The opponent’s next attack will surely be lethal. With no way to defend against it, the situation appears to be almost hopeless. However, with one last trick up their sleeve, the protagonist and their partner narrowly avoid certain death. These moments are when Annihilated is at its peak.
Annihilated is a new, story-driven roguelite that tasks the player with helping one member of a hero party escape a mysterious dungeon. It takes a similar approach to deckbuilders like Slay the Spire while adding its own twist. The result is a charming little game with great atmosphere and gripping gameplay.
Dark Dungeons
What’s striking right away is Annhilated‘s curious tone. The character designs lean hard into the cute side of things. Their faces express specific emotions with incredible clarity, and with the exception of perhaps the Priest, none of them look particularly threatening.
However, this is juxtaposed with a rather bleak and macabre premise. The player’s entire rescue squad has perished inside a sinister dungeon, and only one member of the hero’s party can be saved. How the campaign plays out reflects this early choice.
While the core progression remains mostly the same, each hero party member represents different narrative campaigns. This impacts gameplay as well, and some characters are not as advantageous to bring along as others. In fact, the Mage outright suggests the player shouldn’t take them.
This is why I recommend starting with the Hero’s story. They generally have strong stats and can quickly recover from death, making them a tank of sorts. It seems to be the intended place for players to get comfortable with the game’s mechanics.
Search and Rescue
Anyone with roguelike/roguelite experience will quickly familiarize themselves with the structure of Annihilated. Even the recent Star Wars: Galactic Racer follows a similar structure. In Annihilated, players can select from a variety of nodes to visit, whether it be an enemy encounter, an event, or a treasure chest.
It’s simple in nature, but like much of the game, that simplicity hides the true depth that lies beneath. For example, before entering an enemy encounter, Annihilated only presents a silhouette to identify the upcoming opponent. However, by playing the game more, these silhouettes are eventually easily recognized and aren’t random at all.
The game places far more control in the player’s hands than you may initially realize, practically begging you to keep replaying. It’s deliberately designed to encourage experimentation and exploration of the mechanics. Annihilated even gives the player plenty of leeway to make this happen.
It’s a far more forgiving game than most in its vein, but I’ve also played far more dull games of a similar nature. Saves are frequent, with more slots available than one could reasonably ask for. If a boss is proving to be too much of a mountain to climb, it’s easy to turn the clock back. Perhaps it removes some of the appeal of the genre, but some may appreciate this casual-friendly approach.
Annihilated by Combat
Just because the game overlooks many player mistakes doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty to master. Annihilated is essentially a card game where the player’s hand makes up their entire deck. While there is technically no pile of cards to draw from, the break mechanic is the star of the show, and it makes up for what might be a perceived limitation.
Essentially, each card has a set number of uses. Once a card is used up, it will be destroyed, or annihilated, as one might say. Permanently parting with these tools has its benefits, too, and the player can even choose to break equipment before exhausting all of its uses.
Breaking cards can trigger various effects and deal more damage. More importantly, opponents all have a break meter that depletes as they take damage. When attacking with a card’s last use, the player can steal the enemy’s equipment and deal critical damage. What the enemy will drop is consistent and never left to chance. This opens up many compelling decision-making scenarios. Some items are not going to be worth breaking a card for, but others may require more thought.
The Timing is Right
Annihilated presents the player with two primary ways to experience its battle system. One is based on probabilities, like a typical RPG battle system. Stats purely determine how likely an attack is to hit.
However, the game’s other method of combat is far more intriguing and is likely the intended way to play. It adds a real-time component to a turn-based battle system, which requires the player to time button presses or clicks correctly. This is what I chose to go with, and I never felt compelled to switch.
What makes this system interesting is that each weapon behaves slightly differently. Some indicators move faster than others, and it’s possible to upgrade weapons to cover greater ranges, making successful hits easier. There are usually multiple points to hit, corresponding to different enemies, so there is also the challenge of correctly selecting which opponent to attack.
This leads to situations where the most optimal spot to attack may also be the most difficult to time right. It adds yet another layer of decision-making to the process of battle. Sometimes playing it safe is the better option, but when health is low and a strong attack is the only available form of defense, that risky play can be the only viable option.
Building an Atmosphere
While clearly made on a limited budget, Annihilated features an appealing aesthetic throughout. The art direction combines the look of a classic RPG with a hand-drawn style that’s not afraid of thick line work. The game can look cute one moment and fill the player with dread the next.
It’s not outright a horror game, but spooky elements add intrigue to the narrative. The story can feel cryptic and a bit disjointed to start, but it compels the player to figure out what is going on in this dungeon. It’s not quite as eerie as Shinonome Abyss, another roguelike I reviewed earlier this year, but it can come close at points.
The translation is mostly serviceable, but it has questionable moments. This can make the game harder to learn, as I wish some card descriptions had more clarity, but trial and error also does the job.
What there isn’t in quantity, Annihilated makes up for with quality in its soundtrack. The music plays often enough to make one familiar with its melodies, but never to the point of irritation. In fact, one battle theme in particular almost had me grooving in my chair.
Annihilated is a Macabre but Charming Roguelite
It might take a little while before Annihilated‘s intricacies become apparent to the player, but once it does, there’s no going back. It’s a blast playing around with the tools provided and seeing what works. There are undeniable intrinsic rewards the more the game is played.
Is it the best in the genre? Absolutely not, but it does manage to make a strong argument for itself. With an engaging gameplay twist and an intriguing cast, Annihilated is definitely worth checking out for its low price point at $16.99.
Annihilated will be available November 10 on PC via Steam.
Disclaimer: Flashlight Games and Death Kumiai provided Final Weapon with a Steam copy of Annihilated for review purposes.
