Wielders of the Essence is revolutionizing the bullet heaven genre by letting you play as swamp-dwelling amphibians instead of vamp-hunting Italians

Wielders of the Essence, an upcoming game about essences and the wielding thereof which aired a new trailer during today’s PC Gaming Show 2026, bears many of the hallmarks of the recently-christened Bullet Heaven genre: masses of enemies, incremental upgrades, and a screen increasingly packed with compounding projectiles. But crucially, there’s a differentiating factor at play.

You’re frogs in this one.

Notice I said “frogs,” not “frog.” That’s a load-bearing pluralization. While I’m sure getting to play as an anthropoid, magic-wielding amphibian is already more than enough for many, Wielders of the Essence differs from other Survivors-likes in that your character isn’t fighting alone as the eye of an expanding hurricane of mana darts and lightning bolts. In addition to upgrades for yourself, your level-ups will also let you recruit friendly units, bolstering your build with ranks of supporting frog-kin.

The types of reptile and amphibian units you can recruit are determined by base-building you’ll do between runs: “Every building you construct unlocks something: a new Wielder or troop, a stronger spell, a skill you didn’t have before,” says developer Lavapotion. “The more you invest, the more powerful your Wielder will be in the next run.”

While I’ll support the construction of a frog utopia in almost any circumstance, I’m interested to see what new dimensions open up for bullet heaven build synergies when you introduce allied combatants into the mix. Normally I’m just trying to figure out which weapon upgrades will play nicely together in my limited slots, so I can see how it might make for some compelling decision-making if I’m choosing between level-up bonuses based on how well they’ll meld with my swamp-soldiery.

As revealed in today’s trailer, Wielders of the Essences launches on November 5, and you can wishlist it on Steam today. If you want to sample its frog-based warfare ahead of time, however, its demo is available now.