Savara offers a new, brighter take on the likes of Hades, with fast combat and lots of upgrades to unlock as we aim to progress further and further through its challenging battles. Obviously Hades is a huge inspiration here, and while it can’t quite hit the same highs at that game for me, it’s still a very enjoyable roguelite action game.
We play as Savara, the newest champion looking to make it through the warrior god Iop’s festival celebrations – except, instead of cake and balloons, it’s beating seven shades out of various enemies over the course of multiple dungeons.
Savara can take two weapons into the field, and there are several to purchase back at the store before we set out. I favoured the double daggers and blunt mitts, but there are the likes of sword and shields, spears and others to go with. She can also wear various armour parts, each with their own buffs like increasing health.
In just these aspects alone there feels like a good deal of customisation, but we initially start off very weak of course, and as we battle and survive we can earn various items to help us out both in the current run, and for the future. Monster’s shells can be broken and parts collected to allow us to upgrade the weapons and armour, and currency can be used to buy new and improved parts in the shop both occasionally in game and back at the base. We can also unlock permanent upgrades via a skill tree that offers up to 25 slots. Powers take up a range of slot amounts, but offer perks like more health or extra starting supplies. It’s a neat, easy to read system that offers tangible benefits after every run.
As a Play Anywhere game, Savara is perfectly suited to on the go, short pick up and play sessions. Runs can last a while but we can stop after clearing any room which makes it ideal to play in short bursts. Performance was a bit wonky at times, especially with a lot going on, and on battery mode I had to dial the settings almost to the lowest they go to get anything near a 60fps readout. But on the whole, the Xbox Ally X is a great way to play Savara.
ROG Xbox Ally X Corner
Badges are additional perks found at random in game, and we’re able to equip up to four before a run. These offer not just buffs, but contracts that enable us to improve them by fulfilling certain requirements; finish 60 fights for the Chef’s Hat badge, and Savara’s max health will be increased by 15% while it’s equipped, for example. Again, it’s an easy to manage system and I think a slight improvement on Hades’ sometimes complex setups.
So we’re all upgraded and buffed, but how does the gameplay fare? Well, I will say that my first foray into Savara was a disaster. I died within the first few rooms, and couldn’t find my groove. Savara plays much like Hades in game; isometric viewpoint, small-ish rooms that enemies spawn in, traps to be aware of, and a reward upon completion of a room, along with several doors to choose from that will offer a new specific reward upon completion.
Where Savara differs is in its weapon switching and stamina aspect. Savara drains stamina as she runs, attacks, or dodges. We can stop for a second to let this recharge, but pulling LT to swap weapons automatically refills the gauge by a certain amount. What this amounts to is us switching weapons every few seconds in the heat of a fight. It takes a bit of getting used to, and even after a good deal more play time is something I’m not quite sure I’m on board with to be honest. Although we only take one weapon out in Hades, I feel this lets us focus on the rest of the suite of powers and upgrades we can get. Here, I constantly had to switch to a secondary weapon that didn’t always feel suited to the task or my playstyle. The dual daggers were great, speedy weapons, and though the mitts were powerful it did slow me down and I found if I was going to take a beating, it was usually when I had these equipped. Again, there are a variety of options, but of those I tried I didn’t really gel properly with any of them.
It also means that we’re as often as not running away from fights to recharge rather than maintaining the momentum of the action. There are buffs and perks to improve Savara’s stamina, but early on especially it’s hard to really get going without almost immediately being worn out.
The rewards for each room clear are welcome after a hard battle, and take various forms. Other gods offer blessings that buff attacks or the like, and we can have one buff per light and heavy attacks, and when we switch weapons. We can also get items like health-healing Ham Hocks, monster parts for upgrades, or temporary increases to health or stamina. As mentioned, we get to choose what door to go through and as such, what reward we’ll get upon completion, so we can at least partially plan our run as far as the RNG nature allows.
Conclusion
Savara offers up some interesting twists on the Hades formula, with a decent, clear path of upgrades and a host of customization options. Being able to take two weapons out is cool, but the stamina system that comes with it means the combat doesn’t flow as freely as we’d like, which hampers the experience a little, especially early on. Settle into its rhythm though and Savara is at the very least a good alternative to other roguelites out there.
This game was reviewed based on Xbox S|X review code, using an Xbox S|X console. All of the opinions and insights here are subject to that version. Game provided by publisher.
