Warhammer Survivors Preview: A frantic, stylistic time sink

Warhammer Survivors isn't shy about the game it's emulating. If, like me, you've not played Vampire Survivors, and want to know what you're getting in for with this new bullet heaven release from Auroch Digital, it's a rather simple premise. You take on hordes of foes in one of two Warhammer universes, gaining abilities and power-ups until you're eventually overrun.

The game lets you play either in the Warhammer 40,000 or Age of Sigmar universes, giving you different heroes, enemies, items, and more dependent on which one you've gone for. We've tried both, and if you're completely new, it's hard not to recommend going with Warhammer 40,000 to start with. Not only is it the more recognisable setting, but the mechanics of the first hero Malum Caedo (also featured in Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun) feel much more beginner-friendly. His basic chainsword attack covers your rear and enemies in front of you, whereas Naeve Blacktalon's axe attacks only deal with the enemies she's facing. Granted, they do give them a bit of pushback, but I was swarmed easily on my first go with Naeve, but managed to survive a bit longer as Malum.

Again, I've not played anything of Vampire Survivors, or any of the other games since. I'm aware of what the general gist is, though, and again Warhammer Survivors has nothing to hide about how it works. You kill enemies, pick up gems from their corpses, and use them as XP to give your character new abilities or power up the ones they've already got. You'll need more gems to level up the stronger you get, and more hordes will head your way until you're surrounded, caught up in a maelstrom of chaotic action as you're not sure which explosions are caused by you and which ones are sent by a Skaven trying to catch you off-guard. Chaos is where Vampire Survivors flourishes, and the same is true of Warhammer Survivors, as well. That first bit of slowly walking around in a run is quite by-the-numbers, but as you progress and start making yourself more of a one-man or one-woman army, you'll quickly see where the game's bread and butter lies.

There's not much depth to the gameplay, as it is just clicking where you want to go, or moving around with WASD, and letting the auto-firing weapons deal with the enemies in front of you. It might not spark the interest of someone wanting a massively hands-on experience, but the action remains fast-paced and engaging, even if you're more of an observer at times than an active participant in all the Xenos killing. That is the charm of bullet heaven or Vampire Survivors-like games to those who play them, though. They're not necessarily looking to have to parry every incoming Tyranid blow, and instead just want to make more tactical choices about their build and movement. By eliminating certain gameplay choices you might have expected from a game like this, Auroch is allowed to focus on making what you can control matter more.

Warhammer Survivors is an incredibly stylistic game. It's easy to say it's just Vampire Survivors with a Warhammer skin, and that is true, but fans of Games Workshop's IP will be pleased to see the level of detail put into the sprites for the enemies and heroes, the weapon designs, their functions, and the abilities you get. It's difficult without having played Vampire Survivors to really say what else stands apart, but if you have been hankering for a game that delivers a similar sort of experience, and you are a Warhammer fan, you've got the best of both worlds here.

As we can't go too deep in the demo, the first impression for Warhammer Survivors should be strong, addicting. It should make you worried about all the hours you'll spend playing this game, convincing yourself you'll only do one more run until the sun is coming up on another needlessly hot summer's day. Warhammer Survivors succeeds in creating that concern of "wasted" hours, but are they really wasted if you're having a blast playing the game. It's a time-sink, letting you throw yourself again and again against endless hordes of opponents. You can get permanent character upgrades, but really the main fun is in giving into the randomness of each run. You might day quickly. You probably will, but you'll have fun wandering around a desolate world or through the site of an evil ritual, scattering enemies to the wind. That immediate hook is something Warhammer Survivors achieves in its demo, and I hope that hook is strong enough to hold you for hours on end, even at the sacrifice of my schedule.