When Vampire Survivors launched to critical acclaim, it ushered in a wave of imitators. The first of these weren’t up to much, cobbled together with various recycled assets and mostly relying on their themes (sci-fi, primaeval, steampunk, etc) to stand out. Today, things are a bit different. The roguelike auto-shooter genre has proven itself not to be a fad, and so developers and publishers alike are keen to invest, taking the time to create something worthwhile. A perfect example of this is TerraTech Legion, which feels refreshingly feature-complete from day one.
It takes ideas from its namesake – a vehicular sandbox survival game- and employs them in new ways, giving it an already established, sturdy foundation to build on. Bringing an already proven idea to the table goes far in preventing it from feeling like yet another Survivors-alike. It also helps that it’s extremely polished, boasting clean-cut presentation, plenty of content to unlock, and a game engine able to cope with the intoxicating level of carnage.
Those who have played TerraTech will have a good, or at least reasonable, idea of what to expect. Essentially, you start with the bare chassis of a large, powerful, vehicle that can be modified LEGO-style, adding additional blocks to increase height and width, along with more wheels and tank treads to increase acceleration. Upon levelling up – achieved by collecting tokens dropped by the robotic adversaries before heading to a marker – a handful of randomised loot boxes are gained, containing blocks, weapons, armour, and all manner of boosts to damage, speed, grip, and more. Over time, you’re able to turn this bare-boned husk into a fortress on wheels, not just with immense firepower but also with enough ramming speed to plough through countless enemies at once.
You’re given infinite time to customise your rig, snapping blocks together and making tweaks. Loot boxes can be rerolled, assisting in creating the ideal build, and most weapons and blocks can be rotated – with some firing in all directions, and others shooting straight. Spikes and drills can be added too, greatly increasing ramming damage. Incidentally, arsenal ties heavily into the theme of mining, right down to long-reaching lances intended for diamond extraction. Feeling sluggish? Slap another pair of wheels on. 360-degree turret not reaching its potential? Place it on a podium. Running out of space for new parts? Extend the back end or rework the whole rig entirely. Indeed, you’re going to be spending just as much time tinkering here as navigating the top-down viewed maps.
This isn’t so much about collecting XP tokens while auto-shooting enemies, but about manoeuvring with skill and grace, boosting into crowds, drifting to clear entire waves, and performing doughnuts while surrounded. Vehicles are fun to control, reaching max speed swiftly while feeling appropriately heavy. All the while there are drones to shoot down in return for additional loot boxes, and a few missions to focus on, some of which involve heading to the far-flung corners of the map to assault bases. Mostly, though, you’re going to be focusing on levelling up to be strong enough to take on two bosses, with their arrivals indicated by a timer.
Boss battles lock you into a small circle and are against large robotic beasts intended to test your ability to boost out of harm’s way with just a few seconds’ notice. One boss is able to turn into a colossal spinning top, while another splits into two. A later example drops missiles onto marked positions before shielding themselves – at which point they call in back-up.
Starting out, just one character and a single map are available. This starting character has more rerolls than the rest, giving a chance to see what kind of builds are possible, and can also stun enemies. By earning stars, more maps (planets) unlock, all of which have their own bosses to beat in order to successfully complete a run. The grass covered planet introduces enemies that can heal their cohorts, while the snow covered realm has slippery terrain. The final planet is a grey lava-filled hellscape with bulldozers that dart across the screen. Map design is one of the weaker elements, with nothing in the way of unique set-pieces or locations. Most areas are simply formed of flat terrane to tear around, with just the occasional base to blitz or a power-up token to find. Occasionally, there’s a mountain or similar to navigate around, but that’s about it.
Each character has their own rig, along with a unique skill tree that takes considerable time to max out. Upgrade tokens are linked to each character, so once you’ve invested in one, you’re locked in and forced to start anew with the next. Most upgrades are noticeable on the battlefield, seeing improvements to all areas, along with perks to the rig itself – including the ability to create an explosion after depleting an entire boost tank. Once all four maps have been beaten on their easiest difficulty, additional difficulties become available with their own missions. Upon gaining fifteen stars, a score-based survival mode also unlocks, pitting you against infinite waves to see how long you can endure.
TerraTech Legion, then, is an experience formed around self-improvement. The desire to create and constantly improve a vehicle capable of levelling everything in its path – either through its firepower or stopping power – makes for a vastly compelling and addictive experience, especially when it’s keen to provide the tools to become delightfully overpowered. It’s slightly easier than other Survivor-alikes, at least when a skill tree is over halfway to being maxed, but it isn’t a poorer experience for it. Tinkerers will be in their element, especially those with a fondness for seeing what something is truly capable of, be it Payload Studios’ remarkably robust game engine or your wheeled fortress of doom.
Payload Studios’ TerraTech Legion is out 30th April on PS5, Xbox Series and PC. Published by Mythwright.