Developer: Lioncode Games
Publisher: Lioncode Games
Platform: PC
Tested on: PC
Wildkeepers Rising: Echoes of the Guardians – Preview
Have you ever wondered what you’d get if you put Vampire Survivors and Pokémon in a blender? We haven’t either, but that isn’t going to stop Lioncode Games from presenting a potential answer with Wildkeepers Rising: Echoes of the Guardians. We’ve been aware of the game’s existence since its announcement in September of last year, and have eagerly been awaiting its arrival in Early Access on Steam. Now that Wildkeepers Rising is finally out, how does it size up so far?
There have been plenty of Vampire Survivors clones of varying quality in recent years, like Outer Terror and Primal Survivors. From a gameplay perspective, most of the ones we’ve seen have simply swapped out the theme and setting and called it a day. Wildkeepers Rising manages to stand out from the crowd by combining the familiar bullet heaven chaos with monster taming mechanics. This alone makes the game worth a look at if you’re a fan of the genre but are looking for something fresh. The opening cutscene details how humans and monsters used to work together, but that the balance has changed since, and many of the former allies of humanity seemingly have vanished. The central narrative of Wildkeepers Rising revolves around rebuilding the relationship between humans and monsters, and figuring out what caused the rift between them in the first place. Players take on the role of so-called Wildkeepers, humans capable of handling powerful monsters. Mind you, the monsters you can handle aren’t the endless mushroom hordes that infest Wildkeepers Rising’s various stages. You’ll have to deal with these through an ever-increasing arsenal of automatic attacks and power-ups. Scattered around these stages, however, are so-called Guardians, the “good” monsters.
For the most part, Guardians will follow you around, dispensing automatic attacks, just like your playable character. They’ll level up in the same way as the Wildkeeper you control, and you can pick and mix stat boosts upon each level up. Each Guardian brings its own unique attacks and abilities to the table. Additionally, your team will earn equipable power-ups that you can slot onto them, creating even more unique combos. Apart from the automatic attacks, each of the monsters in your team also has a powerful attack that you control with the push of a button. While it may all sound overwhelming at first compared to the relatively simple Vampire Survivors formula, Wildkeepers Rising implements everything in a surprisingly accessible manner. If you’ve ever played a similar game, you’ll instantly feel at home, with the game’s unique additions to the core formula feeling like a logical evolution rather than a tacked-on afterthought.
While the story lacks substance for now, the narrative missions that have been included so far add another meaningful deviation from the genre. You’re not just simply surviving for as long as possible. There are missions where timed survival is a thing, but it’s just as likely that you’re being tasked with finding a specific Guardian, attacking an enemy base, or dealing with a boss. Variety is the keyword here, and with around a dozen Guardians to experiment with, as well as a skill tree and a wide variety of achievements, there is already plenty to do here. Still, the game feels light on variety. You can already get multiple hours of fun out of Wildkeepers Rising’s Early Access price of entry, but the game can’t quite avoid a feeling of repetitiveness just yet. Of course, it’s still early days for the game, and there is still plenty of room for improvement.
Right now, Wildkeepers Rising’s shortcomings aren’t just limited to a lack of stage and enemy variety either. The story is as bare-bones as it gets. While we do enjoy the character designs, especially those of the Guardians, the game’s animations leave a lot to be desired so far. Character movement is achieved by animating different body parts separately, resulting in a “paper doll” effect. This stands in contrast with the beautiful hand-drawn scene that lays out the paper-thin story premise. Here’s hoping the final game ups the ante when it comes to the visuals, and that a ton more content is being added as the game receives updates. The game does have a free demo if you’re still on the fence, but even in its current state, it’s worth the €9.99 RRP.
Conclusion
The monster-taming mechanics add a fresh twist to Wildkeepers Rising’s familiar bullet heaven formula. The game isn’t quite there just yet, but its foundation is definitely solid. We’re looking forward to seeing the story being fleshed out more over the next few months, with our expectation being that more narrative content brings new stages and enemies. Likewise, Wildkeepers Rising’s animations would benefit from some additional polish. Even then, there is plenty to enjoy here already, and the game is definitely worth a look if you’re a fan of bullet heaven games.
No Comments