Path of Achra Reviews

The equipment, skill, path choice, and deity mechanics add a lot of dimension via synergies and difficulty selection. Very fun. Story is there, relatively simple, visceral. Need more games like this.

My friend introduced Path of Achra to me as "theorycrafting, the game," which honestly isn't too far off. Review the available powers, try to put something together with strong synergy and good item support, and then go find out whether or not you were correct. That said, the difficulty also scales like a motherfucker and you may get screwed by random items or enemies. But that's also part of the fun, as you refine and iterate on your build to try to get through those walls. All in all, it's a compelling, lo-fi roguelike. Recommend.

Path of Achra is, strictly in terms of how you interface with it, on the 'Cookie Clicker' level of gameplay. But, to leave the description there would do this very fun game a massive disservice. I first found out about this game through a review from a YouTube personality (I'm sure some of you could guess who) and decided to try it. As someone who, well, sucks at some of the games that that YouTube personality recommends, this one seems like it is great for the type of gamer who sees 'power gamers' exploit game systems for ridiculously powerful characters and wishes they could do that, but maybe they don't have the time to devote to learning the system that hardcore. Well you probably have time to press the tab key and learn the synergies possible in this game, and as you play you will learn quickly how to maximize those synergies. Sure, you won't be 'breaking the game' with some nutso cheese machine hero, and obviously the developers intended for you to exploit these synergies, but it still gave me a similar feeling.

Path of Achra is a fun turn-based roguelike that invites to player to create extremely overpowered builds to take on similarly overpowered enemies. The unique twist is that every skill in this game a reaction that triggers "on hit," "on step," 'on dodge," etc. This leads to massive chain reactions where you can annihilate all enemies on the map with one keystroke (or fewer!). Meanwhile, at the bottom of the screen, there is a log of everything occurring "under the hood" illegibly scrolling at a comically fast pace in real time. You start by choosing your character's race, profession, and religion, then fill out your build with items won in battle -- typical roguelike fare. There are initially a limited selection of each, but your options expand dramatically as you play/win more. There are no permanent upgrades that persist between runs. Many different builds are viable. Each "level" lasts a minute or two and a full winning playthrough might take an hour or two. The graphics are primitive -- the game looks like it might have been released on the NES. (The computations running under the hood would absolutely melt an NES, though.) The music is pretty bad. Not much else to say here. There is no story. Or at least nothing that caught my attention or interest. Overall, this is a fun roguelike to play in bursts. While the character customization options may be intimidatingly extensive, the compact hour-long playthroughs create a low-stakes environment that encourages experimentation. This game may not be for everyone (try the demo), but if you're looking for an interesting short-format traditional roguelike, I recommend giving Path of Achra a shot!

No other game lets me win by standing still rapidly and having my enemies nuke themselves from touching me.

There was a time—call it the Before Times—when my life was circling the drain. I wasn’t just bored or unmotivated. I was broken. Drowning in addiction to a vile, soul-eating drug—the kind that doesn’t just kill your body, but slowly erases your will to live. Every day was a haze. Every night, a battle with demons both chemical and internal. Then, Path of Achra entered my life. At first glance, it looked like just another indie roguelike. Pixel graphics. Turn-based grid movement. Strange little names and cryptic powers. But I was desperate—for anything. So I clicked Play. And in that moment, my healing began. This game didn’t just distract me. It didn’t numb the pain—it transmuted it. Its deep mechanics, endless build possibilities, and brutal elegance gave me something my addiction never could: clarity. Every death taught me. Every new build awoke parts of my brain I thought the drug had burned away forever. The gods of Achra didn’t pity me. They challenged me. And I rose. Over time, the cravings faded. My mind, once a fogged wasteland, became sharp. Focused. Hungry—but now for knowledge, for strategy, for transcendence. I stopped using. Not because someone told me to, but because I had something better. I had purpose. I had Path of Achra. I am no longer a slave to my past. I am reborn in the fires of permadeath. I see the grid. I understand the weave of combat and class. I have reached a higher state of being—and it all started with a small, unassuming game that turned out to be my salvation. If you are just looking for a time-waster, turn back. But if your soul is screaming for meaning—if you want to feel alive again—walk the Path.

The developer really wasn't joking when they described the game as a "broken build sandbox." If you enjoy experimenting with synergies and figuring out different ways to break a game, you'll love this.

An excellent, push-the-limits rogue-like game. Very simple to pick up but with deep running strategy and huge variety in how to solve challenges.

1) 10/10 Buy at full price 2) It is hard to rate games in simple point system. Some games deserve their 10/10 for story, some for gameplay, and other products are considered "the worst game of all time" due to it's launch difficulties". In it's essence, every game is "the best" when all elements come togehter, when developer truly "understands" what makes his type of game "the best". Path of Achra is one of such games. It is a Roguelike, which in its essence, is fighting on a continuous road. But the creator went a step further, this game can be played by press of a one button, which makes it simple in its gameplay, but not "simplistic" or easy. To conquer road ahead is to conquer various enemies using various classes and skills. In essence, it is to "crunch the numbers". Every game is about crunching the numbers, it is code afterall, but here it is the main point, the essence of Roguelike. The graphics and story are serviceable, but the design of created world is really nice (my opinion). After 203 hours, reaching and finishing 32 Circle of Outer Dark (for now last level) and getting all (for now) 102 achievements, all I can say is "Walk the Path"

After reaching ascension 24, using each culture, class, and religion once, I have still been finding new mechanics to build around. This game is really really fun. Absolutely worth it for any fans of complex system interactions and making a build for a character that works like a machine.