Guardians at Your Side: When Creature Collecting Meets the Swarm
Wildkeepers Rising is the kind of indie experiment that makes the bullet heaven genre feel fresh again. Developed and published by the small Canadian studio Lioncode Games, the game left Early Access and launched in full on October 23, 2025 for PS5 at a very friendly $9.99, with console versions following shortly afterward. It takes the addictive power-curve loop popularized by the likes of Vampire Survivors and adds a proper creature-collecting layer that actually changes how you play. Instead of simply picking up random weapons and hoping the numbers go up, you actively seek out, tame, and deploy a team of Guardians, each with distinct personalities, abilities, and special attacks.
You play as one of several Wildkeepers, special individuals who can communicate with spirits from another realm. These Guardians fight alongside you automatically, turning every run into a coordinated assault rather than a lonely walk through a sea of enemies. The core fantasy is simple and immediately satisfying: explore hand-drawn maps, free imprisoned Guardians from stone monoliths, and build a living party that shreds through thousands of monsters while you focus on positioning and survival. The art style leans hard into whimsical fantasy, drawing clear inspiration from the colorful designs of Akira Toriyama and the puppet-like charm of Jim Henson’s worlds. Creatures look expressive and full of character rather than generic, which goes a long way toward making the collection aspect feel rewarding instead of purely mechanical.
What sets the game apart is how the Guardians interact with the classic bullet heaven escalation. As waves grow denser and more aggressive, your team becomes the primary source of damage and crowd control. A well-chosen combination of Guardians can turn a desperate scramble into a controlled demolition. The game never forces you into a single optimal path. Different Wildkeepers start with different weapons and playstyles, and the Guardians you recruit mid-run create constant opportunities for experimentation. This hybrid approach keeps the familiar dopamine of leveling up and surviving longer while adding a layer of team-building strategy that pure auto-shooters often lack.
The early hours do a good job of teaching the systems without overwhelming new players. You begin with limited options and gradually unlock more Guardians, Sigils, and gear through successful runs and meta-progression in the village hub. The sense of growth is steady and tangible. By the time you are fielding a full team of four Guardians and chaining their special abilities, the screen becomes a chaotic but readable ballet of destruction. It is the rare bullet heaven title that makes you care about the companions fighting beside you rather than treating them as just another power-up.
Building the Perfect Party: Synergies, Sigils, and Strategic Choices
The real depth of Wildkeepers Rising lives in how its systems encourage creative team construction. There are 29 Guardians available by the full release, each with unique upgrades, supers, and roles. Some excel at area denial, others at single-target burst or defensive support. Pairing them thoughtfully creates synergies that can completely change the flow of a run. A Guardian that slows enemies can set up devastating follow-ups from a high-damage partner. A tanky frontliner can buy time for a glass-cannon type to charge its ultimate. These interactions give the game a genuine sense of build-crafting that goes beyond simply stacking the highest damage numbers.
Sigils function as the primary weapon and passive system. With 50 different options, they serve as the traditional bullet heaven power-ups while still feeling connected to the creature theme. Some act as direct attacks, others as game-changers that alter how your Guardians behave or how enemies approach you. Gear adds another layer of permanent progression. Seventy-seven upgradeable pieces can be equipped between runs, allowing you to specialize your Wildkeeper and fine-tune the strengths of your preferred Guardians. The combination of temporary run upgrades and persistent meta-progression creates a satisfying loop of short-term experimentation and long-term investment.
Different Wildkeepers further expand the strategic space. Each brings a distinct starting weapon and passive traits, encouraging you to approach the same maps with different priorities. One character might favor aggressive forward pressure, while another rewards careful kiting and ability timing. The game does a solid job of making these differences matter without locking any particular style into being strictly superior. The result is a roster that invites multiple playthroughs simply to see how different combinations perform against the same bosses and enemy compositions.
There is a gentle learning curve to understanding which Guardians complement each other, especially in the denser later waves. The game rewards players who pay attention to enemy behaviors and adjust their team mid-run rather than sticking rigidly to a pre-planned composition. This flexibility is one of its strongest qualities. Even failed runs usually leave you with new insights about what worked and what did not, feeding directly into the next attempt.
A Hand-Drawn World of Whimsy and Relentless Hordes
Visually, Wildkeepers Rising is one of the more charming entries in the genre. The hand-drawn aesthetic gives every environment, enemy, and Guardian a distinctive personality. Maps are larger and more varied than the flat arenas common to many bullet heaven titles. Forests, deserts, caves, and a later fire-and-ice region each present different layouts and tactical considerations. Elevation changes, choke points, and open spaces force you to think about positioning rather than simply circling the same safe zone forever.
Enemy variety is another highlight. Sixty-five distinct monsters with unique movement patterns and attack behaviors keep the pressure from becoming monotonous. Some enemies rush in straight lines, others circle or explode on death, and a few force you to prioritize targets carefully. The four bosses are substantial encounters that test both your build and your ability to manage the surrounding horde. They provide clear milestones and satisfying climaxes to each major run.
The light RPG story elements between runs give the world a bit more context than pure arcade-style survivors. You learn about the history of the Wildkeepers, the sacrifice of the Guardians, and the growing threat of the corrupted hordes. The narrative is not the main focus and never interrupts the action for long, but it provides just enough flavor to make the village hub and the act of freeing more Guardians feel purposeful. The tone stays light and adventurous rather than grim, which matches the colorful presentation perfectly.
Sound design supports the chaos effectively. Attacks have clear audio cues, special abilities land with satisfying impact, and the soundtrack swells appropriately as the screen fills with enemies. The overall package feels cohesive and carefully crafted for an indie title of this scale.
Runs, Progression, and the Pull of One More Attempt
Like the best games in the genre, Wildkeepers Rising thrives on the “one more run” compulsion. A typical successful run lasts long enough to feel meaningful without overstaying its welcome. Death returns you to the village with new unlocks, stronger Guardians, or better gear, ensuring that even losses contribute to future success. The meta-progression is paced well. New content arrives at a steady rate, and the full roster of five Wildkeepers, expanded environments, and extensive gear options give the game substantial longevity for its modest price.
Endless mode and additional challenge options extend the experience further for players who want to push their builds to the limit. The sheer number of possible team and Sigil combinations keeps experimentation rewarding long after the main campaign path is complete. Accessibility options and performance improvements added during and after Early Access show that the small team listened carefully to player feedback.
The game is not without its limits. After many hours the core loop can begin to feel familiar, and some players may find the story too light to fully invest in. Balance between certain Guardians and enemy types occasionally feels uneven, though post-launch updates have continued to address these issues. These are relatively minor complaints in a package that otherwise delivers consistent entertainment and clear progression.
The Charm and the Limits of a Small-Team Vision
Lioncode Games is a two-person studio, and the passion of that small team is evident throughout Wildkeepers Rising. The decision to keep the price at $9.99 even after leaving Early Access makes the game highly accessible. The art direction, creature designs, and core hybrid concept all feel like the work of people who genuinely love both the bullet heaven and creature-collecting genres and wanted to see them combined thoughtfully.
The trade-off of a small team is that the game does not reach the content density or mechanical polish of larger productions. Some systems could use further refinement, and the narrative remains secondary to the action. Yet these limitations never overshadow the core strengths. The Guardians feel special, the combat escalates satisfyingly, and the constant opportunity to try new combinations keeps the experience engaging.
For players who have grown tired of pure auto-shooters that offer little beyond bigger numbers, Wildkeepers Rising provides a welcome evolution. It respects the addictive foundations of the genre while adding meaningful collection and team-building layers that give each run a stronger sense of identity.
Final Thoughts
Wildkeepers Rising succeeds by taking the familiar rush of bullet heaven combat and wrapping it in a charming creature-collecting fantasy that actually affects how you play. The Guardians are more than passive power-ups. They form the heart of every successful build and give the game a personality that pure survivors often lack. Combined with varied maps, solid progression, and a generous amount of content for the price, it stands as one of the more distinctive and enjoyable entries in the genre.
It is not the deepest or most expansive game of its kind, and the story remains light, but the core loop is strong enough to deliver dozens of satisfying runs. For anyone who enjoys the power fantasy of surviving impossible odds while building a colorful team of magical beasts, Wildkeepers Rising is an easy recommendation.
We prepared this review with a digital copy of Wildkeepers Rising for the PS5 version provided by Evolve PR.
