The Survivors-like genre remains very popular, and there are quite a few games that put their own spin on it. One such game is Wielders of the Essence from Lavapotion and Coffee Stain Publishing, which features fighting frogs, escalating magic builds, and quick sessions.
Wielders of the Essence is a purposefully compact Survivors-like game in the style of Vampire Survivors, set in the Songs of Conquest universe and featuring the same colourful, high-definition 2D pixel art. The developers describe this game, which has been in development for just over a year, as a single-player horde survival game with an incremental base-building element.
Players take on the role of a Wielder and face endless waves of enemies and bosses across five different maps. Players control the Wielder directly while attacks, spells, and abilities are launched automatically, as is typical of the genre. By defeating enemies, players collect experience points and gold, while other in-game currencies can be found on the map, sometimes in treasure chests or guarded buildings. Buffs and pick-ups can also be collected by standing still briefly to open them. As well as experience points, shrines and treasure chests, there are also merchants and shops during the runs where gold can be spent on new equipment (gear and trinkets). Over time, both the Wielder and the enemies become increasingly powerful, so avoiding attacks is crucial, even if the terrain slows the Wielder down considerably. There are seven Wielders in total, though they must first be unlocked on the various maps. Each one brings different strengths, weaknesses and playstyles to the game.
Wielders of the Essence © Lavapotion and Coffee Stain Publishing
What sets Wielders of the Essence apart is its troop and essence system. Players do not fight alone. During a run, they recruit supporting troops such as Hunters, Tremors (small frogs riding giant spiders) and Ravagers, as well as other beasts. These units attack independently and generate various types of magical essence (e.g. Destruction), which the player uses to (automatically) unleash powerful spells such as Chain Lightning or Frostbolts. The combination of the Wielder's attacks, the troops' attacks and the spells creates a unique gameplay experience and generates powerful - sometimes wildly explosive - synergies.
Wielders of the Essence © Lavapotion and Coffee Stain Publishing
The runs in this game are significantly shorter and more compact than in Vampire Survivors. The game is described as having "eight-minute runs. Eight hours to complete". Between runs, players return to their settlement with the loot they have collected. By constructing and upgrading buildings, the small camp gradually transforms into a thriving swamp town, unlocking new troop types, spells, equipment, and passive bonuses. However, it’s important to note that the game is not a city builder. The settlement essentially serves as a neatly packaged upgrade menu, where players purchase buildings at fixed locations to enhance the Wielder's, troops' and spells' stats, as well as unlocking practical features such as the compass, which points towards interesting objects on the maps.
Wielders of the Essence © Lavapotion and Coffee Stain Publishing
Initially, the heroes are very weak until the first buildings are in place. After that, the balance often tips in the opposite direction: certain spell-attack combinations are very powerful and, as soon as they are unlocked, the entire screen almost explodes. This can make it harder to keep track of things, however, and affect readability. Each map also offers several difficulty levels, which are currently well balanced. Later on, however, there’s also the Ascension mode. Here, runs can be customised using a system of Boons and Curses.
Wielders of the Essence is a game developed by Lavapotion in Gothenburg, Sweden. The company was founded in 2017 by a group of gaming and TV industry veterans with a passion for board games, fantasy novels and old-school strategy titles. This is their second game after Songs of Conquest, a turn-based strategy RPG with modern 2D HD pixel graphics inspired by the classics of the 1990s, but primarily by Heroes of Might & Magic. Lavapotion's publishing partner is once again Coffee Stain, a game developer, publisher and investor with offices in Skövde, Stockholm, Malmö, Trollhättan and Gothenburg. Founded in 2010, Coffee Stain is responsible for Goat Simulator, Sanctum Games, A Story About My Uncle, Huntdown and Satisfactory. Coffee Stain is also the publisher of popular games such as Deep Rock Galactic, Valheim, Songs of Conquest, Goat Simulator 3 and Midnight Ghost Hunt, which were developed by external teams.
Wielders of the Essence was released for PC via Steam on 5 November 2026 for 5.99 / €5.89. It is Steam Deck verified.
Wielders of the Essence focuses entirely on short runs, escalating builds and motivating progression. Those who can look past the somewhat slow start and the visual chaos in the later stages of the game will find that it offers excellent value for money in the Survivors-like genre.
