We wanted to bring your attention to the fact that until Nov. 21, Achilles: Legends Untold is available at a 60% discount in the PlayStation Store. This often overlooked game is definitely worth trying when you can get it at a 60% discount for just $9.99 or €8.79. The game is also available on all systems, but the sale is just for PlayStation.

In recent years, Greek mythology has surged back into the mainstream through films, television, literature, and—perhaps most strikingly—video games. Among the most ambitious contemporary attempts to revive the ancient epic spirit are Achilles: Legends Untold and Achilles: Survivor, two titles from Dark Point Games that reinterpret the life, death, and legacy of Homer’s greatest warrior. Though they differ vastly in genre and tone, both games use Achilles as a lens through which to re-examine the relationship between myth and modern game design. Together they form a compelling study in how classical themes—fate, glory, the underworld, and divine intervention—can be transformed into interactive systems while preserving their ancient resonance.

The Hero Reimagined

Few mythological characters carry as much symbolic power as Achilles. In Homer’s Iliad, he is the archetype of the unstoppable warrior, the brilliant yet fragile hero whose rage shapes the tides of war and whose early death becomes the price of everlasting renown. His story is steeped in contradictions: he is both mortal and divine, wrathful and tender, selfish and loyal. His short life becomes a philosophical debate on whether it is better to live quietly or die gloriously.

These themes are fertile ground for adaptation, but they also pose challenges. Achilles is not a blank-slate protagonist; his fate is famously predetermined. His defining narrative arc culminates in a tragic death outside the walls of Troy, traditionally by an arrow to the heel. Any modern retelling must decide whether to reinforce this fatalism or subvert it. Dark Point Games approaches this narrative problem in two different ways—one story-driven, one mechanical—both of which explore how Achilles’ mythic identity can be reinterpreted in a contemporary context.

Achilles: Legends Untold — Epic Resurrection

Achilles: Legends Untold is the more narrative-focused of the two titles. Presented as an isometric Action-RPG with Souls-like combat sensibilities, it tells a bold “what happened after?” story that begins where the classical myth ends: with Achilles’ death. The game imagines that the underworld is not the final chapter for the hero. Instead of remaining a shade among shades, Achilles becomes entangled in divine machinations. Hades, recast with a more active and interventionist role than in most ancient sources, sends him back to the realm of the living on a series of quests that weave together gods, monsters, and rival heroes.

This resurrection premise diverges from classical mythology, but not without precedent. Greek literature is rich with katabasis stories—journeys to and from the underworld—even if Achilles himself is rarely granted a return. In Homer’s Odyssey, he appears only briefly as a mournful shade lamenting the emptiness of fame without life. By contrast, Legends Untold transforms his posthumous despair into an opportunity for renewed action. The game draws on the mythic atmosphere of the underworld to enrich its environments and enemies, populating dungeons and landscapes with shades, hybrids, and familiar figures such as Hector. These encounters allow players to revisit legendary rivalries, but with branching choices that alter the moral tone of Achilles’ journey.

Mechanically, the game reflects key themes from the Iliad. Combat emphasizes stamina management, precision, and positioning—qualities associated with Homeric heroism. The progression systems echo Achilles’ central narrative tension between mortality and glory: each new weapon, skill, and upgrade effectively becomes a declaration of kleos, the immortal fame Achilles sought in life. Yet here the player reshapes that destiny, making choices that challenge the idea of a fixed heroic path. In giving players moral agency, Legends Untold reinterprets Achilles not as a doomed figure but as a character capable of redefining his myth.

Achilles: Survivor — Eternal War in the Underworld

If Legends Untold is a mythic odyssey, Achilles: Survivor is pure distilled combat energy. A “bullet-heaven” roguelite inspired by Vampire Survivors, it trades narrative depth for fast, satisfying gameplay loops. Yet even in this stripped-down format, the mythological influence is unmistakable. The game’s premise imagines Achilles—and other heroic souls—as escapees or war-bound spirits released from Tartarus, battling endless swarms of enemies across the mortal world and the underworld alike.

The choice of Tartarus as a narrative anchor is significant. In Hesiod’s Theogony, Tartarus is the deepest abyss of the cosmos, a prison for Titans and a realm of punishment distinct from the more orderly kingdom of Hades. By drawing on this setting, Achilles: Survivor taps into Greek mythology’s fascination with eternal struggle. The roguelite structure—die, return, grow stronger, repeat—aligns naturally with this imagery. Each failed run suggests the cyclical torment of mythic punishment, while each successful upgrade embodies the increasing renown of a hero whose legend refuses to fade. Achilles becomes not just a warrior but a gameplay embodiment of persistence in the face of overwhelming cosmic forces.

Unlike Legends Untold, Survivor focuses on abstract symbolism rather than narrative fidelity. Its horde-based combat echoes Homer’s vivid images of battlefield frenzy. Its structure-building mechanics introduce tactical layers reminiscent of heroic strongholds and battlefield improvisation. And its progression system transforms kleos into a tangible resource: you do not earn fame by having bards sing of your deeds; you accumulate it through sheer survival. Each run expands Achilles’ myth through player performance, turning ancient ideals of glory into modern gameplay incentives. You can get Achilles: Survivor on its official Steam page.

Mythology as Aesthetic and Mechanic

Both games draw from the same mythic well, yet each extracts different thematic minerals. Their shared use of Greek mythology highlights the flexibility of ancient stories when adapted into interactive media.

The Role of the Gods

In both titles, the gods play a more prominent and interventionist role than in many classical sources. Classical Hades is aloof, seldom interfering directly with human affairs. Yet games require stakes, direction, and antagonism. As a result, Hades becomes a patron, obstacle, or cosmic adversary depending on the design needs. Ares, Athena, Hephaestus, and Apollo appear in various reimagined roles, often functioning as quest-givers, boss inspirations, or sources of legendary equipment. These reinterpretations are not historically exact, but they are symbolically effective, emphasizing the capricious and overwhelming influence of divine beings on mortal destinies.

The Underworld and Heroic Return

Greek mythology often portrays the underworld as a boundary seldom crossed. Only a few figures—Orpheus, Heracles, Theseus (barely), Psyche—manage to return. Giving Achilles this rare status heightens his legendary aura. In Legends Untold, resurrection becomes the central narrative conceit; in Survivor, endless battle after death becomes the metaphorical engine. Both elevate Achilles into a hero who defies even the limits imposed by fate.

Kleos as Progression

Perhaps the greatest thematic transformation lies in how both games treat kleos, the Greek concept of glory earned through deeds. For Homer, kleos is intangible—an idea preserved by memory and song. In these games, kleos is gamified. Experience points, skill trees, upgrades, and unlocks become modern expressions of the same concept: proof that the hero grows stronger through valorous action. The effect is ironic yet fitting: in ancient myth, Achilles’ reputation grows because poets retell his story; in modern gaming, his fame grows because the player performs his feats.

What These Adaptations of Achilles Achieve

The two Achilles games illustrate the range of possibilities when adapting myth into modern game design. Legends Untold attempts to recapture something of the epic’s dramatic depth by giving Achilles a new story that grapples with purpose, morality, and the consequences of divine influence. Survivor, meanwhile, distills myth into pure elemental form: the thrill of combat, the endless desire for improvement, the heroic impulse to face impossible odds.

Both titles also highlight potential shortcomings. Some critics note that Legends Untold, though rich in atmosphere and ambition, occasionally struggles with mechanical or structural polish. The narrative weight of myth can sometimes strain against the pacing of modern action-RPG design. Survivor, in contrast, is mechanically tight but narratively minimal; its myth is more a veneer than a fully developed story. Yet in each case, mythology serves as a powerful anchor. The names, symbols, and themes of Greek myth carry inherent dramatic force that elevates even the simplest gameplay loop.

A New Kind of Mythmaking

In the ancient world, myths evolved as they were retold: each poet reshaped inherited stories for new audiences, new purposes, and new artistic goals. Achilles: Legends Untold and Achilles: Survivor continue this tradition in digital form. They are not strict retellings of Homer or Hesiod but reinterpretations that explore what Achilles means to contemporary culture. Whether framed as a resurrected wanderer seeking redemption or an eternal warrior battling endless hordes, Achilles remains what he has always been: a symbol of strength, defiance, and tragic brilliance.

Mythology has survived for millennia because it adapts. These games prove that, in the realm of interactive storytelling, Greek myths are not relics—they are living blueprints. Achilles still fights, still inspires, still grapples with fate and glory. The medium has changed. The story continues.