Achilles: Survivor (PS5) | REVIEW | A Bullet Heaven Epic!!!

Achilles: Survivor, developed and published by Dark Point Games, is an engaging single-player bullet heaven title rooted in the lore of Ancient Greece. In this game, you step into the role of the legendary warrior Achilles or other mythical figures liberated from the underworld of Tartarus, battling relentless hordes of monstrous foes across procedurally influenced arenas inspired by epic tales like the siege of Troy and the shadowy depths of hellish realms. The core loop revolves around surviving escalating waves of enemies through clever positioning, power enhancements, and defensive setups, all while aiming to rack up high scores and unlock deeper layers of progression.

The Gameplay ...

Diving into the gameplay, Achilles: Survivor shines with its layered mechanics that blend automatic combat with strategic depth. The favors system serves as a key progression tool, where you accumulate these ethereal tokens by completing in-run challenges and milestones, allowing you to enhance specific character classes over time for more tailored builds. Complementing this are the survivors themselves with over a dozen unlockable heroes drawn from Greek mythology, each bringing distinct abilities to the table. For instance, frontline brawlers excel in close-quarters chaos, while ranged specialists focus on precision strikes or area denial, encouraging experimentation with different playstyles to tackle varied enemy compositions.

A standout feature is the structure-building and resource management, which adds a tower defense flair to the frenzy. Using a single primary resource called stone, gathered by lingering near temporary mining nodes amid the action, players can erect defensive installations at designated build sites. Options range from fiery projectile launchers for crowd control to restorative altars that heal over time, venomous emitters that debuff foes, or even summonable units like spectral warriors to bolster your forces. 

These builds aren't permanent. They degrade after use and demand ongoing maintenance, forcing players to balance offense, defense, and survival while dodging threats amidst a tense juggling act that rewards foresight and adaptation. For permanent skill upgrades, the game employs multiple currencies beyond stone, including experience orbs collected from slain enemies for temporary run boosts and broader meta-progression currencies like accumulated favors or realm-specific treasures. These can be invested in a hub area to permanently amplify stats, unlock new survivor perks, or expand ability trees, ensuring steady growth across sessions.

The roguelike elements further elevate the experience, with each run featuring randomized enemy patterns, power pickups, and environmental hazards that keep things fresh and unpredictable. Runs can vary in length and intensity through selectable modes like quick skirmishes or endless survival challenges, and failure isn't punishing. Instead, it funnels resources back into your persistent upgrades, creating a satisfying loop of incremental empowerment. While not overly complex, a subtle rarity system governs the loot and enhancements you encounter, categorizing them from common basics to legendary rarities that offer multiplicative bonuses, such as amplified damage multipliers or exclusive synergies between survivor abilities and structures.

The Presentation ...

Visually, Achilles: Survivor impresses with its polished, mythology-infused aesthetics. The top-down perspective showcases richly detailed landscapes, from crumbling ancient ruins to misty coastal battlegrounds, all rendered with a dark fantasy vibe that evokes classic Greek epics. Enemy designs are varied and grotesque, featuring everything from skeletal minions to colossal beasts, and the screen-filling chaos of bullets and effects maintains clarity without overwhelming the senses. Performance options are robust, making it accessible on modest hardware while looking sharp on capable setups.

The soundtrack, while functional, leans toward the straightforward side introducing pulsing orchestral tracks with mythical undertones that ramp up during intense waves but can feel a bit looped and unremarkable over extended play, serving more as background ambiance than a standout element.

The Verdict ...

Overall, I highly recommend Achilles: Survivor for fans of the genre seeking innovation in a crowded field. It's seamless integration of building mechanics into the auto-battler formula feels fresh and thoughtfully executed, elevating it beyond mere horde-slaying into a more tactical affair. The quality is solid, with tight controls, balanced difficulty curves, and a bargain price point that delivers hours of content without feeling underdeveloped. Replay value is excellent, thanks to the deep unlock tree, diverse survivors, and roguelike variability that invites countless "one more run" sessions to optimize builds or conquer harder realms.

In comparison to Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel, which emphasizes choice-driven decision trees in its real-time horde survival with lighter auto-shooter elements and less emphasis on manual construction, Achilles: Survivor contrasts by prioritizing hands-on resource allocation and defensive layering for a more deliberate strategic pace. Moreover, Achilles edges out with superior graphical fidelity. Its evocative, detailed mythic visuals outshine Jotunnslayer's competent but occasionally stuttery 3D models, making every battle feel more immersive and cinematic.