Thank you to the developers Dark Point Games and publisher Galakus/DPG for providing a fun action game to fight, fight and fight again.

My Steam Rating : Mostly Positive

I am a huge fan of Greek mythology so for myself, Achilles Legends Untold(A:LU) checks enough boxes as a fun, action adventure game with a good original story. However It’s got some major flaws that holds the game back from being an easy recommendation.

It is very difficult to discuss the story of Achilles Legend Untold without spoilers so all I will discuss is the start. The story begins at the battle of Troy where Achilles is confronted and shot by Paris as it is written in the classic Iliad. However, In this story Achilles does not die but awakens on the cobblestones of Greece where he is greeted by a priest. The priest explains it has been 10 yrs since the war and Greece has fallen into dark times under the rule of Agamemnon. As you progress in the game more stories will come open that will lead you to more of an understanding of why you were spared death. I think the writers did a good job of this new path for Achilles and I like the narrative conclusion. However, the absence of a bio page of the places and major characters within the game could have helped tie that narrative together better.

The story is fully voice acted and covers 16 main missions, 14 side quests across a pretty large variety of beautiful maps which include Greece and its surrounding districts. The maps also include dungeons, cellars and challenge portals and the game ran flawlessly at 3440x1440(100fps). There are multiple difficulty choices but your first play through on any difficulty for veterans of the genre will have no problem as the game is pretty easy. I completed 100% of my first play through(Challenge) around 30 hrs at level 99 killing everything in my path and died just a few times. The game does have a new game + which adds some challenging game modifiers but I still felt it was only slightly more difficult.

Also on difficulty I want to say this is where the challenge could have been addressed better. First , you start the game where you can already carry the max amount of health vials(8). The small vials also are equal to the large ones which when consumed will fill your health bar to 100%. Endurance and magic are also non issues at the start as both bars are large enough to never be any sort of problem.

The game play is a mix in between an isometric and third person action game that bills itself with Souls-like combat. It is primarily a melee fighting game so you have light/heavy attacks with a dodge roll and side step and do a leap attack. You also have bombs, landmines and darts along with the ability to equip 3 special magic abilities where you can throw your shield, have an AoE attack, light your weapon on fire as examples. While I get the reason to use the “souls-like” term If you have played any games in the genre or any action rogue likes the combat is pretty standard.

Along the journey you will be also collecting lots and lots of items, whether it is dropped from enemies, collected from chests, completing tasks or you rolling/breaking the thousands of barrels and vases across the land. Weapons are pretty standard with axes, spears, swords and you can go with a shield, dual wield, or two handed. All weapons include their own animations, unique stats, rarity and possibility of having effects of poison, fire, curses, bleed and light attached. You will also come across recipes for crafting but loot is so abundant, there was never a need. The only need for this was to make sure you had flasks, money and the pieces needed to upgrade your gear.

As an RPG killing enemies and completing quests earn experience where you will then add pts into a constellation skill tree and while it looks nice they could have just kept it more basic. The skill tree is broken into the heroes 6 attributes (strength/health/precision/Wrath/Endurance/luck) but to earn a single point you have to spend 3 pts. You can unlock a few additional combat skills like parry and passives such as drinking potions faster, throw your shield faster or gather more xp from defeated enemies.

I was impressed with the numerous enemies in the game which included skeletons, plants, cyclops, animals, and soldiers to name a few who will use poison, fire, bleed and curses that can harm your character. The last area of the game really is the best and is by far the most challenging as you can get overwhelmed as mobs are much closer together and gives you that feel of an ARPG but if you have been doing everything, it will still not be much of a fight. Lastly, the boss fights are not up to what is expected. There is a nice variety but all of them were underwhelming and thru 2 full play throughs I maybe died once.

Achilles:Legends Untold is 100% complete, runs and looks great and most importantly is still a fun adventure game. While Its ambition and vision to be a big ARPG are clear it is unable to reach those goals with mainly its lack of balance across the entire game board. Still, if you are looking for an adventure set in Greece with spartans, Gods and some mythological creatures i think you will still have fun despite those issues.


Positives

Fun action game, 100% complete
Ran flawless(3440x1440) looks beautiful
The last area is what the entire game should have been
Original Achilles story
Impressive animations all special attacks and different weapons
Surprising amount of enemy types
Perfect length of game play
Solid achievement list
New Game + with modifiers

Negatives

Difficulty balance- too easy
Boss fights
Inability to add/change gems in weapons/ shields
Lots of inventory for no reason
Skill tree
Voice acting is hit or miss
Music is quiet