Your adorable little monster has just helped you slaughter several hundred enemies, the battlefield is disappearing beneath an ocean of hostile creatures, and you’re already wondering whether there’s room in your team for another magical beast. Collecting cute companions is all well and good, but in Wildkeepers Rising, those companions have a much more demanding job than following you around looking lovable. They’re expected to help you survive thousands of monsters trying to tear you apart.
It’s a hand-drawn action RPG roguelite from two-person indie studio Lioncode Games, combining the creature-collecting appeal of Pokémon with the increasingly ridiculous combat of Vampire Survivors. You’ll tame magical beasts known as Guardians, build a team around their unique abilities, and unleash them against enormous hordes of enemies while exploring the fantasy world of Glenhaven.
Gotta Catch ‘Em All, Then Unleash Hell
The Guardians are the real stars of Wildkeepers Rising, offering far more than an extra pair of claws during combat. These magical creatures come with their own abilities and strengths, allowing you to assemble a team that suits your preferred approach to surviving the monster hordes.
You can bring up to four Guardians into battle at once, creating combinations that work together rather than relying on one creature to do all the heavy lifting. Some can help keep enemies under control, while others offer support or additional ways to deal damage. Finding the right balance becomes increasingly important when the battlefield starts filling with creatures determined to end your run.
You’ll also need to decide when to unleash your Guardians’ special abilities, combining their powers to deal with threats that might otherwise overwhelm you. Of course, collecting the right Guardians is only the beginning. You’ll still need to keep yourself alive long enough to enjoy their handiwork.
Four Guardians, Thousands of Problems
Combat follows the familiar bullet heaven formula, sending enormous waves of enemies toward you while your character and Guardians unleash increasingly powerful attacks. You’ll spend plenty of time weaving through crowds, avoiding incoming damage, and searching for enough breathing room to keep fighting.
Different Wildkeepers come equipped with different weapons, giving you another way to change how each run plays out before you’ve even started assembling your team. As you progress, you’ll collect upgrades and develop your build, strengthening your character and finding new ways to combine your abilities with those of your Guardians.
The result is the kind of escalating mayhem that makes bullet heaven games so difficult to put down. Early encounters may leave you carefully avoiding a handful of monsters. Later, you’ll be carving a path through hundreds of enemies while your magical companions unleash everything they’ve got.
There’s More to Glenhaven Than Monster Hunting
Beyond its frantic battles, Wildkeepers Rising takes place in a colorful fantasy world filled with unusual creatures, heroes, and locations to discover. Its hand-drawn artwork draws inspiration from the imaginative worlds of Akira Toriyama and Jim Henson, giving the game a distinctive look that sits somewhere between a fantasy adventure and a wonderfully strange animated cartoon.
The monsters have exaggerated designs, the environments are packed with personality, and even the creatures trying to kill you look like they belong in a much larger fantasy universe. You’ll also uncover story elements as you explore Glenhaven, adding some context to the battles and introducing the characters inhabiting its world.
New maps and areas become available as you progress, offering fresh environments to explore and new challenges to overcome. Between expeditions, you can unlock additional Guardians and items while strengthening your existing collection, giving you more options for future attempts.
A Monster-Collecting Adventure With Serious Firepower
Wildkeepers Rising entered Early Access on March 31, 2025, before reaching its full release on October 23, 2025. It’s available now on Steam for PC. Its combination of creature collecting, team-building, and bullet heaven combat makes it a great choice for players who enjoy experimenting with powerful combinations rather than relying entirely on their own weapons.
With a charming hand-drawn world to explore, there’s more to discover here than simply seeing how many monsters you can destroy before the screen becomes impossible to follow. Just don’t spend too long admiring your adorable Guardians. There’s an entire army of monsters heading your way, and they’re not stopping for a photo opportunity.