Vampire Survivors helped popularize the bullet-heaven genre, where weapons attack automatically, leaving players to focus on dodging enemies, surviving the chaos, and upgrading their arsenal. We’ve all seen the memes and screenshots of hundreds of enemies filling the screen while weapons unleash an almost ridiculous amount of destruction. I mean, if you aren’t drawn to that off-the-wall silliness, what are you really doing with your life?
Naturally, the genre’s popularity has led to its fair share of clones, some seemingly looking to make a quick buck. However, I wouldn’t categorize ERLIK as one of those games. While heavily influenced by others in the genre, ERLIK is doing its own thing.
Rooted in Turkic and Anatolian mythology, ERLIK features beautiful pixel-art visuals and a world that feels like there’s plenty of lore worth digging into. But it’s not just the presentation that sets it apart. At the heart of the game is a system built around two competing gods: Erlik and Tengri.
Each run presents a choice between embracing Erlik’s corruption for increased damage, critical hits, and lifesteal at the cost of your maximum health, or leaning toward Tengri’s light for regeneration, shields, and protection. These choices also influence how your weapons evolve, adding another layer of strategy to the familiar bullet-heaven formula.
ERLIK might look familiar at first, but its competing gods, evolving weapons, and mythology give it an identity of its own.
Between Vampire Survivors, Megabonk, Warhammer Survivors, and now ERLIK, my list of bullet-heaven games that I regularly enjoy playing continues to grow.
You can check it out for yourself, as the ERLIK demo is now available. The game will also be featured in Steam Next Fest, running from October 19th to the 26th. The developer will be playing through the full demo during a livestream on Wednesday, October 21, at 2:00 PM EDT.
If the demo leaves you wanting more, you won’t have to wait long. ERLIK is scheduled to launch into Steam Early Access on November 4, 2026.
ERLIK is a solo-developed project, and the developer has been upfront about the use of generative AI during production. According to the game’s Steam disclosure, AI tools were used to help produce artwork, music, and sound effects, with the resulting assets edited and incorporated into the game by the developer. AI also assisted with 19 non-English translations, which the developer says were reviewed.
The developer states that the game’s design, mechanics, balancing, folklore research, and English writing are original work. No AI-generated content is created dynamically during gameplay.
| Gameplay | |
|---|---|
| Dual-Path System | Favor Erlik for increased damage, critical hits, and lifesteal at the cost of maximum health, or Tengri for regeneration, cleansing, and shields with a lower damage ceiling. |
| Playable Characters | Nine playable Kam characters, each with a unique spirit, alignment preference, and character-specific passive abilities. |
| Run Structure | Survive escalating enemy waves across runs building toward a 30-minute climax. |
| Weapons & Progression | |
| Weapons | 24 base weapons, 45 evolutions, and five additional power ranks beyond evolution. |
| Weapon Evolutions | Weapons evolve differently depending on alignment with Erlik or Tengri. |
| Weapon Unions | Combine two level-10 weapons into one, freeing an equipment slot. |
| Permanent Upgrades | Spend Kut at the Kut Hearth to unlock permanent powers. A progression system with more than 100 entries also unlocks weapons, characters, and union recipes. |
| Level-Up Choices | Reroll, banish, or sacrifice upgrade options, with five free rerolls and Great Chests. |
| Enemies & Exploration | |
| Realms | Two environments, the Moonlit Steppe and Karaborman, each with its own boss. |
| Enemies | Creatures inspired by Turkic mythology, including Ubır, Karabasan, Gulyabani, and Tepegöz. |
| Boss Encounters | Six named mini-bosses, elite enemies, and shrine wardens. |
| Shrines | Explore four guarded shrines and collect two halves of a cursed blade to forge the Sword of God. |
| Presentation & Demo | |
| Setting | Pixel-art dark fantasy inspired by Turkic and Anatolian mythology, featuring the underworld god Erlik and sky-father Tengri. |
| Audio | Original adaptive soundtrack. |
| Accessibility | Full controller support, accessibility options, and 20 languages. |
| Demo | Play the first night on the steppe. Progress carries over to Early Access on November 4, 2026, when playing on the same PC. |
| ERLIK Steam News | Official announcements, development updates, and news. |
| ERLIK Steam Store | Game overview, screenshots, system requirements, and demo access. |