Dive, Dash, Destroy: Godbreakers Is a Roguelike With Bite

Godbreakers Preview
If you’re the kind of gamer who enjoys playing action games with friends, you must be a happy camper. It seems like every other new game is built for a small group working together. Heck, even FromSoftware went all in with Elden Ring Nightreign. Developer To the Sky and publisher THQ Nordic have just announced a new four-person co-op action roguelike, Godbreakers. I had the chance to spend some hands-on time with the upcoming demo and came away excited for the game.

It Only Sounds Familiar
The small team at To the Sky is made up of big studio veterans who wanted to lean into a project that wasn’t weighted down by the machinery of AAA game development. That approach is definitely reflected in Godbreakers’ gameplay, which is spry, extremely fluid, and lots of fun. But that doesn’t really describe the game.

Godbreakers is a roguelike, which means the goal of each run is to make it through to the end of the level and the end boss without the indignity of a party wipe. There are six distinct biomes, though the demo only includes one of them. The demo includes a couple of the game’s eventual selection of starting character archetypes. One slices and dices. The other slams the ground with an impressive club-like weapon for lots of AOE damage.

Additional features help Godbreakers stand out. The game’s title suggests the first one. Players can dive into enemies and explode them from within, gaining their powers in the process. It’s a cool take on the familiar idea of taking on a defeated boss’s weapons or powers, and it works great. Godbreakers also addresses one of my pet peeves about action games. There’s nothing more frustrating than being unable to cancel out of a long attack animation, leaving you vulnerable. Godbreakers lets you jump out of an attack and jet out of the way.

Zippy and Trippy
It’s clear that the developer spent a lot of time refining character movements and animation. It’s a joy to glide, dash, and jump through the levels. The game’s movement is perfectly in sync with Godbreakers’ level design. The demo level includes above-ground arenas filled with hazards and underground caverns hiding swarms of enemies and the boss. Effortless, responsive controls help tie everything together.

The demo level included a lot of biomechanical, insectoid enemies with a long list of attack patterns and weapons to avoid. Although it works well enough solo, it’s clear that a duo, trio, or quartet is better. Of course, a squad adds to the chaos, but that’s kind of a feature.

Godbreakers goes with a colorful, cartoony, and stylized sci-fi art style. It’s a million miles from the gritty gothic look of other ARPGs. I’m looking forward to seeing how the visual aesthetic translates to other biomes.

Get Set…Action
My limited time with a small slice of Godbreakers impressed me with its frantic, fun pace and colorful art. Even at this early stage, the concept was clear, and the action was already starting to gel. After playing the demo, I’m excited to see where Godbreakers takes me.

***PC code provided by the publisher***