Quantum Covenant Prologue review: a strange arcade surprise
Smooth arcade action, a strange machine underworld and uncertain laser aiming. Our Quantum Covenant Prologue demo verdict: 8/10.
Demo review
Quantum Covenant Prologue is a free survival roguelike from Martyr Games. It's normally the sort of game I'd pass over. Piloting an antigravity vehicle through a machine-built underworld isn't my usual pick. But I had a surprisingly good time with this demo. It feels smooth, slightly like a fever dream, and full of the kind of arcade energy I didn't realise I was in the mood for.
My one reservation is the aiming, particularly the laser. Something about it felt off to me, though I'm still not sure whether that was the game or just my aim. Even with that uncertainty, this is an 8/10 for the demo.
What changed in the 16 October demo update?
Martyr Games has since expanded the demo with a Mod Refit bench, where you can move mods between the weapons you carry. The new Stasis Field slows nearby enemies and their shots, while Phase Cloak lets you lose enemies for a short time. The update also changes utility balance, adds heat effects to the ship and revises boss, weapon and co-op visuals.
The co-op fixes address reward screens getting stuck under the Steam overlay, a waiting-for-rewards message carrying into resumed runs, and squad or lobby members being lost or left behind. The cross reticle has a tighter centre hole, too. That is a UI change in the notes, not evidence that my earlier reservation about laser aiming has been resolved.
Update checked 21 October 2026: these are the developer’s patch notes, not a new hands-on test. My demo verdict remains 8/10.
What you actually do
You pilot an Ark, an antigravity vehicle, through arenas filled with enemy waves. Survive a wave and you get an opportunity to improve your build. Weapons include lasers, rockets and artillery, while upgrades and abilities give you different combinations to work with. Protocols change the battlefield's rules, adding another layer to those choices.
The setting takes that machinery into Techno-Gehenna, an underworld where humanity is trapped under an AI god called Terminus. It is a strange premise for a game about turning a hovering vehicle into an increasingly destructive weapons platform. That combination fits my first note rather well: “fever dream?”
In our written interview, Sean Haddad explains that humanity gave up its flesh and uploaded its consciousness into machines in search of immortality. That promise becomes a prison. He says the demo has focused on the gameplay loop so far, with more story and lore planned.
You can play alone or in a group of up to four. More players also bring more enemies.
The arcade feeling is the draw
The thing that stayed with me was how much fun I had with something outside my usual tastes. It brought back the feeling of arcade games at their height: direct, energetic play that doesn't need to be my favourite genre to work for me.
It feels smooth to play, too. Together with that arcade feeling, that is the strongest reason I'd suggest trying the demo even if the premise doesn't immediately sound like your thing.
The laser felt off
I was less settled on the aiming. Both aiming generally and the laser specifically made it into my notes, along with the same question: was this a problem with the game, or was it me?
Sean Haddad's explanation gives that feeling some context: the basic laser fires a physical projectile with travel time and a slight arc, so you need to allow for its trajectory. It isn't an instant-hit weapon like the Particle Lance. He says keeping the laser physical also lets gravity abilities such as Event Horizon pull it into a black hole. That explains the design, though the aiming still felt off to me when I played. If weapon feel matters a lot to you, pay attention to that when you try it.
Who it's for
Quantum Covenant Prologue surprised me. It feels made with a lot of love, and the smooth arcade action was enough to win me over despite this usually being outside my tastes. The aiming remains my reservation, even with the developer's explanation of the laser's flight path.
If you enjoy wave survival and experimenting with a vehicle's weapons, this free demo is worth a look. If you're usually less interested in that kind of game, so am I. I still came away pleased I'd tried it.
Interview with Sean Haddad of Martyr Games
After playing the demo, I sent Sean Haddad at Martyr Games a few questions about its arcade feel, lore, weapons and development. Here are his written answers, received on 16 October 2026.
The demo reminded me of arcade games at their best. What games or ideas most influenced how Quantum Covenant feels to play?
We like to say Quantum Covenant is a 3D Galaga. The most common feedback we get is: "this game reminds me of an amazing fun game I used to play with my brother/sister/friends when I was a kid..." Which gives me the best feeling to hear, personally. Our game has been compared to Starfox, Silent Death Online, Descent, Fzero, even Halo. To be compared to these classics is the greatest of compliments.
How did Quantum Covenant's lore come together? Could you share more about the world, Terminus, and the ideas behind Techno-Gehenna?
Fundamentally the story is centered on the idea of Transhumanism and the centralization of power, which is becoming increasingly popular in our modern world. Quantum Covenant takes Transumanism to its logical extreme, to a (not-so) distant future where humanity abandons the natural flesh to achieve immortality by uploading their consciousness/soul into an integrated machine, accomplished via a technological ritual called the Quantum Covenant. Terminus is an all-powerful AI that is worshiped as a god, and represents the focal point of all technological progress. However, the immortality offered by Terminus and the Quantum Covenant is a trap that imprisons humanity in a "cyber underworld" we call Techno-Gehenna. You are the last human on earth to take the Quantum Covenant, but before your consciousness is fully subsumed, a mysterious woman frees you from its clutches and guides you down a mission of revolution against the machine, to destroy Terminus and free humanity from this cyber prison. For the demo, we have been more focused on nailing down the gameplay loop, but soon we will be incorporating more story and lore to give the player this context as they enjoy the fun gameplay.
I was unsure about the laser aiming. Is there anything about its targeting or handling that players might initially miss?
Being in an entirely homebrewed engine, we have made the gameplay completely physics based and have incorporated physics and gravity as core gameplay mechanics. When you control your ship, your Ark, you are actually providing thrust on a physics object to go in the direction you want. Some of the weapons, including the basic laser weapon, are also physics objects. The basic laser weapon is actually a "lobbed" projectile, that takes time to reach its target and has a slight arc to its trajectory. This means the player has to compensate a bit for the projectile trajectory, as it is not a hitscan weapon like the Particle Lance is. We are still refining such things, but we have kept the laser as is because as a physics object, it will react to gravity bending special abilities like the Singularity or Event Horizon. We find it really satisfying to cast Event Horizon while there are a bunch of enemy lasers and see all the lasers get sucked into the black hole!
What's a weapon-and-Protocol combination you'd recommend trying to understand how far the build system can go?
My current favorite is stacking upgrades on the Dimensional Ripper: chain, damage, and beam width combined with the Focus Fire and Second Wind protocols. It's really satisfying to tear through groups of weak enemies, and Focus Fire with upgrade damage really helps you rip through tankier enemies as you progress to higher waves. An honorable mention is the Missile weapon with upgraded projectile counts, homing, and fire rate combined with the Payload Momentum protocol. Just fly and shoot and watch your missile salvo lay waste to your foes.
What has feedback on the Prologue changed about your plans for the full game?
We are always looking for feedback from our Discord members to consistently improve the game. We encourage anyone and everyone that is a fan of Prologue to join our Discord and take part in the development: https://discord.gg/w9hpze26M. We have exciting development updates planned that are coming soon based on player feedback. Without revealing too much, I will say based on this feedback we are planning on incorporating some non-combat gameplay elements - such as a racing and platforming mini-games - to take advantage of the fun, physics-based aspects of our engine. As a team, we love testing the absolute limits of our engine and see how far we can go before breaking it!
What did building your own engine let you do that would have been difficult with an existing one?
We've always been inspired by the classic devs of our youth: Bethesda, Obsidian, Bungie, etc. Back then, there weren't standard industry tools that everyone used, and as a result games felt more fresh, different, and unique. Now, in 2026, we have terms like Unreal and Unity slop, because every game now uses the same underlying tech and also the same assets pulled from asset stores. As a result everything looks and feels the same. We wanted to stand out to every single person that plays Quantum Covenant and feels the difference. This makes our path much, MUCH more difficult as devs, but all of us at Martyr Games know the narrow and difficult path is the most rewarding in the end.
Sources
Martyr Games: 16 October 2026 demo update — official patch notes, checked 21 October 2026.
- Quantum Covenant Prologue on Steam — game mechanics and demo availability, checked 16 October 2026.
Written interview with Sean Haddad, Martyr Games — received by email on 16 October 2026. Developer explanations and future plans are attributed to him.
