An Ankou
- August 17, 2023
- Alkemi
Get on Steam"An Ankou" is a fast-paced action roguelike where you play as the servant of Death, tasked with ushering souls from the land of the living while battling demons. With multiple professions to choose from, each with unique items and skills, and random events scattered across the maps, each playthrough offers tons of replayability. As the Ankou, collect resources and souls to craft weapons, upgrade, and survive in this haunted open environment.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game has a unique blend of roguelike and crafting mechanics, providing an engaging gameplay loop that keeps players invested.
- The art style and music are standout features, creating an immersive atmosphere that enhances the overall experience.
- Despite being in Early Access, the game shows great potential and offers several hours of fun for its low price.
- The game appears to be abandoned, with no updates or communication from the developers for an extended period, leading to concerns about its future.
- Many players find the combat mechanics frustrating, particularly the inability to move and attack simultaneously, which can detract from the overall enjoyment.
- The lack of content and variety in gameplay can lead to repetitive experiences, making it difficult to maintain long-term interest.
- gameplay63 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 60 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The gameplay has received mixed feedback, with some players praising its unique blend of resource gathering, crafting, and action elements, creating a satisfying loop, while others criticize it for feeling repetitive and lacking depth. Many appreciate the intuitive mechanics and smooth controls, but some find certain aspects tedious or underdeveloped, leading to a frustrating experience at times. Overall, the game shows potential for improvement, especially with future updates, but currently struggles with balance and variety.
“Gameplay-wise, it offers something different within the genre; it blends resource gathering and crafting with the standard bullet heaven horde fighting to make something more involved and unique, creating a very satisfying gameplay loop.”
“The gameplay feels smooth, balanced, and incentivizes players to explore and craft more.”
“A fun take on the roguelite genre with a great core gameplay loop already established, and a fun-looking roadmap ahead; this is exactly what you look for in an early access title.”
“The gameplay loop feels like it is missing a mechanic or two that would flesh it out and make it a bit more fun.”
“Killing enemies will not upgrade your character; you need to gather and craft for that, which leads to a dull gameplay loop.”
“In theory, a survival crafting mix with action roguelite and survivors style gameplay should be a slam dunk, but somehow this game manages to muck it all up with awful and clunky combat, incredibly slow and frustrating progression, and super tedious meta progression.”
- music50 mentions
- 52 % positive mentions
- 42 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim for its dynamic and immersive qualities, effectively ramping up in intensity alongside gameplay challenges. Many players highlight the soundtrack's ability to enhance the atmosphere, with some describing it as one of the best they've encountered in the genre. While a few critiques mention repetitiveness, the overall consensus is that the music significantly contributes to the game's engaging experience.
“The soundtrack deserves an honorable mention as it dynamically increases in intensity together with the game's threat level, which means the tempo gets higher as the screen gets flooded with more and more monsters.”
“The music and sound effects complement the game world perfectly, immersing players completely into the experience.”
“A thoroughly enticing roguelite, challenging, beautiful art style and the music is pure chef's kiss.”
“The dev's idea of building up tension is to start playing the background music louder and louder until your speakers burst.”
“Shit music, annoying mechanics but interesting game and concept, will keep trying but definitely a rough diamond.”
“The music kinda wears after a while but it's pretty upbeat and seems to fit the setting in the spooky/epic forest.”
- graphics28 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 39 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their beautiful hand-painted aesthetic and compelling art style, which stand out in a genre often dominated by simpler visuals. Reviewers appreciate the polished effects, high-quality visuals, and the meticulous attention to detail, creating an engaging atmosphere that enhances gameplay. While some sprites may diverge from the original style, the overall graphical presentation is considered a significant strength of the game.
“The overall quality is top tier, the art style is a real standout among similar games with simpler art styles, beautiful hand-painted aesthetic by someone who knows what they are doing.”
“The visuals were crafted with such finesse; it was as if the artists had poured their heart and soul into the project.”
“The handcrafted visuals are a testament to the artistry and meticulous attention to detail that the developers poured into every pixel.”
“This game, for some reason, really eats up your graphics resources even though it may not look like it.”
“Overall, once more levels, characters and enemies are added, with some quality of life touches and possibly some graphical/effect touch-ups, this will be a great game.”
“No targeting mechanism, no graphical change for gear, etc...it's a long list, but I would say the potential is there for a positive!”
- replayability11 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 45 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
The game's replayability is currently limited, primarily due to its early access status and the lack of diverse character builds and maps. While some players find value in the existing missions and class viability, others express a desire for more content and variations to enhance replayability. Overall, the potential for increased replay value is acknowledged, but it remains constrained at this stage.
“All of the classes and weapons are playable/viable even on 25 darkness.”
“An actual survival game where you gather material and fend off waves of mobs, and the replayability is surprising.”
“It may be light on content, but we can see the outlines for many more features, and it should have plenty of replay value.”
“Just want more replayability on it than just achievements.”
“Given that it's more of an alpha access, the replayability is currently small due to the fact that not all characters are implemented yet with their own individual builds as well as new maps to come.”
“Because the game feels very limited in replayability.”
- atmosphere8 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- -12 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised, with reviewers highlighting the stellar music, engaging visuals, and effective sound effects that enhance the overall experience. The art direction and emotional depth contribute significantly to the game's immersive quality, making it a standout choice for fans of atmospheric gameplay. While some suggest additional visual flair for upgrades, the current presentation is considered well-executed and captivating.
“The atmosphere, music, and visuals are great.”
“While it is limited currently, the music for the game is really stellar and sets an amazing atmosphere for the game.”
“It perfectly complements the game's atmosphere, evoking emotions that enhance the overall experience.”
“The atmosphere feels flat and uninspired, lacking the depth needed to immerse players.”
“Despite some interesting visuals, the overall atmosphere fails to create a compelling experience.”
“The game’s atmosphere is dull and fails to evoke any real emotion or engagement.”
- grinding6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's grinding mechanics receive mixed reviews; while some players find the crafting and farming aspects enjoyable and engaging under pressure, others criticize the slow progression and tedious meta elements, leading to a frustrating experience. Overall, those who dislike grinding for meaningless achievements may find the game lacking in content, with only a few hours of playtime available.
“Tedious mechanics.”
“In theory, a survival crafting mix with action roguelite and survivor-style gameplay should be a slam dunk, but somehow this game manages to muck it all up with awful and clunky combat, incredibly slow and frustrating progression, and super tedious meta progression.”
“If you are not a fan of grinding meaningless achievements, you'll get about 2-3 hours of content out of the game.”
- story4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -25 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The story revolves around completing altar quests for spirit friends who assist players in crafting and gathering materials while battling enemies. Players engage in replayable missions, focusing on farming, item improvement, and boss battles to progress through the game world.
“You complete altar quests for spirit friends, up to two currently, that can protect you when you craft or gather materials from swarms of enemies.”
“In short, basically you enter the game, farm and improve your items, complete missions (killing bosses) and will complete the map.”
“The story feels shallow and lacks depth, making it hard to stay engaged.”
“The narrative is repetitive, with little variation in missions or character development.”
“Overall, the plot is underwhelming and fails to provide a compelling experience.”
- optimization4 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is inconsistent, with users reporting great performance on PC but underwhelming frame rates on the Steam Deck, often dropping below 30 fps. While the game offers new maps and difficulty modes that enhance gameplay, issues with choppy performance during recording and streaming indicate that further improvements are needed.
“Performance is great on PC, but on the Deck, it was under 30 fps. I'm not sure why, but hopefully, they fix it down the line as this game would be fantastic for on-the-go play.”
“I tried recording and streaming with this game, and the result was choppy, so performance-wise they still have a ways to go.”
“I have completed the first map so far on the first character; you unlock new maps, difficulty modes, levels, and items for better optimization.”
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is marked by a sense of heartbreak among players, particularly due to the studio's struggles and the perception of the game as an "early access scam." Despite its strong mechanics, the ongoing issues and declining quality have led to disappointment and a sense of loss for the community.
“The game is really good; it has great mechanics, but the studio is dying, and it's heartbreaking to see people calling it an 'early access scam.'”
- stability2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Overall, users report that the game is stable, with minimal bugs and smooth performance, particularly on Linux systems.
“The game runs great on Linux.”
“It's virtually bug-free, providing a smooth experience.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy of the game is perceived as exploitative, with users labeling it as a typical cash grab from EA, indicating dissatisfaction with its approach to in-game purchases and overall value.
“Just another cash grab EA game.”
