Even though I was already familiar with most of the games that were going to be featured at this year’s Summer Game Fest, there were still a few surprises. One of these, which I played at the Nintendo booth, was Armatus from Fictions.

So I started blastin’.

Armatus takes place in an apocalyptic version of Paris set after the Rapture. With most of the population now gone, demons have taken over the Earth. With the world now destroyed, the last shreds of humanity are threatening to collapse. You play as the last supernatural warrior of an ancient order, armed with powerful firearms and incredible celestial powers. Your goal is to scour the city in search of a lost gateway to heaven – the Sunless Gate. Will you be able to survive long enough find the Sunless Gate and be afforded an audience with God?

The gameplay wasn’t what I was initially expecting, but that’s honestly a good thing. At first, I was expecting Armatus to be yet another soulslike, but instead it’s a fast-paced, action/adventure, roguelite, third-person shooter. During my playthrough, I was able to wield two types of guns (a pistol and an assault rifle type of weapon), as well as utilize my celestial powers once I had dispatched enough demons to fill my celestial meter.

No, those aren’t frills like on a Dilophosaurus in Jurassic Park, those are stone tablets covered in scripture.

What sorts of weapons and ability types you start your run with vary depending on what you can find and what’s offered to you throughout your playthrough. In this regard, Armatus reminded me quite a bit of Hades. You select one of the available weapons and start your run. As you clear out each room, you’ll be rewarded with a boon that will give you a few options to choose from, such as increased damage, increased armor, increased fire rate, reduced cooldown times, as well as various options for your celestial powers. You can effectively build your character to better fit your playstyle. 

Also like in Hades, after clearing a room you’ll be presented with two or three different portals you can go through, with each portal pathway offering a different challenge and reward. There are rooms that will award you with more XP, rooms that will give you more gold, rooms that will lead to healing pools, etc. Deciding which paths to take can either give you an advantage in the next fight, or perhaps just keep you alive enough to survive the next wave of enemies. 

Choose wisely when considering what paths to take.

The demon designs are extremely creative, and was one of my favorite aspects of what I saw during my time with Armatus. I didn’t even get to make it to a boss or mini boss, but the several design types I did encounter were incredibly detailed and not something we’ve seen already a thousand times before. The developers assured me that I would be pleasantly surprised by some of the designs of the main bosses, and honestly, I can’t wait! Armatus is set to release later this year, and I’ll definitely be jumping day one.

All assets were provided by the publisher.