I’m always excited to check out a new game inspired by the exquisite Vampire Survivors, and see what developers do to stand out in this emerging genre. We’ve had a shed load of Survive-A-Ton games appear since the genre stole the hearts of millions, with plenty of unique takes on auto shooting Roguelike goodness. The latest survivors take comes from Wielders of the Essence, which is a particularly gorgeous pixel Survive-A-Ton with some very unique hooks.
The first of these hooks is that you play as a whole bunch of herptiles, starting with an adorable frog. Your task is simple, jump into a themed environment and survive for as long as possible. You’ll automatically fire as you wander around the stage, but with the twist that you can aim your attacks if you want to instead of just battering the nearest rat. After collecting a few gems and levelling up you’ll be greeted by another new feature too, your first ally.
As well as gaining new attacks and stat buffs, when you level up in Wielders of the Essence you also gain minions. These will follow you everywhere you go and attack enemies, in a variety of ways. You can recruit warriors who hit anyone who gets too close, mages who fire elemental bolts at foes, and even a sandworm that can spray acid. There’s something so satisfying about having a small squad of lizards by your side dealing with enemies in a Survive-A-Ton, and based on the ones you pick you’ll gain access to different spells.
There are three main magical powers in Wielders of the Essence, Destruction, Creation and Arcane. Each type of minion is associated with one of these, and by recruiting them you can use that particular school of magic. Creation magic can summon meteors, Destruction summons lightning bolts and Arcane magic brings forth glowing balls of pain, and they’re all useful in different situations. All of the spells still fire automatically because this is a survivors game, but creating a powerful build for a run is often made easier by focusing on one type of magic and reducing your reload time for it.
Like any good Survive-A-Ton game, there is loads of hidden depth in Wielders of the Essence. Different spells and minions all have synergies with specific skills, and the more you play the more you’ll discover. My favourite early combination involved grabbing mages and the experience buff as soon as possible, because combined this makes your mages drop extra experience orbs as they attack. Other combos grant massive firepower, or even the ability to summon the queen sandworm to chow down on the masses. Nothing feels better than discovering a new synergy and becoming unstoppable, and that power fantasy high never goes away.
Between the perfectly snack sized eight minute Roguelike runs, you’ll be able to build a delightful forest settlement with all the resources you’ve gathered. Different buildings provide you with buffs to each individual level up powers, and you can also unlock all new spells and units as you slowly build up a forest haven. To do this you’ll need to collect all sorts of materials, which ends up being the primary focus in any given run.
While the loop of improving your stats is fun, it is also where the wheels come off somewhat in Wielders of the Essence. More often than not you’ll end up playing the same levels over and over again to grind materials, because you’re just not strong enough yet to take on the next challenge. Whereas many other games in the genre gradually increase your stats to help you progress, it’s usually barely noticeable and you can beat tougher levels with a lucky build. Here though you’ll just need to level buildings up because you simply don’t have the strength to take on foes, and it detracts from the fun of actually going on a survivors run.
This is only compounded thanks to the early game lack of options, which means you’ll outright have to use the same units and spells over and over again. When you already have to grind to progress it’s even more disappointing to have each run feel almost identical, and especially in the opening hours this is very much the case. Eventually you’ll have enough options to ease this issue, but there’s never really enough variety to make every run feel fresh.
There’s a lot to love about Wielders of the Essence, but the grindy nature of the game does detract from everything else. Still if the idea of surviving with a squad of allies and awesome spells excites you then you’ll likely have a good time, especially after you unlock more level up options. Wielders of the Essence might not trouble the genre leaders, but it has plenty to offer if you’re looking for something new.
