Dark Light: Survivors Is a Genre and Perspective-Bending Roguelike | IGN Preview

Dark Light Survivor is an action RPG roguelike where humanity, after an apocalypse, seeks Allesium—a safe haven—aboard the Phantom Train, capable of universe-hopping. Players control one of these survivors, fighting hordes of creatures. The game offers a "Vampire Survivors"-like setup: you're dropped into a map, face increasing enemy waves, and collect numerous power-ups. Death typically means starting a run from scratch. Unlike pixel art, it features a fully 3D cyber-gothic style resembling a sci-fi Diablo, with a nostalgic pixel graphics option. Playing as the Knight, a heavily armored melee specialist, I began in the Oblivion Array, a rural area now debris-strewn. After defeating undead creatures and leveling up, I chose upgrades and continued the action. A key differentiator is direct attack control: one button for guns, one for melee, and a shield for blocking. An auto-attack option can complement manual actions. The game allows seamless switching between a top-down and an over-the-shoulder third-person view. While the latter loses 360-degree visibility, it's crucial for precise aiming and cover-based tactics against tough elites and bosses. Enemy hordes intensify, with snipers and giant elite units posing significant threats. My Knight's run ended violently after hitting an exploding zombie. Subsequent runs involve rapid monster clearing and XP gain. Leveling up pauses the action, offering upgrades from various NPCs: Fiery Saraphina for fire attacks, Odet and Odial for mechanical armaments, and Stall for general buffs. These upgrades, featuring stunning hand-drawn portraits, are central to the game, adding new attacks like periodic lightning crashes, poisonous exploding skeletons, or aerial strafing runs, which can be upgraded across multiple tiers, drastically changing combat approach. With powerful upgrades like Arcane Conductor, Reaper's Reach, Primal Link, and Zeal, I cleared screens of enemies in seconds, eventually defeating Chock, the Oblivion Array boss. Between runs, the Nexus Hold acts as a hub for chatting with NPCs, outfitting characters, and unlocking new warriors. Defeating bosses and enemies yields Void Stones and Void Marks, which are used to purchase new characters like the Soldier (a gun specialist) and permanent upgrades to character stats and abilities. The Soldier, with boosted mobility, critical chance, and gun damage, shines in the new Sunless Keep level, where rapid-leaping goblin-like creatures require ranged combat and tactical use of the over-the-shoulder camera for accurate shots. The game also features an RPG-style loot system. Chests provide stat-boosting armor, new weapons (greatswords, rifles, shotguns), and runes that can be socketed for additional effects. My cowboy-kitted Soldier faced Velcraft, the bone marksman, in an intense bullet-hell duel, eventually prevailing with augmented damage. With another character (the elemental Mage) and level to unlock, along with countless gear and attack combinations, Dark Light Survivor promises extensive replayability. It launches in Steam Early Access on May 15th, with a full release planned for later this year on Steam, Epic, Xbox Series X, and PlayStation 5.