In an early access launch announcement last week, publisher Wandering Wizard gave a general idea of what to expect from the upcoming “multiplayer medieval hardcore looter survival game,” Expedition Agartha. Set on a lost island, players will engage in skill-based “visceral” combat using gear found during expeditions with up to two others.
The details were intriguing enough to turn heads but perhaps too broad to earn a second glance. Just what is a “hardcore looter” game anyway? The independent studio behind Expedition Agartha, Matrioshka Games, invited me to find out.
In a hands-off preview, I watched Matrioshka founder and lead developer Hunter Wu play Expedition Agartha. In my own words, Expedition Agartha is a survival game in which players go on short expeditions looking for gear to use in follow-up adventures. Rinse and repeat.
“What you really want to do is loot, survive, and extract,” Wu said. “To escape from the map, you’ll have to look for the big smoky bonfire in the sky. That’s pretty much the goal of every expedition.”
That’s easier said than done. Inspired by Battlestate Games famously difficult Escape from Tarkov, Wu said Expedition Agartha is unforgiving. Dangerous zombies inhabit the game’s three levels and only become stronger the longer an expedition lasts. Eventually, night falls, and stronger corrupted zombies replace their lesser counterparts.
To defeat them, players must find medieval-themed weapons and armor across the island where Expedition Agartha is set. In the demo, I saw clubs, crossbows, and swords (both one- and two-handed); along with various shields and medieval-era armor. Players can perform light and charged attacks or defensive maneuvers like dodging, blocking, and parrying.
Zombies aren’t the only enemies players will encounter. There are also powerful non-player characters roaming bosses, and other players online. Sometimes, these forces may even come together in the heat of battle. In a particularly epic moment, a mini-boss interrupted Wu’s fight with some online players, who all formed a tacit alliance to take on the bigger threat.
I didn’t play the game during the preview. Instead, I watched a recorded demo, and I was allowed to ask Wu questions when I thought of them. Weapons seemed to carry a satisfying heft when Wu attacked enemies, but overall battles appeared stiff and clunky. It was hard to say from my vantage point. The promotional material for Expedition Agartha says combat is skill-based and visceral, but players must determine that for themselves until I can play the game with an early access code provided to me by Matrioshka Games.
Players will first enter expeditions as freebooters with free low-tier equipment and no character progression. Once they’ve earned better gear, they can tackle harder missions as mercenaries, bringing along their plunder.
If a player dies, however, they’ll lose their gear. Powerful equipment can be insured between expeditions in the game’s hub area, but it’s gone forever if a player’s body is looted. This is ultimately what makes Expedition Agartha a hardcore experience. If you lose everything, you’ll have to go back to the first level and play as a freebooter again.
This can be mitigated by engaging with the game’s stealth mechanics, which weren’t shown during the preview. Visibility is near zero at night and probably makes it harder for online players to spot you, but you’re also practically blind unless you have a lantern to light the way. Players can also form online parties through public or private lobbies to make expeditions easier. Masochists hellbent on a solo experience can rent mercenaries between expeditions in the game’s hub area.
There are three levels in Expedition Agartha, but you’ll have to craft keys from resources in previous levels to access them. The developers pulled from different cultures and mythoi to craft their aesthetic, which is clear from the Mesoamerican influences found in the Undercroft, Expedition Agartha’s second level.
I’m mostly excited for Expedition Agartha. There’s enough present to justify it as an early access experience, but I’m hoping the final release brings a bit more to the table. Namely, more beautifully crafted levels using culturally influenced design.
Players can add Expeditions Agartha to their Steam Wishlist now.
