Predicting which game trends will be popular as you go about developing a new gaming experience must be a tricky one. For a while, some developers declared that the single-player game was dead, many focusing on live service or multiplayer games. But by the time that creation has come about, the trend has changed, single player games become more popular and make a ton of money.
PERISH is a game that hits lots of very popular genre trends. It’s a roguelite with plenty of replay value, throwing in some multiplayer co-op for up to four players. But does it work as a single-player experience?
There is an ancient Greek theme to PERISH, both in terms of story and visuals. You play as Amyetri, an ancient spirit who awakens after being condemned to an eternity in purgatory. You break out of your coffin before getting the chance to perform a rite, escape this underworld and finally get to Elysium. But the journey to get there is loaded with danger and tasks for you to take on, throughout various levels as you look to reach your final goal. PERISH feels epic in terms of narrative, and the story told in bits works fine, but it’s the gameplay loop that is the real focus of the piece.
In PERISH you get to choose a difficulty level at the beginning, but be warned, the lowest level is still rock hard. You will die over and over, repeating whole sections of levels multiple times. It is whether you can hack that and love the gameplay loop that will determine whether you get on with PERISH or not.
At its heart, it’s a first person shooter/weapon action game, but built out with roguelite elements, challenges and death. You start the game with a simple broken sword, a throwing knife for a ranged attack. As you progress you get access to an assortment of weapons including guns. Combat is a hard affair where you have to approach enemies with caution and – in single-player – not get too overwhelmed from all sides. Light and heavy attacks will be forthcoming, whilst dodging will be the menu for the day. Oh, and don’t for one minute get scared of dying and learning as you head onwards…
The big question is whether PERISH is better with friends than on your own. It feels to me that the game is designed with multiplayer in mind. It’s the onslaught of enemies from all sides that makes dealing with things as a team easier and more fun. On your own, it just feels a bit more relentless and, well, repetitive. I think the challenge of doing another run in a team with some different objectives to complete, as well as the lure of getting some loot along the way, is what makes this a very good experience. I personally like the way that if you get a certain objective to complete in a run it affects how you attack enemies, like using elemental attacks instead of just hacking and slashing.
Visually, things are good. PERISH comes complete with some nice lighting effects in places and I liked it more when we had the opportunity to go outside by the water. Enemy design is good, but it does feel a bit similar after a while. And I’ve got issues with the text that appears; it is a little tricky to read at times.
There’s nothing wrong with the music though – DOOM-type heavy metal tracks pump along nicely with all the action. The effects feel gruesome at times, whilst the voice-over work delivers a solid performance throughout.
You’ll find the most fun of PERISH in co-op, having a blast with a few friends. It’s that which will make the gameplay loop more enjoyable, the challenge more satisfying, and the roguelite elements much more fun overall. The story is fine, the music and visuals are good without being amazing, but tackle PERISH alone and you’ll find it just too repetitive, too tricky with multiple enemies attacking you in swarms. So much so that you may wish to knock off half a mark if playing solo.
