It is not every day you see a demon-soaked shooter set in a post-apocalyptic Paris that also lands on Game Pass the moment it comes out. Armatus is a frantic, highly promising roguelite that has just been unveiled for multiple platforms and will be available to Xbox Game Pass subscribers from day one.

Some games are built around pure, immediate intensity, while others slowly win you over through repetition until their systems really start to shine – Armatus is clearly aiming to do both. Counterplay Games’ new project is set in a dark, almost baroque world where survival depends on how well you blend player skill, brutal character builds and the ability to learn from every fall. Shown during the latest Xbox Partner Preview, it is already positioning itself as a roguelite to watch ahead of its planned 2026 launch.

Armatus: A Fast, Punishing Roguelite In Apocalyptic Paris

The first game on show at the November 20 Xbox Partner Preview was Armatus, a breakneck roguelite that unfolds in a Paris twisted into an apocalyptic nightmare. In this broken city, four clerics are trapped and call for a warrior to lead them – that warrior is you. Your job is to cut a path through procedurally generated layouts that reshuffle themselves with every run, forcing you to rethink your routes, adapt to new rooms and enemy types, and decide which rewards are worth chasing, as highlighted on Xbox Wire.

Rather than locking you into a fixed set of encounters, the game is designed so that each attempt feels distinct and demanding, with an overall philosophy reminiscent of what Returnal brought to the genre. According to Counterplay Games, Armatus lets you combine holy-themed weapons, celestial powers and a deep skill modification system capable of producing near-endless combat synergies. In practice, you become an immortal warrior archetype with access to weapons and abilities that can radically reshape how you approach each new run.

Armatus is slated for 2026 on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC and Xbox Cloud, PS5, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC via Steam, and it will be playable through Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass from day one. The core design pushes you toward experimentation, encouraging you to try out dozens of different builds by mixing permanent and temporary upgrades that you slot into your character over time.

The learning curve is tuned to make persistence feel worthwhile. Dying does not wipe you back to zero: you keep the coins you have collected and certain upgrades you have unlocked, letting you invest in long-term progression and come back stronger and smarter on your next attempt. If Counterplay delivers on that promise, Armatus could easily become one of those roguelites where every failure ends with the same thought – just one more run through demon-infested Paris.

Source: 3djuegos