Steam Next Fest is here, which means you’ve got no shortage of game demos to try out. That includes sneak peeks at some games that are right around the corner. Godbreakers, for instance, has a new demo available as part of the event and it’s dropping just ahead of the game’s full release on Oct. 23.
Polygon went hands-on with an early build of the upcoming co-op roguelike. We were able to see a few more biomes than the ones available in the Steam demo, giving us a better sense of what a full run looks like and what builds will be possible down the line. Though it’s launching amid a busy season for an already crowded genre, its four-player support and a unique ability system could give Godbreakers the edge it needs to stand out from the crowd later this month.
Published by Thunderful and developed by To The Sky, Godbreakers is set in a post-apocalyptic future where AI has gone rogue and begun to wipe out humanity. It has also gained the power to eat entire planets and is looking to chomp down on the sun next. It’s a goofy little sci-fi setup built for our tech-anxious times, and it just makes for a good reason to set out on run after run to take down evil robots and creatures.
Godbreakers is focused on fast-paced hack-and-slash action above all else. A run sees you moving between different planets, wiping out room after room of enemies en route to bosses. And, of course, you amass perks along the way that help you create a build strong enough to survive to the end. It’s not breaking the genre wide open in terms of format, but it’s filled with progression loops that allow players to flesh out their character. For instance, completing quests within a run eventually unlocks various archetypes that change your starting weapons. A Lancer is a balanced swordsman, while a Pillar class lugs around a giant battering ram. All weapons have sub-abilities that can also be unlocked through challenges, like dealing enough damage with a single hit or killing three enemies at once with a special attack. There’s a layer of cosmetic customization on top of that which is also tied to quests, so you always have a lot to work towards even if a run feels doomed.
Buildcrafting within a run is as important here as it is in any roguelike. I’ve got several slots to manage, allowing me to pick up new equipment. Essences can also be used to boost stats, raising elemental effects like poison and burning alongside the basics like health and speed. More unique traits can be acquired through armor. A set of arms may give me a random buff when killing enemies with a certain kind of attack, while some legs could give me stacks of armor when taking damage below a certain threshold. Builds feel cut from the cloth of RPG looter shooters more than roguelikes as a result (there are fewer highly synergistic powers like in Hades 2), but I’ll have to see a full run to get a better feel for that.
Where Godbreakers instead looks to make a name for itself is in combat. In addition to its fast but heavy melee action, the real trick lies in its namesake feature. When I smack enemies around, I start to build up energy. When my meter is full, I am able to Godbreak an enemy once its health is low enough. Doing so lets me absorb its power and gives me access to a powerful special attack that can be used once. In the opening desert biome, I can Godbreak a sand creature and gain the ability to burrow underneath my foes, then spring out for massive damage. In a fiery biome, I can absorb a little pest to gain a devastating energy beam attack. That special ability juggling act is where Godbreakers gets interesting, tempting you to absorb as many enemies as you can to see what power they grant you.
So far, I’ve enjoyed what I’ve seen from Godbreakers, even if it’s a bit par for the course as a roguelike. I’ve fought some enjoyable bosses, from a flame-summoning berserker that rampages around an arena to a tentacled monster, and have seen a good variety of soft, colorful biomes in an art style that calls back to Heart Machine’s Solar Ash. All of that seems like a good enough reason to make Godbreakers enough of a curiosity for friends looking for a new four-player game to mess around in.
If you want to try it for yourself, give its demo a spin during Steam Next Fest. The full game launches on Oct. 23 for PlayStation 5 and Windows PC.
