We’re not particularly starving for roguelites. Now a favorite of indie developers the world over for around a decade, it takes a lot for a new one to stand out among the crowd in gameplay, but also in art style. The ones I usually play tend to be on the brighter, sillier side with levity or at least a sense of humor to balance out the drama a la both Hadesgames. Armatus dares to be a little different with a dark, apocalyptic take for the setting while retaining a gameplay loop that makes genre fans ravenous.
Armatus is immediately intriguing. You are the Warrior, an armor-clad being from another realm fighting to help survivors reach the Sunless Gate in hopes of gaining an audience with God and, presumably, entering the kingdom of heaven and escaping certain death. You do this by engaging in immensely responsive and kinetic third-person combat against demons that have ransacked an alternate universe’s Paris.
The gloom, while muting, does a lot for the atmosphere
Armed with gilded, holy arms like the Somnus assault rifle or Vortex SMG and a handful of alternative fires and abilities, Armatus invited me to carve a bloody path of demon viscera through the sectors of forsaken Paris. Action is kept at a constant quick pace with movement heavily encouraged via an agile dash to use through mid-sized arena spaces. Demon variety keeps you on your toes as to the best strategy to approach a situation with. There’s corruptive acid-spitting demons that melt your shields and health, giant bats literally from hell, and scrappy grunt demons that have no problem rushing you to slap the helm off your head.
Play by Armatus‘ rules and use what it provides to succeed, and you’ll be just fine. I found myself clawing my way further and further to the end of the demo’s biome when I remembered to utilize my brutal scythe melee attack often or time my Titan Slam ground pound attack that nukes smaller demons with a formidable area-of-effect explosion better.
Like many roguelites before it, you’re awarded with the choice of upgrades and boons to give you a fighting chance. Do you choose the weapon upgrade to enhance your arms and tear through enemies faster, or do you wish to turn foes into piñatas of currency called Quintessence to purchase items later on at a trader? Your choice, but choose wisely. I opted for weapon tweaks when possible to push the limit of my guns.
Your scythe is very integral to your kit and therefore success
Of course, you will be dying quite a lot just as I did with this demo, but I did so with joy as it meant I could select a different weapon, of which there are a few different classes that’ll be familiar to shooter fans, and try again. The game also teases a permanent upgrade system using rarer currency you find during runs through Paris making every death matter. Higher tiers of weapons with better innate abilities and passives can be unlocked and chosen as well which means gameplay variety promises to be rewarding if you put in some time and frankly, I’m ready to do just that.
I’ll concede the enemy designs and maybe even the raw environmental setting may not do much to inspire a download if you play a lot of darker, hell-based games. I must mention too that this game is made by Counterplay Games Inc, the same team that put out Godfall, so if that game’s elevated fantasy aesthetic was off-putting for you, I’m afraid you will find little sanctuary here. The true, undeniable hook is definitely the action. If you appreciate rock-solid shooter gameplay and the heightened, adrenal pace within that ilk like the DOOMreboots, it’s absolutely worth a try.
To put it quite simply, I want more Armatus. I see the vision, I love the feel, I want to learn more about the lore. How did things come to be in this reality? Is the Sunless Gate truly the way out for the Warrior and the cult-like entity striving for salvation? Hopefully your handler of sorts Zamina, who speaks to you and drip-feeds you information and exposition, has the answers. If not, I’m happy to exercise complete combat domination on demon ass for the hell of it.
Armatus is due out sometime this year on PC, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and Switch 2. If you’re looking to check it out for yourself, a PC demo will be available as a part of Steam Next Fest on February 23 through March 2.
We’re not particularly starving for roguelites. Now a favorite of indie developers the world over for around a decade, it takes a lot for a new one to stand out among the crowd in gameplay, but also in art style. The ones I usually play tend to be on the brighter, sillier side with levity or at least a sense of humor to balance out the drama a la both Hades games. Armatus dares to be a little different with a dark, apocalyptic take for the setting while retaining a gameplay loop that makes genre fans ravenous.
We’re not particularly starving for roguelites. Now a favorite of indie developers the world over for around a decade, it takes a lot for a new one to stand out among the crowd in gameplay, but also in art style. The ones I usually play tend to be on the brighter, sillier side with levity or at least a sense of humor to balance out the drama a la both Hadesgames. Armatus dares to be a little different with a dark, apocalyptic take for the setting while retaining a gameplay loop that makes genre fans ravenous.
Armatus is immediately intriguing. You are the Warrior, an armor-clad being from another realm fighting to help survivors reach the Sunless Gate in hopes of gaining an audience with God and, presumably, entering the kingdom of heaven and escaping certain death. You do this by engaging in immensely responsive and kinetic third-person combat against demons that have ransacked an alternate universe’s Paris.
The gloom, while muting, does a lot for the atmosphere
Armed with gilded, holy arms like the Somnus assault rifle or Vortex SMG and a handful of alternative fires and abilities, Armatus invited me to carve a bloody path of demon viscera through the sectors of forsaken Paris. Action is kept at a constant quick pace with movement heavily encouraged via an agile dash to use through mid-sized arena spaces. Demon variety keeps you on your toes as to the best strategy to approach a situation with. There’s corruptive acid-spitting demons that melt your shields and health, giant bats literally from hell, and scrappy grunt demons that have no problem rushing you to slap the helm off your head.
Play by Armatus‘ rules and use what it provides to succeed, and you’ll be just fine. I found myself clawing my way further and further to the end of the demo’s biome when I remembered to utilize my brutal scythe melee attack often or time my Titan Slam ground pound attack that nukes smaller demons with a formidable area-of-effect explosion better.
Like many roguelites before it, you’re awarded with the choice of upgrades and boons to give you a fighting chance. Do you choose the weapon upgrade to enhance your arms and tear through enemies faster, or do you wish to turn foes into piñatas of currency called Quintessence to purchase items later on at a trader? Your choice, but choose wisely. I opted for weapon tweaks when possible to push the limit of my guns.
Your scythe is very integral to your kit and therefore success
Of course, you will be dying quite a lot just as I did with this demo, but I did so with joy as it meant I could select a different weapon, of which there are a few different classes that’ll be familiar to shooter fans, and try again. The game also teases a permanent upgrade system using rarer currency you find during runs through Paris making every death matter. Higher tiers of weapons with better innate abilities and passives can be unlocked and chosen as well which means gameplay variety promises to be rewarding if you put in some time and frankly, I’m ready to do just that.
I’ll concede the enemy designs and maybe even the raw environmental setting may not do much to inspire a download if you play a lot of darker, hell-based games. I must mention too that this game is made by Counterplay Games Inc, the same team that put out Godfall, so if that game’s elevated fantasy aesthetic was off-putting for you, I’m afraid you will find little sanctuary here. The true, undeniable hook is definitely the action. If you appreciate rock-solid shooter gameplay and the heightened, adrenal pace within that ilk like the DOOMreboots, it’s absolutely worth a try.
To put it quite simply, I want more Armatus. I see the vision, I love the feel, I want to learn more about the lore. How did things come to be in this reality? Is the Sunless Gate truly the way out for the Warrior and the cult-like entity striving for salvation? Hopefully your handler of sorts Zamina, who speaks to you and drip-feeds you information and exposition, has the answers. If not, I’m happy to exercise complete combat domination on demon ass for the hell of it.
Armatus is due out sometime this year on PC, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and Switch 2. If you’re looking to check it out for yourself, a PC demo will be available as a part of Steam Next Fest on February 23 through March 2.
by David Rodriguez
