Archero is basically The Binding of Isaac for mobile devices, albeit with a toned-down gameplay and a brighter, cuter art style. In this game, your goal is to progress as far as possible through a series of levels without dying, collecting upgrades to become more powerful in the process. All the levels are procedurally-generated, as are the upgrades you’ll have access to, so no two runs are the same.
A unique experience
Yes, Archero does feature certain elements that have been seen in other games, such as random enemies and skills. However, it combines these elements in a creative way, resulting in a fresh and unique experience.
Archero Trailer
Every time you defeat an enemy, you’ll gain experience to eventually level up and gain more power-ups such as health/damage boost or passive bonuses. Additionally, these power-ups can also be earned by encountering angels (which appear randomly between the levels, you will see them eventually, they are quite hard to miss) or defeating bosses. The upgrades all stack together too, so the farther you get, the deadlier you become.
As mentioned, the upgrades you get are randomized every time, and there is a wide variety of them, so it’s very unlikely that you will have the same abilities as a previous run. This encourages you to experiment around and gives you the chance to try out tons of different combinations.
Plenty of challenges
The input system of Archero cannot be simpler: You use a virtual joystick at the bottom of the screen to move your character around, and when you want to shoot your bow, just stand still. That’s all there is. You can literally do it with one hand tied behind your back.
Despite that, the actual gameplay is anything but easy. Of course, in order to defeat the enemies, you must inflict damage to them, but that’s only half of the picture. Since your health is limited and healing items are hard to come by in this game, your main focus should be dodging.
This is definitely easier said than done, however. More often than not you will find enemy projectiles coming at you in every direction, so you’ll have to always stay on high alert in order to dodge effectively. It will take a fair amount of practice as well, so new players will likely find themselves dying after only 5-10 levels or so.
If that is happening to you, then chances are you are picking the wrong power-ups or are too greedy with your shots. Remember, your goal is to get as far as possible, so preserving your health should be your top priority at all times. It’s always worth it to sacrifice the chance to fire an arrow in exchange for not taking damage.
Is It Repetitive?
This is probably one of the main concerns that come to people’s mind when it comes to these types of endless action games, but rest assured, there is nothing boring about Archero. The multiple randomly-generated elements are more than enough to provide variety to every run.
The high difficulty could certainly be a turn off for the casual player, which is perfectly understandable. We all know the frustration of having a perfectly good run go south in a matter of seconds just because of a single mistake. Once you calm down and really think about it, though, you’ll see that the game is absolutely fair, and the only reason behind your failure is yourself. That is a good thing too, as it motivates you to keep pressing forward to redeem yourself.
Conclusion
Archero is a great game, without a doubt. The controls are simple which makes it a perfect fit for a mobile game, the action is challenging and satisfying, and the random abilities and levels ensure that things always stay fresh.
The only downside is that your playtime is limited by an energy system, which you have probably seen in a lot of other games. Basically, you only have a fixed amount of energy, and playing the game will gradually consume that amount. Once you run out, you’ll have to wait for it to recharge (which takes frustratingly long) before you can continue playing. This means you should expect some interruption between your runs unless you are willing to purchase more energy with real money.
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