Xbox Game Pass is one of the best deals in gaming right now. With a frankly intimidating number of games available for the low price of $9.99 per month and new games being constantly added to the service, this really is the best way to enjoy some titles that you may have never heard of before, including games likeANVIL.
ANVIL’s Roguelike Shooter Gameplay
Taking just one look atANVIL’s screenshots, it seems as though the game will give roguelike fans some fast-paced top-down gameplay, sending players battling through a series of sci-fi arenas. The environments and visual style look fairly similar toHalo, with metallic grey structures with bright beams of light emanating from them being littered around the stage. The general aesthetic of the game seems to imitate thatthat cleanHalolookwith shiny armor and sleek environmental objects.
ButANVIL’s gameplay couldn’t be further fromHalo’s (besides thoseSpartan Opsspinoffs), with a top-down perspective being used and an emphasis on roguelike gameplay. Players control a Vault Breaker, tasked with looting a series of Vaults across the galaxy, like an armored, sci-fi Indiana Jones. During the course of a run, players will find new abilities called Artifacts and weapons that should make the increasing challenge a little more manageable. However, as is the roguelike tradition, upon death all of these weapons and abilities are taken away from the player, but experience points are retained, so players are constantly working towards upgrading their characters, giving players a constant sense of progression.
The real hook ofANVILis its co-op nature, allowing up to three players at once. This addition ofcross-platform and cross-generation multiplayerallows friends to blast their way through the galaxy together regardless of which platform they’re on.
ANVIL is in Early Access
The term “Early Access” can have a bit of a negative connotation nowadays, meaning games are being released to the public but aren’t quite finished or polished. And whileANVILis technically inEarly Access(being part of Xbox Preview), the game is in much more of a finished state than other games that are also part of the program. The game’s store page claims that it’s “around 80 percent complete,” with the developer planning on updating the game three times over the course of a year until it’s finished.
ANVILis currently available on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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