Despite its retro aesthetic and simplistic yet addictive gameplay, Vampire Survivors was a huge talking point in 2022 when it hit Xbox Game Pass. Of course, it was available for PC for some time before consoles, but it became an overnight phenomenon and gained several awards. Not only did I give it a perfect score of 10/10, but I also named it my Game Of The Year for 2022. Now I didn’t think anything could compare and scratch the itch in the same way but Army Of Ruin has just landed on Xbox and Xbox Series consoles and is outstanding. It is difficult not to compare the game with Vampire Survivors as the similarities are absolutely on par but it does enough to have its own identity.

Gameplay

When you start your time with Army Of Ruin you’ll only have the choice of two characters, don’t worry there are many more to unlock along the way. Once you make your choice you’ll be thrust into the first level and you’ll need to achieve certain tasks to open more. The premise is simple and that is not to die and survive the enemy hordes. You’ll start a little barebones with only a minor projective to fend off the trickles of early enemies but the game soon ramps up in difficulty as the waves and levels progress. As you slay enemies they will drop blue crystals and collecting these will generate experience for your character. Each level you progress through gives you the option of a weapon or trinket and as you fill out the inventory slots it’ll start offering buffs to your gear which makes you stronger.

Weapons & Trinkets

In the early hours of the game you’ll only have access to a limited amount of weapons, and trinkets and again, as time goes by you’ll slowly be introduced to more and more. Choose these wisely though as you’ll have to endure using them for the duration of the run you are proceeding with. The amount to play with is quite extensive and at the time of writing, I still have a few left to discover and unlock. But it is satisfying to see waves of electricity along with the barrage of other weaponry seeping through to melt what is in front of you. There is the opportunity to re-roll weapons and even evolve for maximum damage going forwards.

Upgrade Your Gear On The Regular

Throughout each play, you’ll accumulate coins scattered throughout the world. These are often dropped by stronger enemies, found in crates or just lingering around. You’ll want to try and collect as many of these as possible as the more you gain, the more you have to flutter in the shop on upgrades. You can purchase buffs to health, projectile speed, your health regeneration rate and more. These investments are done in stages and become more costly as you go along. It does become a grind but I like that it provides an incentive to keep playing.

Unlock All Challenges & Keep Playing

Unlocking stars will gradually open up the other worlds and there are several stages of difficulty with challenges to achieve. It may be earning coins, or taking a character to a certain XP level on that run amongst other things. Accumulate these stars and you’ll open up harder difficulties, characters and more. Believe me when I say there is tens of hours of gameplay in Army Of Ruin

Graphics & Audio

I have to keep drawing comparisons to Vampire Survivors as you get the same vibe from the game the minute you start playing. This game is stunning in the visuals department. I found this surprising, seeing as the game weighs in at less than 1GB in size which is smaller than some of the games on my mobile phone. The aesthetics are vibrant and colourful and the variance of enemies swarming the screen makes it feel different each run. Once you start to open up the different weapon variants and evolve them it is satisfying to watch the hordes melt around you with flashes and thrusts of different styles and colours.

The audio design is equally excellent with different sound effects for the projectiles and the whimper of critters succumbing to their death. I did find the music quite repetitive in the end so I personally turned it right down in the settings, but some may like the soundtrack to add to the adrenalin. I found it the perfect opportunity to zone out to my own playlists and podcasts. If I was to sit this down next to Vampire Survivors then this is for sure the more polished of the two, but then again one is going for a retro look and feel whereas Army Of Ruin is reaching for a cartoony and animated presentation.

In Conclusion

For the price point of just under £7 Army Of Ruin is a must-buy title if you were obsessed with Vampire Survivors like I was. In just under a week I have already amassed over 24 hours of playtime and I am nowhere near done yet. If you’re after a game with an insanely moreish and addictive gameplay loop then this is your one and it for sure is one of my personal greatest indie games of all time.

There is plenty to unlock across the board when it comes to characters, weapons and trinkets and grinding out the coins will have you wanting to play more to indulge in upgrading your power. This is for sure Milkstone Studios’ most polished and best work to date and I would love to see more being added to this indie masterpiece over time. I don’t dish perfect scores out very often but this one is so deserved and absolutely needs to be in your collection!