Reviews / 20 September 2023

AK-xolotl – A Cute But Deadly Roguelike

I love axolotls. I just think they are the cutest and one of the most interesting amphibians in the animal kingdom. I have always loved them and their unique charm, so you can imagine my excitement when my partner told me all about a brand new indie game, AK-xolotl.

AK-xolotl is a unique and cute roguelike developed by 2Awesome Studio, where you play as an axolotl who is on a mission to rescue their kidnapped babies and find their food that was also stolen. Food being the priority for this hungry lil guy.

The cutest, deadliest and ONLY top-down roguelike shooter featuring AK-wielding Axolotls. Blast your way through the animal kingdom with an arsenal of kick-ass guns, mighty power-ups and even raise an army of trigger-happy baby axolotls.

Like other roguelike games, when you start a run in AK-xolotl you will always start at the beginning. There are a choice of starting weapons and as you play you can unlock more weapons that can help you secure your success. There is a pretty good selection or different weapons, ranging from shotguns to assault rifles. An axolotls dream arsenal.

While the dungeon-crawling element is the main course of the game, there is also a beautifully crafted side to AK-xolotl where can collect and nurture baby axolotls that you can find scattered around the maps. After some time and care you can grow your baby axolotls into adults, which you can then play as, giving you an array of axolotls to pick from for a run.

There are a ton of abilities and upgrades that you can find and use as you play, ranging from giving you extra weapon damage to giving you a speed boost as you walk. Once you have completed a room, you’ll typically have a choice of two or three doors to walk through, each marked with their rewards. Each power-up is critical with helping you get to the boss, and beyond.

The enemy designs are such a treat in this game, and that’s not just for the bosses, all the enemies are fantastically crafted, and it honestly feels like such a unique experience to see these enemies, especially to see a bear coming towards you with a machine gun. Alongside the gameplay and amazing music, the whole experience of AK-xolotl is a huge treat for fans of the roguelike genre.

You can honestly sink hours into this game with the amount of power-ups and weapons that you can experiment with. No matter how many times you restart a run, there is always a case of “Just one more go” to try out new combinations to see what works out. To help keep the game feeling fresh, no one run is the same thanks to the random paths you can take.

I love the chaotic but cute gameplay of AK-xolotl, with its variety of weapons and abilities, its quirky enemy designs and of course, raising baby axolotls. If you’re a fan of roguelikes that are on the cuter side, then AK-xolotl is a must play!

I played AK-Xolotl on Nintendo Switch with a review copy. The game is available now on Steam, Playstation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch.