Exploring the roguelike mythology of PERISH

thesixthaxis.com:

Developed by Brighton-based studio ITEM42, PERISH brings together a unique mix of ancient Greek mythology and tense co-op shooting into a rewarding roguelike. Doomed to wander the black sands of Purgatory, you are an amyetri: a corporeal spirit looking to bargain your way into Elysium.

You start with nothing but a broken sword, hacking away at hordes of revenants that ceaselessly spawn into each stage. Keeping on brand with the ancient Greek theme, the journey ahead seems like a Sisyphean challenge. However, it isn’t long before you start to earn yourself a small cache of Danake, exchanging this blood-stained currency of the underworld for a growing array of permanent upgrades.

With a decent number of equipment slots available, PERISH offers a satisfying amount of flexibility when it comes to building character loadouts. There are more than 10 weapons to master, from handaxe to hunting rifle, javelins, and bladed gauntlets, each with their own upgrades to unlock. Combining these with your Crown and up to six Rings will confer a variety of gameplay bonuses, such as dealing poison damage to nearby enemies or increasing the power and capacity of your throwing daggers.

Combat has a satisfying heft, regardless of weapon choice. Enemies will stagger and crumble under punishing melee strikes or a well-placed ranged attack, with players able to block, dash, and unleash a Spartan-like kick that pairs perfectly with the game’s many environmental hazards.

Those first several runs will have you playing the same series of stages, albeit with randomly cycling objectives. Defeating bosses and hitting certain progress milestones will allow you to take different paths without needing to start each run completely from scratch. The further you