Annihilated priest route: how to unlock it in the demo

In the demo, the Priest route unlocks by dying once: after your first death, the Priest becomes the only partner you can choose. On a fresh run, the partner selection screen only shows the Hero, the Warrior, and the Mage — the Priest is simply missing. This comes from a Shacknews hands-on with the Steam Next Fest demo build from February 2026, so it describes the demo rather than the full release.

How to reach the Priest route

1. Start a normal run

   Pick any of the three visible partners — Hero, Warrior, or Mage — and head into the dungeon. There is no special choice or hidden flag needed before this point.

2. Die

   Fight through the event rooms and encounters until your Soldier falls. Death is routine in Annihilated: the roguelite structure means a death only sends you back, and Curse points you earned turn into experience or items on retry.

3. Select the Priest on the retry

   After that first death, the partner selection offers the Priest — and per the Shacknews report, he becomes your only option. You do not need to clear a boss or reach a specific floor first.

What the Priest route is like

The Priest is the party's healer, and the official Steam page describes him as healing "like no one else" — but he has recently converted to something called the Great One, and his sanity is listed as zero. In combat he fights beside you through turn-based card battles, restoring health far better than any other partner.

The story side is deliberately ominous. The intro lists what each party member lost, and where the others get concrete losses, the Priest's entry reads "the Priest who lost ██" — redacted. Shacknews' preview notes his healing "is no longer righteous, and there's a cost to using them," and frames the route as something you're nudged into only when you have no choice. Like every route, it runs to its own multiple endings depending on your conversations and choices, about six hours of story in the full game.

FAQ

Why can't I see the Priest when choosing a partner?

He is intentionally hidden on your first run. Die once and he appears at the selection screen — as the only option.

Does the Priest route exist in the full version?

Yes. The developer confirms four routes, one per partner, each a complete story of roughly six hours with multiple endings.

How far does the demo's Priest route go?

The demo covers the run through the first boss, The Outcast, with any of the four partners.

Is the Priest good in combat?

His healing is the strongest in the game, but the preview suggests using it carries an unspecified cost — fitting his corrupted faith.

Checked on 2026-11-04 against the official Steam store page and developer announcements there, plus Shacknews' demo preview. The death-to-unlock trigger is a player/press report from the February demo, not developer-confirmed for the current build or full release.