers to health regeneration fountains and Trojan horses from which your helpers emerge. By gradually playing through the campaign with characters, you unlock new buildings, and the entire system around micro-managing your building skills is well done, much better than the fight against enemies themselves.

The correct arrangement and order of building often make the difference between life and death, a praiseworthy tactical innovation that deserves praise. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for upgrading your heroes, which is missed on several levels. To start with, each character has identical upgrades to choose from, with the emphasis that you can't combine powers like in Vampire Survivors. This means that, except for their visual design and initial attack, they all end up with pretty similar moves, which only adds to the feeling of monotony. Even worse, these same powers are pretty generic and lack a sense of antiquity.

The Look and Feel of Achilles Survivor

It's disappointing that Achilles Survivor didn't fully embrace its main selling point, ancient Greece, and missed the opportunity to include iconic creatures like gorgons, centaurs, and minotaurs. 

To such an extent, the game shoots itself in the foot - the heel. If you can get over that, feel free to add a point or two to the final score.

The audiovisual presentation is quite good, especially the graphics, which often resemble those of Titan Quest. On the other hand, the sound is just passable, which is another missed opportunity, as atmospheric and pumping music that makes you want to play again actually plays a significant role in similar titles. We even used our new XP-PANTHER LED headset for maximum audio pleasure, but to no avail.

From a technical standpoint, the game ran smoothly on a regular PlayStation 5 without stuttering or bugs. I've heard that the PC version has issues with stuttering, and patches for these problems have already been announced. This should be taken into account when making a final decision about the platform choice, if you decide to buy it at all.

In Conclusion 

The gameplay rhythm in Achilles Survivor is somewhat slower compared to other similar titles, but given that there's an element of careful building involved, it's not something we'll necessarily fault; however, it's certainly worth mentioning. Look, Achilles Survivor isn't the worst bullet heaven game we've played, and we'd be lying if we said we didn't have fun playing it, but we simply have to take into account that there are cheaper and, in our opinion, much better options on the market.

With that in mind, there are apparent reasons why casinos are full of beeping sounds, and candies and toys for kids are often wrapped in bright colors. In other words, our brains are programmed so that it's practically impossible not to enjoy a bullet heaven game, at least in the initial phase, while serotonin is flooding. However, after a dozen hours or so, Achilles turns from a world hero into just another warrior you've played with in dozens of such games.

Rating: 5.5/10. 

While Achilles Survivor didn't fully realize its potential due to some shortcomings in enemy design, character variety, and upgrades, it does show promise with its unique building mechanic.

Age Recommendation: 12+.

I would recommend this game to kids aged 12 and above, as it features a level of complexity in building and strategy. However, the absence of intense violence or mature themes makes it suitable for younger players who enjoy action games.