PC Closed Beta Access Provided by Dark Point Games
Giving players a new way to fight through an ancient battle is the team over at Dark Point Games. In their game Achilles: Legends Untold, they offer challenging combat gameplay in a 2.5D-style perspective. Nobody said that taking on the role of Achilles in the Trojan War would be easy, but they definitely didn’t pull any punches when they made this game.
As of now, Achilles: Legends Untold has opened its beta for more players to gain access to the game before it releases on Steam’s Early Access sometime in Q2 2022. If you want to try the game out yourself, simply request access on the Steam page.
Gameplay
Right from the start of the game, you are shown how the graphics and perspective shift in this game. When you first hop off the boat and land on the beach, you are presented with a 3D style view and movement where you can explore all directions, but once you make your way up the path the camera turns and your movement is limited to the 2.5D style in a much more narrow area. This change between camera placement and movement styles will shift according to what section of the map you are in and combat can happen at any point.
While I personally think the tutorial points are told to you a bit later than they should, you eventually learn that this game has simple controls that will just be hard to master. You have a quick attack, heavy attack, block option, dodge option, and can use items in your quick slots, such as healing. Either get really good at dodging or make sure you utilize the blocking option because you can not afford to take damage in this game. Even one single, low-tier enemy can take you out if you are unprepared.
As you move forward in the game, you will come across enemies of different sizes and weapons. You seem to have taken a path away from the rest of the army, so it will just be you against them - don’t let them overwhelm you! The good thing is, as you defeat more enemies, you will gain more points and those points can be used to level up your character. By leveling up your character, you can increase your stats and unlock abilities.
During my playthrough, the only ability I managed to unlock was the shield throwing one. This is where I learned, the hard way, that these abilities cost the energy on the blue bar which is separate from your stamina. Make sure you are spacing the use of your abilities and not trying to spam them because it will leave you open. Abilities definitely seem like they will also have their downside considering I couldn’t block while my shield was gone and I had to call it back before I could block again, leaving me only the option to dodge in this case.
The same place you go to unlock abilities and upgrade your stats also acts as your checkpoint. Along the way, you will find these shrine-type sections that you can stop at. By using them, you make that spot your checkpoint to respawn at when you die, save the game, refresh your health, and refill your healing potions. It is likely to be an all-around refresh point for even items and stats we may unlock later in the game too.
Just as you see in cinematic movies of the Trojan War, our hero (or perhaps villain, depending on who’s point-of-view you look at that war through) will come across big-name fighters to take out. These fighters take on the role of bosses, but once they are defeated the level simply continues, so they could actually be mini-bosses. The preview ended while I was in the middle of fighting the second one I came across, so I am unable to confirm which type of boss these fighters take the role of.
Expectations
The level-up system seemed like it expands rather largely. It seemed like I was able to grab the first few in each direction rather quickly, so I wonder if we will see consistent growth through the game or if it will have a slow down experience where things cost more to unlock while you earn the same amount from enemies in the progressing levels.
Introducing the abilities is what made the combat go from repetitive to interesting again. It adds a layer of variety to the mix. However, I would like to see more fighting combos and maybe even weapon types to unlock. The Trojan War had a large variety of ancient weapons used within it, so I would like the opportunity to try them out. Could you imagine fighting through this game using a flail or mace instead of the typical sword?
Out of concern of there being a hidden time limit to the preview, which turned out to be correct, I didn’t explore the extra areas I came across. I am curious about what is in them and if they offer different pathways through the level or if there is one true way. If they don’t, then it would be nice if this game used some more clear guiding options to help players know where to go sometimes. There is a moment I got lost, right after the first boss-like fight, because I didn’t see where I was supposed to go. Turned out to be a somewhat hidden pathway to the side that was not clearly pointed out in any way.
Verdict
Achilles: Legends Untold is a game that is showing that it is both harsh and fair in this difficult gameplay. As someone who can get frustrated with games that require too much patience for the sake of overly hardcore combat, I felt like this game offered a good balance in it. The fact that you get potions back at the checkpoint shrines is a nice touch to making this game fair as well. It makes the fact that you can only handle a few hits before you are dead feel more well-adjusted. I think this game has a bright future ahead of it for a variety of different types of players.
