The indie roguelike gameplay of Helvetii can be a little scary at first. Here are a few tips to help new players get through the first few challenges.
Helvetii is the newest independent roguelike game to come out. Most games are top-down dungeon crawlers, but this one is different. This game, on the other hand, is more about stages, and its layout looks like that of a Metroidvania. But the game doesn’t play like a Metroidvania. Instead, it’s more like Muramasa: The Demon Blade.
The art style is similar to that of other Vanillaware games and Sword of the Vagrant, a recent 2D action game. Helvetii clearly takes a lot from other games, but how does it work? Let’s go over some early tips that you need to know.
Lower Or Raise Enemy Damage
Helvetii has good news for people who have never played a roguelike game before. Normal and Hard are the two levels of difficulty in the game, but you can only choose Normal at the beginning. The game doesn’t have an Easy or Casual mode, but don’t give up just yet.
There is also a “help” feature that can only be accessed through the options on the title screen. Players can change how much damage they take from enemies. The lowest damage level is 50%, and the highest damage level is 200%. First of all, you should turn that meter down to 50%. It depends on how quickly people want to play the game.
Character Tips
On their runs, players can choose from three different characters. Divico has the best attack and defense, and he is like a noble samurai. Renart is quick and sneaky, just like a thief. He isn’t very strong, but his ability to counterattack makes up for it. Nammeios, the last member of the group, is the hardest to control. When he attacks with his body, he sends out a bird, which leaves him open to attacks. His magic is strong, but it takes a long time to get ready.
Players can learn about each character’s moves and how to play them more effectively by going through a tutorial. You should try out these tutorials because they won’t take long. Divico is the obvious choice for beginners when it comes to recommended characters, but Renart’s counter ability can also be very powerful in the right hands. It’s a toss-up, but Nammeios is definitely dead last because he’s hard to learn for a roguelike.
Combat Tips
The environment has traps that can hurt the heroes. For instance, there are green vases that, when hit, release explosive poison. Set these vases off so that they hurt your enemies. It’s the same as shooting red barrels in a shooter game. Juggle enemies in the air is another good way to fight in action games that let you.
If they are caught off guard, they won’t be able to fight back. It’s that easy, and this method works even for bosses. Last but not least, the best combat tip of all is to learn how to avoid attacks. Most enemies will let you know when they’re about to attack, and they usually attack in the same way every time. Players will be safer in battle if they know these patterns.
Upgrades To Focus On
There are four different kinds of upgrades that can be bought. First, it’s important to know that players will get skill points based on how well they did on the stage. If you get good grades, you’ll get more skill points. If you get bad grades, you’ll get less skill points. The more times a player goes through a level, the more upgrades they can get.
They can buy upgrades for the whole team or for each of the three heroes separately. At first, players should focus on improving their teams until they figure out who they want to play as. Breath of Lug 1, which brings back a player a little bit once per stage, is a good early choice for the team. In Happy Wheels game, it’s nice to have some kind of auto-life feature.
Explore The Full Map
When you beat a boss, a portal will open. When a player jumps through, the stage is over and they get the skill points listed above. Helvetii shouldn’t be thought of as a place to speedrun through in a game. It’s important to stress that players should take their time on each stage. If they find and beat the boss early, they should go back through the map to find unfinished business.
More skill points can be earned by fighting more battles, even if they don’t go well. Also, you never know what kinds of temporary bonuses might be on a map. In a roguelike, it’s best to give heroes as much power as possible early on because things get hard very quickly.
What To Buy
Each stage will have a vendor owl that tries to sound like The Merchant from Resident Evil 4. “Hey, what are you buying?” That’s a close catchphrase, but that doesn’t matter. The owl’s inventory will change between stages and runs, which shouldn’t be a surprise to people who have played roguelikes before.
The only thing that should always be there is Fae’s Apple, which will heal the player for just five gold. If you need to, you should always stop by here before and after a boss. It’s more important to heal and have enough money for it than to waste money on other things in the store.
Helvetii came out on February 3, 2023, and you can play it on your PC, PS4, or Switch.
