Achilles: Legends Untold from Dark Point Games is an action RPG that brings ancient Greek mythology to life on PlayStation 5. Learn more in our Achilles: Legends Untold review!

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Achilles: Legends Untold from Dark Point Games is an action RPG that brings ancient Greek mythology to life on PlayStation 5. As you can probably recall from Homer’s Illiad, Achilles was a mighty hero of the Trojan War, known as one of the greatest warriors of the era. You know, as part of one myth goes, he was rumored to be completely impervious to damage, except for one heel, since it’s from where his mother Thetis held him when dipping him in the river Styx as an infant. Yes, this is where the term Achilles heel comes from.

As for this particular experience, all was going well for Achilles until he was inevitably wounded by an arrow on said heel, which ends his journey… or does it? You’re given a second chance at life but end in Greece years in the future, and everything has fallen into chaos. It’s now up to you to help Achilles reach his full potential as he rights the many wrongs through the land.

The game can be played in one of two difficulty settings: Wanderer or Hero. For Wanderer, you’ll be able to explore the world of Achilles: Legends Untold while not having to face a huge challenge during combat. If you go for the Hero difficulty setting, then you’ll need to pay attention to combat at all times so that you can survive each ordeal. This is even more true for boss fights, which will test your skills every step of the way.

You’ll control Achilles with the left analog stick as you use the right one to lock onto a target by pressing in on the R3 button. You can then switch targets by pressing left or right on the right analog stick as needed. The X button is for interacting, while the Circle button will be for dodging, rolling, and sprinting, depending on the situation at hand. Weapon skills are mapped to the Square and Triangle buttons. Your quick attack is mapped to the R1 button, while the R2 button will be for your stronger, heavier attack.

You will need to block every now and then to try and stay one step ahead of your opponents as you aim to lower any incoming damage. Just keep an eye out for attacks that can’t be blocked, which your opponents will telegraph with a huge red icon popping over them. Items will be mapped to the D-Pad as you equip them so that you can always have a quick way to access them at any time. The L2 button will be for aiming your shield, as well as for retrieving it. Making good use of your shield during combos will be crucial for your odds of survival.

One of the quests you’ll have to complete is locating the tools of Firtos’ Master. Do this, and the apprentice will be able to help you improve your equipment with the different resources you find and the gold you collect for your efforts. You could also buy new weapons and other pieces of equipment from him. Maybe you should get some darts to throw at enemies from a safer distance. Or some extra health potions just in case you can’t make it to a Shrine of Hades in time to rest, heal all your wounds, and restock your items.

The Shrines of Hades are a very important part of the Achilles: Legends Untold gameplay cycle. By activating an altar, you’ll be able to save your progress and use it as a checkpoint from which you’ll respawn when you’re defeated. Your items will also be automatically restocked from your supply if they’re not already topped up. This is done by resting at a Shrine. Do know that when you rest at a Shrine of Hades, or when you’re revived at one, enemies you might have previously defeated will rise once again!

You can also learn how to craft items with the ingredients that you find, as long as you manage to locate the right formulas. You could craft some extra throwing darts by using the bone of the beast and resin. You could also use some raw meat, spices, and bone meal for some delicious smoked meat that can help you slowly recover a small amount of health. Crafting items can certainly get you out of danger if you plan for the unexpected.

As you defeat enemies, Achilles will gain experience points. After obtaining enough, Achilles will level up, which will also reward him with some Skill Points. As you’ve probably guessed by now, you’ll be able to use said Skill Points at the Skill Tree to boost Achilles’ stats, as well as to unlock new abilities. Along with increasing Achilles’ strength, endurance, and vitality, you could also unlock abilities like Bloody Fury, which makes each critical hit fully restore energy. Maybe you should also unlock Perfect Control II so that when you hit an enemy with your shield, it knocks them down. And if you want to speed things up, you should go for Warrior Ethos since it will reward you with a bit more extra experience points from the enemies you defeat.

You start with a useful sword, shield, and armor combo, but if you don’t manage to quickly find some new weapons and pieces of equipment, you’ll end up being defeated by your opponents, who tend to get more and more powerful at a fast pace. You could trade that sword for a double-handed sword and forego having a shield, or you could mix things up by adding a sharp spear with a longer range but a slower attack speed so that you can still throw your shield as needed – or block and parry with it. Maybe an axe that can poison your opponents paired with a shield that can set them on fire upon striking them could be a good option?

The game features a long list, with 23 Bronze trophies, 13 Silver trophies, and 3 Gold trophies for you to work on. Your first trophy will be for defeating an enemy. After that, you can work on trophies for kicking an enemy 300 times, performing 30 counterattacks, destroying 1,000 breakable objects, defeating an enemy while having all negative statuses, sparing all bosses when you get a chance, killing all bosses when you get a chance, upgrade a weapon or armor to max level, get your first skill from the skill tree, as well as defeat each of the bosses in the game. There are also trophies for completing the game in the Hero difficulty and for starting a New Game+.

Achilles: Legends Untold is a fun action RPG that brings ancient Greek mythology to life on PlayStation 5. As the titular hero, you’ll be brought back to life to save Greece after it has fallen into chaos. You’ll need to upgrade your weapons and equipment to be able to stand a chance, switching it with some of the rarer items you’ll find, such as a powerful axe that has a chance to poison enemies or a shield that can be thrown to knock enemies down while also having a chance to impose the burn status effect on them. Achilles: Legends Untold is out today on PlayStation 5.

Disclaimer
This Achilles: Legends Untold review is based on a PlayStation 5 copy provided by Dark Point Games.