I have played many Warhammer games in my time, all the way back when in my youth I spent many an hour playing Space crusade on my Commadore 64 all the way to the present between that and the actual tabletop variety I think I have played every single game or version possible so it’s safe to say I’m a fan of the franchise, I’m also a huge vampire survivor fan one might say “addicted” obviously I wouldn’t say that to admit that would be like saying I have a problem ( I totally don’t and I can quit anytime I want honest!) and when I heard about developer Auroch Digital’s upcoming game was going to be a combination of the two you could assume say I was slightly excited about the prospect.
Warhammer and vampire survivors a match made in bullet heaven!
Warhammer survivors remains true to the bullet heaven format and if you have ever played Vampire survivors this game is EXACTLY like vampire survivors which is a very good thing. In fact Warhammer survivors is probably the only true 40k experience you might see in gaming, where else could you be expected to face 10000 rampaging tyranid warriors as a lone guardsman with just your trusty las gun?
You control a character with very minimal input all you have to do is move around and avoid enemies while your selected hero auto attacks these attacks destroy enemies which drop experience skulls you collect these level up and get more powerful, each time you level up you receive a random selection of 3 or sometimes 4 choices to upgrade which empower you which is important as the slow and sporadic enemies rapidly increase in power, speed and shear volume.
one of the fantastic things about Warhammer survivors is its essentially two games in one, you can select which universe you want to play in either Warhammer 40k or Age of Sigmar and each come with a full roster of different and beloved heroes to play and some to unlock and different maps with enemies to fight. Both universes also play differently, and I found playing each challenging, the developer could easily have just reskinned the enemies for both enemies and named the levels differently but they didn’t it really adds a massive amount of variety and I always found it difficult to stop playing each universe to progress in the other one as the monsters act totally differently.
Suffer not the heretic or xenos!
Another area the game excels is the absolutely huge variety of weapons, upgrades and power ups you discover; they are all fun and powerful but also interesting to use. Coupled with the fact the game remains true to vampire survivors system whereby you find a weapon you must then find its matching upgrade which you can then level up before eventually evolving into a super weapon. The evolved weapons feel awesome to use, there is no greater feeling than purging foul xenos scum with my evolved heavy bolter laying down some Ordo Hereticus sanctioned pain with a hulking Astartes.
I have to take my hat off to the developers with the seriously impressive cast of heroes over 70 in total to unlock and discover, not only have they included the usual suspects you have the mandatory Ultramarines even notable, and you know deadly and unkillable Titus because his lack of helmet. But in the first time in history, you can also play as space marines other than the Smurfs (I know even stating that is heresy and I have reported myself to my local commissar for reeducation) there are sisters of battle, black templars, Imperial fists, legally distinct legend of Catachan (not sure why he isnt called Sly Marbo) and even a Adeptus Arbites Cyber mastiff you can play and that’s just the 40k universe!
Warhammer survivors also introduces the excellent companion system to the chaos, so if you find a weapon variety your chosen hero cannot use and you select it you summon in a separate hero to assist in slaughtering heretics which is just fantastic. Visually it looks amazing seeing a huge squad on the battlefield and it gives you the feeling things aren’t quite as hopeless as you face down a literal army of marauding orcs on a Waagh or a foul repulsive horde of vile skaven intent on tearing you limb from limb. There was one particularly intense mission my squad of 4 guardsman were holed up with our steadfast black templar Castellan we were trapped in a room with no way out. As we made our last stand with our backs against the rusting and corrupted walls of a death guard ship, I couldn’t help admiring the heroics of these men and hoped the emperor was proud of their sacrifice as they eventually fell to a tidal wave of plague bearers and nurglings.
The emperor cannot protect against RNG.
The companion system also feels totally different in the age of Sigmar universe, and you get more of a fantasy adventuring party feeling rather than a nameless and expendable squad of troops , there is a downside to all of this though for both universes is adding several allies to the already massively cluttered screen can sometimes make it incredibly difficult to see what is going on who is a friend and who is an enemy and there has been numerous occasions where I was distracted and accidently died to an enemy I thought was a friend.
The attention to detail presented in this game is wonderful each hero is lovingly recreated in pixel form every ability and weapon is instantly recognisable, every enemy you can clearly see what they represent and who they are meant to be and I loved that they put that much effort and thought into it, they even gave the Stormcast Eternal character her own unique death animation of her soul returning to be reforged and that was fantastic as little things like that may get unnoticed but I believe most true fans will appreciate it. The final bosses on each level are also imposing and suitably deadly and if you know the true in game lore for each one you will definitely get a sense of dread when these are introduced into play.
So much to find, and secrets to discover.
There is also a detailed bestiary to unlock and explore at your leisure and they have recorded a massive amount of lore for each and every enemy type and boss to learn about so if you are new to the Warhammer universe it’s a great learning tool if you want to know more or if like me you just enjoy reading that type of thing. As well as the tried and tested classic weapons such as bolters, flamers or poisoned daggers the developers have also amusingly added in familiar items to building models or playing the tabletop version of Warhammer as weapons such as numerous dice or super glue which I loved and really added to the carnage. There also secrets to be found like paint pots which unlock hidden characters or map upgrades.
There are 14 levels in total across both universes these vary from the grim warpstone encrusted chaos wastes, a planet ravaged by a Tyranid invasion, a grim, bloated and corrupted Deathgaurd space hulk to even an actual tabletop battle ground with teacup ring stains and codex rule books lying around its all wonderfully varied and brilliantly done each level I found fun and challenging and in nearly 80 hours still haven’t gotten bored of.
The difference in layout of each level adds a small tactical element to play, after all would you really want to bring Commissar Yarrick and his iconic Klaw to the Imperial Bastion to face the tyranid swarm on its wide-open fighting area or would it be more suited to Brother Luca and his trusty bolt rifle? Although each run you might find your favorite close range and long range weapon options eventually, usually getting off to a good start in a bullet heaven can mean the difference between a failed or successful run.
Like Vampire survivors the game is essentially a dopamine generator, and each run is governed by RNG, luckily, you can even the odds so wise selection of weapon and upgrade combinations definitely help and you will learn these with experience but you may also get some luck to help in your run. When you kill a uber enemy they drop a supply drop which when collected you are rewarded with a short animation telling you if it’s a normal, epic or legendary box and depending on which you will get different amounts of upgrades but also in game currency which you need to permanently empower yourself to make the next runs that tiny bit easier.
Warhammer survivors is an incredible game, Warhammer fans will love this.
The game looks, sounds and plays fantastically there is a huge amount going on which never seems to affect the performance, whilst I did play on my PC the vast majority of my time spent playing was on my handheld device and it’s made for it actually its dangerous the game is very addictive and I found myself having a quick game before bed to still be playing 3 hours later! Warhammer survivors remain very true to its inspiration vampire survivors it’s an incredibly fun and addictive game packed full of details new players will enjoy but Warhammer fans will love.
The only negative I can say about this game if in fact you could call it that, is that 25 minutes just isn’t enough time for a level…in Vampire survivors the boss appears at the 30-minute mark which gives you just enough time to evolve all your weapons and personally I love the carnage and absolute lunacy of mowing down thousands of powerful enemies with your overpowered items. Hopefully there is an unlimited mode I haven’t discovered yet as one thing I love about roguelikes is when you reach a point of godlike power a lot of the time these games end when you reach this point.
Hopefully in the future Auroch Digital add a multi-player option, the game is already incredibly fun solo I can only imagine playing alongside your friends facing down green skins, Skaven or heretics by the thousand would truly be next level stuff. The fantastic thing about the Warhammer universe and a game like Warhammer survivors is there is so much scope for DLC content. The number of extra characters they potentially could add or enemy factions you could face is a mouthwatering thought I really hope this happens as I can see myself playing this game for years to come.
I cannot recommend this game enough and if you consider the game is only £6 the sheer amount of game you get for that low amount is frankly mind boggling. There is just so much to do, I haven’t put the game down since receiving my copy I probably have put in 80+ hours gameplay into Warhammer survivors, and I still haven’t scratched the surface I have barely unlocked the characters. There are still numerous secrets and weapon combinations I have yet to find and it keeps me coming for more. If you want to try the game for yourself, you can find it here.
