Survivors of Xcalibur is a new VR bullet-heaven game inspired by Vampire Survivors, and it’s out today in early access on Quest.
Developed by Something Random (Toy Trains), you play as the Last Knight of Xcalibur trying to save this world against the treacherous league of cyber wizards as hundreds of enemies descend upon you. With Merlin gone and King Arthur lost, you’re tasked with defeating these endless waves while wielding the Knight like a 3D action figure, viewing the battlefield from a third-person perspective.
We briefly went hands-on before today’s launch. The Vampire Survivors influence is clear but I would consider this more of a tower defense game since you can respawn if your character dies. You are the Last Knight and you have to defend the Holy Spear of Purification in the middle of the map. This is done with an array of weapons such as rifles, turrets or thunderstrikes. You feel like you’re controlling a toy across a battlefield as you direct their every move.
Unsurprisingly, you don’t have many options in your initial run, and Survivors of Xcalibur lets you temporarily level up your chosen weapons during each run. It’s an interesting approach. Upgrades that increase damage or fire rate are available. These upgrades will disappear once you begin a new game run. The first mission was a little challenging due to the sudden appearance of enemies and the bullet sponge boss. The long-term progress system makes it easy to level up your character. The ability to customize your build and get new weapons and more slots for weaponry during combat is a welcome feature. They’re not difficult to obtain. After completing a failed and successful mission, I have already reached level 12. There are some additional improvements I would like to see made before the release. There were some performance issues when I played on Quest 3 and the resolution felt a bit fuzzy. Still, there’s a good base to work from and I’ll be keen to see where Survivors of Xcalibur goes from here.
Survivors of Xcalibur is
on the Meta Quest platform for $5 with “more platforms soon to come.” There is a free demo available.