PERISH: The Road to Elysium is turbulent

“PERISH” is a first-person shooter for 1-4 players that was developed by ITEM42 and published by Handygames on February 2, 2023 for PC and Steam.

In “PERISH”, you are Amyetri, a corporeal spirit condemned to live a dark life in Purgatory. You will perform the Rites of Orpheus and defeat the deities that dominate and try to stop you on the threatening path to Elysium.

Not very refined combat and level design

“PERISH” focuses on the premise of Doom-like combat mixed with rogue-like elements. That is, first-person combat with long and close range weapons and level design that encourages you to go through challenging stages that provide you with a progression based on improving your performance as you die in each attempt, and little by little you come back more experienced, more powerful, and/or with more combat options.

Unfortunately, “PERISH” fails to excel in both of these traits.

In terms of combat, you have access to a collection of melee weapons (such as axes and swords) and long-range weapons (such as pistols, bows, and rifles), as well as some additional items like rings and helmets that will give you buffs.

These items are acquired as you earn money to be able to buy them after discovering them during your games.

During the game, the discrepancy between the effectiveness of weapons is noticeable, as long-range weapons make melee weapons almost obsolete. Couple this with the fact that melee weapons suffer from collision and accuracy issues, as there are times when they simply don’t hit enemies.

The weapons discrepancy is compounded with some game progression issues. For a rogue-like game, there doesn’t seem to be much incentive to try new runs, as the stages don’t differ much from each other, both visually and mechanically, with the exception of some small changes in the objectives that you need to perform during the game.

Co-op can help with the live stream

“PERISH” is a cooperative game that can be played by up to four players.
This might be the best way to stream it live.

Playing with your friends can generate a good vibe with your audience, as they tend to like the many funny possibilities that can arise, as well as engaging in teamwork to defeat the bosses, which are few but challenging enough to generate entertainment.

Another positive aspect is that the game has a good number of language options.

PERISH is visually appealing, but hardware-intensive

If you want to play on a live stream, be aware that the game requires high-spec hardware to play while live streaming.
“PERISH” was tested with a GTX 2060 Super with 16GB RAM, and it was necessary to play with minimum settings to have a pleasant experience.

Alexandre Gaara

Anime lover, Specialized Reviewer and Game Platinator