"While Here Comes The Swarm is very similar to other games on the market, the addition of a progression system adds a layer of replayability, that many other titles in the genre lack."
We were supplied with a free key for the purposes of writing this review, however our opinions are entirely our own.
Here Comes The Swarm is very similar to other games in the genre such as They Are Billions, and Age of Darkness: Final Stand, with Here Comes The Swarm being a near clone of the latter.
While I am sure the developers did not literally copy Age of Darkness: Final Stand, after spending a fair amount of time with both, especially during Age of Darkness: Final Stand’s early access journey, I must admit, they feel like the same game, with Here Comes The Swarm’s only edge being its progression system, and the fact that Age of Darkness: Final Stand is a much less enjoyable title since its full release than it was during the days following the start of its own early access journey.
While I remain hopeful that CableHook Games will not make the same mistakes as PlaySide Studios, I must admit after having been burned before, I have some very real concerns that Here Comes The Swarm will follow a similar path, and end up being a worse game at the end of its early access journey than it was at the start.
Of course there is no evidence that is the case, but based on how decidedly similar Age of Darkness: Final Stand and Here Comes The Swarm are at the start of their journeys, I feel it is a very real, and valid concern for myself and many others to have, even if the games are created by separate studios, assumingly with different development goals and ambitions.
One area in which Here Comes The Swarm is a decently better game than many others in the same genre, is the addition of a meta progression system that allows players to level up deities, which in turn reward players with new tangible unlocks and passive abilities, allowing players to level up and take on harder difficulties in much the same way they would do so in an action roguelike title.
This is in addition to Expedition Mode, which allows players to choose from a selection of upgrades between battles, ensuring that no two runs need be identical, however that said, there are certain upgrades which work better with certain playstyles, and over time players will decide upon a set of upgrades and challenges which better complement their playstyle.
The existence of meta progression and Expedition Mode make me want to replay Here Comes The Swarm far more than other titles in the genre, in which I often find myself bored after having beaten the game more than once or twice.
While Here Comes The Swarm performs very well on a wide variety of configurations, it is not very pretty and honestly much of the art style feels like asset store models. While that may not be the case, as of yet nothing about Here Comes The Swarm’s visual design or aesthetic has impressed me, and for the most part it leaves me feeling rather “meh”, unlike its performance, which is, as I stated previously, very impressive, especially for an early access title.
Here Comes The Swarm is a strategy game developed and published by CableHook Games, it released on 5 March 2026, and is available exclusively on PC.
Here Comes The Swarm supports the following peripherals:
Here Comes The Swarm is unrated and contains:
I like Here Comes The Swarm, and I am cautiously optimistic about its future, however I have been burned by similar games before, which is another reason why I struggle to give Here Comes The Swarm a higher score. It is incredibly similar to titles such as Age of Darkness: Final Stand, to the point Here Comes The Swarm feels like a reskinned, less polished version of Age of Darkness: Final Stand, with a progression system.
While I am not accusing the developer of “copying someone else’s homework”, if they wish to see Here Comes The Swarm succeed, they will need to find a way to differentiate it from titles such as Age of Darkness: Final Stand, which exists in the library of hundreds of thousands of Steam players, thanks to frequently being put on sale for as much as 70% off on various storefronts and third party key sellers.
We found Here Comes The Swarm to be a good game, meaning it is likely to be enjoyable for most players, despite having a few areas that could be improved upon.
Note: This title is in Early Access, meaning it is publicly available but still evolving. The rating shown reflects its current state and may change as development continues.
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