Classic games from the ‘80s have a special place in my heart, despite my being born in 1990. The likes of Arkanoid and Space Invaders are treasured memories, and following the success of Tetris Effect I’ve wondered if we could see a similar modernization of other such classics. New roguelike game Against Great Darkness is exactly what I’ve dreamed of and more besides. A brick-breaking, bullet hell arcade roguelite with a stunning aesthetic, it fires those old games into the modern era with glorious, bold colors and clever mechanics. Out today on Steam, you can try Against Great Darkness right now thanks to a free demo.
Against Great Darkness takes the two separate gameplay elements from Arkanoid and Space Invaders – piloting your character left and right to bounce projectiles back up the screen to clear out enemies and the environment, and firing off projectiles and powerups of your own to further demolish your foes. Then it infuses it with a wealth of loot and events from the best roguelike games such as Hades and Downwell, and wraps the resulting in a vibrant, eye-catching package.
You take control of one of several pagan deities attempting to break free from Hell and the clutches of Lucifer. As you attempt to soar out of the depths you’ll need to blast your way through everything that stands in your way, both using standard weapons and deflecting deadly discs back up the screen to keep up the assault.
As your run progresses, you’ll collect various relics to boost your run. There are over 100 items to find that can affect the damage of certain projectiles, trigger effects whenever you successfully juggle a disk back up towards the top of the screen, and boost your defensive capabilities. You’ll also have to deal with mystery events and make decisions about how to approach them, or where to spend your currency.
Between runs you’ll also have the ability to power up your next attempt using Radiant Shards, giving yourself a better chance next time. Much like Hades, once you finally score a victory, you can test your skills with increasing levels of difficulty to push yourself to the limit.
Against Great Darkness is out now on Steam in early access, with a 10% launch discount until Wednesday April 17. That means you’ll pay just $6.29/£5.39 if you buy it now, although if you want to try it out before you buy there’s also a free prologue available on Steam. Hitreg Studios estimates that the early access period will last for about six months “to iron out the kinks and make sure the community steers development to make it a replayable roguelite we will all enjoy.”
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