Combat is the defining feature of most action video games, often demanding some kind of player input for either real-time action or strategy influenced by the player over time. As a result, auto-battler games become some of the rarest kinds of action games available, focusing on simulating the fight between characters with no input from the player at all while still offering avenues to express player skills in other ways, such as setting things into motion before a battle occurs. This is the approach of the recently announced All Army Attack, developed by Blacklight Games and published by Devolver Digital. In addition to the game’s first trailer, it also announced the release of the demo coming in less than a week.
The beginning of the announcement trailer introduces the core conflict of the game, forcing bitter enemies to form an army together to defeat a common foe. According to the game’s Steam page, players will oversee the army as the Commander and will be responsible for recruiting new soldiers to the army through choosing cards in roguelite fashion. The trailer shows off the mechanic in greater detail, allowing different forces within the army to be deployed to various slots and later enhanced through special cards that add more forces or new abilities. After battle, players will be able to return to base to rebuild and acquire items.
Another key feature of the announcement trailer is the emphasis on the fight or flight decision when players are in a difficult battle, asking players to choose between prioritizing safety or victory. This will become more difficult as the player’s army grows in power and the number of numbers in the battle make the tide of the fight more ambiguous. All of this will be in service of defeating powerful boss encounters such as the sand beast featured at the end of the trailer.
All Army Attack stays true to its name through the gameplay shown in its first trailer. The game’s demo will be available from November 16-23 with the full game releasing on PC in 2027.