Armatus Preview
Armatus is an upcoming third-person action game and roguelike. It doesn’t take long to grasp the premise and get hooked into the loop. Here’s the skinny: Present-day Paris has been overrun by a horde of demonic monsters, and your job is to cleanse the city and escape. The demo leaves a lot of questions unanswered. You play as a holy warrior, and there’s a dark fantasy version of the Church that’s resting its faith in you.
Paris is Burning
In Armatus, the City is Light is anything but. It’s dark, moody, and filled with ghastly sights. The husks of human bodies and the skeletons of buildings are everywhere. In between the smallish sections of the city, there are energy portals and moments of respite. You travel through what might be the heavenly realm. If, that is, heaven was nearly as gothic and dark as the mortal world.
Those gateways to another dimension are where your character pauses long enough to pick up weapon and ability upgrades. Often, the choice is binary: make your weapon better or increase defense. Eventually, you work your way to a boss.
At least in the demo, there are four starting weapon types. The Assault Rifle, Submachine Gun, Single Shot Rifle, and Shotgun are all viable and powerful. But really, it’s the upgrades and powerups along the way that help you survive. You can’t pick a weapon based on the monsters, because every run will be a little different. There will always be fast and mobile demons, flying monsters, and slow but powerful enemies with special abilities or weapons.
Close the Loop
Armatus’ demo leaves a lot of questions unanswered. It focuses on one particular series of environments and enemies, but I’d like to know where the long term variety comes from. Will there be some sort of character creator or cosmetic enhancements to make each playthrough a little different? How the game’s economy and meta progression work are only vaguely hinted at in the demo. All those things are critical in a roguelike, where repetition has to be balanced against progress and variety.
Still, what’s in place now is encouraging and exciting. Combat feels punchy and visceral, and the weapons are all impactful. The combat effects are colorful collections of light and flashy explosions. The soundtrack and audio do a good job of underscoring the demonic brutality. Pacing ramps up pretty smoothly, from manageable groups of enemies to overwhelm towards the end of each run.
I can’t keep up with every new release or demo, but I’m glad Armatus slid under my radar and snagged my attention. At this point, it’s hard to know how much steak is on the plate, but the sizzle is already there. It’s definitely more akin to Returnal than Hades. I’m anxious to see how the game expands and keeps the player engaged. The demo hints at a really addictive and potentially polished experience. The demo will be released on February 23, 2026.
***PC code provided by the publisher for preview***
