Achilles: Legends Untold Review (PS5)

The new title from Dark Point Games might look like an updated Titan Quest, based on the setting and the graphics, but it offers a very different experience. Instead of a hack and slash formula we have a mix of roguelite and RPG elements, that requires much more than smashing your way through waves of endless enemies, getting better and better equipment. But is more always better? Read on to find out.

Achilles: Legends Untold is an action RPG, just as Dark Souls or Elden Ring are also ARPGs. But unlike the title hero whom you will control through the idyllic setting of Ancient Greece for more than 20 hours, Dark Point's game has several weak spots starting from the PS3-like graphics and ending with frustrating and unfair moments that will make you want to curse the entire game to the depths of Tartarus.

For a while, the ancient Greek Mythology was the preferred setting for most game developers, but the recent switch to Northern Gods left the hoplites in the dust. Perhaps the intermezzo was long enough for players to have shed their fatigue towards the Ancient Pantheon, so that they can embrace once again the heroes from the Iliad. The Polish developers certainly thought so, as Achilles: Legends Untold is an interactive adaptation of one of Homer’s best-known works.

As the title gives it away, you will be donning the armor and the xiphos of one of the most iconic heroes in history, Achilles. We catch up with the leader of the Myrmidons in the middle of his troops just before they start their attack on Troy in order to rescue Helena. The events unfold loosely based on the book it uses as source material: defeating Hector is not much of a challenge, but Paris sends our hero into the depths of the realm ruled by Hades.

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After a well-deserved 10 years long naptime, Achilles is summoned back to the land of the living by a mysterious priest. Our savior reveals that the war between Agamemnon and Menelaus left the Greek world in shambles and there is a need for a good janitor to clean up everything and put the skeletons back in the ground they belong to. Of course, things are never that simple, and as you find out later, much more powerful beings are behind the whole mess, making things get more complicated with each passing level.

Without giving spoilers, we can say that the story of the game is set on pillars with the hope to rise up to the level of the ancient dramas, but the questionable building elements make it fade into the background. The monotonous dialogues, the predictable and very cliché motivations, and the actually boring personality of our main hero erodes even the most stoic player’s interest in the plot. In the end, despite the developer’s effort Achilles: Legends Untold does not manage to overcome the curse: most players will just click through the dialogues to get back to the action.

And the action is where the combat is. To sum it up, the game can be described as an unholy marriage of an action RPG with a soulslike title. The isometric camera may fool you, but the difficulty level and respawn system will wake you up to the reality of the situation.

If you expect a Diablo or Titan Quest, you will be disappointed severely. Yet if you give Achilles: Legends Untold a chance the fight system will make you appreciate the developer’s approach to the game. Instead of mindless button smashing you have to focus on dodging, parrying and skillfully using the special abilities of your hero to get past difficult opponents.

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The combat is truly demanding, as the smallest mistake will send you back to the clast unlocked shrine, respawning all the monsters on the map and forcing you to try again. You can of course teleport between this small oasis of respite, you can recharge your health and improve the abilities of our hero, but just like in any Souls game this will mean facing once more all the opposition you might have vanquished already.

At least this is the formula for the first few hours, but after upgrading your equipment and skills the game becomes more permissive and turns into an action game where you dash into enemies to make them lose their footing so you can lend some precious cheap shots. Getting too powerful for common enemies towards the end of the game, the developers decided to fix this by including some end game arenas, that feature boss fights that will easily last over 30 minutes.

With better character development and balancing, that could have been done by listening to the feedback from Early Access, this very frustrating situation could have been avoided. As it stands, Achilles: Legends Untold starts out though as nails, then softens up to almost a walk in the park and at the end it turns into an unfair and unsatisfying experience. And it is not because of the difficulty level that is all over the place, but due to the errors and bugs.

Achilles’ controls are clumsy at best and his animations cause him to get stuck in the environment. The same can be said of course about his opponents, but he seems to get stuck much more often. If we also add the visuals that get confusing making your enemies hard to see, and even invincible when some taller buildings are involved. The highlighting system works only when it feels like it so often you will not even know what killed you.

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The Good

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