Let Them Come: Onslaught Review

Another week, another survivor’s style auto-shooter. The genre is pretty packed with them now, but I can’t get enough of all the different experiences. Let Them Come: Onslaught, developed by Tuatara and published by Digital Bandidos, is now available on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Playstation 4|5 and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store. There isn’t much of a story here, and each run drops you into an alien planet as an injured soldier, with the premise being survival. How does this experience compare to other titles in the crowded genre? Let’s find out in our Complete Xbox review.

Gameplay

If you’re familiar with games such as Vampire Survivors, then you’ll take to this instantly. Each wave is twenty minutes, and you’ll need to do your best to survive until extraction arrives. After crashing down onto an alien planet, you’ll be scavenging weapons and picking up gems to level up and become stronger. During each run, you’ll have procedural objectives. These encourage map exploration in return for buffs and power-ups that will help you become stronger on your run. Between runs, you can spend currency on permanent upgrades, which will give you much better survival chances each time you spawn in.

Personally, I found the difficulty quite high on my first few runs, but that is likely down to navigating my way around and finding my feet. Once you find patterns to avoid enemy surges and know what temporary upgrades to opt for, it does become a little easier. Using different combinations of weaponry is what makes runs varied and more spontaneous. After around twelve hours or so with the game, I did find the depth a little shallow, as I had achieved everything the game had to offer by this point. For the low price point however, it is well worth the cost for the amount you get in return.

Visuals & Audio

Let Them Come: Onslaught has visuals that feel both retro and modern. Levels are mostly dark and desolate, with alien critters that light up the screen with their neon-infused exterior. There are some excellent lighting effects, and the development team has done a great job of making the worlds open enough to explore while appearing claustrophobic at the same time. During my playtime, I managed to test the game on my Xbox Series X, gaming laptop and Lenovo Legion Go, and the game ran smoothly across all devices.

The soundtrack to the game is both enjoyable and relaxing, despite the game’s intensity. Music sounds like 80s-inspired electronic music, which blends well with the sound effects in-game. You’ll hear the constant blast from weaponry with feedback felt through the impact on enemies. These effects tend to cut through the music well, and it’s satisfying to destroy huge hordes of critters and witness them being obliterated.

Final Thoughts

Let Them Come: Onslaught is fantastic, and the fact that it is an Xbox Play Anywhere title is the cherry on the cake. If you’re a huge fan of the genre like I am, then you’ll certainly enjoy the addictive gameplay loop on offer here. It is somewhat lacking in content, with only four levels and a handful of characters. Hopefully, in time, we will see more content drop to extend the longevity and replayability. If you’re looking for a roguelite bullet heaven title with gorgeous retro visuals, then I highly recommend this one.