A very cool Vampire Survivors-like with faster unlocks, more streamlined progression, and Warcraft-ish visuals. It's far less cryptic in how to unlock new features and characters, as well as how to evolve weapons. One of the features I like most is how each stage has three different challenge settings with specific quests to complete. Doing so unlocks stars, which in turn unlock new stages. If you dig Vampire Survivors and want a fresh take on the formula, Army of Ruin gives ridiculous value for its small asking price.

While I did end up enjoying this more than I thought I would, it's still just a slot machine for gamers. Stylized with gamer things like XP and badass magic attacks, but a slot machine nonetheless. This one had nice enough graphics, some fun enough weapons and a steady enough dripfeed of unlocks to have me hooked until the platinum, but no further. The early to mid game was fun and more engaging than I expected it to be, but once you start entering the late game, it's all either too easy or too RNG as you find your favorite build and stock up on unlocks. This is a good one for what it is, but it ultimately is a pretty hollow unlock simulator. Peggle for nerds.

Oh, well, it was cheap and it served the purpose I wanted it to. Stupid zone-out game for hungover days.

So many enemies and weapons firing on screen but the game runs buttery smooth, really great for a 120Hz setup. Lots of variety in the weapons but some of the characters are just re-skins of others. Could also do with more maps. 221 achievements on Steam, recommend if you like a game where your steadily picking those up and consistently unlocking new weapons and abilities. Also a good game to put on music or a video in the background and zone out with. Overall had fun playing in short and longer stints.

Army of Ruin is a shining example of why it's important to have a specific, unique game direction in mind, and stick to that style through development.

Through the entire game, from the UI, to the weapons, to the enemies: every element feels generic. While the gameplay is solid and nearly bug free, I felt nearly no excitement or passion during my near 50 hours with Army of Ruin. There's content galore, but it's all either generic, ripped from other games, or felt extremely out of place. The challenges are arbitrary and the maps are largely empty. If you want a quality Survivor-like game on Playstation console, wait for other games with more intention behind their design to arrive and don't waste your time here.