Guns of Eschaton blends first-person shooting with Soulslike combat in a Western world consumed by an apocalypse. Announced in June, the game describes itself as the “world’s first Soulslike FPS” on its Steam page.
Created by Eschatology Entertainment, the project carries the visual influence of Viktor Antonov, the art director associated with Half-Life 2 and Dishonored. A 20-minute hands-on session at Gamescom 2026 offered an early look at how its deliberate gunplay and demanding exploration fit together.
Weak points make every shot matter
Guns of Eschaton does not make combat difficult simply by giving enemies oversized health bars. Each foe has vulnerable areas marked by makeshift bandages. Ordinary hits cause limited damage, while accurate shots to these points can change an encounter quickly.
There is an additional layer: enemies require their weak points to be attacked in a particular sequence. The locations and order vary between enemy types, turning each meeting into a short observation puzzle rather than a reflex-only firefight.
A shooter built around preparation
Eduard Malykh, head of game design at Eschatology Entertainment, calls this approach “reactive gameplay”. Players are expected to study a target, identify the right opportunity and then commit to a high-impact shot. Acting immediately can waste ammunition and leave the player poorly positioned.
A leather-bound codex supports that process. It contains handwritten notes and sketches about encountered enemies and their weaknesses. During play, it can be held in one hand while the other carries a revolver, making the journal a practical part of combat rather than a menu-only reference.
The Western setting also shapes the weapons. Guns are manual and slow, with none of the easy crowd control offered by modern assault rifles. Missing a shot is consequently costly, and successful attacks feel more deliberate.
Soulslike structure in an apocalyptic frontier
The preview covered the tutorial and the opening encounters in a semi-linear area. Campfires act as familiar checkpoints where players can heal, obtain upgrades and respawn defeated enemies. Levels are not fully open, but alternate routes and unlockable shortcuts provide room to choose how to advance.
The strongest early moments came from landing several weak-point shots in sequence. The system rewards patience, but it also creates pressure: once the correct pattern is understood, the player must execute before the enemy or surrounding danger disrupts the plan.
The demo was played with a controller, which made its precision requirements especially punishing. Players accustomed to mouse-and-keyboard shooters such as Counter-Strike 2 or Valorant may find aiming more comfortable on PC, although the game’s measured pace is designed around careful decisions rather than rapid automatic fire.
An apocalypse in progress
The studio is careful to distinguish the setting from a conventional post-apocalypse. The story takes place while the world is being destroyed, not after civilisation has already fallen. Malykh describes the eschaton as a process in which something is reborn through or after apocalypse, while the game itself focuses on the catastrophe as it unfolds and on the player’s choices within it.
Antonov co-founded Eschatology Entertainment in 2022 and died in February 2025. Malykh said Antonov became “hooked” when studio founder, CEO and creative director Fuad Kuliev presented the concept. The world and visual direction shown in the game were created by Antonov and his team.
Release platforms
Guns of Eschaton is scheduled to launch before the end of 2026 for PlayStation 5, Windows PC and Xbox Series X. Until then, its combination of tactical weak-point shooting, manual Western weapons and checkpoint-driven exploration gives it a distinctive place among upcoming action games.
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