There are few issues extra rewarding than the tide handing over your favor in Vampire Survivors. Beginning as a weak soldier with one small assault and a concern of even the smallest foe, you quickly change into a literal weapon of mass destruction and switch a bullet hell of enemies into your individual private bullet heaven.
And you understand what could make that feeling even higher? Doing it with some trusty allies from the Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer Age of Sigmar universes whereas utilizing weapons pulled not simply from the lore, however these impressed by how we interact with the tabletop sport. Sure, we’re speaking about the very cube we roll and paint we use to convey our miniatures to life. That, my mates, is Warhammer Survivors.
Warhammer Survivors Honors Warhammer 40,000 and Age of Sigmar’s Tabletop and Video Video games
Warhammer Survivors is a standalone sport developed and printed by Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun’s Auroch Digital in partnership with Vampire Survivors’ Poncle, and it initially looks like returning dwelling to the authentic title. Nonetheless, you’ll shortly begin to discover that it does sufficient issues to stand tall by itself.
I spent a few hours with the demo you possibly can obtain proper now on PC through Steam and Xbox forward of its November 10, 2026 launch date, and I used to be in a position to try each the Warhammer 40,000 aspect of the sport and the Warhammer Age of Sigmar aspect. You learn that proper, there are two separate video games included with their very own unlocks, phases, achievements, and extra.
We’ll begin in Warhammer 40,000, as I first jumped into the armored sneakers of Boltgun’s Malum Caedo, who begins with the Chainsword that’s the weapon of alternative for these inside the Imperium of Man. Nonetheless, in Vampire Survivors style, you shortly stage up and achieve entry to new Weapons and Passives that make you more and more extra highly effective.
As I teased earlier than, you’ll discover Boltguns and Lasguns and even Whirlwind Batteries that rain down missiles from above, but it surely’s the tabletop-inspired objects that acquired me the most excited. In case you are entrenched in the Warhammer universe, you’ll be very acquainted with Nuln Oil, a very talked-about shade of paint. In Warhammer Survivors, this turns into a weapon that targets teams of enemies and damages them by splashing them with flammable oil.
One other enjoyable weapon is the D6 Cube, which is impressed by the similar cube that gas its tabletop video games. In Warhammer Survivors, these are represented by huge cube that come flying in off display screen and can explode relying on what quantity they land on.
So not solely are these giving a nod to the tabletop expertise in a intelligent manner, however they’re giving it some severe gameplay ramifications, as enemies drenched on this Nuln Oil are much more prone to hearth harm. That is all taken to larger heights whenever you be taught there’s an precise Passion Desk stage that has you taking part in on a workstation and that there’s a Paint Pot system that unlocks characters when sure combos of colours are used. These little touches are so intelligent and don’t really feel pressured, they really feel earned and welcome and add to the complete expertise, identical to the ally system.
In conventional Vampire Survivors, gamers are going through an limitless horde of enemies by themselves and an array of weapons that fly in each path away from and round them. In Warhammer Survivors, you get to convey some NPC mates alongside for the trip, and it’s superior.
In case you performed Vampire Survivors’ Ode to Castlevania DLC, you’ll have a base understanding of how this works as they’d a comparable Familiars system, however you’ll find a way to recruit different characters from the Warhammer universe to make it easier to out in your run by selecting to choose the weapons they’d usually wield in the canon.
For example, I could have began as Malum Caedo, however I used to be in a position to shortly add Trooper Bartosz Kozlowski to my crew (after I rescued him on the map from a circle of enemies and unlocked him as a playable character!) by selecting the Lasgun weapon. He adopted me round and shot las bolts at the nearest enemy, and much more Astra Militarum troops joined as I leveled up the weapon. It actually gave me the slightest hyperlink to Mass Impact 2, as I seemed ahead to recruiting all my allies for this epic struggle every run introduced me with.
As for the runs themselves, they lasted anyplace from 5 minutes to over 20, and I loved how there have been all the time issues to chase after. One of these goals, which is represented by a query mark, is how you discover characters like Trooper Bartosz Kozlowski or The Legend of Catachan. The latter character was the greatest problem of the demo for me as he was surrounded by a circle of Warriors, who all used their Synapse Emitters to make any enemies inside a shut vary of them much more highly effective. Conquering that and unlocking The Legend of Catachan with a enjoyable Tremendous Smash Bros.-esque “Joins the battle!” display screen was undoubtedly a victory price celebrating.
There are additionally a handful of goals to accomplish that may unlock much more Weapons, Passives, and extra, and it was a nice shock when 5 or extra of them unlocked after one run. These varieties of video games simply understand how to offer you that dopamine rush that retains you coming again for extra.
This was solely the demo, so we’ll see how the full sport performs out, however after rescuing the two characters and getting most of the goals after a couple of hours, I did really feel a bit of tedium begin to set in. My greatest downside with Vampire Survivors was all the time feeling that the begin could possibly be very, very gradual, as you’re so weak and doing the similar issues again and again, and I felt this a few occasions throughout my hands-on.
For instance, to unlock The Legend of Catachan, I had to stroll for practically two minutes northeast to discover him, and the grind began to present its ugly face after the fourth or fifth attempt as the motion is gradual at first and also you aren’t so highly effective. There’s supposed to be so a lot content material in the full sport – 40+ characters, 75+ weapons, 15+ phases, and numerous goals – so it’s going to hopefully mitigate that considerably, but it surely simply jogged my memory of one of my few annoyances with Vampire Survivors.
Vermintide and Stormvermin and Clanrats!
For the final half of the story, we’re going to go away the Tyranids of Warhammer 40,000 and jump over to Warhammer Age of Sigmar and the ruthless Skaven. The 2 campaigns play the very same, but it surely was enjoyable leaping into a new universe and having the ability to unlock issues over again and tackle a new foe. These enemies saved me on my toes, and the rat-like Vermintide could have been the most stunning. Whereas I’m used to hordes and hordes of enemies descending on me each run, the Vermintide would, as soon as in a whereas, swarm in horizontal strains on prime of all of it. This induced me to shift my technique each time and truly gave the feeling of a bullet hell as I used to be weaving out and in of the rodent procession.
I additionally had my greatest run of the demo in Age of Sigmar as Neave Blacktalon, as that is when the stars aligned and the chests from stronger green-highlighted enemies have been very a lot in my favor. These chests are all RNG-based, however after they shine on you, you possibly can unlock upgrades for up to 5 Weapons or Passives, and it feels so nice. What it additionally does, nevertheless, is get you nearer to evolving stated Weapons.
Neave Blacktalon begins together with her Tempest Axes, and she will be able to evolve them into Whirlwind Axes which might be infused with lightning in case you select to unlock and stage up the Sabaton Passive that makes your character quicker. Whenever you unlock one of these combos, you are feeling as if you go Tremendous Saiyan as your energy stage simply dramatically will increase.
That is additionally tied to one of my different frustrations with Warhammer Survivors in that it may be a bit difficult to actually perceive what goes with what with out wanting it up or getting fortunate. For newcomers, that is a large hurdle as a result of these are the key to longer, extra profitable runs. I’m all for trial and error and figuring issues out, however this was a comparable subject I had with Vampire Survivors. I didn’t really feel like I acquired the sport for a respectable quantity of runs, and I simply want the onboarding was a little higher as a result of I nearly fell off earlier than it clicked into a spectacular place.
Nonetheless, when you do get it, you’re in for simply as a lot of a deal with as Vampire Survivors. Does this do sufficient to convert those that could haven’t preferred Vampire Survivors? In all probability not. Is it shaping up to be a must-play for followers of Warhammer? Completely.
And every little thing I’ve mentioned right here is simply scratching the floor. There are Extremis Bosses like the Norn Emissary which might be the most difficult foes but and switch this bullet heaven again into a bullet hell for a brief time. There are Relics that may unlock totally different sport modes, like one which does truly go quicker and supply extra EXP, and one other that makes issues much more daunting for the hardest of hardcore.
Warhammer Survivors is shaping up to be one other nice journey for followers of each Vampire Survivors and Warhammer, and I’m excited to see how the full sport unfolds and provides to the enjoyable I skilled on this brief demo. It’s not doing something groundbreaking, from what I can inform, but it surely has added significant additions that basically honor the supply materials in a distinctive manner that advantages gameplay. All I do know is that each one I need to do is soar again in for one… extra… spherical… and that’s one of the highest compliments you can provide any sport.
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Adam Bankhurst is a information author for IGN. You’ll be able to comply with him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.