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The wiki database includes over 200 columns for info! View toggles: compact, pin, fun. Bigger Big Normal Small Smaller [-] [+] font size. Site & minireviews by xoxomonstergirl. Click a row to expand!

Genre/Control

Specific tags for the title's features

Ranking

Similarity & Review

Review

Multiple Sources

Similarity

Compared to VS. Not a review!

Similarity Scale

Percentage of possible points earned scored -1 to 1 in tenths in 60 categories

Genre Controls Modes Progress Builds Stages Content Aesthetic Vibe
[edit]

Vampire Survivors

DLC Released

The game that sparked the debate! Not the first, but the most influential. Detailed review notes are available for each ranked title!

The numbers in the similarity column measure similarity to Vampire Survivors, not a review. You can also see review scores! A couple extremely different games are included to test the ranking scale - as more games get fully ranked, these will stay near the bottom. Help us improve the wiki by hitting the edit button and filling out or correcting info. You can also submit info via the dev/player surveys linked in the header.

Auto-Shooter Bullet Heaven Content Rich Enemy Hell Horde Survival Mowing Game Roguelite Single Stick Shooter Survivors-like Top Down or Isometric Wave Survival
9.9 Combined Ranking Score
1/72 Ranking Position
1595/1600 Total Points
9.8 Final Review
98% Steam
9.7 Scale
10.0 Vibes
205178 Steam Reviews
395/400 Review Points
10.0 Similarity Score
100% Diagnosis:
Similar
1200/1200 Comparison Points
100% Genre 8/8 genre
100% Simple Controls 7/7 move
100% Survival Modes 4/4 modes
100% Power Progression 4/4 level
100% Buildcrafting Depth 5/5 build
100% Stage Features 7/7 stage
100% Content Breadth 9/9 stuff
100% Aesthetics 6/6 style
100% Gameplay Vibe Check 10/10 vibe vibe

Vampire Survivors Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 92.8

Every game ranked was played, but also scaled based on research, talking to developers & your feedback. The priority with the scale's initial design was to compare similarity on relatively objective features - so it doesn't claim to include reviews of the depth and clarity you'd get at a games journalism site, nor the intensive time played you might get from player reviews on steam. We try to incorporate and link all of that along with a 'review scale' that checks for bugs. See the heatmap and breakdown! Time played noted so you can take any notes with a big grain of salt! I can't get to high level gameplay in 850+ games so I heavily research every game. Over 80 game creators let me interview or survey them! I Hope to go back and refine. Please argue or submit your own scores and reviews to be incorporated with credit into the notes and score numbers.

Added or last checked on 11/23/2023

concetta-from_vampire-survivors.webpThe standard to which all other games on this list are held! We recognize that it's not just the basics of gameplay but also the depth of content and collectables that makes it addictive.

It's a simple casual game about moving towards some things and away from other things. And it's a complex hardcore build crafting systems game about over the top screen wiping action. It's a very influential game with an auto-fire design that isn't just replicating how weapons work without it, where as one dev on another game put it "every weapon makes you move in a different way." Many followers don't fully understand what it attempted to deconstruct and many attempt to do their own thing.

poe-from_vampire-survivors.webpAlso I just found out a full symphony orchestra was used for the DLC soundtrack - what the fuck!

We're not considering some more recently added features in our main scale, mainly just because they came out after the game had moved to DLC. The multiplayer is free, but the boom happened before it happened so we're just kind of leaving it in metadata for now. The new adventure mode is also linked to DLC.

It's totally possible, just annoying, to add more categories to the scale, but for now we're going on 'vanilla' Vampire Survivors circa 2023. It's easy to see which categories we are comparing, anyway, on the scale heatmap!

red-death-from_vampire-survivors.webpThere isn't as in depth review notes here, but if you check out the explainer much of it is about breaking down what made Vampire Survivors so successful and seperated it from other similar games that came before. The scoring guide also will walk through how Vampire Survivors works for every category on the scale.

Note on other games: "Many of these games have campaign or dungeon crawling mode, but we're not really scoring that for or against them directly, just if they include the wave survival modes."

Longer reviews are sometimes for worse games: "I just write more when there are issues to note. Some are just more complicated. Just don't think a short review means it's bad, often it means there's little to complain about. Enjoy the scale!" - xoxomonstergirl

Vampire Survivors Similarity Scale Heatmap

- +

Measured in 60 categories via likert-scale style options -1 to 1 in tenths, how does this game compare to Vampire Survivors. This allows 1200 total "points". It's easier to have a point of comparison and we just picked Vampire Survivors since it's the most popular and commonly referenced game in the subgenre. For detailed methodology read the explainer. For in depth examples at score value, see the scoring guide and for term definitions see the key.

10.0 Similarity Score
100% Diagnosis:
1200/1200 Comparison Points
Rogue-lite 1/1
Auto-Fire / Auto-Battle 1/1
Real Time 1/1
Top Down or Isometric 1/1
Direct Control of Single Avatar 1/1
Arcade Style 1/1
Bullet Heaven A (Many Player Bullets) 1/1
Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) 1/1
One Handed Play (w Controller) 1/1
Move Only 1/1
No Dash 1/1
No Trigger 1/1
No Special Move 1/1
No Aiming 1/1
No On-Aim / On-Fire Movement Penalty 1/1
Timed / Boss Ended Survival 1/1
Endless Mode 1/1
Organic / Unannounced Waves 1/1
High Enemy Count (Horde) 1/1
Level Up on XP Gain Event 1/1
Streamlined Level Choices (Simple UI) 1/1
Currency Based Meta Unlocks 1/1
Goal Based Meta Unlocks 1/1
Build Crafting 1/1
1/1
Weapon Combination / "Evolution" 1/1
Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 1/1
Broken / Invincible Builds Possible 1/1
Explorable Map 1/1
BIG Maps 1/1
XP on Ground 1/1
Health on Ground 1/1
Temp Powerups / Items on Ground 1/1
Treasure Chests and/or Loot Events 1/1
Vendor / Merchant on Run 1/1
Enemy Variety 1/1
Bosses / Elites 1/1
Many Interesting Characters 1/1
Many Challenges 1/1
Multiple Stages 1/1
Difficulty Modifiers 1/1
Bestiary / Lore 1/1
Achievements 1/1
Secrets 1/1
Retro / Pixel Art 1/1
Damage Numbers 1/1
Lofi Charm 1/1
Bumpin Music 1/1
Fun Writing 1/1
Subtle Humor 1/1
Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 1/1
Over the Top 1/1
"One More Run" / Short Runs 1/1
Difficulty Ramp 1/1
Fun Ramp 1/1
Low Price 1/1
Technical Check 1/1
Controls Check 1/1
Fun Check 1/1
Feels like VS 1/1

Vampire Survivors Review Scale Heatmap

- +

The review scale is judged from -1 to 1 in 10 categories, with 200 possible "points" earned. Steam review positive percentage is worth another 100 points, and a "ten point" pure vibe review number adds extra subjectivity. Converted into points, that's 400 points total. The points aren't used directly in the ranking, though, which averages the three number scores for the final review score listed in the game line above.

9.8 Final Review
98% Positive Steam Reviews
205178 Steam Reviews
10.0 Pure Vibes
9.7 Review Scale
395/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 1/1
Not Janky 0.9/1
Good UI 0.8/1
Controller and Deck 1/1
Lots of Content 1/1
Good Theme 1/1
Good Graphics and Sound 1/1
Fun Feel 1/1
Unique Twists 1/1
Vibe Check 1/1

Metacritic Scores

- +

This title has metacritic data! The "fuck the man" score is adjusted so each person's review is equally weighted, regardless of critic or fan status.

Critic

8.7 Converted 10 Point Score
29 Number of Critic Reviews

User

8.3 User Review Average
332 Number of User Reviews

Average

8.5 Direct Average
8.3 "Fuck The Man" Combined Mean

Game Features

- +

Listing various features we've got info on.

Multiplayer

  • Local: Co-Op
  • Online: No
  • Player Count: 4
  • Leaderboards: No

Steam Features

  • Steam Cloud: Yes
  • Steam Achievements: 190
  • Steam Leaderboards: No
  • Steam Workshop: No
  • Steam Trading Cards: Yes

Extras, Etc.

  • NSFW: No
  • Demo Available: Yes itch.io
  • DLC Available: Yes
  • Soundtrack Available: Steam SoundCloud YouTube

Critic Review Excerpt

- +

Here's another perspective to evaluate the game.

Marketing Blurb

- +

Some description of the game and its features from the creators.

"Mow down thousands of night creatures and survive until dawn! Vampire Survivors is a gothic horror casual game with rogue-lite elements, where your choices can allow you to quickly snowball against the hundreds of monsters that get thrown at you."

"Vampire Survivors is a time survival game with minimalistic gameplay and roguelite elements.
Hell is empty, the devils are here, and there's no place to run or hide. All you can do is survive as long as you can until death inevitably puts an end to your struggles. Gather gold in each run to buy upgrades and help the next survivor.
"

"The supernatural indie phenomenon that lets you be the bullet hell!"

Control Style Notes

- +

Single Stick Shooter: Vampire Survivors has a movement only control scheme, except for selecting upgrades and naivating the menu with one button.

Auto-Shooter: Attacks happen on a cool down timer with no player button or trigger available. They also auto-aim in various ways depending on the weapon.

Mowing Game: Movement is the primary mechanic, you're always charting a path away from some things and towards others. Automated attacks have distinct shapes so "every weapon forces you to move in a different way" as drowsyau, design lead of Sea of Survivors puts it. This is a distinct feature of the subsubgenre of mowing games.

Enemies from maze like patterns.

Automated Features

Auto-Aim
Auto-Fire

Default, no option for manual aim or trigger.

Supported Controls

  • Controller: Full
  • Controller Move Only: Yes
  • Controller One Handed: Yes
  • Mouse Only: Yes
  • Keyboard Only: Yes
  • Keyboard One Handed: Yes

Accessibility & Tutorial

- +

Accessibility Notes

Seizure warning.

Game is highly accessible control-wise out of the box due to the large array of support and simple single stick controls.

Menu FX Toggles: Flashing VFX and screen shake toggle

Legibility/Visibility Toggles: Border Opacity, Pixel Font, Co-Op Outlines, Disable Damage Numbers

Option to disable blood.

Tutorial Notes

Vampire Survivors has no tutorial. On first launch it quickly opens to a menu where you have few options but to simply start a run. Inside a run, you are presented with no prompts, control diagrams or instructions.

It works fine, because there is only one control during play: Joystick, mouse click or touch screen press to move.

Game Modes

- +

Timed Survival
Endless Survival

Campaign / Story
(Adventure DLC)

Difficulty Modes
(Hyper, Hurry, Inverse, Endless)

Difficulty Modifiers
(Via Meta Unlocks)

Multiplayer Co-Op

Game Mode Notes

Starts with 30m survival and opens up other game modes and difficulty options as you progress. Each difficulty mode has a variety of changes and increased rewards, including:

Hyper Mode: Character and enemies move faster, difficulty is increased in a few ways.
Hurry Mode: In Hurry mode, there's 2x Clock Speed and increased XP.
Inverse Mode: In Inverse mode, the map is flipped upside down (literally) and much difficulty is increased
Endless mode: Instead of an unkillable boss spawn at 30m, the enemy waves repeat with increased difficulty

Some meta unlocks also increase or modify difficulty and eventually you can banish some upgrade options pre-run for a "deck construction" style gameplay aspect. Quick streamlined menu directs you into the next run with minimal effort.

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: 30m

Run Time Notes

The initial run time is about 30 minutes, later stages are 15 minutes. "Hyper Mode" allows standard stages to take 15m run time.

Run is ended by a near impossible to kill boss. Unlockable endless modes and difficulty modifiers.

Speed Settings

2x
Unlockable
"Hyper Mode"

Hurry mode increases player and enemy speed, but not clock speed.

Player Power Progression

- +

Detailed notes on progression systems.

In Run Progression

During the run the player defeats enemies and gathers xp drops to level up. Level dialog pops up automatically on xp gain event. Leveling is done by selecting random options for ability enhancing items or attacking weapons (kind of like cards, but presented horizontally), eventually with the option of rerolling or banishing options. Items can also be collected off the ground when found around a map.

They can also gather temporary powerups dropped by enemies and open elite enemy treasure chests for items and weapons. In addition, a later game system of "arcana" drops further allows for modification of the run. Weapons and items can combine when fully leveled for "evolved" forms.

When you "run out" of levels in an endless run you can pick gold or health and even set it to auto. The player can hold 6 weapons, but pick up over the limit

Meta Progression

As the game progresses players unlock more stage and difficulty options by accomplishing timed survival goals and find based goals on each stage. They also unlock the option to purchase characters or purchase upgrades, as well as new weapons/items to find in future runs.

Players earn a currency through runs (gold) that can be spent on the in run vendor (eventually unlocked) or saved to get character or upgrades in the menu. Upgrades can be refunded, allowing for some buildcrafting.

Content By The Numbers

- +

58 Characters (16 secret, 16 DLC)

48 Base Weapons (+7 Counterparts)
38 Evolved Weapons and Unions
10 Special / Temporary Weapons
17 Passive Effect Items
(Almost all with upgrade levels)
16 Weapon Stats

19 Pickups
(XP, Gold, Food, Powerups)
22 feature unlocking relics to find
22 Run Modifying Arcana Cards
22 Meta Upgrade Powerups
198 Unique Enemies (58 Bosses)
19 Stages
5 Stage Modes
2 DLC available

In Game Lore & Extras

Collection
- Browse weapons, items,
relics, arcana

Bestiary
- Browse Enemies

Music
- On stage select,
can listen jukebox-style

UI Walkthrough: Main Menus

- +

Any other accessibility or menu options not mentioned already in the game modes. Instead of deciding what to list here, I'm going to just list it all. This should make for a pretty interesting UI study, actually, but probably won't be needed by most players. These are all likely missing late game unlock options! Please comment in corrections! From top left, back or close buttons are assumed. Spoiler Warning! Menu unlocks often happen later in play. See also meta unlock menu walkthrough.

Main Menu

Quit
Options
- "Favorites", Display, Sound, Gameplay,
Co-Op, Account
Start
-> Character Select
--> Enter Co-Op
-- Max Weapons, Eggs, Meta Stat Sidebar,
Map Completion Sidebar
--> Stage Select
--- Stage Stat Sidebar, Music Selection
--- Difficulty Modes (Hyper, Hurry, Arcanas,
Limit Break, Inverse, Endless)
---> Start
Quick Start
Collection (Seal Item)
Power Up (Purchase and refund with gold)
Unlocks (Option to hide completed)
Bestiary
Credits
Secrets (Checklist, Enter Cheat Code "Cast Spell")

Display & Sound

Both under "Options" in main menu.

Display
- Resolution Dropdown
- Vsync
- Border Transparency Dropdown
- Checkboxes: Flashing VFX, Disable Blood,
Weapons ScreenShake, Pixel Font,
Show Defanged Enemies

Sound
- Sounds Slider
- Music Slider
- Option for "Classic" or
"Blast Processed" sound effects

Track / speed options for music available at level select.

Gameplay / Input / Other Options

Under "options" in the main menu.

Gameplay
- Checkboxes: Damage Numbers, Show stage
progression, Visually Invert
Stages, Touch Screen Control Stick
- Option for Legacy or Default Joystick Type

Co-Op
- Player Colour Dropdowns
- Checkboxes: Show Co-OP Indicators,
Co-Op Vibration, Tint UI Selection,
Sequential Chest Mode

Account
- Language Selection (Many Options)
- Twitch Channel Connect
- Data Recovery

UI Walkthrough: Player HUD & Pause

- +

From top left of the screen, persistent UI during play (aka Heads Up Display) and other menus during your run.

Player HUD / Gameplay UI

XP Bar across full screen width, level number in top left corner.

Weapon/Item Slots in top left corner. Timer in middle. Enemy and gold count in top right corner.

Mouse pause button in top right corner, low opacity.

Player health bar below avatar. Optional touch screen joystick on screen, damage numbers, and arrows on edge of screen for pickups and treasure drops.

Pause Menus

Stats Sidebar, Map

- Options
-- Sounds, Music, Touch Screen
Control Stick, Flashing VFX,
Weapons ScreenShake, Damage Numbers
--| Quit
--> Resume
- Hide Pickups / Show Pickups
- Hide Guide / Show Guides
- Open Grimoire
- Resume

UI Walkthrough: Leveling & Progression

- +

Listing UI display as well. "In run" applies to "round end" UI in games with rounds. May use in game terms for complicated concepts. See also metaprogression system notes in the game mode notes.

Level / Power Up / Treasure: In Run and End Menus

XP drops as gems. Gold, powerups and health drop from enemies and breakables. Items sit on map. Enemies drop chests.

On XP Gain Event
- Equipment and Stat Sidebar
- 3-4 Level Options in vertical bordered list
- Reroll, Skip, Banish

If Arcana is Enabled in late game, starts with "Randomazzo" and more can be dropped
- pick from 22 tarot style "cards' with major effects.

Merchant
- when found purchase from unlocked options with gold.
Treasure Pickup Event
- Display gacha style drop and confirm, no options.

End Run Displays Results
-> Done

Meta Unlock Menus

Characters can be purchased from character select, under "Start".

Upgrades, called "powerups" are purchased in a simple UI with checkboxes after the option to purchase them has been unlocked through goals.

Upgrade Options / Unlocks: Might, Armor, Max Health, Recovery, Cooldown Area, Speed, Duration, Amount, Move Speed, Magnet, Luck, Growth, Greed, Curse, Revival, Omni, Defang, Reroll, Skip, Banish, Seal

Meta PowerUps can be Refunded, characters cannot. Meta PowerUps can be individually toggled off after purchase.

[edit]

Halls of Torment

EA Free Available

An action RPG inspired survivors-like commonly recommended if you like things a little more slower and challenging or just isometric with a Diablo 1 vibe. Feels more like VS when you enable Auto-Aim and Auto-Attack, but you might enjoy more control. The quick toggle option is appreciated. Crazy amount going on for Early Access. Darker vibe may appeal to you. This is one of the most popular and highly regarded titles on the list and I agree with that prestige.

Auto-Shooter Bullet Heaven Content Rich Dungeon Crawler Enemy Hell Hack and Slash Horde Survival Mowing Game Roguelite Single Stick Shooter Survivors-like Top Down or Isometric Twin Stick Shooter Wave Shooter Wave Survival
9.3 Combined Ranking Score
2/72 Ranking Position
1526/1600 Total Points
9.6 Final Review
96% Steam
9.8 Scale
9.3 Vibes
16395 Steam Reviews
387/400 Review Points
9.0 Similarity Score
95% Diagnosis:
Similar
1139/1200 Comparison Points
98% Genre 7.7/8 genre
94% Simple Controls 6.2/7 move
88% Survival Modes 3/4 modes
100% Power Progression 4/4 level
90% Buildcrafting Depth 4/5 build
93% Stage Features 6/7 stage
94% Content Breadth 8/9 stuff
94% Aesthetics 5.3/6 style
99% Gameplay Vibe Check 9.7/10 vibe vibe

Halls of Torment Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 11.3

Every game ranked was played, but also scaled based on research, talking to developers & your feedback. The priority with the scale's initial design was to compare similarity on relatively objective features - so it doesn't claim to include reviews of the depth and clarity you'd get at a games journalism site, nor the intensive time played you might get from player reviews on steam. We try to incorporate and link all of that along with a 'review scale' that checks for bugs. See the heatmap and breakdown! Time played noted so you can take any notes with a big grain of salt! I can't get to high level gameplay in 850+ games so I heavily research every game. Over 80 game creators let me interview or survey them! I Hope to go back and refine. Please argue or submit your own scores and reviews to be incorporated with credit into the notes and score numbers.

Added or last checked on 11/23/2023

imp-from_halls-of-torment.gifAn excellent choice to scratch your Vampire Survivors itch. This one is very inspired by oldschool Diablo 1 feel from graphics to enemy types and attacks. Great enemy patterns/AI, kind of beautiful sometimes to watch them move. Has options for Auto Aim and Auto Attack. Quick Toggle available at all times means it still gets high scores in those columns.

archer-from_halls-of-torment.gifThere is a prelude so you can try it out and see if you like the more downtempo vibe. I can see how some people complain about the graphics, but it's pure nostalgia for me! It's a great game, but I'm personally often looking for something a little more over the top and upbeat in this genre, which explains my lower playtime vs. some others.

skeleton-from_halls-of-torment.gifI should write more on this at some point, it's one of the better games on the list, but I imagine it being up so far and already popular most people already know that. Like a few other games the detail of notes suffers because I played most of my time in it before I was making notes and they are already on my list to play a lot more of. That's generally a good sign, but I intend to revise the notes later.

Halls of Torment Similarity Scale Heatmap

- +

Measured in 60 categories via likert-scale style options -1 to 1 in tenths, how does this game compare to Vampire Survivors. This allows 1200 total "points". It's easier to have a point of comparison and we just picked Vampire Survivors since it's the most popular and commonly referenced game in the subgenre. For detailed methodology read the explainer. For in depth examples at score value, see the scoring guide and for term definitions see the key.

9.0 Similarity Score
95% Diagnosis:
1139/1200 Comparison Points
Rogue-lite 1/1
Auto-Fire / Auto-Battle 0.9/1
Real Time 1/1
Top Down or Isometric 1/1
Direct Control of Single Avatar 1/1
Arcade Style 1/1
Bullet Heaven A (Many Player Bullets) 0.8/1
Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) 1/1
One Handed Play (w Controller) 0.8/1
Move Only 0.8/1
No Dash 1/1
No Trigger 0.8/1
No Special Move 1/1
No Aiming 0.8/1
No On-Aim / On-Fire Movement Penalty 1/1
Timed / Boss Ended Survival 1/1
Endless Mode 0/1
Organic / Unannounced Waves 1/1
High Enemy Count (Horde) 1/1
Level Up on XP Gain Event 1/1
Streamlined Level Choices (Simple UI) 1/1
Currency Based Meta Unlocks 1/1
Goal Based Meta Unlocks 1/1
Build Crafting 1/1
1/1
Weapon Combination / "Evolution" 0/1
Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 1/1
Broken / Invincible Builds Possible 1/1
Explorable Map 1/1
BIG Maps 1/1
XP on Ground 1/1
Health on Ground 1/1
Temp Powerups / Items on Ground 1/1
Treasure Chests and/or Loot Events 1/1
Vendor / Merchant on Run 0/1
Enemy Variety 1/1
Bosses / Elites 1/1
Many Interesting Characters 1/1
Many Challenges 1/1
Multiple Stages 1/1
Difficulty Modifiers 1/1
Bestiary / Lore 0/1
Achievements 1/1
Secrets 1/1
Retro / Pixel Art 1/1
Damage Numbers 1/1
Lofi Charm 1/1
Bumpin Music 0.5/1
Fun Writing 0.8/1
Subtle Humor 1/1
Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 1/1
Over the Top 0.7/1
"One More Run" / Short Runs 1/1
Difficulty Ramp 1/1
Fun Ramp 1/1
Low Price 1/1
Technical Check 1/1
Controls Check 1/1
Fun Check 1/1
Feels like VS 1/1

Halls of Torment Review Scale Heatmap

- +

The review scale is judged from -1 to 1 in 10 categories, with 200 possible "points" earned. Steam review positive percentage is worth another 100 points, and a "ten point" pure vibe review number adds extra subjectivity. Converted into points, that's 400 points total. The points aren't used directly in the ranking, though, which averages the three number scores for the final review score listed in the game line above.

9.6 Final Review
96% Positive Steam Reviews
16395 Steam Reviews
9.3 Pure Vibes
9.8 Review Scale
387/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 1/1
Not Janky 1/1
Good UI 0.9/1
Controller and Deck 1/1
Lots of Content 1/1
Good Theme 1/1
Good Graphics and Sound 1/1
Fun Feel 0.9/1
Unique Twists 1/1
Vibe Check 1/1

Metacritic Scores

- +

This title has metacritic data! The "fuck the man" score is adjusted so each person's review is equally weighted, regardless of critic or fan status.

Critic

- Converted 10 Point Score
- Number of Critic Reviews

User

8.4 User Review Average
19 Number of User Reviews

Average

8.4 Direct Average
8.4 "Fuck The Man" Combined Mean

Game Features

- +

Listing various features we've got info on.

Multiplayer

  • Local: No
  • Online: No
  • Player Count: 1
  • Leaderboards: No

Steam Features

  • Steam Cloud: Yes
  • Steam Achievements: 252
  • Steam Leaderboards: No
  • Steam Workshop: No
  • Steam Trading Cards: No

Extras, Etc.

  • NSFW: No
  • Demo Available: Yes
  • DLC Available: No
  • Soundtrack Available: YouTube

Marketing Blurb

- +

Some description of the game and its features from the creators.

"Slay hordes of terrifying monsters in this horde survival roguelite. Descend into the Halls of Torment where the lords of the underworld await you. Treasures, magic trinkets, and a growing cast of heroes will grant you the power to vanquish the horrors from beyond. How long can you survive?"

Control Style Notes

- +

Technically a twin stick shooter, but with auto aim and auto fire quickly available to toggle via a controller press without having to enter a menu. It felt, in my playthrough, like auto aim always was valid enough as a strategy and sometimes I would want to manually aim. Pretty comfortable play style.

Auto Aim generally targets nearest enemy, with some melee ranged attacks and upgrade paths make it a good mowing game.

Enemies form satisfying maze like patterns.

Automated Features

Auto-Aim
Auto-Fire

Toggle in menu or via button in play, default's to manual aim. With auto-aim on, you can still press the right stick to aim when needed and simply release to return to auto-aim.

Supported Controls

  • Controller: Full
  • Controller Move Only: Yes
  • Controller One Handed: Yes
  • Mouse Only: Yes
  • Keyboard Only: Yes
  • Keyboard One Handed: Yes

Accessibility & Tutorial

- +

Accessibility Notes

Very accessible about of the box control-wise due to easy enable of auto-aim and fire, though menus are a little bit more complicated to navigate.

Menu FX Toggle: Damage Flash Intensity

Visibility Options: Cursor Size, Ability Effect Opacity, Aiming Line, Disable Damage Numbers

Tutorial Notes

Input hints on start is toggleable in the menu.

Shows inputs on screen before fading away at start of run, if toggled.

Tooltips help show information about abilities on hover.

Game Modes

- +

Timed / Boss Ended
Survival

"Agony" Modes
(Difficulty Increase)

Camp
(Main Menu
/Hub Zone)

Game Mode Notes

The game challenges you to survive out a timer and the boss that shows up. Defeating the boss ends the run.

After completing a certain point at regular level, a harder mode called "Agony" becomes selectable.

The main menu navigation is through a hub zone called "Camp" where you control an avatar directly and interact with other characters to switch to them, and to a couple interactable objects and NPCs to increase your power and pick your equipment.

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: 30m

Run Time Notes

At the end of the round the boss shows up and must be defeated. It's a fairly standard countdown timer.

Speed Settings

None

Player Power Progression

- +

Detailed notes on progression systems.

In Run Progression

Much like Vampire survivors, you avoid enemies while picking up XP drops and gold. One difference is you have to find abilities around the map, instead of being able to get them by leveling. Leveling up powers up traits for your current abilities.

Equipment is also another difference, see also meta notes.

There are a couple powerups and a magnet ability.

When you "run out" of traits to pick in a run you can pick health or gold.

Meta Progression

Through progression players unlock characters and features in the hub zone. Players can find equipment and then purchase it from the wellkeeper NPC hubworld to equip at the stash.

Incremental upgrades can be purchased for in game currency between runs. Players can brew potions with the cupbearer NPC allowing temporary options like rerolls in the next run."

It's possible to reset and restore backups of progress in player profiles.

Content By The Numbers

- +

9 Characters ("Heroes") each with 3 Class Traits
16 Abilities each with trait upgrade options.
15 Base Traits
10 Elevated Traits
500+ trait options total that upgrade characters and abilities
22 Visible Player Stats

2 NPCs
4 Stages / "Dhapters"
30+ Unique Monsters
12+ Bosses
2 Difficulty Options (Normal, Agony)
250 Quests (Challenges) Total, split between chapter related and character related.

1 XP pickup item, 4 Healing Drops
1 Gold meta progression currency
4 Temporary Powerups (inc XP magnet)
50+ Equipment Items

18 Meta Upgrades ("Blessings")
6 Potions, brewed with 15 ingredients drops
9 Equippable Buffs ("Marks")

In Game Lore & Extras

2 rescuable hub zone NPCs with light voice acted dialog.

UI Walkthrough: Main Menus

- +

Any other accessibility or menu options not mentioned already in the game modes. Instead of deciding what to list here, I'm going to just list it all. This should make for a pretty interesting UI study, actually, but probably won't be needed by most players. These are all likely missing late game unlock options! Please comment in corrections! From top left, back or close buttons are assumed. Spoiler Warning! Menu unlocks often happen later in play. See also meta unlock menu walkthrough.

Main Menu

Initial
- Character Select (Left Stick)
-> Avatar Control / "Camp" Hub Zone
-> Menu (Start, also option during hub world)

Camp (Hubzone, Walk, button to interact)
- Wellkeeper (Merchant NPC, buy found items)
- Item Stash (Equip)
- Change Character
- Shrine of Blessings
(Currency Meta Powerups)
--> Register of Halls / Door (Choose Stage)
- Quests (Tab through challenges,
see unlock rewards)
- Cupbearer (Potion Crafting NPC)

Menu (LB - RB to tab)
- Settings Tab (Display, Input, Audio, Interface)
- Profile Tab
- Quit Tab (Yes/No Confirmation)

Display & Sound

On the settings tab of the main menu

Display and Window Toggles
- Fullscreen, Performance Mode,
Pause when Focus Lost

Audio Sliders
- Master Volume, Music Volume,
SFX Volume, Voice Volume

Interface
-Cursor Select
- Sliders: Cursor Size, Damage Flash Intensity,
Ability Effect Opacity
- Toggles: Aiming Line, Damage Numbers,
Show Input Hints on Start

Gameplay / Input / Other Options

On the settings tab of the main menu

Input Method Toggles
- Auto Aim, Auto Attack, Mouse Only Mode,
Mouse Only On Hold

Keyboard Bindings
- Move Up, Move Left, Move Down, Move Right, Attack Up,
Attack Left, Attack Down, Attack Right,
Tab Left, Tab Right, Confirm / Interact

UI Walkthrough: Player HUD & Pause

- +

From top left of the screen, persistent UI during play (aka Heads Up Display) and other menus during your run.

Player HUD / Gameplay UI

Play area is in center with persistent sidebars on left and right.

Left Sidebar
- Player Level, XP Meter,
XP Gained / Required Number,
Health/Max, Health Orb.

Right Sidebar
- Menu/Pause Button, Ability Cooldown Icons,
Powerups, Gold Count, Enemies Slain Count,
Time Remaining

On Run Start (optionally) displays controls in bottom left corner of play area. Optional damage numbers. Arrows on edge direct players to objectives.

Pause Menus

On "start" or Menu click, both left and right sidebars persist while center is replaced with menu.

Tab Menus
- Character, Traits and Abilities,
Settings, Quit

Character
- View and equip items, view stats.

Traits and Abilities
- View Traits and Ability Stats

Settings
- (Same as Main Menu Settings)

Quit
- Return to Camp, Quit Game

UI Walkthrough: Leveling & Progression

- +

Listing UI display as well. "In run" applies to "round end" UI in games with rounds. May use in game terms for complicated concepts. See also metaprogression system notes in the game mode notes.

Level / Power Up / Treasure: In Run and End Menus

XP drops as gems. Gold and health drop from enemies and breakables. Items sit on map. Enemies drop chests. Sidebars persist in all views.

On XP Gain Event
- Pick from 4 "Traits"
- 4 Level Options in vertical bordered list
- Potions: Reroll, Banish, Memorize, Double

On "Scroll of Mastery" pickup
- Pick from 3 "Abilities"
- Discard for 50% Level XP

"Dried Up Well" interactable
- Drop found equipment into the well
to retrieve it at camp

End Run Displays Results
- View stats and completed quests
-> Return to camp

Meta Unlock Menus

Various features for the hub world unlock through play.

Players can find equipment and then purchase it from the wellkeeper NPC hubworld to equip at the stash.

Item Stash: 7 slots, 4 loadouts, sorted tabs. Equip items found for bonuses during the next run.

Shrine of Blessings: Purchase upgrades for Health Capacity, Health Regeneration, Defense, Movement Speed, Pickup Range, Damage, Attack Speed, Area / Projectile Size, Attack Range. Can be refunded individually or all at once.

Players can brew potions with the cupbearer NPC allowing temporary options like rerolls in the next run.

[edit]

Gunlocked

Released

A very interesting genre-twisting option if you want a vertically scrolling space game that otherwise checks off most survivors-like features. Fairly unique for its presentation as a classic shoot em up, limiting it on exploration scores but perhaps making it more fun than most clones with a twist on the format. Surprisingly, the "lock on" mechanic makes this less of a bullet heaven than other titles, despite the shmup format. Interesting for our scale, this is an aiming mechanic but with only movement controls. Runs are 15 minutes but also more difficult. If you want to avoid rather than mow, Gunlocked supplies a nice gameplay loop.

Auto-Shooter Enemy Hell Roguelite Shoot 'Em Up Single Stick Shooter Survivors-like Vertical Scrolling Shmup Wave Shooter
8.8 Combined Ranking Score
5/72 Ranking Position
1476/1600 Total Points
9.2 Final Review
91% Steam
9.9 Scale
8.7 Vibes
335 Steam Reviews
377/400 Review Points
8.3 Similarity Score
92% Diagnosis:
Similar
1099/1200 Comparison Points
94% Genre 7.1/8 genre
96% Simple Controls 6.5/7 move
94% Survival Modes 3.5/4 modes
100% Power Progression 4/4 level
92% Buildcrafting Depth 4.2/5 build
72% Stage Features 3.1/7 stage
92% Content Breadth 7.6/9 stuff
90% Aesthetics 4.8/6 style
96% Gameplay Vibe Check 9.1/10 vibe vibe

Gunlocked Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 2.4

Every game ranked was played, but also scaled based on research, talking to developers & your feedback. The priority with the scale's initial design was to compare similarity on relatively objective features - so it doesn't claim to include reviews of the depth and clarity you'd get at a games journalism site, nor the intensive time played you might get from player reviews on steam. We try to incorporate and link all of that along with a 'review scale' that checks for bugs. See the heatmap and breakdown! Time played noted so you can take any notes with a big grain of salt! I can't get to high level gameplay in 850+ games so I heavily research every game. Over 80 game creators let me interview or survey them! I Hope to go back and refine. Please argue or submit your own scores and reviews to be incorporated with credit into the notes and score numbers.

Added or last checked on 10/23/2023

Gunlocked puts a spin on the survivors-like formula by switching format to a vertically scrolling shooter. It's an auto shooter with only movement control but the primary mechanic (expressed with many pilots and weapons) is 'locking' or positioning your shot by moving the aiming reticule into place along with your ship - so it gets a partial score in 'aiming.' We're going to call "upgrade data", where I have to go in a certain point to get an upgrade, a "treasure chest" on the scale.

Ships are cosmetic unfortunately, but pilots have a interesting variety of skills. Soundtrack is great, though maybe could be more procedural or have more tracks. Overall the game is very satisfying, from the challenge to upgrade loop, though it doesn't have quite the same 'mowing down hordes of enemies' vibe and surprisingly few bullets for the shmup stylings.

I think it's great and will play more, but not for the same reason I play overpowered screenwiping games like PoE or VS.

Gunlocked Similarity Scale Heatmap

- +

Measured in 60 categories via likert-scale style options -1 to 1 in tenths, how does this game compare to Vampire Survivors. This allows 1200 total "points". It's easier to have a point of comparison and we just picked Vampire Survivors since it's the most popular and commonly referenced game in the subgenre. For detailed methodology read the explainer. For in depth examples at score value, see the scoring guide and for term definitions see the key.

8.3 Similarity Score
92% Diagnosis:
1099/1200 Comparison Points
Rogue-lite 1/1
Auto-Fire / Auto-Battle 1/1
Real Time 1/1
Top Down or Isometric 0.8/1
Direct Control of Single Avatar 1/1
Arcade Style 1/1
Bullet Heaven A (Many Player Bullets) 0.7/1
Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) 0.6/1
One Handed Play (w Controller) 1/1
Move Only 1/1
No Dash 1/1
No Trigger 1/1
No Special Move 1/1
No Aiming 0.5/1
No On-Aim / On-Fire Movement Penalty 1/1
Timed / Boss Ended Survival 1/1
Endless Mode 1/1
Organic / Unannounced Waves 1/1
High Enemy Count (Horde) 0.5/1
Level Up on XP Gain Event 1/1
Streamlined Level Choices (Simple UI) 1/1
Currency Based Meta Unlocks 1/1
Goal Based Meta Unlocks 1/1
Build Crafting 0.9/1
1/1
Weapon Combination / "Evolution" 1/1
Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 1/1
Broken / Invincible Builds Possible 0.3/1
Explorable Map 0/1
BIG Maps 0.1/1
XP on Ground 1/1
Health on Ground 0/1
Temp Powerups / Items on Ground 1/1
Treasure Chests and/or Loot Events 1/1
Vendor / Merchant on Run 0/1
Enemy Variety 0.8/1
Bosses / Elites 1/1
Many Interesting Characters 1/1
Many Challenges 1/1
Multiple Stages 0.8/1
Difficulty Modifiers 1/1
Bestiary / Lore 1/1
Achievements 1/1
Secrets 0/1
Retro / Pixel Art 1/1
Damage Numbers 0/1
Lofi Charm 1/1
Bumpin Music 1/1
Fun Writing 1/1
Subtle Humor 0.8/1
Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 0.9/1
Over the Top 0.4/1
"One More Run" / Short Runs 1/1
Difficulty Ramp 1/1
Fun Ramp 1/1
Low Price 1/1
Technical Check 1/1
Controls Check 1/1
Fun Check 1/1
Feels like VS 0.8/1

Gunlocked Review Scale Heatmap

- +

The review scale is judged from -1 to 1 in 10 categories, with 200 possible "points" earned. Steam review positive percentage is worth another 100 points, and a "ten point" pure vibe review number adds extra subjectivity. Converted into points, that's 400 points total. The points aren't used directly in the ranking, though, which averages the three number scores for the final review score listed in the game line above.

9.2 Final Review
91% Positive Steam Reviews
335 Steam Reviews
8.7 Pure Vibes
9.9 Review Scale
377/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 1/1
Not Janky 1/1
Good UI 0.9/1
Controller and Deck 1/1
Lots of Content 1/1
Good Theme 1/1
Good Graphics and Sound 1/1
Fun Feel 1/1
Unique Twists 1/1
Vibe Check 1/1

Gunlocked Tag Cloud

- +

More sortable taxonomies and categories associated with the game (genre tags are available in the main game table line!) We've just started adding tags to enable more sorting options, this section will get more filled out as we go!

Release Tags

Steam DeckWindows PCReleased

Sorting Categories

Similar

Genre and Control Style Tags

Auto-ShooterEnemy HellRogueliteShoot 'Em UpSingle Stick ShooterSurvivors-likeVertical Scrolling ShmupWave Shooter

Aesthetic Tags

2DPixel ArtRetro

Setting / Story Tags

Sci-fiShip (Air/Space)Space

Control Styles

Auto-FireControllerController Move Only

Game Mode Tags

Endless ModeIgnorable TutorialTimed SurvivalWave Survival15m

Features and Extras

Steam AchievementsSteam Cloud

Dev/Publisher

FromLefcourt

Game Features

- +

Listing various features we've got info on.

Multiplayer

  • Local: No
  • Online: No
  • Player Count: 1
  • Leaderboards: ?

Steam Features

  • Steam Cloud: Yes
  • Steam Achievements: 65
  • Steam Leaderboards: No
  • Steam Workshop: No
  • Steam Trading Cards: No

Extras, Etc.

  • NSFW: No
  • Demo Available: No
  • DLC Available: Yes
  • Soundtrack Available: No

Marketing Blurb

- +

Some description of the game and its features from the creators.

"A twin stick shooter without the twin stick, Gunlocked is a sci-fi action roguelike about careful positioning and upgrade selection. Manage unique targeting systems across multiple weapons and upgrades, as you battle legions of alien ships, and then do it all over again!"

"You only control movement, but every weapon has its own unique targeting system that you can influence."

Control Style Notes

- +

Single stick shooter, it's vertically scrolling.

It's an auto shooter with only movement control but the primary mechanic (expressed with many pilots and weapons) is 'locking' or positioning your shot by moving the aiming reticule into place along with your ship.

Overall it's more about avoiding and targeting than mowing.

Automated Features

Auto-Fire

Auto-aim might be bit of a stretch because really everything is aimed by positioning of your ship - but it does decide when to lock, and thus fire, and it's impossible to manual aim in any way.

Supported Controls

  • Controller: Full
  • Controller Move Only: Yes
  • Controller One Handed: Yes
  • Mouse Only: ?
  • Keyboard Only: ?
  • Keyboard One Handed: ?

Game Modes

- +

Timed Survival

Endless Survival

Game Mode Notes

Dev: "Endless is unlocked last"

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: 15m

Run Time Notes

?

Speed Settings

?

[edit]

Boneraiser Minions

Released

A auto-battler necromancy game if you want to raise hell but not freeze your computer. As a summoning focused horde avoidance game, it has a lot of depth. But it may not satisfy bullet heaven cravings if you want to see a million things pop out of your character or so many enemies you get one frame a second. It also has a dash and special move button, differentiating it from VS there. Active updates, a beloved title by many! Additional notes and score adjust by Raring on discord.

Arena Survival Auto-Battler Content Rich Enemy Hell Horde Survival Roguelite Summoning Game Survivors-like Top Down or Isometric Wave Survival
8.8 Combined Ranking Score
6/72 Ranking Position
1475/1600 Total Points
9.2 Final Review
96% Steam
9.6 Scale
8.5 Vibes
3865 Steam Reviews
377/400 Review Points
8.3 Similarity Score
92% Diagnosis:
Similar
1098/1200 Comparison Points
90% Genre 6.4/8 genre
71% Simple Controls 3/7 move
100% Survival Modes 4/4 modes
100% Power Progression 4/4 level
90% Buildcrafting Depth 4/5 build
78% Stage Features 3.9/7 stage
100% Content Breadth 9/9 stuff
100% Aesthetics 6/6 style
98% Gameplay Vibe Check 9.5/10 vibe vibe

Boneraiser Minions Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 5.8

Every game ranked was played, but also scaled based on research, talking to developers & your feedback. The priority with the scale's initial design was to compare similarity on relatively objective features - so it doesn't claim to include reviews of the depth and clarity you'd get at a games journalism site, nor the intensive time played you might get from player reviews on steam. We try to incorporate and link all of that along with a 'review scale' that checks for bugs. See the heatmap and breakdown! Time played noted so you can take any notes with a big grain of salt! I can't get to high level gameplay in 850+ games so I heavily research every game. Over 80 game creators let me interview or survey them! I Hope to go back and refine. Please argue or submit your own scores and reviews to be incorporated with credit into the notes and score numbers.

Added or last checked on 10/18/2023

This game is notable both for being widely loved but also for being a firm twist on the genre by focusing on summoning (though plenty of other games on this list like Keeper's Toll have necromancer or summoner characters or skills.) This is not only one of the best VS-likes, though, it's also one of the best necromancer games ever! Also includes a card game mini-game that's totally optional accessed through your lair.

Lots of unlocks from characters to game modes and a lot of depth in a lofi presentation. Patches may have removed the ability to go infinite without amazing luck unfortunately. It's possible this won't scratch the itch for you if you want to see a lot of attacks/bullets come out of your character. You spend most of the time running away from, not into, mobs of enemies while your summons mop up.

This is one of the more unique and fully realized title on this list and also well supported with an active fandom.

Raring Review Notes: "It's a bullet heaven title with a heavy horde focus. While there are plenty of projectiles, it leans more into dodging large groups of mobs in melee range. While it is isometric depending on the map and the layout you choose through upgrades any map can and will feel different. Opposed to the likes of VS, it features (Mini)bosses with distinctive skills and high mobility. The various classes all have their unique playstyle and the game is not strictly build around weapons and passives."

"Controls are great. You only need movement keys and 2 trigger keys or your stick and 2 buttons"

Raring: "In its core outside of spell based classes it's still a necromancy game. You raise your minions and while you can support them, they will do most of the work for you. In earlier iterations the game used to be fairly hard and unlocking Bosses to raise them as minions felt very rewarding. Sadly my review score took a bit of a hit when it started to orient itself more on VS adding features that made difficulty redundant unless you kept looping for higher leaderboard scores."

"While it has become a tad too easy and as such the incentive of "one more run" has been lowered, it is still a solid recommendations. For less than 5 bucks you get an incredible bang for buck value if achievement hunting is your thing. It's still the best class/necromancy based horde survivor if pixel art is your jam."

Raring and I both came to the same pure vibes score: 8.5

Boneraiser Minions Similarity Scale Heatmap

- +

Measured in 60 categories via likert-scale style options -1 to 1 in tenths, how does this game compare to Vampire Survivors. This allows 1200 total "points". It's easier to have a point of comparison and we just picked Vampire Survivors since it's the most popular and commonly referenced game in the subgenre. For detailed methodology read the explainer. For in depth examples at score value, see the scoring guide and for term definitions see the key.

8.3 Similarity Score
92% Diagnosis:
1098/1200 Comparison Points
Rogue-lite 1/1
Auto-Fire / Auto-Battle 0.9/1
Real Time 1/1
Top Down or Isometric 1/1
Direct Control of Single Avatar 1/1
Arcade Style 1/1
Bullet Heaven A (Many Player Bullets) 0/1
Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) 0.5/1
One Handed Play (w Controller) 0/1
Move Only 0/1
No Dash 0/1
No Trigger 1/1
No Special Move 0/1
No Aiming 1/1
No On-Aim / On-Fire Movement Penalty 1/1
Timed / Boss Ended Survival 1/1
Endless Mode 1/1
Organic / Unannounced Waves 1/1
High Enemy Count (Horde) 1/1
Level Up on XP Gain Event 1/1
Streamlined Level Choices (Simple UI) 1/1
Currency Based Meta Unlocks 1/1
Goal Based Meta Unlocks 1/1
Build Crafting 0.6/1
1/1
Weapon Combination / "Evolution" 1/1
Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 1/1
Broken / Invincible Builds Possible 0.4/1
Explorable Map 0.1/1
BIG Maps 0/1
XP on Ground 1/1
Health on Ground 0.8/1
Temp Powerups / Items on Ground 1/1
Treasure Chests and/or Loot Events 1/1
Vendor / Merchant on Run 0/1
Enemy Variety 1/1
Bosses / Elites 1/1
Many Interesting Characters 1/1
Many Challenges 1/1
Multiple Stages 1/1
Difficulty Modifiers 1/1
Bestiary / Lore 1/1
Achievements 1/1
Secrets 1/1
Retro / Pixel Art 1/1
Damage Numbers 1/1
Lofi Charm 1/1
Bumpin Music 1/1
Fun Writing 1/1
Subtle Humor 1/1
Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 1/1
Over the Top 0.6/1
"One More Run" / Short Runs 1/1
Difficulty Ramp 1/1
Fun Ramp 0.9/1
Low Price 1/1
Technical Check 1/1
Controls Check 1/1
Fun Check 1/1
Feels like VS 1/1

Boneraiser Minions Review Scale Heatmap

- +

The review scale is judged from -1 to 1 in 10 categories, with 200 possible "points" earned. Steam review positive percentage is worth another 100 points, and a "ten point" pure vibe review number adds extra subjectivity. Converted into points, that's 400 points total. The points aren't used directly in the ranking, though, which averages the three number scores for the final review score listed in the game line above.

9.2 Final Review
96% Positive Steam Reviews
3865 Steam Reviews
8.5 Pure Vibes
9.6 Review Scale
377/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 1/1
Not Janky 0.9/1
Good UI 0.8/1
Controller and Deck 1/1
Lots of Content 1/1
Good Theme 1/1
Good Graphics and Sound 1/1
Fun Feel 0.9/1
Unique Twists 1/1
Vibe Check 1/1

Metacritic Scores

- +

This title has metacritic data! The "fuck the man" score is adjusted so each person's review is equally weighted, regardless of critic or fan status.

Critic

9.0 Converted 10 Point Score
3 Number of Critic Reviews

User

7.7 User Review Average
7 Number of User Reviews

Average

8.4 Direct Average
8.1 "Fuck The Man" Combined Mean

Boneraiser Minions Tag Cloud

- +

More sortable taxonomies and categories associated with the game (genre tags are available in the main game table line!) We've just started adding tags to enable more sorting options, this section will get more filled out as we go!

Release Tags

Steam DeckWindows PCReleased

Sorting Categories

Similar

Genre and Control Style Tags

Arena SurvivalAuto-BattlerContent RichEnemy HellHorde SurvivalRogueliteSummoning GameSurvivors-likeTop Down or IsometricWave Survival

Aesthetic Tags

2DCuteNeonPixel ArtRetro

Setting / Story Tags

ComedyFantasyHorror ThemedMagicNecromancyUndeadVillain Protagonist

Control Styles

Auto-AimAuto-FireController

Game Mode Tags

Card GameCustom Mode/ScenarioDaily ChallengesEndless ModeMinigamesTimed SurvivalWave Survival20m

Features and Extras

SoundtrackSteam AchievementsSteam CloudSteam LeaderboardsSteam Trading Cards

Dev/Publisher

Caiys

Game Features

- +

Listing various features we've got info on.

Multiplayer

  • Local: No
  • Online: No
  • Player Count: 1
  • Leaderboards: Yes

Steam Features

  • Steam Cloud: Yes
  • Steam Achievements: 190
  • Steam Leaderboards: Yes
  • Steam Workshop: No
  • Steam Trading Cards: Yes

Extras, Etc.

  • NSFW: No
  • Demo Available: No
  • DLC Available: No
  • Soundtrack Available: Soundcloud

Marketing Blurb

- +

Some description of the game and its features from the creators.

"Amass an army of deamonic undead to fight endless waves of heroes intent to end your boneraising ways! In this gothic-horror auto-battle roguelite, use the bones of slain heroes to raise your minions, collect powerful relics and spells, and unlock meta upgrades, all to survive King Gigald's crusade!"

"Dash around avoiding enemies and collecting their bones" "There's several game modes to keep play fresh."

Control Style Notes

- +

A movement focused game that I wouldn't call a single stick shooter, since you don't shoot.

Mostly using your dash to stay out of trouble while gathering the resource to power up, you spend most of the time running away from, not into, mobs of enemies while your summons mop up.

Automated Features

Auto-Battler

You summon a great deal of enemies to do damage for you

Supported Controls

  • Controller: Full
  • Controller Move Only: No
  • Controller One Handed: ?
  • Mouse Only: ?
  • Keyboard Only: ?
  • Keyboard One Handed: ?

Game Modes

- +

Timed Survival
Endless Survival

Daily & Weekly
Challenges

Custom Mode
("Creative Plaything")

Card Game Minigame
("Clashful Cards")

Game Mode Notes

Timed Survival is also called Mausoleum Awakening, Endless is Necrotic Skirmishes, dailies called Boneworld Challenges.

Raring: "The goal is survival until the "final" boss of the map. Then either loop for endless if you want to place higher on the leaderboards or end your run to invest into unlockable boons. Those will either grant you access to more classes, allow you to modify the hub for more features or to either increase or lower the difficulty by spending on perks for yourself and the hordes. It also features daily and weekly challenges."

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: 20m

Run Time Notes

Raring: "It has loops and endless mode but on average about 15 minutes on the early maps to 25 minutes on latter ones"

Speed Settings

?

[edit]

Void Scrappers

Free Available Released

A fan loved tightly designed little space survivors-like with a really jammin soundtrack that seals the deal. One handed play possible if you map the boost. Definitely faster and much harder than most games here start off. There's a lot of competition among the space games, this is one of the better ones. It manages to straddle the line of simple and complex in many ways, never seeming to suffer from the lack of trappings in some other games, but also hiding a bit of its depth under arcade stylings and unclear unlocks.

Arena Shooter Auto-Shooter Enemy Hell Roguelite Survivors-like Top Down or Isometric
8.8 Combined Ranking Score
7/72 Ranking Position
1471/1600 Total Points
9.3 Final Review
91% Steam
9.6 Scale
9.3 Vibes
404 Steam Reviews
380/400 Review Points
8.2 Similarity Score
91% Diagnosis:
Similar
1091/1200 Comparison Points
94% Genre 7.1/8 genre
87% Simple Controls 5.2/7 move
99% Survival Modes 3.9/4 modes
100% Power Progression 4/4 level
100% Buildcrafting Depth 5/5 build
79% Stage Features 4.1/7 stage
74% Content Breadth 4.4/9 stuff
100% Aesthetics 6/6 style
99% Gameplay Vibe Check 9.7/10 vibe vibe

Void Scrappers Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 5.0

Every game ranked was played, but also scaled based on research, talking to developers & your feedback. The priority with the scale's initial design was to compare similarity on relatively objective features - so it doesn't claim to include reviews of the depth and clarity you'd get at a games journalism site, nor the intensive time played you might get from player reviews on steam. We try to incorporate and link all of that along with a 'review scale' that checks for bugs. See the heatmap and breakdown! Time played noted so you can take any notes with a big grain of salt! I can't get to high level gameplay in 850+ games so I heavily research every game. Over 80 game creators let me interview or survey them! I Hope to go back and refine. Please argue or submit your own scores and reviews to be incorporated with credit into the notes and score numbers.

Added or last checked on 11/4/2023

shrapnel-from_void-scrappers.gifAn incredibly satisfying and easy to loop into space survivors-like. The controls remind me of playing the drifty UFO style Arilou in Star Control 2, where you'll keep moving a little bit but it's never annoying because you can zip right back around. It's got what I'd say are bullet hell hitboxes (in the best way) where you can cruise quite close to an enemy and still save your neck at the last second.

That's good because it's honestly also very challenging due to the fast movement and generally only 3 or 4 health you've got, with few ways to make yourself more resistant to a hit.

Feels a little slow to unlock things, but also the minimal menu design makes it easy to forget there are also challenge based unlocks and not just the currency ones. Once I got in the habit of finding a challenge to chase I was fully sucked into the "one more run" loop.

It adds a dash but besides that it's mostly an auto shooter. While most space games (and most survivors-likes in general it seems) add twin stick controls, this one happily handles the aiming all on its own. I love that there's a no dashing challenge because I hate dashing.

It's technically an arena shooter but an enjoyable parallax scroll effect and the zippy travel makes it seem like you're in the endless void and not a tiny box, so it doesn't get negative scores in the map size and exploration, even a tiny positive in "big" maps. When you finish the survival/boss mode it just kills you with spawns VS style, but if you make an invincible build it's possible to continue until you break the game. We'll call this full points for both.

Really really good menu music. Great music overall. Like if star control was scored by trent reznor. Accidentally left it paused for a half hour just enjoying it on my phone. Game is considered complete with no updates planned, dev is working now on Bore Blasters, also on this spreadsheet.

Void Scrappers Similarity Scale Heatmap

- +

Measured in 60 categories via likert-scale style options -1 to 1 in tenths, how does this game compare to Vampire Survivors. This allows 1200 total "points". It's easier to have a point of comparison and we just picked Vampire Survivors since it's the most popular and commonly referenced game in the subgenre. For detailed methodology read the explainer. For in depth examples at score value, see the scoring guide and for term definitions see the key.

8.2 Similarity Score
91% Diagnosis:
1091/1200 Comparison Points
Rogue-lite 1/1
Auto-Fire / Auto-Battle 0.8/1
Real Time 1/1
Top Down or Isometric 1/1
Direct Control of Single Avatar 1/1
Arcade Style 1/1
Bullet Heaven A (Many Player Bullets) 0.8/1
Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) 0.5/1
One Handed Play (w Controller) 0.5/1
Move Only 0.7/1
No Dash 0/1
No Trigger 1/1
No Special Move 1/1
No Aiming 1/1
No On-Aim / On-Fire Movement Penalty 1/1
Timed / Boss Ended Survival 1/1
Endless Mode 1/1
Organic / Unannounced Waves 1/1
High Enemy Count (Horde) 0.9/1
Level Up on XP Gain Event 1/1
Streamlined Level Choices (Simple UI) 1/1
Currency Based Meta Unlocks 1/1
Goal Based Meta Unlocks 1/1
Build Crafting 1/1
1/1
Weapon Combination / "Evolution" 1/1
Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 1/1
Broken / Invincible Builds Possible 1/1
Explorable Map 0/1
BIG Maps 0.1/1
XP on Ground 1/1
Health on Ground 1/1
Temp Powerups / Items on Ground 1/1
Treasure Chests and/or Loot Events 1/1
Vendor / Merchant on Run 0/1
Enemy Variety 0.4/1
Bosses / Elites 1/1
Many Interesting Characters 1/1
Many Challenges 1/1
Multiple Stages 0/1
Difficulty Modifiers 0/1
Bestiary / Lore 0/1
Achievements 1/1
Secrets 0/1
Retro / Pixel Art 1/1
Damage Numbers 1/1
Lofi Charm 1/1
Bumpin Music 1/1
Fun Writing 1/1
Subtle Humor 1/1
Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 0.7/1
Over the Top 1/1
"One More Run" / Short Runs 1/1
Difficulty Ramp 1/1
Fun Ramp 1/1
Low Price 1/1
Technical Check 1/1
Controls Check 1/1
Fun Check 1/1
Feels like VS 0.7/1

Void Scrappers Review Scale Heatmap

- +

The review scale is judged from -1 to 1 in 10 categories, with 200 possible "points" earned. Steam review positive percentage is worth another 100 points, and a "ten point" pure vibe review number adds extra subjectivity. Converted into points, that's 400 points total. The points aren't used directly in the ranking, though, which averages the three number scores for the final review score listed in the game line above.

9.3 Final Review
91% Positive Steam Reviews
404 Steam Reviews
9.3 Pure Vibes
9.6 Review Scale
380/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 1/1
Not Janky 1/1
Good UI 0.8/1
Controller and Deck 1/1
Lots of Content 0.8/1
Good Theme 1/1
Good Graphics and Sound 1/1
Fun Feel 1/1
Unique Twists 1/1
Vibe Check 1/1

Metacritic Scores

- +

This title has metacritic data! The "fuck the man" score is adjusted so each person's review is equally weighted, regardless of critic or fan status.

Critic

7.3 Converted 10 Point Score
2 Number of Critic Reviews

User

9.0 User Review Average
1 Number of User Reviews

Average

8.2 Direct Average
7.9 "Fuck The Man" Combined Mean

Void Scrappers Tag Cloud

- +

More sortable taxonomies and categories associated with the game (genre tags are available in the main game table line!) We've just started adding tags to enable more sorting options, this section will get more filled out as we go!

Release Tags

BrowserGOGitch.ioLinuxMacSteam DeckSwitchWindows PCFree AvailableReleased

Sorting Categories

Similar

Genre and Control Style Tags

Arena ShooterAuto-ShooterEnemy HellRogueliteSurvivors-likeTop Down or Isometric

Aesthetic Tags

2DLofiPixel ArtRetro

Setting / Story Tags

ComedySci-fiShip (Air/Space)Space

Control Styles

Auto-AimAuto-FireController

Game Mode Tags

Difficulty ModifiersEndless ModeNo TutorialSpeed UpTimed SurvivalWave Survival30m

Features and Extras

SoundtrackSteam AchievementsSteam Cloud

Dev/Publisher

8BitSkull

Game Features

- +

Listing various features we've got info on.

Multiplayer

  • Local: No
  • Online: No
  • Player Count: 1
  • Leaderboards: ?

Steam Features

  • Steam Cloud: Yes
  • Steam Achievements: 11
  • Steam Leaderboards: No
  • Steam Workshop: No
  • Steam Trading Cards: No

Extras, Etc.

  • NSFW: No
  • Demo Available: itch.io
  • DLC Available: No
  • Soundtrack Available: Steam YouTube Bandcamp GOG

Marketing Blurb

- +

Some description of the game and its features from the creators.

Blast hordes of alien ships into junk. Collect the scrap to upgrade your ship into an unstoppable force of destruction. Unlock new characters and weapons and upgrade your stats between runs.

"Void Scrappers Post Mortem" - dev interview

"I wanted to play into the power fantasy that a lot of these recent horde shooters aspire to by letting the player move fast. I never liked walking around slowly while doing my slaying, so I've put the player in a zippy space ship. Not just that - but the ship has a dash ability which provides a brief turbo boost (with invincibility!). The game is still difficult, just not because you move slowly." Great responsive dev, helped clarify several features in interview.

Control Style Notes

- +

Zippy fast moving single stick shooter. It adds a dash but otherwise limits attack controls.

Automated Features

Auto-Fire
Auto-Aim

There's no way to disable.

Supported Controls

  • Controller: Full
  • Controller Move Only: No
  • Controller One Handed: ?
  • Mouse Only: No
  • Keyboard Only: ?
  • Keyboard One Handed: ?

Game Modes

- +

Timed/Endless Survival

Difficulty Setting
(Enemy Projectiles)

Game Mode Notes

Dev: "Enemy projectiles can be turned off in settings. This slightly increases enemy HP."

Only one mode, but we're considering it both timed and endless - see run time notes.

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: 30m

Run Time Notes

Dev: "In-game time, the end stages of a run are triggered at 20 minutes. However time stops for upgrades and weapons, so actual time is longer."

When you finish the survival/boss mode it just kills you with spawns VS style, but if you make an invincible build it's possible to continue until you break the game. We'll call this full points for both.

Speed Settings

0.75x - 1.25x

Game speed can be changed in settings with no other impact to achievements or anything else.

[edit]

Elemental Survivors

EA Free Available

A "party based" jrpg styled survivors-like with togglable auto-aim. Some have noted this is a more chill survivors-like in Steam reviews, and it does seem less horror themed at least. My concern is it might be too easy at the start and I'm rarely forced to make a wacky useless build. I don't prefer an easy early game in this genre, but some on steam specifically say they like it because it's "more forgiving". If you find VS a little too stressful, this might be a great pick for you. Looking forward to checking back in on it during EA. Meta notes via dev!

Bullet Heaven Enemy Hell Hack and Slash Horde Survival JRPG Mowing Game Party Based Roguelite Single Stick Shooter Survivors-like Top Down or Isometric Twin Stick Shooter Wave Survival
8.7 Combined Ranking Score
8/72 Ranking Position
1484/1600 Total Points
8.6 Final Review
89% Steam
9.1 Scale
7.7 Vibes
53 Steam Reviews
357/400 Review Points
8.8 Similarity Score
94% Diagnosis:
Similar
1127/1200 Comparison Points
99% Genre 7.9/8 genre
95% Simple Controls 6.3/7 move
84% Survival Modes 2.7/4 modes
100% Power Progression 4/4 level
86% Buildcrafting Depth 3.6/5 build
96% Stage Features 6.5/7 stage
88% Content Breadth 6.9/9 stuff
95% Aesthetics 5.4/6 style
96% Gameplay Vibe Check 9.2/10 vibe vibe

Elemental Survivors Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 2.6

Every game ranked was played, but also scaled based on research, talking to developers & your feedback. The priority with the scale's initial design was to compare similarity on relatively objective features - so it doesn't claim to include reviews of the depth and clarity you'd get at a games journalism site, nor the intensive time played you might get from player reviews on steam. We try to incorporate and link all of that along with a 'review scale' that checks for bugs. See the heatmap and breakdown! Time played noted so you can take any notes with a big grain of salt! I can't get to high level gameplay in 850+ games so I heavily research every game. Over 80 game creators let me interview or survey them! I Hope to go back and refine. Please argue or submit your own scores and reviews to be incorporated with credit into the notes and score numbers.

Added or last checked on 11/5/2023

This is a survivors-like with a very cute SNES era RPG inspired vibe, complete with Nintendo Power themed menu and 4:3 ratio gameplay area. It's both more contemporary and more simplified in art style, but that's not a nitpick just an observation from a huge fan of the genre. It's overall very fun.

It's a nice find, very familiar to VS in the relaxing ways and just a little different thematically, enough that it feels new and worth exploring. In fact the little world map style exploring is a fun part of it, though minimalistic. Technically waves are announced in a scrolling box on the right sidebar but it's easy to not notice and still feels organic. The visual theme fits since it's little twist is you hire a "party" not just picking weapons or abilities. It's got aim enabled by default but can be turned off in the menu quickly, so we're giving it high partial points in movement only. Some characters have "on stop moving" abilities hence a tenth off in "no on attack movement penalty."

I have mixed feelings about "stats", sometimes preferring the more arcade style games, but I know many Brotato and RPG fans will appreciate more overt numbers on the screen. I think I do agree with the steam reviewer who prefers to not have borders on the screen, this also causes burn in on my OLED not just less immersion. I like a lot about the music but also it could relax just a little bit. I wish there were more lofi/relaxed options on start anyway. You can switch it at any time and for a bit I didn't realize I had it on shuffle, which was frustrating, using the trigger locks it to the track it's on.

But I do have a concern it may be too easy. Or at least too tilted towards the player in a way that makes the ramp odd. My first run in I got all the way until the end of run boss without much effort,then got stomped. I would have rather had a series of shorter runs feeling like I earned it and then a chance at winning with more upgrades. Also, it tells me to pick STR abilities for a STR character, then hands me all and only level ups with the ones I pick.

There's no way to make a badly optimized build or be forced to deal with a "bad draw". I imagine that comes later outside of my limited first look, but usually I encounter some of it quickly (that difficulty dropping down quick that rogue-inspired games are known for.) That challenge of high risk high reward is what draws me and makes me want to learn the new system. My hope is that I'll find more if it when I check back in on this early access title.

The data for this one is based on a dev submitted scorecard, my personal review and another review submitted by Silver721 earlier. Here's Silver's review note:

"Elemental Survivors wear's Vampire Survivors' inspiration on its sleeve, but distinguishes itself by incorporating Dungeons & Dragons and RPG elements to it. It features a party of characters with one main character, and each character has an array of stats like you would see in D&D. These stats influence which weapons are stronger with certain characters and allow for a wide variety of builds."

Elemental Survivors Similarity Scale Heatmap

- +

Measured in 60 categories via likert-scale style options -1 to 1 in tenths, how does this game compare to Vampire Survivors. This allows 1200 total "points". It's easier to have a point of comparison and we just picked Vampire Survivors since it's the most popular and commonly referenced game in the subgenre. For detailed methodology read the explainer. For in depth examples at score value, see the scoring guide and for term definitions see the key.

8.8 Similarity Score
94% Diagnosis:
1127/1200 Comparison Points
Rogue-lite 1/1
Auto-Fire / Auto-Battle 1/1
Real Time 1/1
Top Down or Isometric 1/1
Direct Control of Single Avatar 1/1
Arcade Style 1/1
Bullet Heaven A (Many Player Bullets) 1/1
Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) 0.9/1
One Handed Play (w Controller) 0.8/1
Move Only 0.8/1
No Dash 1/1
No Trigger 1/1
No Special Move 1/1
No Aiming 0.8/1
No On-Aim / On-Fire Movement Penalty 0.9/1
Timed / Boss Ended Survival 1/1
Endless Mode 0/1
Organic / Unannounced Waves 0.7/1
High Enemy Count (Horde) 1/1
Level Up on XP Gain Event 1/1
Streamlined Level Choices (Simple UI) 1/1
Currency Based Meta Unlocks 1/1
Goal Based Meta Unlocks 1/1
Build Crafting 0.8/1
0.8/1
Weapon Combination / "Evolution" 0.8/1
Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 0.5/1
Broken / Invincible Builds Possible 0.7/1
Explorable Map 0.8/1
BIG Maps 0.7/1
XP on Ground 1/1
Health on Ground 1/1
Temp Powerups / Items on Ground 1/1
Treasure Chests and/or Loot Events 1/1
Vendor / Merchant on Run 1/1
Enemy Variety 0.8/1
Bosses / Elites 1/1
Many Interesting Characters 1/1
Many Challenges 1/1
Multiple Stages 0.9/1
Difficulty Modifiers 1/1
Bestiary / Lore 0/1
Achievements 1/1
Secrets 0.2/1
Retro / Pixel Art 1/1
Damage Numbers 1/1
Lofi Charm 0.8/1
Bumpin Music 1/1
Fun Writing 0.8/1
Subtle Humor 0.8/1
Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 1/1
Over the Top 0.8/1
"One More Run" / Short Runs 1/1
Difficulty Ramp 0.8/1
Fun Ramp 0.8/1
Low Price 1/1
Technical Check 1/1
Controls Check 1/1
Fun Check 1/1
Feels like VS 1/1

Elemental Survivors Review Scale Heatmap

- +

The review scale is judged from -1 to 1 in 10 categories, with 200 possible "points" earned. Steam review positive percentage is worth another 100 points, and a "ten point" pure vibe review number adds extra subjectivity. Converted into points, that's 400 points total. The points aren't used directly in the ranking, though, which averages the three number scores for the final review score listed in the game line above.

8.6 Final Review
89% Positive Steam Reviews
53 Steam Reviews
7.7 Pure Vibes
9.1 Review Scale
357/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 1/1
Not Janky 0.9/1
Good UI 0.9/1
Controller and Deck 1/1
Lots of Content 1/1
Good Theme 0.9/1
Good Graphics and Sound 0.9/1
Fun Feel 0.8/1
Unique Twists 0.7/1
Vibe Check 1/1

Elemental Survivors Tag Cloud

- +

More sortable taxonomies and categories associated with the game (genre tags are available in the main game table line!) We've just started adding tags to enable more sorting options, this section will get more filled out as we go!

Release Tags

Steam DeckWindows PCEAFree Available

Sorting Categories

Similar

Genre and Control Style Tags

Bullet HeavenEnemy HellHack and SlashHorde SurvivalJRPGMowing GameParty BasedRogueliteSingle Stick ShooterSurvivors-likeTop Down or IsometricTwin Stick ShooterWave Survival

Aesthetic Tags

2DCuteJRPGPixel ArtRetro

Setting / Story Tags

Fantasy

Control Styles

Auto-AimControllerController 1 HandedController Move Only

Game Mode Tags

Goal Based RoundsNo TutorialTimed SurvivalWave Survival20m

Features and Extras

Steam AchievementsSteam Cloud

Dev/Publisher

Samobee Games

Game Features

- +

Listing various features we've got info on.

Multiplayer

  • Local: No
  • Online: No
  • Player Count: 1
  • Leaderboards: Yes

Steam Features

  • Steam Cloud: Yes
  • Steam Achievements: 94
  • Steam Leaderboards: No
  • Steam Workshop: No
  • Steam Trading Cards: No

Extras, Etc.

  • NSFW: No
  • Demo Available: Yes
  • DLC Available: No
  • Soundtrack Available: No

Marketing Blurb

- +

Some description of the game and its features from the creators.

"Grind, die, upgrade, repeat in this auto-attacking roguelite/RPG! Transform into an enemy-blender with your fave attacks made devastating with equipment, party members, and elemental evolutions. Survive to earn gems to unlock areas, permanent upgrades, characters, and god-like summons."

"A wide variety of attacks to level as you destroy your enemies. Varied randomly-generated areas to explore and unlock. Upgradeable equipment to aid you or powerup your attacks. Party members who increase your stats or skills, and who have their own specific attacks to make your party a powerhouse!

Control Style Notes

- +

Mostly movement focused, it's has manual aim enabled by default but can be toggled in the menu.

Automated Features

Auto Aim

Toggle in menu, defaults to off.

Supported Controls

  • Controller: Yes
  • Controller Move Only: Yes
  • Controller One Handed: Yes
  • Mouse Only: ?
  • Keyboard Only: ?
  • Keyboard One Handed: ?

Game Modes

- +

Quest Mode
(Goal Based Mamp)

Journey Mode
(Timed Survival)

Game Mode Notes

Quest Mode: "Enter a specific unlocked area and defeat bosses to complete quests and earn gems. Defeat the area boss to complete the area."

Journey Mode: "Drops you into escalating areas for 1 minute chunks until final boss at minute 20. There are leaderboards for this mode (both overall and per character)"

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: 20m

Run Time Notes

"Area boss spawns at 20 minute mark and gameplay ends when the player is defeated or defeats the area boss."

"Journey mode is played in escalating difficulty chunks of 1 minute each."

Speed Settings

None

[edit]

Time Survivors

Free Available Upcoming

Full game not out yet, but this is a fairly tight to formula survivors-like, with just a special move button you don't need to often use. Some fun powerups and a pixel inspired 3d art style that feels relatively unique so far on this list, uninspired weapon names but some interesting twists. I'll be watching it, scores subject to change! Meta notes via dev! Review score via Chapter 0

Auto-Shooter Bullet Heaven Enemy Hell Horde Survival Mowing Game Roguelite Single Stick Shooter Survivors-like Top Down or Isometric Wave Survival
8.3 Combined Ranking Score
17/72 Ranking Position
-/1600 Total Points
8.0 Final Review
-% Steam
7.7 Scale
8.0 Vibes
31 Steam Reviews
257/400 Review Points
8.5 Similarity Score
93% Diagnosis:
Similar
1110/1200 Comparison Points
99% Genre 7.8/8 genre
84% Simple Controls 4.8/7 move
88% Survival Modes 3/4 modes
100% Power Progression 4/4 level
82% Buildcrafting Depth 3.2/5 build
93% Stage Features 6/7 stage
94% Content Breadth 8/9 stuff
94% Aesthetics 5.3/6 style
95% Gameplay Vibe Check 8.9/10 vibe vibe

Time Survivors Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 3.4

Every game ranked was played, but also scaled based on research, talking to developers & your feedback. The priority with the scale's initial design was to compare similarity on relatively objective features - so it doesn't claim to include reviews of the depth and clarity you'd get at a games journalism site, nor the intensive time played you might get from player reviews on steam. We try to incorporate and link all of that along with a 'review scale' that checks for bugs. See the heatmap and breakdown! Time played noted so you can take any notes with a big grain of salt! I can't get to high level gameplay in 850+ games so I heavily research every game. Over 80 game creators let me interview or survey them! I Hope to go back and refine. Please argue or submit your own scores and reviews to be incorporated with credit into the notes and score numbers.

Added or last checked on 12/9/2023

abe-lincoln-from_time-survivors.gifEarlier on Steam there were 3 different free versions, released in the order Prologue > Chapter 0 > Demo. Prologue and demo are no longer available, so Chapter 0 is the current free version. Achievements will be available in 1.0 on Jan 15th, 2024

Played for a bit in each version. Personally I don't love when the upgrades are character specific or spread out on a map (I just want to get into the next run as soon as possible), but it looks like there may be some depth here.

claire-from_time-survivors.gifProblem is the way the upgrades are laid out slows me down a lot. I would rather have there be less depth if I could get into a run quicker! Right now the weapon names and too incremental upgrades feel a little plain. Has a sidescroller stage which is interesting. Weird choice to lead with no-name in a time travel cameo game, but I think she's interestingly creepy. I dig the art style - feels like pixel crusted retro pre-rendered 3d art but is actually 3d, I think.

mummy-from_time-survivors.gifSandbox mode to test your builds is a nice addition. Really takes the map/exploration aspect seriously, which I appreciate. Really enjoyed some stuff like the powerups, which are often boring in games but the mushroom one is super fun. Serious UI issues with controller / steam deck and bugs in the menues bringing down review scale store. I'll revisit on full release!

Time Survivors Similarity Scale Heatmap

- +

Measured in 60 categories via likert-scale style options -1 to 1 in tenths, how does this game compare to Vampire Survivors. This allows 1200 total "points". It's easier to have a point of comparison and we just picked Vampire Survivors since it's the most popular and commonly referenced game in the subgenre. For detailed methodology read the explainer. For in depth examples at score value, see the scoring guide and for term definitions see the key.

8.5 Similarity Score
93% Diagnosis:
1110/1200 Comparison Points
Rogue-lite 1/1
Auto-Fire / Auto-Battle 0.8/1
Real Time 1/1
Top Down or Isometric 1/1
Direct Control of Single Avatar 1/1
Arcade Style 1/1
Bullet Heaven A (Many Player Bullets) 1/1
Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) 1/1
One Handed Play (w Controller) 0.8/1
Move Only 0/1
No Dash 1/1
No Trigger 1/1
No Special Move 0/1
No Aiming 1/1
No On-Aim / On-Fire Movement Penalty 1/1
Timed / Boss Ended Survival 1/1
Endless Mode 0/1
Organic / Unannounced Waves 1/1
High Enemy Count (Horde) 1/1
Level Up on XP Gain Event 1/1
Streamlined Level Choices (Simple UI) 1/1
Currency Based Meta Unlocks 1/1
Goal Based Meta Unlocks 1/1
Build Crafting 0.8/1
0.7/1
Weapon Combination / "Evolution" 0.2/1
Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 0.5/1
Broken / Invincible Builds Possible 1/1
Explorable Map 1/1
BIG Maps 1/1
XP on Ground 1/1
Health on Ground 1/1
Temp Powerups / Items on Ground 1/1
Treasure Chests and/or Loot Events 1/1
Vendor / Merchant on Run 0/1
Enemy Variety 1/1
Bosses / Elites 1/1
Many Interesting Characters 1/1
Many Challenges 1/1
Multiple Stages 1/1
Difficulty Modifiers 1/1
Bestiary / Lore 1/1
Achievements Planned/1
Secrets 1/1
Retro / Pixel Art 1/1
Damage Numbers 1/1
Lofi Charm 0.8/1
Bumpin Music 0.5/1
Fun Writing 1/1
Subtle Humor 1/1
Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 1/1
Over the Top 0.7/1
"One More Run" / Short Runs 1/1
Difficulty Ramp 1/1
Fun Ramp 0.7/1
Low Price 1/1
Technical Check 0.8/1
Controls Check 0.9/1
Fun Check 0.8/1
Feels like VS 1/1

Time Survivors Review Scale Heatmap

- +

The review scale is judged from -1 to 1 in 10 categories, with 200 possible "points" earned. Steam review positive percentage is worth another 100 points, and a "ten point" pure vibe review number adds extra subjectivity. Converted into points, that's 400 points total. The points aren't used directly in the ranking, though, which averages the three number scores for the final review score listed in the game line above.

8.0 Final Review
-% Positive Steam Reviews
31 Steam Reviews
8.0 Pure Vibes
7.7 Review Scale
257/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 0.8/1
Not Janky 0.7/1
Good UI 0.5/1
Controller and Deck 0.7/1
Lots of Content 0.8/1
Good Theme 0.7/1
Good Graphics and Sound 1/1
Fun Feel 1/1
Unique Twists 0.7/1
Vibe Check 0.8/1

Time Survivors Tag Cloud

- +

More sortable taxonomies and categories associated with the game (genre tags are available in the main game table line!) We've just started adding tags to enable more sorting options, this section will get more filled out as we go!

Release Tags

Windows PCFree AvailableUpcoming

Sorting Categories

Similar

Genre and Control Style Tags

Auto-ShooterBullet HeavenEnemy HellHorde SurvivalMowing GameRogueliteSingle Stick ShooterSurvivors-likeTop Down or IsometricWave Survival

Aesthetic Tags

Pre-rendered SpritesRetro

Setting / Story Tags

Meme GameTime Travel

Control Styles

Auto-AimAuto-FireControllerKeyboard 1 HandedKeyboard Only

Game Mode Tags

Difficulty ModesTimed Survival20m

Features and Extras

Steam AchievementsSteam Cloud

Dev/Publisher

Lunar Chill

Game Features

- +

Listing various features we've got info on.

Multiplayer

  • Local: No
  • Online: No
  • Player Count: 1
  • Leaderboards: No

Steam Features

  • Steam Cloud: Yes
  • Steam Achievements: Planned
  • Steam Leaderboards: No
  • Steam Workshop: No
  • Steam Trading Cards: No

Extras, Etc.

  • NSFW: No
  • Demo Available: "Chapter 0"
  • DLC Available: No
  • Soundtrack Available: No

Marketing Blurb

- +

Some description of the game and its features from the creators.

"The Most Historically Inaccurate Roguelike Ever Made. Slay hordes of minions as Lincoln, Tesla, Cleopatra and other historic heroes with new unique abilities! Fight through various historical eras, collect resources, unlock and enhance gameplay through our skill-tree metaprogression."

"Hundreds of different weapons, buffs, Cursed Relics, Powerups, and unlockables to choose from for a unique experience every run."

Control Style Notes

- +

Single stick auto shooter with one active ability specific for each character

Automated Features

Auto-Aim
Auto-Fire

Supported Controls

  • Controller: Partial
  • Controller Move Only: No
  • Controller One Handed: ?
  • Mouse Only: No
  • Keyboard Only: Yes
  • Keyboard One Handed: Yes

Game Modes

- +

Timed Survival

Difficulty Modes
(Ghost Mode, Night Mode, Turbo Mode)

Endless Mode (Planned)

Game Mode Notes

Ghost Mode: All enemies will be barely visible ghosts

Night Mode: the level is dark! Only a small light around the player is given and weapons that emit light will be extremely valuable.

Turbo Mode: The player and all enemies move 150% faster

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: 20m

Run Time Notes

"Most levels (stages) are designed to last 20m. After 18m the final boss will appear and the purple fog will move the battle towards the exit portal. At 20m the portal becomes active. The player can chose to complete the level without killing the boss or keep fighting."

Speed Settings

No clock speed changes, but in Turbo Mode the player and all enemies move 150% faster.

Player Power Progression

- +

Detailed notes on progression systems.

In Run Progression

"There are 3 ways to progress during the run:

1) Grab experience and level up. Allows you to pick/upgrade weapons and passive items

2) Find a Relic shrine, choose one of the challenges offered and defeat the curse. You will get a Relic that gives you special powers. You have 2 or 3 slots (depending on character/metaprogression)

3) at 5, 10 and 15 minutes you will be able to upgrade the character innate ability. You must choose between two options and you will not be offered the option you discard again.
"

Meta Progression

"The Time Map is presented to the player before and after every run. It's a skill tree where every node is a character/weapon/level/item that the player unlocked.

The map unlocks over time with specific challenges and goals. Additionally, each character/weapon/level has multiple upgrades that make it more powerful during runs.

The player can buy upgrades using the in-game currencies harvested during runs (gold, damascus, guardian hears and time crystals).
"

[edit]

Nova Drift

EA

Different. A great pick if you you want to pull the trigger in space. Despite not sharing all the features, it can really scratch the "over the top" survivors-like itch with beautiful neon screenwipes. More asteroids influenced than "twin stick" influenced. I personally find the drift physics quite engaging once I've gotten going. Really fun game.

Arena Shooter Asteroids-like Bullet Heaven Bullet Hell Content Rich Mowing Game Roguelite Top Down or Isometric Wave Shooter Wave Survival
8.2 Combined Ranking Score
21/72 Ranking Position
1386/1600 Total Points
9.8 Final Review
96% Steam
9.7 Scale
10.0 Vibes
9217 Steam Reviews
393/400 Review Points
6.6 Similarity Score
83% Diagnosis:
Different
993/1200 Comparison Points
88% Genre 6.1/8 genre
54% Simple Controls 0.5/7 move
88% Survival Modes 3/4 modes
88% Power Progression 3/4 level
100% Buildcrafting Depth 5/5 build
57% Stage Features 1/7 stage
91% Content Breadth 7.3/9 stuff
88% Aesthetics 4.5/6 style
91% Gameplay Vibe Check 8.2/10 vibe vibe

Nova Drift Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 20.1

Every game ranked was played, but also scaled based on research, talking to developers & your feedback. The priority with the scale's initial design was to compare similarity on relatively objective features - so it doesn't claim to include reviews of the depth and clarity you'd get at a games journalism site, nor the intensive time played you might get from player reviews on steam. We try to incorporate and link all of that along with a 'review scale' that checks for bugs. See the heatmap and breakdown! Time played noted so you can take any notes with a big grain of salt! I can't get to high level gameplay in 850+ games so I heavily research every game. Over 80 game creators let me interview or survey them! I Hope to go back and refine. Please argue or submit your own scores and reviews to be incorporated with credit into the notes and score numbers.

Added or last checked on 10/13/2023

This one came out before VS but has been refined throughout the boom. An excellent space shooter (the creator says they're not space ships but biomechanical life) which is themed with leveling like VS and over the top combos, but also does rely on trigger and propulsion and a blink ability which we'll call a dodge in the VS-like rating. The cargo trains essentially fill the treasure chest role. We'll call the ship gears selected on starting the run a "character" select.

So it may satisfy build crafters, but not zen one handed players (though it really got me into its own zone). Not exactly a twin stick shooter - it's a "drift" style game in the vein of Asteroids. Still in early access somehow, will apparently have a campaign too on release. Don't take my lack of notes as a lack of enthusiasm, I don't have many complaints. Try this one!

This is one of my favorite games on the list and unfortunately just doesn't have full review notes because I put in most of my time before it was "research." I fully intend to come back and shove 100 hours into this title, though, so I will make more notes.

I can't believe it's still in Early Access lol but let's let him cook.

Nova Drift Similarity Scale Heatmap

- +

Measured in 60 categories via likert-scale style options -1 to 1 in tenths, how does this game compare to Vampire Survivors. This allows 1200 total "points". It's easier to have a point of comparison and we just picked Vampire Survivors since it's the most popular and commonly referenced game in the subgenre. For detailed methodology read the explainer. For in depth examples at score value, see the scoring guide and for term definitions see the key.

6.6 Similarity Score
83% Diagnosis:
993/1200 Comparison Points
Rogue-lite 1/1
Auto-Fire / Auto-Battle 0.1/1
Real Time 1/1
Top Down or Isometric 1/1
Direct Control of Single Avatar 1/1
Arcade Style 1/1
Bullet Heaven A (Many Player Bullets) 1/1
Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) 0/1
One Handed Play (w Controller) 0/1
Move Only -0.5/1
No Dash 0/1
No Trigger -0.8/1
No Special Move 0/1
No Aiming 0.8/1
No On-Aim / On-Fire Movement Penalty 1/1
Timed / Boss Ended Survival EA/1
Endless Mode 1/1
Organic / Unannounced Waves 1/1
High Enemy Count (Horde) 1/1
Level Up on XP Gain Event 1/1
Streamlined Level Choices (Simple UI) 1/1
Currency Based Meta Unlocks 0/1
Goal Based Meta Unlocks 1/1
Build Crafting 1/1
1/1
Weapon Combination / "Evolution" 1/1
Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 1/1
Broken / Invincible Builds Possible 1/1
Explorable Map -1/1
BIG Maps -1/1
XP on Ground 1/1
Health on Ground 0/1
Temp Powerups / Items on Ground 1/1
Treasure Chests and/or Loot Events 1/1
Vendor / Merchant on Run 0/1
Enemy Variety 1/1
Bosses / Elites 1/1
Many Interesting Characters 1/1
Many Challenges 1/1
Multiple Stages 0/1
Difficulty Modifiers 1/1
Bestiary / Lore 0.3/1
Achievements 1/1
Secrets 1/1
Retro / Pixel Art 1/1
Damage Numbers 1/1
Lofi Charm 1/1
Bumpin Music 1/1
Fun Writing 0.5/1
Subtle Humor 0/1
Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 1/1
Over the Top 1/1
"One More Run" / Short Runs 1/1
Difficulty Ramp 1/1
Fun Ramp 1/1
Low Price 0.2/1
Technical Check 1/1
Controls Check 1/1
Fun Check 1/1
Feels like VS 0.7/1

Nova Drift Review Scale Heatmap

- +

The review scale is judged from -1 to 1 in 10 categories, with 200 possible "points" earned. Steam review positive percentage is worth another 100 points, and a "ten point" pure vibe review number adds extra subjectivity. Converted into points, that's 400 points total. The points aren't used directly in the ranking, though, which averages the three number scores for the final review score listed in the game line above.

9.8 Final Review
96% Positive Steam Reviews
9217 Steam Reviews
10.0 Pure Vibes
9.7 Review Scale
393/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 1/1
Not Janky 1/1
Good UI 1/1
Controller and Deck 1/1
Lots of Content 0.8/1
Good Theme 0.9/1
Good Graphics and Sound 1/1
Fun Feel 1/1
Unique Twists 1/1
Vibe Check 1/1

Metacritic Scores

- +

This title has metacritic data! The "fuck the man" score is adjusted so each person's review is equally weighted, regardless of critic or fan status.

Critic

8.0 Converted 10 Point Score
1 Number of Critic Reviews

User

- User Review Average
- Number of User Reviews

Average

8.0 Direct Average
8.0 "Fuck The Man" Combined Mean

Nova Drift Tag Cloud

- +

More sortable taxonomies and categories associated with the game (genre tags are available in the main game table line!) We've just started adding tags to enable more sorting options, this section will get more filled out as we go!

Release Tags

Directitch.ioMacSteam DeckWindows PCEA

Sorting Categories

Different

Genre and Control Style Tags

Arena ShooterAsteroids-likeBullet HeavenBullet HellContent RichMowing GameRogueliteTop Down or IsometricWave ShooterWave Survival

Aesthetic Tags

2DArtyGeometricNeonRaveRetroVector InspiredVivid

Setting / Story Tags

AbstractShip (Air/Space)Space

Control Styles

Controller

Game Mode Tags

Unknown20m

Features and Extras

SoundtrackSteam AchievementsSteam CloudSteam Leaderboards

Dev/Publisher

ChimericPixeljam

Game Features

- +

Listing various features we've got info on.

Multiplayer

  • Local: No
  • Online: No
  • Player Count: 1
  • Leaderboards: ?

Steam Features

  • Steam Cloud: Yes
  • Steam Achievements: 40
  • Steam Leaderboards: Yes
  • Steam Workshop: No
  • Steam Trading Cards: No

Extras, Etc.

  • NSFW: No
  • Demo Available: No
  • DLC Available: No
  • Soundtrack Available: Steam Bandcamp SoundCloud

Marketing Blurb

- +

Some description of the game and its features from the creators.

"Nova Drift distills the mechanical depth and strategy of an ARPG into classic arcade space combat. Control an endlessly evolving bio-mechanical ship, face legions of strange and deadly foes, and ride the wake of a dying star across the void."

"Nova Drift is a 'rogue-lite' space shooter that melds a classic arcade experience with modern action-RPG elements like theory-crafting and deep player choice." "Cunning and creativity are rewarded as you chain upgrade modules for powerful synergies, reminiscent of deck-building games."

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: 20m

Run Time Notes

?

Speed Settings

?

[edit]

Shape Shifter: Formations

EA

A game that applies all of the survivors-like lessons to a classic abstract arena shooter format, so far seems to be very good at both. Vibes of Geometry Wars or the vintage vector shooters both are based on. I've been playing mostly with auto aim / auto shoot which I think works pretty well and makes it feel a lot more survivors-like in a way my sore hands enjoy. Build depth is pretty good for a more arcade-style title and while there isn't much setting/stage variety I don't spend much time thinking about it. I admit I'd love if there was at least an unlockable boss-free mode, since it feels full on bullet hell with them. Great vibe overall, looking forward to more content.

Arcade Arena Shooter Auto-Shooter Bullet Heaven Bullet Hell Enemy Hell Roguelite Single Stick Shooter Survivors-like Top Down or Isometric Twin Stick Shooter Wave Shooter
7.9 Combined Ranking Score
26/72 Ranking Position
1357/1600 Total Points
9.6 Final Review
100% Steam
9.5 Scale
9.2 Vibes
62 Steam Reviews
387/400 Review Points
6.2 Similarity Score
81% Diagnosis:
Similar
970/1200 Comparison Points
95% Genre 7.2/8 genre
72% Simple Controls 3.1/7 move
83% Survival Modes 2.6/4 modes
100% Power Progression 4/4 level
69% Buildcrafting Depth 1.9/5 build
50% Stage Features 0/7 stage
78% Content Breadth 5.1/9 stuff
83% Aesthetics 4/6 style
93% Gameplay Vibe Check 8.6/10 vibe vibe

Shape Shifter: Formations Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 3.5

Every game ranked was played, but also scaled based on research, talking to developers & your feedback. The priority with the scale's initial design was to compare similarity on relatively objective features - so it doesn't claim to include reviews of the depth and clarity you'd get at a games journalism site, nor the intensive time played you might get from player reviews on steam. We try to incorporate and link all of that along with a 'review scale' that checks for bugs. See the heatmap and breakdown! Time played noted so you can take any notes with a big grain of salt! I can't get to high level gameplay in 850+ games so I heavily research every game. Over 80 game creators let me interview or survey them! I Hope to go back and refine. Please argue or submit your own scores and reviews to be incorporated with credit into the notes and score numbers.

Added or last checked on 11/14/2023

First impressions on this Early Access arcade style arena shooter are very positive. Honestly I'm super thankful for this resurgence of arcade style games so I can get stuff like this.

It's a top down shooter in a small arena, with "shape" enemies more complicated than you might see in some retro shooters but very much giving the abstract vibe. While the aesthetics are quite good in my opinion, the general direction of them is that you should concentrate entirely on the play and the play so far is worth concentrating on. I absolutely don't mind when an arcade style game doesn't have plot/setting trappings, it can still get a full score for on the review scale categories from me if it feels like the 'world' is still crafted for the experience the player is supposed to have. You know, Tron without all that talking.

I haven't yet encountered what I would really call multiple maps or stages, though the arena changes at different stages through the run. After beating a run once (referred to as "the game" in the guide accessible in the main menu), you unlock difficulty modifiers.

Has both goal based and currency based unlocks. The goal based ones are pretty solid for giving you something to do in a run, as in the best of these games (get a new ship!) and I enjoy how the refundable currency upgrades also include different play or build styles, like deciding to prioritize burn for the burn ship. Some of these games don't really understand that meta unlocks can be like offering the player interesting new puzzles and not just ways to make the game easier. The skill tree luckily isn't too baroque and easy access to it at the death screen made it easy to loop into another run.

Speaking of ease it certainly feels harder at first but I think this is partially the classic arcade style format. I'm not sure how much content actually exists here yet with early access, but in many of the games in this lineage you're not really expected to be beating all the bosses on your first run or very quickly. At least, I tried to tell myself this as I got used to actually dodging boss bullets again.

There is a special move button and dash. It's in no way bloated, but does include some fun stuff like stats. No bestiary, but then again not a lot of enemy variety yet either. I'd love to be able to unlock an endless mode without bosses so I could truly zone out.

It's definitely not a mowing game, with very projectile based attacks. The auto-aim/auto-fire is sometimes off in a way that feels a little bugged, but for the most part does work pretty satisfyingly. I found myself doing up close strafing more than I would in a classic arcade shooter, partially because I'm trying to collect the XP drops as well. In that way, while in an aesthetic wrapping of an older wave shooter, the gameplay can feel very much like a modern survivors-like. You move towards some things and away from others, getting into a fairly zen state interrupted only by quickly selecting from a simple selection of upgrades and eventually only sorely interrupted by the arrival of an often run ending boss.

I'm a big fan of older arcade style shooters (my favorite perhaps being Super Stardust HD) and while this one is a little slower to get started because it has the metaprogression aspect I found it very much tickled that old enjoyment. The music seems to keep on the same theme and the visuals are a very satisfying mix of retro aesthetics and fairly active and busy scenery in implementation. Overall I had a lot of fun with it so far and am eager to see it get more content through Early Access.

Shape Shifter: Formations Similarity Scale Heatmap

- +

Measured in 60 categories via likert-scale style options -1 to 1 in tenths, how does this game compare to Vampire Survivors. This allows 1200 total "points". It's easier to have a point of comparison and we just picked Vampire Survivors since it's the most popular and commonly referenced game in the subgenre. For detailed methodology read the explainer. For in depth examples at score value, see the scoring guide and for term definitions see the key.

6.2 Similarity Score
81% Diagnosis:
970/1200 Comparison Points
Rogue-lite 1/1
Auto-Fire / Auto-Battle 0.8/1
Real Time 1/1
Top Down or Isometric 1/1
Direct Control of Single Avatar 1/1
Arcade Style 1/1
Bullet Heaven A (Many Player Bullets) 0.9/1
Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) 0.5/1
One Handed Play (w Controller) 0.5/1
Move Only 0/1
No Dash 0/1
No Trigger 0.8/1
No Special Move 0/1
No Aiming 0.8/1
No On-Aim / On-Fire Movement Penalty 1/1
Timed / Boss Ended Survival 1/1
Endless Mode Planned/1
Organic / Unannounced Waves 1/1
High Enemy Count (Horde) 0.6/1
Level Up on XP Gain Event 1/1
Streamlined Level Choices (Simple UI) 1/1
Currency Based Meta Unlocks 1/1
Goal Based Meta Unlocks 1/1
Build Crafting 1/1
0.9/1
Weapon Combination / "Evolution" 0/1
Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 0.5/1
Broken / Invincible Builds Possible -0.5/1
Explorable Map -1/1
BIG Maps -1/1
XP on Ground 1/1
Health on Ground 0/1
Temp Powerups / Items on Ground 0/1
Treasure Chests and/or Loot Events 0/1
Vendor / Merchant on Run 1/1
Enemy Variety 0/1
Bosses / Elites 1/1
Many Interesting Characters 1/1
Many Challenges 1/1
Multiple Stages 0.1/1
Difficulty Modifiers 1/1
Bestiary / Lore 0/1
Achievements 1/1
Secrets 0/1
Retro / Pixel Art 1/1
Damage Numbers 1/1
Lofi Charm 0.9/1
Bumpin Music 1/1
Fun Writing 0.1/1
Subtle Humor 0/1
Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 0.8/1
Over the Top 0.8/1
"One More Run" / Short Runs 1/1
Difficulty Ramp 1/1
Fun Ramp 1/1
Low Price 1/1
Technical Check 1/1
Controls Check 1/1
Fun Check 1/1
Feels like VS 0.5/1

Shape Shifter: Formations Review Scale Heatmap

- +

The review scale is judged from -1 to 1 in 10 categories, with 200 possible "points" earned. Steam review positive percentage is worth another 100 points, and a "ten point" pure vibe review number adds extra subjectivity. Converted into points, that's 400 points total. The points aren't used directly in the ranking, though, which averages the three number scores for the final review score listed in the game line above.

9.6 Final Review
100% Positive Steam Reviews
62 Steam Reviews
9.2 Pure Vibes
9.5 Review Scale
387/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 0.9/1
Not Janky 0.9/1
Good UI 1/1
Controller and Deck 1/1
Lots of Content 0.8/1
Good Theme 1/1
Good Graphics and Sound 1/1
Fun Feel 1/1
Unique Twists 0.9/1
Vibe Check 1/1

Shape Shifter: Formations Tag Cloud

- +

More sortable taxonomies and categories associated with the game (genre tags are available in the main game table line!) We've just started adding tags to enable more sorting options, this section will get more filled out as we go!

Release Tags

Steam DeckWindows PCEA

Sorting Categories

Similar

Genre and Control Style Tags

ArcadeArena ShooterAuto-ShooterBullet HeavenBullet HellEnemy HellRogueliteSingle Stick ShooterSurvivors-likeTop Down or IsometricTwin Stick ShooterWave Shooter

Aesthetic Tags

3DGeometricNeonRaveRetroVector InspiredVivid

Setting / Story Tags

Abstract

Control Styles

Controller

Game Mode Tags

Unknown30m

Features and Extras

Steam AchievementsSteam Cloud

Dev/Publisher

Castec Studios

Game Features

- +

Listing various features we've got info on.

Multiplayer

  • Local: Co-Op
  • Online: Co-Op (Remote Play)
  • Player Count: 2
  • Leaderboards: ?

Steam Features

  • Steam Cloud: Yes
  • Steam Achievements: 86
  • Steam Leaderboards: No
  • Steam Workshop: No
  • Steam Trading Cards: No

Extras, Etc.

  • NSFW: No
  • Demo Available: No
  • DLC Available: No
  • Soundtrack Available: No

Marketing Blurb

- +

Some description of the game and its features from the creators.

"Shape Shifter: Formations is an action twin-stick shooter with rogue-lite elements, where you must destroy hordes of geometric enemies alone or with a friend. Select your ship and combine a large variety of weapons, abilities and infinitely stacking upgrades to craft your own unique build."

"Choose from a wide variety of ships each with their own unique active and passive abilities, ranging from protective barriers or invisibility, to shocking tesla towers and a burning laser. Pick the ship the suits your play style and outfit it with a weapon of your choice. Spend cores gained each run on the skill tree to provide powerful permanent upgrades."

Co-op notes: "So each player can select their own ship/weapon and receives their own choice of upgrades when levelling up. Players earn currency in each run together, but they get their own pool to spend at the shop separately. The only thing that's shared, is progression on the skill tree, but this is offset by the fact you progress through this a little quicker in co-op"

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: 30m

Run Time Notes

?

Speed Settings

?

[edit]

Disfigure

Free Available Released

A survivors-like for horror fans, if you want to pull the trigger in the dark with a flashlight. And considering it's totally free (with an optional tip for the dev DLC) there's little reason not to try it. Especially if you came way from VS looking for more arcade games. Bare bones in some ways, but it gets you quickly into the next run eager to try a totally new build. Minimalist horror vibe is just right.

Arcade Arena Shooter Bullet Heaven Enemy Hell Roguelite Survivors-like Top Down or Isometric Twin Stick Shooter Wave Survival
7.8 Combined Ranking Score
29/72 Ranking Position
1352/1600 Total Points
9.4 Final Review
96% Steam
9.5 Scale
9.1 Vibes
1803 Steam Reviews
382/400 Review Points
6.2 Similarity Score
81% Diagnosis:
Similar
970/1200 Comparison Points
93% Genre 6.8/8 genre
56% Simple Controls 0.9/7 move
99% Survival Modes 3.9/4 modes
88% Power Progression 3/4 level
98% Buildcrafting Depth 4.8/5 build
50% Stage Features 0/7 stage
62% Content Breadth 2.2/9 stuff
100% Aesthetics 6/6 style
99% Gameplay Vibe Check 9.8/10 vibe vibe

Disfigure Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 2.1

Every game ranked was played, but also scaled based on research, talking to developers & your feedback. The priority with the scale's initial design was to compare similarity on relatively objective features - so it doesn't claim to include reviews of the depth and clarity you'd get at a games journalism site, nor the intensive time played you might get from player reviews on steam. We try to incorporate and link all of that along with a 'review scale' that checks for bugs. See the heatmap and breakdown! Time played noted so you can take any notes with a big grain of salt! I can't get to high level gameplay in 850+ games so I heavily research every game. Over 80 game creators let me interview or survey them! I Hope to go back and refine. Please argue or submit your own scores and reviews to be incorporated with credit into the notes and score numbers.

Added or last checked on 10/23/2023

Disfigure is a cool game with an obviously cool dev who put it up for optional donation. Perhaps it's humble due to the lack of surface breadth - characters, skill trees, bestiaries - but the gameplay is tight. Steam reviewers seem to agree. Sometimes you just want an arcade game! It's an arena shooter without exploration and slower and more tense than most survivors-likes. It's got a shadowy minimalist vibe and great shifty beats on the soundtrack.

While it's got a trigger button, I found it totally fine to play with auto fire on - aiming, however, is not optional with the strategy of pointing your light. We're going to count the "switch flashlight" button as a special move button. Rogue-lite aspects are limited to weapon unlocks and not permanent incremental upgrades, so still around the same level of skill (and luck) required each run. Steam cloud would be nice.

I'll be playing more of this one! More notes to come then!

Disfigure Similarity Scale Heatmap

- +

Measured in 60 categories via likert-scale style options -1 to 1 in tenths, how does this game compare to Vampire Survivors. This allows 1200 total "points". It's easier to have a point of comparison and we just picked Vampire Survivors since it's the most popular and commonly referenced game in the subgenre. For detailed methodology read the explainer. For in depth examples at score value, see the scoring guide and for term definitions see the key.

6.2 Similarity Score
81% Diagnosis:
970/1200 Comparison Points
Rogue-lite 1/1
Auto-Fire / Auto-Battle 0.4/1
Real Time 1/1
Top Down or Isometric 1/1
Direct Control of Single Avatar 1/1
Arcade Style 1/1
Bullet Heaven A (Many Player Bullets) 0.8/1
Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) 0.6/1
One Handed Play (w Controller) 0/1
Move Only -0.5/1
No Dash 1/1
No Trigger 0.4/1
No Special Move 0/1
No Aiming -1/1
No On-Aim / On-Fire Movement Penalty 1/1
Timed / Boss Ended Survival 1/1
Endless Mode 1/1
Organic / Unannounced Waves 1/1
High Enemy Count (Horde) 0.9/1
Level Up on XP Gain Event 1/1
Streamlined Level Choices (Simple UI) 1/1
Currency Based Meta Unlocks 1/1
Goal Based Meta Unlocks 0/1
Build Crafting 1/1
1/1
Weapon Combination / "Evolution" 0.8/1
Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 1/1
Broken / Invincible Builds Possible 1/1
Explorable Map -1/1
BIG Maps 0/1
XP on Ground 1/1
Health on Ground 0/1
Temp Powerups / Items on Ground 0/1
Treasure Chests and/or Loot Events 0/1
Vendor / Merchant on Run 0/1
Enemy Variety 0.7/1
Bosses / Elites 1/1
Many Interesting Characters -1/1
Many Challenges 0/1
Multiple Stages 0/1
Difficulty Modifiers 0.5/1
Bestiary / Lore 0/1
Achievements 1/1
Secrets 0/1
Retro / Pixel Art 1/1
Damage Numbers 1/1
Lofi Charm 1/1
Bumpin Music 1/1
Fun Writing 1/1
Subtle Humor 1/1
Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 1/1
Over the Top 0.8/1
"One More Run" / Short Runs 1/1
Difficulty Ramp 1/1
Fun Ramp 1/1
Low Price 1/1
Technical Check 1/1
Controls Check 1/1
Fun Check 1/1
Feels like VS 0.6/1

Disfigure Review Scale Heatmap

- +

The review scale is judged from -1 to 1 in 10 categories, with 200 possible "points" earned. Steam review positive percentage is worth another 100 points, and a "ten point" pure vibe review number adds extra subjectivity. Converted into points, that's 400 points total. The points aren't used directly in the ranking, though, which averages the three number scores for the final review score listed in the game line above.

9.4 Final Review
96% Positive Steam Reviews
1803 Steam Reviews
9.1 Pure Vibes
9.5 Review Scale
382/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 1/1
Not Janky 1/1
Good UI 1/1
Controller and Deck 1/1
Lots of Content 0.5/1
Good Theme 1/1
Good Graphics and Sound 1/1
Fun Feel 1/1
Unique Twists 1/1
Vibe Check 1/1

Metacritic Scores

- +

This title has metacritic data! The "fuck the man" score is adjusted so each person's review is equally weighted, regardless of critic or fan status.

Critic

- Converted 10 Point Score
- Number of Critic Reviews

User

9.0 User Review Average
1 Number of User Reviews

Average

9.0 Direct Average
9.0 "Fuck The Man" Combined Mean

Disfigure Tag Cloud

- +

More sortable taxonomies and categories associated with the game (genre tags are available in the main game table line!) We've just started adding tags to enable more sorting options, this section will get more filled out as we go!

Release Tags

itch.ioSteam DeckWindows PCFree AvailableReleased

Sorting Categories

Similar

Genre and Control Style Tags

ArcadeArena ShooterBullet HeavenEnemy HellRogueliteSurvivors-likeTop Down or IsometricTwin Stick ShooterWave Survival

Aesthetic Tags

2DPixel ArtRetroScary

Setting / Story Tags

AbstractHorrorHorror Themed

Control Styles

Controller

Game Mode Tags

Unknown20m

Features and Extras

Steam Achievements

Dev/Publisher

Cold Brew Entertainment

Game Features

- +

Listing various features we've got info on.

Multiplayer

  • Local: No
  • Online: No
  • Player Count: 1
  • Leaderboards: ?

Steam Features

  • Steam Cloud: No
  • Steam Achievements: 23
  • Steam Leaderboards: No
  • Steam Workshop: No
  • Steam Trading Cards: No

Extras, Etc.

  • NSFW: No
  • Demo Available: Totally Free
  • DLC Available: No
  • Soundtrack Available: No

Marketing Blurb

- +

Some description of the game and its features from the creators.

"Disfigure is a top-down shooter rogue-like in which you fight countless grotesque creatures shrouded in darkness. Choose from a variety of weapons and over a hundred upgrades to create unique builds each run and survive."

"In an arena shrouded by darkness, pay keen attention to your surroundings where monsters could be lurking. Choose between circle and cone vision" "Choose from over 100 upgrades and 90 weapon perks"

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: 20m

Run Time Notes

?

Speed Settings

?

[edit]

20 Minutes Till Dawn

Released

Here's a game for people who would rather aim carefully and pull the trigger, at least for the first few hours of meta unlocks and the start of every run. It's got a cool vibe but feels more like 'traditional' arena shooters of the past couple decades, despite the obvious modern horde survival inspiration.

Arena Shooter Bullet Heaven Enemy Hell Horde Survival Roguelite Survivors-like Top Down or Isometric Twin Stick Shooter Wave Shooter Wave Survival
7.7 Combined Ranking Score
31/72 Ranking Position
1365/1600 Total Points
8.6 Final Review
92% Steam
9.0 Scale
7.5 Vibes
21787 Steam Reviews
357/400 Review Points
6.8 Similarity Score
84% Diagnosis:
Similar
1008/1200 Comparison Points
93% Genre 6.8/8 genre
46% Simple Controls -0.5/7 move
100% Survival Modes 4/4 modes
100% Power Progression 4/4 level
93% Buildcrafting Depth 4.3/5 build
66% Stage Features 2.2/7 stage
93% Content Breadth 7.7/9 stuff
89% Aesthetics 4.7/6 style
86% Gameplay Vibe Check 7.2/10 vibe vibe

20 Minutes Till Dawn Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 5.9

Every game ranked was played, but also scaled based on research, talking to developers & your feedback. The priority with the scale's initial design was to compare similarity on relatively objective features - so it doesn't claim to include reviews of the depth and clarity you'd get at a games journalism site, nor the intensive time played you might get from player reviews on steam. We try to incorporate and link all of that along with a 'review scale' that checks for bugs. See the heatmap and breakdown! Time played noted so you can take any notes with a big grain of salt! I can't get to high level gameplay in 850+ games so I heavily research every game. Over 80 game creators let me interview or survey them! I Hope to go back and refine. Please argue or submit your own scores and reviews to be incorporated with credit into the notes and score numbers.

Added or last checked on 10/13/2023

Reliance on trigger is particular to this one, making it a twin stick shooter in VS arena style wrapping. Dark pixel art style will be a matter of taste, I like it. Moving slower when firing and reliance on trigger for early progression makes it feel slower and a little more boring personally, though. Also earns it a lower spot on this list for mechanic differences.

20 Min is a common suggestion for folks looking for another VS-like game, likely because it had a public version out pretty early in the wave, but I feel it's also kind of closer to other top down shooters pre-Survivors, before the genre got as defined. Some may like it more due to the more hands on feel, others will bounce before getting to the real bullet heaven aspects.

Like a few other titles on this list I put in most of my time with it before I was "officially" researching survivors-likes. So it just has a bit less in the way of notes. Sorry!

20 Minutes Till Dawn Similarity Scale Heatmap

- +

Measured in 60 categories via likert-scale style options -1 to 1 in tenths, how does this game compare to Vampire Survivors. This allows 1200 total "points". It's easier to have a point of comparison and we just picked Vampire Survivors since it's the most popular and commonly referenced game in the subgenre. For detailed methodology read the explainer. For in depth examples at score value, see the scoring guide and for term definitions see the key.

6.8 Similarity Score
84% Diagnosis:
1008/1200 Comparison Points
Rogue-lite 1/1
Auto-Fire / Auto-Battle 0.4/1
Real Time 1/1
Top Down or Isometric 1/1
Direct Control of Single Avatar 1/1
Arcade Style 1/1
Bullet Heaven A (Many Player Bullets) 0.8/1
Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) 0.6/1
One Handed Play (w Controller) -0.5/1
Move Only 0/1
No Dash 1/1
No Trigger -0.5/1
No Special Move 0/1
No Aiming -0.5/1
No On-Aim / On-Fire Movement Penalty 0/1
Timed / Boss Ended Survival 1/1
Endless Mode 1/1
Organic / Unannounced Waves 1/1
High Enemy Count (Horde) 1/1
Level Up on XP Gain Event 1/1
Streamlined Level Choices (Simple UI) 1/1
Currency Based Meta Unlocks 1/1
Goal Based Meta Unlocks 1/1
Build Crafting 0.8/1
0.9/1
Weapon Combination / "Evolution" 1/1
Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 0.8/1
Broken / Invincible Builds Possible 0.8/1
Explorable Map 0.5/1
BIG Maps -0.3/1
XP on Ground 1/1
Health on Ground 0/1
Temp Powerups / Items on Ground 0/1
Treasure Chests and/or Loot Events 1/1
Vendor / Merchant on Run 0/1
Enemy Variety 0.9/1
Bosses / Elites 1/1
Many Interesting Characters 1/1
Many Challenges 1/1
Multiple Stages 0.8/1
Difficulty Modifiers 1/1
Bestiary / Lore 0/1
Achievements 1/1
Secrets 1/1
Retro / Pixel Art 1/1
Damage Numbers 1/1
Lofi Charm 1/1
Bumpin Music 1/1
Fun Writing 0.5/1
Subtle Humor 0.2/1
Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 0.3/1
Over the Top 0.5/1
"One More Run" / Short Runs 1/1
Difficulty Ramp 0.9/1
Fun Ramp 0.5/1
Low Price 1/1
Technical Check 1/1
Controls Check 1/1
Fun Check 0.8/1
Feels like VS 0.6/1

20 Minutes Till Dawn Review Scale Heatmap

- +

The review scale is judged from -1 to 1 in 10 categories, with 200 possible "points" earned. Steam review positive percentage is worth another 100 points, and a "ten point" pure vibe review number adds extra subjectivity. Converted into points, that's 400 points total. The points aren't used directly in the ranking, though, which averages the three number scores for the final review score listed in the game line above.

8.6 Final Review
92% Positive Steam Reviews
21787 Steam Reviews
7.5 Pure Vibes
9.0 Review Scale
357/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 1/1
Not Janky 1/1
Good UI 1/1
Controller and Deck 1/1
Lots of Content 0.9/1
Good Theme 0.9/1
Good Graphics and Sound 0.8/1
Fun Feel 1/1
Unique Twists 0.4/1
Vibe Check 1/1

Metacritic Scores

- +

This title has metacritic data! The "fuck the man" score is adjusted so each person's review is equally weighted, regardless of critic or fan status.

Critic

7.5 Converted 10 Point Score
1 Number of Critic Reviews

User

6.0 User Review Average
1 Number of User Reviews

Average

6.8 Direct Average
6.8 "Fuck The Man" Combined Mean

20 Minutes Till Dawn Tag Cloud

- +

More sortable taxonomies and categories associated with the game (genre tags are available in the main game table line!) We've just started adding tags to enable more sorting options, this section will get more filled out as we go!

Release Tags

AndroidiOSSteam DeckWindows PCReleased

Sorting Categories

Similar

Genre and Control Style Tags

Arena ShooterBullet HeavenEnemy HellHorde SurvivalRogueliteSurvivors-likeTop Down or IsometricTwin Stick ShooterWave ShooterWave Survival

Aesthetic Tags

2DArtyLofiPixel ArtRetro

Setting / Story Tags

FantasyHorror Themed

Control Styles

Controller

Game Mode Tags

Trigger Focus20m

Features and Extras

SoundtrackSteam AchievementsSteam Cloud

Dev/Publisher

Erabitflanne

Game Features

- +

Listing various features we've got info on.

Multiplayer

  • Local: No
  • Online: No
  • Player Count: 1
  • Leaderboards: ?

Steam Features

  • Steam Cloud: Yes
  • Steam Achievements: 33
  • Steam Leaderboards: No
  • Steam Workshop: No
  • Steam Trading Cards: No

Extras, Etc.

  • NSFW: No
  • Demo Available: No
  • DLC Available: No
  • Soundtrack Available: YouTube

Marketing Blurb

- +

Some description of the game and its features from the creators.

"20 Minutes Till Dawn is a survival roguelite where endless hordes of creatures lurk from the dark. Craft an array of overpowering builds and eradicate waves of Lovecraftian nightmares. Will you be able to survive the night?"

"Create dynamic builds from a variety of weapons, runes, and special abilities in order to survive for 20 minutes." "Precise Control: Directional aim and active firing delivers a methodical battle system."

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: 20m

Run Time Notes

?

Speed Settings

?

[edit]

Heretic's Fork

DLC Free Available Released

Pretty Different. A great pick if you never want to move and want a game to play without having to stare at the screen. Excellent music. Recently released deckbuilding tower defense rogue-lite which ditches the movement mechanics and adds on drawing new "cards" on level up instead of an RPG style or item collecting system. So far feels like a really enjoyable throwback to old browser or freeware games - which it seems to acknowledge with the menu user interface - and has impeccable style. Seems like more content will be added, which is good, could use more card interactions and weird stuff.

Auto-Battler Bullet Heaven Deckbuilding Roguelite Survivors-like Tower Defense Turn Based Hybrid
7.5 Combined Ranking Score
34/72 Ranking Position
1343/1600 Total Points
8.6 Final Review
84% Steam
8.2 Scale
9.3 Vibes
1070 Steam Reviews
359/400 Review Points
6.4 Similarity Score
82% Diagnosis:
Pretty Different
984/1200 Comparison Points
84% Genre 5.5/8 genre
75% Simple Controls 3.5/7 move
98% Survival Modes 3.8/4 modes
99% Power Progression 3.9/4 level
90% Buildcrafting Depth 4/5 build
44% Stage Features -0.9/7 stage
76% Content Breadth 4.7/9 stuff
100% Aesthetics 6/6 style
92% Gameplay Vibe Check 8.3/10 vibe vibe

Heretic's Fork Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 8.5

Every game ranked was played, but also scaled based on research, talking to developers & your feedback. The priority with the scale's initial design was to compare similarity on relatively objective features - so it doesn't claim to include reviews of the depth and clarity you'd get at a games journalism site, nor the intensive time played you might get from player reviews on steam. We try to incorporate and link all of that along with a 'review scale' that checks for bugs. See the heatmap and breakdown! Time played noted so you can take any notes with a big grain of salt! I can't get to high level gameplay in 850+ games so I heavily research every game. Over 80 game creators let me interview or survey them! I Hope to go back and refine. Please argue or submit your own scores and reviews to be incorporated with credit into the notes and score numbers.

Added or last checked on 11/4/2023

This is a cool one and feels like it could easily have existed if Vampire Survivors never did. Excellent music. While it's an endless horde survival game, it's also a classic tower defense game. Just one big tower in the middle, troops or weapons arrayed around it, and endless waves of baddies.

It is just as much a deckbuilder as a survivors-like so it's probably also Slay the Spire inspired. So far this is a favorite of mine on the steam deck and to have up while I'm doing other stuff since it can be essentially turn based.

You move through "stages" in the main mode but it doesn't really feel like multiple stages in the classic sense and feels a bit more like a timed survival mode so we give partial points there.

You can improve your weapons but I'm not sure evolve them. There are "torment" modes but not complex difficulty modifiers for challenges, I think. I have some quibbles. Not a ton of content, build diversity or enemy variety encountered yet, but I'm not as far in as I'd like to be. Works on steam deck (if hard to read) but not controller, really it just makes you use the controller as a mouse. Does include aimed special moves if you decide to use them in your build.

Hard to read on steam deck and TV. Would like to be able to see what I have equipped while adding cards to deck (damage type etc). Can't read locked cards on steam deck since they don’t get bigger. Thanks to that, I would also like an undo button while I'm in my turn haha.

There's a lot to unlock and dig into so I sent some questions to the dev/community and will revise scores when I know more. And I'll be playing a lot more later too. The soundtrack alone makes me want to have the game on and I have to remind myself to not just hang out listening to it.

Heretic's Fork Similarity Scale Heatmap

- +

Measured in 60 categories via likert-scale style options -1 to 1 in tenths, how does this game compare to Vampire Survivors. This allows 1200 total "points". It's easier to have a point of comparison and we just picked Vampire Survivors since it's the most popular and commonly referenced game in the subgenre. For detailed methodology read the explainer. For in depth examples at score value, see the scoring guide and for term definitions see the key.

6.4 Similarity Score
82% Diagnosis:
984/1200 Comparison Points
Rogue-lite 1/1
Auto-Fire / Auto-Battle 1/1
Real Time 0.5/1
Top Down or Isometric 1/1
Direct Control of Single Avatar -1/1
Arcade Style 1/1
Bullet Heaven A (Many Player Bullets) 1/1
Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) 1/1
One Handed Play (w Controller) 0/1
Move Only 0/1
No Dash 1/1
No Trigger 1/1
No Special Move 0/1
No Aiming 0.5/1
No On-Aim / On-Fire Movement Penalty 1/1
Timed / Boss Ended Survival 0.8/1
Endless Mode 1/1
Organic / Unannounced Waves 1/1
High Enemy Count (Horde) 1/1
Level Up on XP Gain Event 1/1
Streamlined Level Choices (Simple UI) 0.9/1
Currency Based Meta Unlocks 1/1
Goal Based Meta Unlocks 1/1
Build Crafting 1/1
0.7/1
Weapon Combination / "Evolution" 0.3/1
Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 1/1
Broken / Invincible Builds Possible 1/1
Explorable Map -1/1
BIG Maps -1/1
XP on Ground 0.1/1
Health on Ground 0/1
Temp Powerups / Items on Ground 0/1
Treasure Chests and/or Loot Events 0/1
Vendor / Merchant on Run 1/1
Enemy Variety 0.4/1
Bosses / Elites 0/1
Many Interesting Characters 1/1
Many Challenges 0.5/1
Multiple Stages 0.5/1
Difficulty Modifiers 0.3/1
Bestiary / Lore 0/1
Achievements 1/1
Secrets 1/1
Retro / Pixel Art 1/1
Damage Numbers 1/1
Lofi Charm 1/1
Bumpin Music 1/1
Fun Writing 1/1
Subtle Humor 1/1
Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 0.5/1
Over the Top 0.7/1
"One More Run" / Short Runs 1/1
Difficulty Ramp 1/1
Fun Ramp 1/1
Low Price 0.8/1
Technical Check 0.8/1
Controls Check 0.5/1
Fun Check 1/1
Feels like VS 0.6/1

Heretic's Fork Review Scale Heatmap

- +

The review scale is judged from -1 to 1 in 10 categories, with 200 possible "points" earned. Steam review positive percentage is worth another 100 points, and a "ten point" pure vibe review number adds extra subjectivity. Converted into points, that's 400 points total. The points aren't used directly in the ranking, though, which averages the three number scores for the final review score listed in the game line above.

8.6 Final Review
84% Positive Steam Reviews
1070 Steam Reviews
9.3 Pure Vibes
8.2 Review Scale
359/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 0.9/1
Not Janky 0.7/1
Good UI 0.5/1
Controller and Deck 0.4/1
Lots of Content 0.7/1
Good Theme 1/1
Good Graphics and Sound 1/1
Fun Feel 1/1
Unique Twists 1/1
Vibe Check 1/1

Metacritic Scores

- +

This title has metacritic data! The "fuck the man" score is adjusted so each person's review is equally weighted, regardless of critic or fan status.

Critic

7.3 Converted 10 Point Score
3 Number of Critic Reviews

User

- User Review Average
- Number of User Reviews

Average

7.3 Direct Average
7.3 "Fuck The Man" Combined Mean

Heretic's Fork Tag Cloud

- +

More sortable taxonomies and categories associated with the game (genre tags are available in the main game table line!) We've just started adding tags to enable more sorting options, this section will get more filled out as we go!

Release Tags

itch.ioSteam DeckWindows PCDLCFree AvailableReleased

Sorting Categories

Pretty Different

Genre and Control Style Tags

Auto-BattlerBullet HeavenDeckbuildingRogueliteSurvivors-likeTower DefenseTurn Based Hybrid

Aesthetic Tags

2DArtyBrowser GameLofiMetalPixel ArtRetro

Setting / Story Tags

ComedyHorror ThemedUnderworld

Control Styles

Controller

Game Mode Tags

Currency MetaprogressionDeck ConstructionDeckbuildingGoal Based AdvancementNo MovingRoulette AdvancementSingle Tower45m

Features and Extras

SoundtrackSteam AchievementsSteam Cloud

Dev/Publisher

9FingerGamesRavenage Games

Game Features

- +

Listing various features we've got info on.

Multiplayer

  • Local: No
  • Online: No
  • Player Count: 1
  • Leaderboards: ?

Steam Features

  • Steam Cloud: Yes
  • Steam Achievements: 28
  • Steam Leaderboards: No
  • Steam Workshop: No
  • Steam Trading Cards: No

Extras, Etc.

  • NSFW: No
  • Demo Available: itch.io Prototype
  • DLC Available: No
  • Soundtrack Available: Steam YouTube Bandcamp

Marketing Blurb

- +

Some description of the game and its features from the creators.

"Dear candidate, we are pleased to invite you to take up the position of manager of Hell. You will punish sinners by using our deck-building computer system to construct hellish towers capable of keeping the endless hordes of the underworld in check. Best of luck!"

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: 45m

Run Time Notes

?

Speed Settings

?

[edit]

Reality Break

EA Free Available

Very Different. An option if you'd like to aim and pull the trigger in space, want more exploration aspects, and enjoy inventory/equipment management. Also more story. It has wave survival often, but it's not a horde movement/zen game. It's an isometric looter shooter ARPG, kind of like Diablo, with some Rogue-lite inspired elements but not your expected permadeath style. Lots going for it at this early stage of development!

Action RPG Looter Shooter Roguelite Story Rich Top Down or Isometric Twin Stick Shooter Wave Survival
7.4 Combined Ranking Score
36/72 Ranking Position
-/1600 Total Points
8.8 Final Review
-% Steam
9.6 Scale
7.9 Vibes
0 Steam Reviews
275/400 Review Points
6.1 Similarity Score
81% Diagnosis:
Very Different
967/1200 Comparison Points
73% Genre 3.6/8 genre
46% Simple Controls -0.5/7 move
85% Survival Modes 2.8/4 modes
98% Power Progression 3.8/4 level
89% Buildcrafting Depth 3.9/5 build
100% Stage Features 7/7 stage
84% Content Breadth 6.2/9 stuff
82% Aesthetics 3.8/6 style
82% Gameplay Vibe Check 6.3/10 vibe vibe

Reality Break Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 2.0

Every game ranked was played, but also scaled based on research, talking to developers & your feedback. The priority with the scale's initial design was to compare similarity on relatively objective features - so it doesn't claim to include reviews of the depth and clarity you'd get at a games journalism site, nor the intensive time played you might get from player reviews on steam. We try to incorporate and link all of that along with a 'review scale' that checks for bugs. See the heatmap and breakdown! Time played noted so you can take any notes with a big grain of salt! I can't get to high level gameplay in 850+ games so I heavily research every game. Over 80 game creators let me interview or survey them! I Hope to go back and refine. Please argue or submit your own scores and reviews to be incorporated with credit into the notes and score numbers.

Added or last checked on 10/20/2023

I'm in the market for a rogue-lite spaceship shmup with more exploration aspects, since Nova Drift and Time Wasters are excellent but they don't have exploration. It's heavily focused on Diablo style inventory management and uses several move buttons. I'll try to avoid spoilers, but it's not typical in how it handles "runs." Reality break starts with a plot heavy tutorial with respawn, then opens up the rogue-lite influence mode with meta-progression, though it still has respawn in certain contexts. There is wave survival, fairly often. Lots of interestingly approached mechanics. Uses right control stick to shoot, trigger for secondary fire, special move button and there is a dash.

It's less over the top, lots of enemy bullets, but it's enjoyable. Has asteroids to blow up, but doesn't 'drift' control like the game Asteroids. Inventory management can be a pain since the items don't look much different at a glance. Story progression style inspired by Hades. Interesting approach to runs, without respawning and then seemingly story/event based resets? Not sure how I feel about it, I kind of miss the quick in and out of a regular rogue-lite, but I'm also curious to see more.

A lot going for it for a free early access demo and I've already had a fair amount of fun. Super responsive dev, has discussed VS influences.

Note: Run lengths highly variably by player choice.

Reality Break Similarity Scale Heatmap

- +

Measured in 60 categories via likert-scale style options -1 to 1 in tenths, how does this game compare to Vampire Survivors. This allows 1200 total "points". It's easier to have a point of comparison and we just picked Vampire Survivors since it's the most popular and commonly referenced game in the subgenre. For detailed methodology read the explainer. For in depth examples at score value, see the scoring guide and for term definitions see the key.

6.1 Similarity Score
81% Diagnosis:
967/1200 Comparison Points
Rogue-lite 0.4/1
Auto-Fire / Auto-Battle -1/1
Real Time 1/1
Top Down or Isometric 1/1
Direct Control of Single Avatar 1/1
Arcade Style 0.3/1
Bullet Heaven A (Many Player Bullets) 0.7/1
Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) 0.2/1
One Handed Play (w Controller) -1/1
Move Only 0/1
No Dash 0/1
No Trigger -0.5/1
No Special Move 0/1
No Aiming 0/1
No On-Aim / On-Fire Movement Penalty 1/1
Timed / Boss Ended Survival 0.8/1
Endless Mode 0.7/1
Organic / Unannounced Waves 0.8/1
High Enemy Count (Horde) 0.5/1
Level Up on XP Gain Event 1/1
Streamlined Level Choices (Simple UI) 0.8/1
Currency Based Meta Unlocks 1/1
Goal Based Meta Unlocks 1/1
Build Crafting 0.8/1
1/1
Weapon Combination / "Evolution" 0.5/1
Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 0.6/1
Broken / Invincible Builds Possible 1/1
Explorable Map 1/1
BIG Maps 1/1
XP on Ground 1/1
Health on Ground 1/1
Temp Powerups / Items on Ground 1/1
Treasure Chests and/or Loot Events 1/1
Vendor / Merchant on Run 1/1
Enemy Variety 1/1
Bosses / Elites 1/1
Many Interesting Characters 1/1
Many Challenges 0.4/1
Multiple Stages 1/1
Difficulty Modifiers 0.8/1
Bestiary / Lore 0/1
Achievements EA/1
Secrets 1/1
Retro / Pixel Art 0/1
Damage Numbers 1/1
Lofi Charm 0.3/1
Bumpin Music 1/1
Fun Writing 1/1
Subtle Humor 0.5/1
Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 0.3/1
Over the Top 0.5/1
"One More Run" / Short Runs 0.4/1
Difficulty Ramp 0.8/1
Fun Ramp 1/1
Low Price EA/1
Technical Check 0.8/1
Controls Check 1/1
Fun Check 1/1
Feels like VS 0.3/1

Reality Break Review Scale Heatmap

- +

The review scale is judged from -1 to 1 in 10 categories, with 200 possible "points" earned. Steam review positive percentage is worth another 100 points, and a "ten point" pure vibe review number adds extra subjectivity. Converted into points, that's 400 points total. The points aren't used directly in the ranking, though, which averages the three number scores for the final review score listed in the game line above.

8.8 Final Review
-% Positive Steam Reviews
0 Steam Reviews
7.9 Pure Vibes
9.6 Review Scale
275/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 1/1
Not Janky 0.9/1
Good UI 0.8/1
Controller and Deck 1/1
Lots of Content 1/1
Good Theme 1/1
Good Graphics and Sound 1/1
Fun Feel 1/1
Unique Twists 1/1
Vibe Check 0.9/1

Reality Break Tag Cloud

- +

More sortable taxonomies and categories associated with the game (genre tags are available in the main game table line!) We've just started adding tags to enable more sorting options, this section will get more filled out as we go!

Release Tags

Steam DeckWindows PCEAFree Available

Sorting Categories

Very Different

Genre and Control Style Tags

Action RPGLooter ShooterRogueliteStory RichTop Down or IsometricTwin Stick ShooterWave Survival

Aesthetic Tags

3DNeonRetroVivid

Setting / Story Tags

Alternate RealitySci-fiShip (Air/Space)Space

Control Styles

Controller

Game Mode Tags

CampaignWave Survival120m

Features and Extras

Steam Cloud

Dev/Publisher

Element GamesLLC

Game Features

- +

Listing various features we've got info on.

Multiplayer

  • Local: No
  • Online: No
  • Player Count: 1
  • Leaderboards: ?

Steam Features

  • Steam Cloud: Yes
  • Steam Achievements: No
  • Steam Leaderboards: No
  • Steam Workshop: No
  • Steam Trading Cards: No

Extras, Etc.

  • NSFW: No
  • Demo Available: Yes
  • DLC Available: No
  • Soundtrack Available: No

Marketing Blurb

- +

Some description of the game and its features from the creators.

"Rewrite the universe! Break reality to change your fate, and use your powers to stop sinister forces from altering existence itself. Discover the origin of your new abilities in a fast-paced ARPG Loot Collection Roguelite where you will bend, break, and change the rules of spacetime itself!"

"Resetting your timeline will cause a ripple effect across many elements of the game, often in surprising and subtle ways."

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: 120m

Run Time Notes

Attempting to avoid spoilers, it has a story campaign style structure, but incorporates interesting "run" style features via in game "cycles". The dev says this makes it closer to "unfolding incremental games."

Dev: "60m or 120m are both correct for Reality Break while simultaneously painting an incomplete picture of how the game plays. Saying the run length is “variable” or “player-directed” would be most applicable given the game’s structure. You can hop in to do a mission or three over lunch, play for 10-15 minutes and make progress for that cycle." There are progression, plot and playstyle reasons to decide on both longer and shorter runs.

Speed Settings

?

[edit]

Whisker Squadron: Survivor

EA

Very Different. An excellent pick if you want to mix it up with a rogue-lite Star Fox style rail shooter survival with leveling mechanics. Has a ton of control differences but sometimes the differences from most survivors-likes makes a game your next favorite. Main complaint is there just isn't enough content. I want more varied pilots, weapons, maps, more bullet heaven aspects. I hope they bring a lot more during Early Access. Needs more for the price and a greater breadth and depth would skyrocket it up this list. Hate the energy meter firing delay.

On-Rails Shooter Roguelite Survivors-like
6.5 Combined Ranking Score
46/72 Ranking Position
1219/1600 Total Points
8.7 Final Review
92% Steam
8.4 Scale
8.4 Vibes
180 Steam Reviews
360/400 Review Points
4.3 Similarity Score
72% Diagnosis:
Very Different
859/1200 Comparison Points
71% Genre 3.4/8 genre
29% Simple Controls -3/7 move
85% Survival Modes 2.8/4 modes
100% Power Progression 4/4 level
60% Buildcrafting Depth 1/5 build
60% Stage Features 1.4/7 stage
75% Content Breadth 4.5/9 stuff
88% Aesthetics 4.6/6 style
82% Gameplay Vibe Check 6.4/10 vibe vibe

Whisker Squadron: Survivor Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 3.8

Every game ranked was played, but also scaled based on research, talking to developers & your feedback. The priority with the scale's initial design was to compare similarity on relatively objective features - so it doesn't claim to include reviews of the depth and clarity you'd get at a games journalism site, nor the intensive time played you might get from player reviews on steam. We try to incorporate and link all of that along with a 'review scale' that checks for bugs. See the heatmap and breakdown! Time played noted so you can take any notes with a big grain of salt! I can't get to high level gameplay in 850+ games so I heavily research every game. Over 80 game creators let me interview or survey them! I Hope to go back and refine. Please argue or submit your own scores and reviews to be incorporated with credit into the notes and score numbers.

Added or last checked on 10/20/2023

It's rogue-lite wave survival wrapped around a star fox controls style rail shooter that looks like an HD neon remaster of a 1990s vector graphic shooter. That's awesome. Add a couple cute cats, and you've got yourself a nice little package. I had a lot of fun with this one and will probably try to at least unlock all the ships and levels. Lots of buttons/triggers, no auto, not like Vampire Survivors there. Fun music. The only real shame is there isn't a ton of content or build variety. Would be great to see more. There is both a boost and a roll so it gets a full -1 in that category.

More unique characters, ships, maps, and enemies. Character abilities are a little underwhelming and haven't gotten any over the top bullet heaven combos, but still fun. Would also be cool if characters got star fox style wah wah unique to them, not just the dot for the text. They could also use more personality. Don't love the energy meter. I customized controls to fire with trigger. Colors/levels could pulse/warp procedurally to give feel of endless variety, like some older games do. Quibbles quibbles. I worry because devs announced a next similar game while this could use more content for 14.99.

This has the bones to be one of the best games on this list and one of the best games I've played in a while, but it's just the bones right now. It needs to go over the top and it needs to go hard, and bringing in a writer with some humor and further developing some diversity in the style and color palette would help too.

Whisker Squadron: Survivor Similarity Scale Heatmap

- +

Measured in 60 categories via likert-scale style options -1 to 1 in tenths, how does this game compare to Vampire Survivors. This allows 1200 total "points". It's easier to have a point of comparison and we just picked Vampire Survivors since it's the most popular and commonly referenced game in the subgenre. For detailed methodology read the explainer. For in depth examples at score value, see the scoring guide and for term definitions see the key.

4.3 Similarity Score
72% Diagnosis:
859/1200 Comparison Points
Rogue-lite 1/1
Auto-Fire / Auto-Battle 0/1
Real Time 1/1
Top Down or Isometric 0/1
Direct Control of Single Avatar 1/1
Arcade Style 1/1
Bullet Heaven A (Many Player Bullets) 0.4/1
Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) -1/1
One Handed Play (w Controller) -1/1
Move Only 0/1
No Dash -1/1
No Trigger -1/1
No Special Move 0/1
No Aiming -1/1
No On-Aim / On-Fire Movement Penalty 1/1
Timed / Boss Ended Survival 1/1
Endless Mode 0/1
Organic / Unannounced Waves 1/1
High Enemy Count (Horde) 0.8/1
Level Up on XP Gain Event 1/1
Streamlined Level Choices (Simple UI) 1/1
Currency Based Meta Unlocks 1/1
Goal Based Meta Unlocks 1/1
Build Crafting 0.4/1
0.5/1
Weapon Combination / "Evolution" 0/1
Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 0.1/1
Broken / Invincible Builds Possible 0/1
Explorable Map -1/1
BIG Maps 1/1
XP on Ground 1/1
Health on Ground 0/1
Temp Powerups / Items on Ground 0.4/1
Treasure Chests and/or Loot Events 0/1
Vendor / Merchant on Run 0/1
Enemy Variety 0.1/1
Bosses / Elites 0.5/1
Many Interesting Characters 0.3/1
Many Challenges 0.6/1
Multiple Stages 0.6/1
Difficulty Modifiers 1/1
Bestiary / Lore 0/1
Achievements 1/1
Secrets 0.4/1
Retro / Pixel Art 1/1
Damage Numbers 1/1
Lofi Charm 1/1
Bumpin Music 1/1
Fun Writing 0.6/1
Subtle Humor 0/1
Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 0.5/1
Over the Top 0.6/1
"One More Run" / Short Runs 1/1
Difficulty Ramp 0.8/1
Fun Ramp 0.7/1
Low Price 0.1/1
Technical Check 1/1
Controls Check 0.9/1
Fun Check 0.8/1
Feels like VS 0.8/1

Whisker Squadron: Survivor Review Scale Heatmap

- +

The review scale is judged from -1 to 1 in 10 categories, with 200 possible "points" earned. Steam review positive percentage is worth another 100 points, and a "ten point" pure vibe review number adds extra subjectivity. Converted into points, that's 400 points total. The points aren't used directly in the ranking, though, which averages the three number scores for the final review score listed in the game line above.

8.7 Final Review
92% Positive Steam Reviews
180 Steam Reviews
8.4 Pure Vibes
8.4 Review Scale
360/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 1/1
Not Janky 1/1
Good UI 0.7/1
Controller and Deck 1/1
Lots of Content 0.3/1
Good Theme 0.4/1
Good Graphics and Sound 1/1
Fun Feel 1/1
Unique Twists 1/1
Vibe Check 1/1

Whisker Squadron: Survivor Tag Cloud

- +

More sortable taxonomies and categories associated with the game (genre tags are available in the main game table line!) We've just started adding tags to enable more sorting options, this section will get more filled out as we go!

Release Tags

LinuxMacSteam DeckWindows PCEA

Sorting Categories

Very Different

Genre and Control Style Tags

On-Rails ShooterRogueliteSurvivors-like

Aesthetic Tags

3DNeonRetroVector Inspired

Setting / Story Tags

AbstractFurryRobotsSci-fiShip (Air/Space)

Control Styles

Controller

Game Mode Tags

Currency MetaprogressionDropped Powerups30m

Features and Extras

SoundtrackSteam AchievementsSteam CloudSteam Trading Cards

Dev/Publisher

Flippfly LLC

Game Features

- +

Listing various features we've got info on.

Multiplayer

  • Local: No
  • Online: No
  • Player Count: 1
  • Leaderboards: ?

Steam Features

  • Steam Cloud: Yes
  • Steam Achievements: 22
  • Steam Leaderboards: No
  • Steam Workshop: No
  • Steam Trading Cards: Yes

Extras, Etc.

  • NSFW: No
  • Demo Available: No
  • DLC Available: No
  • Soundtrack Available: Steam Bandcamp YouTube

Marketing Blurb

- +

Some description of the game and its features from the creators.

"A cosmic roguelite on-rails shooter with wild 30-minute runs that will take your feline flight crew to thrilling new heights with each randomized adventure. Your plan is simple: wreak vengeance on the Swarm and try to survive."

"Embark on an ever-changing adventure across neon-laced roguelike levels featuring on-rails shooter runs that change with every 20-30 minute playthrough" "Design a fighter ship using randomized upgrades that can be built using scraps dropped throughout each level and Victory Points earned through play."

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: 30m

Run Time Notes

?

Speed Settings

?

[edit]

Ecstatic

Released

Very Different. This little arcade style arena wave shooter has excellent style, with a wriggly spider protagonist and some fresh feeling mechanics. The pointer to target and click to move control scheme works best for me on steam deck. There's no metaprogression and it's more bullet hell than bullet heaven, really. I'm not sure it's really very related to Vampire Survivors and probably won't get as long play times out of people, but I'm glad I tried it in the Steam Bullet Heaven Fest.

Arcade Arena Shooter Bullet Hell Wave Survival
5.4 Combined Ranking Score
57/72 Ranking Position
1056/1600 Total Points
9.6 Final Review
100% Steam
9.4 Scale
9.5 Vibes
11 Steam Reviews
389/400 Review Points
1.1 Similarity Score
56% Diagnosis:
Very Different
667/1200 Comparison Points
59% Genre 1.5/8 genre
36% Simple Controls -2/7 move
71% Survival Modes 1.7/4 modes
13% Power Progression -3/4 level
47% Buildcrafting Depth -0.3/5 build
36% Stage Features -2/7 stage
59% Content Breadth 1.6/9 stuff
88% Aesthetics 4.5/6 style
81% Gameplay Vibe Check 6.2/10 vibe vibe

Ecstatic Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 3.0

Every game ranked was played, but also scaled based on research, talking to developers & your feedback. The priority with the scale's initial design was to compare similarity on relatively objective features - so it doesn't claim to include reviews of the depth and clarity you'd get at a games journalism site, nor the intensive time played you might get from player reviews on steam. We try to incorporate and link all of that along with a 'review scale' that checks for bugs. See the heatmap and breakdown! Time played noted so you can take any notes with a big grain of salt! I can't get to high level gameplay in 850+ games so I heavily research every game. Over 80 game creators let me interview or survey them! I Hope to go back and refine. Please argue or submit your own scores and reviews to be incorporated with credit into the notes and score numbers.

Added or last checked on 11/15/2023

Ecstatic is more of an oldschool arena shooter which had previously come up in my recommendations since I've been getting so many bite sized top down retro style shooters. It's not a survivors-like, with no meta progression, no giant hordes, and no buildcrafting alternate paths or bullet heaven power fantasy. Just one weapon and character.

But it is a pretty great little arcade style shooter, I think. Fairly simple in design, but it doesn't pretend to be a huge game and I'm satisfied to have tried it since it was in the Steam Bullet Heaven Fest. I think originally designed as a browser game, the controller support (which isn't officially listed) basically just emulates a mouse and was pretty hard to play with. (Dev confirmed: "The "controller support" is actually just Steam emulating mouse inputs, as the game was indeed designed and developed to be played with the mouse")

Playing on Steam Deck, it works quite well with the trackpad as you kind of click to move your little spider around the grid-like arena and hover your target over enemies then click to send missiles their way. One hit will kill you (giving this a -1 on "health on ground") so it feels very much like a bullet hell at first even with the relatively small enemy and projectile count, but a "freeze" mechanic that slows everything down unless you move drastically increases survivability.

Power ups are in the classic arcade style, a limited number of them available and a few levels possible in each. It's unlikely you'll be able to get them all in a play, so in that way there are some build choices. You can target the powerups to change them to a different type, helpful when figuring out your play style.

It took me a bit to truly adapt to the lock on and then fire mechanic for the missles, I admit. I imagine it's more obvious as a mouse game. Aesthetically excellent, from the pixel spider's independently moving legs to the classic arcade beats and synth voice announcing powerups (another thing I love from games like Super Stardust HD).

It's actually priced a tiny bit higher than on average for these games, but before this latest wave most arcade style shooters were around this price range or more (and there were a lot fewer options.) I'm happy with the experience for the price, though I'm not sure I'll really put a ton of hours in. I like these games, but I reach my limit of ability in them at times. It may not be about winning an arcade game, though, I guess, just playing.

Ecstatic Similarity Scale Heatmap

- +

Measured in 60 categories via likert-scale style options -1 to 1 in tenths, how does this game compare to Vampire Survivors. This allows 1200 total "points". It's easier to have a point of comparison and we just picked Vampire Survivors since it's the most popular and commonly referenced game in the subgenre. For detailed methodology read the explainer. For in depth examples at score value, see the scoring guide and for term definitions see the key.

1.1 Similarity Score
56% Diagnosis:
667/1200 Comparison Points
Rogue-lite -1/1
Auto-Fire / Auto-Battle -1/1
Real Time 0.9/1
Top Down or Isometric 1/1
Direct Control of Single Avatar 1/1
Arcade Style 1/1
Bullet Heaven A (Many Player Bullets) 0.6/1
Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) -1/1
One Handed Play (w Controller) 0/1
Move Only -1/1
No Dash 1/1
No Trigger -1/1
No Special Move 1/1
No Aiming -1/1
No On-Aim / On-Fire Movement Penalty -1/1
Timed / Boss Ended Survival 1/1
Endless Mode -0.5/1
Organic / Unannounced Waves 1/1
High Enemy Count (Horde) 0.2/1
Level Up on XP Gain Event -1/1
Streamlined Level Choices (Simple UI) 0/1
Currency Based Meta Unlocks -1/1
Goal Based Meta Unlocks -1/1
Build Crafting 0.2/1
0/1
Weapon Combination / "Evolution" 0/1
Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 0/1
Broken / Invincible Builds Possible -0.5/1
Explorable Map -1/1
BIG Maps -1/1
XP on Ground 0/1
Health on Ground -1/1
Temp Powerups / Items on Ground 1/1
Treasure Chests and/or Loot Events 0/1
Vendor / Merchant on Run 0/1
Enemy Variety 0.1/1
Bosses / Elites 0.5/1
Many Interesting Characters 0/1
Many Challenges 0/1
Multiple Stages 0/1
Difficulty Modifiers 0/1
Bestiary / Lore 0/1
Achievements 1/1
Secrets 0/1
Retro / Pixel Art 1/1
Damage Numbers 0/1
Lofi Charm 1/1
Bumpin Music 1/1
Fun Writing 1/1
Subtle Humor 0.5/1
Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 0.4/1
Over the Top 0.5/1
"One More Run" / Short Runs 1/1
Difficulty Ramp 0/1
Fun Ramp 0/1
Low Price 1/1
Technical Check 1/1
Controls Check 0.8/1
Fun Check 1/1
Feels like VS -1/1

Ecstatic Review Scale Heatmap

- +

The review scale is judged from -1 to 1 in 10 categories, with 200 possible "points" earned. Steam review positive percentage is worth another 100 points, and a "ten point" pure vibe review number adds extra subjectivity. Converted into points, that's 400 points total. The points aren't used directly in the ranking, though, which averages the three number scores for the final review score listed in the game line above.

9.6 Final Review
100% Positive Steam Reviews
11 Steam Reviews
9.5 Pure Vibes
9.4 Review Scale
389/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 1/1
Not Janky 0.9/1
Good UI 1/1
Controller and Deck 0.5/1
Lots of Content 1/1
Good Theme 1/1
Good Graphics and Sound 1/1
Fun Feel 1/1
Unique Twists 1/1
Vibe Check 1/1

Ecstatic Tag Cloud

- +

More sortable taxonomies and categories associated with the game (genre tags are available in the main game table line!) We've just started adding tags to enable more sorting options, this section will get more filled out as we go!

Release Tags

itch.ioWindows PCReleased

Sorting Categories

Very Different

Genre and Control Style Tags

ArcadeArena ShooterBullet HellWave Survival

Aesthetic Tags

2DArtyLofiPixel ArtRaveRetroVivid

Setting / Story Tags

AbstractInsects

Control Styles

ControllerMouse Only

Game Mode Tags

Unknown5m

Features and Extras

SoundtrackSteam AchievementsSteam Cloud

Dev/Publisher

PUNKCAKE Delicieux

Game Features

- +

Listing various features we've got info on.

Multiplayer

  • Local: No
  • Online: No
  • Player Count: 1
  • Leaderboards: ?

Steam Features

  • Steam Cloud: Yes
  • Steam Achievements: 8
  • Steam Leaderboards: No
  • Steam Workshop: No
  • Steam Trading Cards: No

Extras, Etc.

  • NSFW: No
  • Demo Available: No
  • DLC Available: No
  • Soundtrack Available: Bandcamp Apple Spotify

Marketing Blurb

- +

Some description of the game and its features from the creators.

"Rave spider goes to the bullet-hell ball: shoot rockets out of your butt, dodge and destroy waves upon waves of drones, slow down time whenever you don't move."

"Control a disposable spider mech that shoots rockets out of its butt and decimate waves upon waves of drones synced to rave music, while also slowing down time whenever you stop moving. Pick up power-ups strategically and weave your way around enemies to make it to the end of the track!"

"The game features 4 different difficulties, a slew of challenges, and includes a level editor that lets you use your own music tracks!"

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: 5m

Run Time Notes

?

Speed Settings

?

[edit]

Jetboard Joust

Released

Very Different. A sidescrolling shmup with some rogue-lite elements it probably will appeal much more to people looking for a Joust and Defender inspired game instead of a survivors-like. It's got a bit of a dungeon crawl choose-your-path structure to it and item find and between level upgrades to create your build. Still, with very action focused controls it remains more of an action arcade game than any sort of auto-battler buildcrafter. Ranked for comparison since it was in the Steam Bullet Heaven Fest sale.

Arcade Dungeon Crawler Shoot 'Em Up Sidescrolling Shmup
5.2 Combined Ranking Score
58/72 Ranking Position
1088/1600 Total Points
8.0 Final Review
81% Steam
8.5 Scale
7.5 Vibes
44 Steam Reviews
341/400 Review Points
2.5 Similarity Score
62% Diagnosis:
Very Different
747/1200 Comparison Points
66% Genre 2.6/8 genre
19% Simple Controls -4.4/7 move
26% Survival Modes -1.9/4 modes
55% Power Progression 0.4/4 level
60% Buildcrafting Depth 1/5 build
80% Stage Features 4.2/7 stage
72% Content Breadth 4/9 stuff
84% Aesthetics 4.1/6 style
79% Gameplay Vibe Check 5.7/10 vibe vibe

Jetboard Joust Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 2.0

Every game ranked was played, but also scaled based on research, talking to developers & your feedback. The priority with the scale's initial design was to compare similarity on relatively objective features - so it doesn't claim to include reviews of the depth and clarity you'd get at a games journalism site, nor the intensive time played you might get from player reviews on steam. We try to incorporate and link all of that along with a 'review scale' that checks for bugs. See the heatmap and breakdown! Time played noted so you can take any notes with a big grain of salt! I can't get to high level gameplay in 850+ games so I heavily research every game. Over 80 game creators let me interview or survey them! I Hope to go back and refine. Please argue or submit your own scores and reviews to be incorporated with credit into the notes and score numbers.

Added or last checked on 11/4/23

Side scrolling shmup. Tons of particular features that I'm going to make notes on for the scoring. Levels wrap from side to side and it has a theme of saving little guys, making it feel a fair amount like Resogun (though you don't seem to beam them up, just protect them.) In fact it's a little bit like Defender/Resogun and the classic game Joust had a baby.

It's level based not a survivor game, but it does have some small organic waves within levels. When you beat a stage you are able to upgrade. We're not calling this meta progression since you have a save slot for this process. You can also sell your items, we're calling this feature an in-run vendor.

You select your route so we consider that a bit like a dungeon crawl, genre wise. It's got kind of Enter the Gungeon feeling exploration for weapon and item find for your builds. You can retrieve your cash in the next play, so calling that a partial score for currency based unlocks I guess.

Heavy on the action controls, with no real automation. Fairly distinct Joust style kind of movement mechanics ("hover") is hard to represent but we're putting a partial ding in "on fire movement penalty" to try and explain it. You collect points dropped by enemies which feels a bit like the XP crystals in Vampire Survivors.

Switching weapon is a "special move" button, partial points in "no aiming" since it's not a twin stick or a game with a reticule but requires careful lining up with the movement mechanic and charged weapons. It has a lot of rogue-inspired mechanics but allows you to pick up where you left off and other stuff, we're giving it a low partial score. No damage numbers but scoring pop ups feel very similar so it gets a half score for the aesthetics. Personally I find the game less fun, but if you're a big retro Joust fan this might be the rogue-inspired game you're looking for.

Jetboard Joust Similarity Scale Heatmap

- +

Measured in 60 categories via likert-scale style options -1 to 1 in tenths, how does this game compare to Vampire Survivors. This allows 1200 total "points". It's easier to have a point of comparison and we just picked Vampire Survivors since it's the most popular and commonly referenced game in the subgenre. For detailed methodology read the explainer. For in depth examples at score value, see the scoring guide and for term definitions see the key.

2.5 Similarity Score
62% Diagnosis:
747/1200 Comparison Points
Rogue-lite 0.4/1
Auto-Fire / Auto-Battle -1/1
Real Time 1/1
Top Down or Isometric 0/1
Direct Control of Single Avatar 1/1
Arcade Style 1/1
Bullet Heaven A (Many Player Bullets) 0.2/1
Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) 0/1
One Handed Play (w Controller) -1/1
Move Only -1/1
No Dash -1/1
No Trigger -1/1
No Special Move -1/1
No Aiming 0.1/1
No On-Aim / On-Fire Movement Penalty 0.5/1
Timed / Boss Ended Survival -1/1
Endless Mode -1/1
Organic / Unannounced Waves 0.1/1
High Enemy Count (Horde) 0/1
Level Up on XP Gain Event -1/1
Streamlined Level Choices (Simple UI) 0.4/1
Currency Based Meta Unlocks 0.5/1
Goal Based Meta Unlocks 0.5/1
Build Crafting 0.3/1
0.2/1
Weapon Combination / "Evolution" 0/1
Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 0.5/1
Broken / Invincible Builds Possible 0/1
Explorable Map 0.5/1
BIG Maps 0/1
XP on Ground 0.8/1
Health on Ground 0.8/1
Temp Powerups / Items on Ground 0.8/1
Treasure Chests and/or Loot Events 0.5/1
Vendor / Merchant on Run 0.8/1
Enemy Variety 1/1
Bosses / Elites 1/1
Many Interesting Characters 0/1
Many Challenges 0/1
Multiple Stages 1/1
Difficulty Modifiers 0/1
Bestiary / Lore 0/1
Achievements 1/1
Secrets 0/1
Retro / Pixel Art 1/1
Damage Numbers 0.5/1
Lofi Charm 1/1
Bumpin Music 0.2/1
Fun Writing 0.4/1
Subtle Humor 1/1
Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 0.2/1
Over the Top 0.8/1
"One More Run" / Short Runs 0.1/1
Difficulty Ramp 0.2/1
Fun Ramp 0.4/1
Low Price 0.4/1
Technical Check 0.8/1
Controls Check 1/1
Fun Check 0.8/1
Feels like VS 0/1

Jetboard Joust Review Scale Heatmap

- +

The review scale is judged from -1 to 1 in 10 categories, with 200 possible "points" earned. Steam review positive percentage is worth another 100 points, and a "ten point" pure vibe review number adds extra subjectivity. Converted into points, that's 400 points total. The points aren't used directly in the ranking, though, which averages the three number scores for the final review score listed in the game line above.

8.0 Final Review
81% Positive Steam Reviews
44 Steam Reviews
7.5 Pure Vibes
8.5 Review Scale
341/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 1/1
Not Janky 0.9/1
Good UI 0.8/1
Controller and Deck 1/1
Lots of Content 1/1
Good Theme 0.8/1
Good Graphics and Sound 0.8/1
Fun Feel 0.8/1
Unique Twists 0.7/1
Vibe Check 0.7/1

Metacritic Scores

- +

This title has metacritic data! The "fuck the man" score is adjusted so each person's review is equally weighted, regardless of critic or fan status.

Critic

7.5 Converted 10 Point Score
3 Number of Critic Reviews

User

- User Review Average
- Number of User Reviews

Average

7.5 Direct Average
7.5 "Fuck The Man" Combined Mean

Jetboard Joust Tag Cloud

- +

More sortable taxonomies and categories associated with the game (genre tags are available in the main game table line!) We've just started adding tags to enable more sorting options, this section will get more filled out as we go!

Release Tags

EpicGOGitch.ioLinuxMacPS5Steam DeckSwitchWindows PCXboxReleased

Sorting Categories

Very Different

Genre and Control Style Tags

ArcadeDungeon CrawlerShoot 'Em UpSidescrolling Shmup

Aesthetic Tags

2DPixel ArtRetro

Setting / Story Tags

Flying Saucer AliensSci-fi

Control Styles

Controller

Game Mode Tags

Unknown240m

Features and Extras

Steam AchievementsSteam Leaderboards

Dev/Publisher

BitBull LtdFreedom Games

Game Features

- +

Listing various features we've got info on.

Multiplayer

  • Local: No
  • Online: No
  • Player Count: 1
  • Leaderboards: ?

Steam Features

  • Steam Cloud: No
  • Steam Achievements: 100
  • Steam Leaderboards: Yes
  • Steam Workshop: No
  • Steam Trading Cards: No

Extras, Etc.

  • NSFW: No
  • Demo Available: No
  • DLC Available: No
  • Soundtrack Available: No

Marketing Blurb

- +

Some description of the game and its features from the creators.

A sequel to a ZX Spectrum game the developer made as a teen 30 years ago which in turn was inspired by Joust.

"Fast & fluid arcade-style shooter with roguelike elements! Take flight on a lethal rocket-powered jetboard, blasting alien invaders with an explosive arsenal of ridiculous weaponry. Face off against massive, multi-stage bosses. Jetboard Joust resurrects the spirit of the arcade.."

"Choose your own path through a multitude of battlegrounds across the surface of five different planets. Discover hidden treasure, upgrades and awesome new weapons. Adapt your route based on your playstyle, the weapons you unlock and the treasure you discover."

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: 240m

Run Time Notes

?

Speed Settings

?

Dev Scores Submitted via Score Card (Reviewing in Progress)

This section includes mostly upcoming games where devs themselves submitted a score card or filled the web form. Tags sugggested by devs.

They'll be moved up top after I've checked it all over and adjusted the feature scores to be in line with how other games are scored.

[edit]

BloodDome Classic

Free Available Released

Totally sick retro styled free arcade shooter, with survivor-like style leveling and oldschool difficulty and trappings. Light on 'extras' but that makes it feel more nostalgic - just one player sprite, one enemy type, one black screen stage. Twin stick mode and auto-aim/fire mode are unlockable. Note: Scored based on submitted scorecard. (Tweaking)

Arcade Arena Shooter Enemy Hell Horde Survival Roguelite Survivors-like Top Down or Isometric Wave Shooter Wave Survival
7.1 Combined Ranking Score
-/72 Ranking Position
1290/1600 Total Points
8.7 Final Review
83% Steam
8.9 Scale
9.0 Vibes
62 Steam Reviews
362/400 Review Points
5.5 Similarity Score
77% Diagnosis:
Similar
928/1200 Comparison Points
91% Genre 6.6/8 genre
79% Simple Controls 4/7 move
88% Survival Modes 3/4 modes
85% Power Progression 2.8/4 level
80% Buildcrafting Depth 3/5 build
57% Stage Features 1/7 stage
50% Content Breadth 0/9 stuff
75% Aesthetics 3/6 style
94% Gameplay Vibe Check 8.8/10 vibe vibe

BloodDome Classic Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 0.5

Every game ranked was played, but also scaled based on research, talking to developers & your feedback. The priority with the scale's initial design was to compare similarity on relatively objective features - so it doesn't claim to include reviews of the depth and clarity you'd get at a games journalism site, nor the intensive time played you might get from player reviews on steam. We try to incorporate and link all of that along with a 'review scale' that checks for bugs. See the heatmap and breakdown! Time played noted so you can take any notes with a big grain of salt! I can't get to high level gameplay in 850+ games so I heavily research every game. Over 80 game creators let me interview or survey them! I Hope to go back and refine. Please argue or submit your own scores and reviews to be incorporated with credit into the notes and score numbers.

Added or last checked on 10/29/2023

Scale scoring from scorecard submitted by Developer. Once evaluated after a couple hours play and some research, will be adjusted and moved up into the ranking proper.

Default is an arcade style control - shoot where you are facing. You can unlock a twin stick mode (control aim) and a "bullet heaven" mode (auto-fire and auto-aim).

Currently playing this one, love it. Has only one level (black screen), one player sprite, and one enemy sprite - but that all feels great since it's part of the oldschool arcade vibe.

BloodDome Classic Similarity Scale Heatmap

- +

Measured in 60 categories via likert-scale style options -1 to 1 in tenths, how does this game compare to Vampire Survivors. This allows 1200 total "points". It's easier to have a point of comparison and we just picked Vampire Survivors since it's the most popular and commonly referenced game in the subgenre. For detailed methodology read the explainer. For in depth examples at score value, see the scoring guide and for term definitions see the key.

5.5 Similarity Score
77% Diagnosis:
928/1200 Comparison Points
Rogue-lite 1/1
Auto-Fire / Auto-Battle 0.3/1
Real Time 1/1
Top Down or Isometric 1/1
Direct Control of Single Avatar 1/1
Arcade Style 1/1
Bullet Heaven A (Many Player Bullets) 0.3/1
Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) 1/1
One Handed Play (w Controller) 0.5/1
Move Only 0.5/1
No Dash 1/1
No Trigger 0.5/1
No Special Move 1/1
No Aiming 0.5/1
No On-Aim / On-Fire Movement Penalty ?/1
Timed / Boss Ended Survival 0/1
Endless Mode 1/1
Organic / Unannounced Waves 1/1
High Enemy Count (Horde) 1/1
Level Up on XP Gain Event 1/1
Streamlined Level Choices (Simple UI) 1/1
Currency Based Meta Unlocks 0/1
Goal Based Meta Unlocks 0.8/1
Build Crafting 1/1
1/1
Weapon Combination / "Evolution" 0/1
Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 0.5/1
Broken / Invincible Builds Possible 0.5/1
Explorable Map 0/1
BIG Maps 0/1
XP on Ground 0/1
Health on Ground 0/1
Temp Powerups / Items on Ground 0/1
Treasure Chests and/or Loot Events 1/1
Vendor / Merchant on Run 0/1
Enemy Variety -1/1
Bosses / Elites 0/1
Many Interesting Characters -1/1
Many Challenges 0.5/1
Multiple Stages 0/1
Difficulty Modifiers 0.5/1
Bestiary / Lore 0/1
Achievements 1/1
Secrets 0/1
Retro / Pixel Art 1/1
Damage Numbers ?/1
Lofi Charm 1/1
Bumpin Music 1/1
Fun Writing 0/1
Subtle Humor 0/1
Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 0.8/1
Over the Top 1/1
"One More Run" / Short Runs 1/1
Difficulty Ramp 1/1
Fun Ramp 1/1
Low Price 1/1
Technical Check 1/1
Controls Check 1/1
Fun Check 1/1
Feels like VS 0.6/1

BloodDome Classic Review Scale Heatmap

- +

The review scale is judged from -1 to 1 in 10 categories, with 200 possible "points" earned. Steam review positive percentage is worth another 100 points, and a "ten point" pure vibe review number adds extra subjectivity. Converted into points, that's 400 points total. The points aren't used directly in the ranking, though, which averages the three number scores for the final review score listed in the game line above.

8.7 Final Review
83% Positive Steam Reviews
62 Steam Reviews
9.0 Pure Vibes
8.9 Review Scale
362/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 1/1
Not Janky 1/1
Good UI 1/1
Controller and Deck 1/1
Lots of Content 0.2/1
Good Theme 0.7/1
Good Graphics and Sound 1/1
Fun Feel 1/1
Unique Twists 1/1
Vibe Check 1/1

BloodDome Classic Tag Cloud

- +

More sortable taxonomies and categories associated with the game (genre tags are available in the main game table line!) We've just started adding tags to enable more sorting options, this section will get more filled out as we go!

Release Tags

MacSteam DeckWindows PCFree AvailableReleased

Sorting Categories

Similar

Genre and Control Style Tags

ArcadeArena ShooterEnemy HellHorde SurvivalRogueliteSurvivors-likeTop Down or IsometricWave ShooterWave Survival

Aesthetic Tags

2DMonochromePixel ArtRetro

Setting / Story Tags

AbstractDeadly Game

Control Styles

Controller

Game Mode Tags

Unknown

Features and Extras

Steam AchievementsSteam Leaderboards

Dev/Publisher

Halftone Gaming

Game Features

- +

Listing various features we've got info on.

Multiplayer

  • Local: No
  • Online: No
  • Player Count: 1
  • Leaderboards: ?

Steam Features

  • Steam Cloud: ?
  • Steam Achievements: 6
  • Steam Leaderboards: Yes
  • Steam Workshop: No
  • Steam Trading Cards: No

Extras, Etc.

  • NSFW: No
  • Demo Available: Totally Free
  • DLC Available: No
  • Soundtrack Available: No

Marketing Blurb

- +

Some description of the game and its features from the creators.

"The Bullet Heaven arcade classic that started it all! Create unique builds, kill ever-growing hordes of contestants and beat your friends' high scores in the retro-futuristic gladiator arena BLOODDOME"

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time:

Run Time Notes

?

Speed Settings

?

[edit]

Breakout Survivors

Free Available Upcoming

Very Different. Concept mashup with the classic blockbreaker pong-like genre. I dig it. Note: Feature comparison score and metadata reported based on dev submitted scorecard about early version of in progress game (Currently adjusting.)

Arcade Auto-Shooter Breakout Bullet Heaven Puzzle Roguelite Single Stick Shooter Survivors-like Wave Survival
7.4 Combined Ranking Score
-/72 Ranking Position
-/1600 Total Points
9.1 Final Review
-% Steam
8.9 Scale
8.5 Vibes
16 Steam Reviews
274/400 Review Points
5.6 Similarity Score
78% Diagnosis:
Very Different
934/1200 Comparison Points
93% Genre 6.8/8 genre
99% Simple Controls 6.8/7 move
81% Survival Modes 2.5/4 modes
88% Power Progression 3/4 level
78% Buildcrafting Depth 2.8/5 build
49% Stage Features -0.2/7 stage
57% Content Breadth 1.3/9 stuff
75% Aesthetics 3/6 style
85% Gameplay Vibe Check 6.9/10 vibe vibe

Breakout Survivors Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 2.0

Every game ranked was played, but also scaled based on research, talking to developers & your feedback. The priority with the scale's initial design was to compare similarity on relatively objective features - so it doesn't claim to include reviews of the depth and clarity you'd get at a games journalism site, nor the intensive time played you might get from player reviews on steam. We try to incorporate and link all of that along with a 'review scale' that checks for bugs. See the heatmap and breakdown! Time played noted so you can take any notes with a big grain of salt! I can't get to high level gameplay in 850+ games so I heavily research every game. Over 80 game creators let me interview or survey them! I Hope to go back and refine. Please argue or submit your own scores and reviews to be incorporated with credit into the notes and score numbers.

Added or last checked on 11/9/2023

Scale scoring from scorecard submitted by Developer. Once evaluated after a couple hours play and some research, will be adjusted and moved up into the ranking proper.

The timed based run ending mechanic gives it a high partial score in that column.

I really like block breaker games, so this one is very fun to encounter, but I'm also pretty bad at them, so will be reviewing it kind of slowly.

Dev Note: "Based on content ~1 month prior to release, some points will evolve slightly"

Breakout Survivors Similarity Scale Heatmap

- +

Measured in 60 categories via likert-scale style options -1 to 1 in tenths, how does this game compare to Vampire Survivors. This allows 1200 total "points". It's easier to have a point of comparison and we just picked Vampire Survivors since it's the most popular and commonly referenced game in the subgenre. For detailed methodology read the explainer. For in depth examples at score value, see the scoring guide and for term definitions see the key.

5.6 Similarity Score
78% Diagnosis:
934/1200 Comparison Points
Rogue-lite 1/1
Auto-Fire / Auto-Battle 0.1/1
Real Time 1/1
Top Down or Isometric 1/1
Direct Control of Single Avatar 1/1
Arcade Style 1/1
Bullet Heaven A (Many Player Bullets) 0.7/1
Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) 1/1
One Handed Play (w Controller) 1/1
Move Only 1/1
No Dash 1/1
No Trigger 1/1
No Special Move 1/1
No Aiming 0.8/1
No On-Aim / On-Fire Movement Penalty 1/1
Timed / Boss Ended Survival 0.7/1
Endless Mode 1/1
Organic / Unannounced Waves 0/1
High Enemy Count (Horde) 0.8/1
Level Up on XP Gain Event 1/1
Streamlined Level Choices (Simple UI) 1/1
Currency Based Meta Unlocks 0/1
Goal Based Meta Unlocks 1/1
Build Crafting 0.7/1
0.7/1
Weapon Combination / "Evolution" 0.2/1
Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 0.5/1
Broken / Invincible Builds Possible 0.7/1
Explorable Map -1/1
BIG Maps -1/1
XP on Ground 1/1
Health on Ground 0.2/1
Temp Powerups / Items on Ground 0.4/1
Treasure Chests and/or Loot Events 0.2/1
Vendor / Merchant on Run 0/1
Enemy Variety 0.2/1
Bosses / Elites 0.4/1
Many Interesting Characters -1/1
Many Challenges 0/1
Multiple Stages 0.2/1
Difficulty Modifiers 0/1
Bestiary / Lore 0.5/1
Achievements 1/1
Secrets 0/1
Retro / Pixel Art 1/1
Damage Numbers 0.2/1
Lofi Charm 1/1
Bumpin Music 0.8/1
Fun Writing 0/1
Subtle Humor 0/1
Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 0.8/1
Over the Top 1/1
"One More Run" / Short Runs 0.5/1
Difficulty Ramp 0.5/1
Fun Ramp 0.5/1
Low Price 1/1
Technical Check 1/1
Controls Check 1/1
Fun Check 0.6/1
Feels like VS 0.5/1

Breakout Survivors Review Scale Heatmap

- +

The review scale is judged from -1 to 1 in 10 categories, with 200 possible "points" earned. Steam review positive percentage is worth another 100 points, and a "ten point" pure vibe review number adds extra subjectivity. Converted into points, that's 400 points total. The points aren't used directly in the ranking, though, which averages the three number scores for the final review score listed in the game line above.

9.1 Final Review
-% Positive Steam Reviews
16 Steam Reviews
8.5 Pure Vibes
8.9 Review Scale
274/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 1/1
Not Janky 1/1
Good UI 1/1
Controller and Deck 1/1
Lots of Content 0.6/1
Good Theme 0.5/1
Good Graphics and Sound 1/1
Fun Feel 1/1
Unique Twists 1/1
Vibe Check 0.8/1

Breakout Survivors Tag Cloud

- +

More sortable taxonomies and categories associated with the game (genre tags are available in the main game table line!) We've just started adding tags to enable more sorting options, this section will get more filled out as we go!

Release Tags

LinuxSteam DeckWindows PCFree AvailableUpcoming

Sorting Categories

Very Different

Genre and Control Style Tags

ArcadeAuto-ShooterBreakoutBullet HeavenPuzzleRogueliteSingle Stick ShooterSurvivors-likeWave Survival

Aesthetic Tags

2DRetro

Setting / Story Tags

Abstract

Control Styles

ControllerController 1 HandedController Move Only

Game Mode Tags

Unknown25m

Features and Extras

Steam AchievementsSteam CloudSteam LeaderboardsSteam Trading Cards

Dev/Publisher

Axel Born

Game Features

- +

Listing various features we've got info on.

Multiplayer

  • Local: No
  • Online: No
  • Player Count: 1
  • Leaderboards: ?

Steam Features

  • Steam Cloud: Yes
  • Steam Achievements: Planned
  • Steam Leaderboards: Yes
  • Steam Workshop: No
  • Steam Trading Cards: Planned

Extras, Etc.

  • NSFW: No
  • Demo Available: Yes
  • DLC Available: No
  • Soundtrack Available: No

Marketing Blurb

- +

Some description of the game and its features from the creators.

"Breakout gameplay meets Survivors-like mechanics. Use your balls to destroy bricks, level up and pick upgrades to hold your ground against waves of incoming bricks and try to high score in this roguelite breakout."

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: 25m

Run Time Notes

Dev note: "20-30 mins for a full run (endless but difficulty keeps increasing while your upgrades are capped)" so technically endless but designed to push the run to an end around 25m, hence the score in the average run time column.

Speed Settings

?

[edit]

GunDeck(100)

Free Available Released

A Little Different. Twin stick arcade style arena shooter roguelite perhaps a little bit like Brotato meets Nova Drift - notably not auto-fire or auto-aim. Unlocks seem to be for ships, but not currency power progression so it still heavily favors hands on action. Very unique stacking attack and reload mechanic. I'm not very good at it, but working to progress a bit to evaluate. Note: Feature comparison score reported based on dev submitted scorecard. (Currently Tweaking)

Arcade Arena Shooter Brotato-style Bullet Heaven Deckbuilding Roguelite Top Down or Isometric Twin Stick Shooter Wave Shooter Wave Survival
6.7 Combined Ranking Score
-/72 Ranking Position
1221/1600 Total Points
9.5 Final Review
100% Steam
9.6 Scale
8.9 Vibes
6 Steam Reviews
385/400 Review Points
3.9 Similarity Score
70% Diagnosis:
A Little Different
836/1200 Comparison Points
90% Genre 6.4/8 genre
34% Simple Controls -2.2/7 move
58% Survival Modes 0.6/4 modes
75% Power Progression 2/4 level
72% Buildcrafting Depth 2.2/5 build
36% Stage Features -2/7 stage
72% Content Breadth 4/9 stuff
91% Aesthetics 4.9/6 style
87% Gameplay Vibe Check 7.4/10 vibe vibe

GunDeck(100) Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 1.0

Every game ranked was played, but also scaled based on research, talking to developers & your feedback. The priority with the scale's initial design was to compare similarity on relatively objective features - so it doesn't claim to include reviews of the depth and clarity you'd get at a games journalism site, nor the intensive time played you might get from player reviews on steam. We try to incorporate and link all of that along with a 'review scale' that checks for bugs. See the heatmap and breakdown! Time played noted so you can take any notes with a big grain of salt! I can't get to high level gameplay in 850+ games so I heavily research every game. Over 80 game creators let me interview or survey them! I Hope to go back and refine. Please argue or submit your own scores and reviews to be incorporated with credit into the notes and score numbers.

Added or last checked on 11/3/2023

Scale scoring from scorecard submitted by Developer. Once evaluated after a couple hours play and some research, will be adjusted and moved up into the ranking proper.

It's hard to know where to scale the interesting reload mechanic where each of your weapons fires in turn. For now I'm calling the reload a special move button and bumping the trigger and aim mechanics down to full -1 for how important it feels to the gameplay. Technically, I don't think there's a movement penalty but I keep playing like there is one.

It seems like a very simple game but there is a good amount of content and depth here actually, in my review scale score I'm giving it full points for fulfilling what I want from it.

First impressions are VERY strong. I like the simple arcade vibe, the music is great, choices like being able to move though the upgrades to select the "card" are fresh and fun feeling.

I respect the difficulty but do find myself wishing for auto-aim/auto-fire under accessibility options and don't think it would actually make things easier, just different. I also could personally benefit from some currency based metaprogressoin like rerolls/extra heart but am glad it's not bogged down with them also. I appreciate the stripped down straight to the fun philosophy and so far it's pretty addictive and exciting.

GunDeck(100) Similarity Scale Heatmap

- +

Measured in 60 categories via likert-scale style options -1 to 1 in tenths, how does this game compare to Vampire Survivors. This allows 1200 total "points". It's easier to have a point of comparison and we just picked Vampire Survivors since it's the most popular and commonly referenced game in the subgenre. For detailed methodology read the explainer. For in depth examples at score value, see the scoring guide and for term definitions see the key.

3.9 Similarity Score
70% Diagnosis:
836/1200 Comparison Points
Rogue-lite 1/1
Auto-Fire / Auto-Battle 0.4/1
Real Time 1/1
Top Down or Isometric 1/1
Direct Control of Single Avatar 1/1
Arcade Style 1/1
Bullet Heaven A (Many Player Bullets) 1/1
Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) 0/1
One Handed Play (w Controller) -0.5/1
Move Only -1/1
No Dash 1/1
No Trigger -1/1
No Special Move -0.5/1
No Aiming -1/1
No On-Aim / On-Fire Movement Penalty 0.8/1
Timed / Boss Ended Survival 0.5/1
Endless Mode 0/1
Organic / Unannounced Waves 0/1
High Enemy Count (Horde) 0.1/1
Level Up on XP Gain Event 0/1
Streamlined Level Choices (Simple UI) 1/1
Currency Based Meta Unlocks 0/1
Goal Based Meta Unlocks 1/1
Build Crafting 0.8/1
0.5/1
Weapon Combination / "Evolution" 0/1
Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 0/1
Broken / Invincible Builds Possible 0.9/1
Explorable Map -1/1
BIG Maps -1/1
XP on Ground 0/1
Health on Ground 0/1
Temp Powerups / Items on Ground 0/1
Treasure Chests and/or Loot Events 0/1
Vendor / Merchant on Run 0/1
Enemy Variety 1/1
Bosses / Elites 1/1
Many Interesting Characters 1/1
Many Challenges 0/1
Multiple Stages 0/1
Difficulty Modifiers 0/1
Bestiary / Lore 0/1
Achievements 1/1
Secrets ?/1
Retro / Pixel Art 1/1
Damage Numbers 1/1
Lofi Charm 1/1
Bumpin Music 1/1
Fun Writing 0.5/1
Subtle Humor 0.4/1
Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 0.5/1
Over the Top 0.5/1
"One More Run" / Short Runs 1/1
Difficulty Ramp 0.3/1
Fun Ramp 0.7/1
Low Price 1/1
Technical Check 1/1
Controls Check 1/1
Fun Check 1/1
Feels like VS 0.7/1

GunDeck(100) Review Scale Heatmap

- +

The review scale is judged from -1 to 1 in 10 categories, with 200 possible "points" earned. Steam review positive percentage is worth another 100 points, and a "ten point" pure vibe review number adds extra subjectivity. Converted into points, that's 400 points total. The points aren't used directly in the ranking, though, which averages the three number scores for the final review score listed in the game line above.

9.5 Final Review
100% Positive Steam Reviews
6 Steam Reviews
8.9 Pure Vibes
9.6 Review Scale
385/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 1/1
Not Janky 1/1
Good UI 1/1
Controller and Deck 0.8/1
Lots of Content 1/1
Good Theme 1/1
Good Graphics and Sound 1/1
Fun Feel 0.8/1
Unique Twists 1/1
Vibe Check 1/1

GunDeck(100) Tag Cloud

- +

More sortable taxonomies and categories associated with the game (genre tags are available in the main game table line!) We've just started adding tags to enable more sorting options, this section will get more filled out as we go!

Release Tags

LinuxMacSteam DeckWindows PCFree AvailableReleased

Sorting Categories

A Little Different

Genre and Control Style Tags

ArcadeArena ShooterBrotato-styleBullet HeavenDeckbuildingRogueliteTop Down or IsometricTwin Stick ShooterWave ShooterWave Survival

Aesthetic Tags

2DCuteGeometricPixel ArtRetroVector Inspired

Setting / Story Tags

Abstract

Control Styles

Controller

Game Mode Tags

Unknown30m

Features and Extras

Steam AchievementsSteam Cloud

Dev/Publisher

Dos Jamones

Game Features

- +

Listing various features we've got info on.

Multiplayer

  • Local: No
  • Online: No
  • Player Count: 1
  • Leaderboards: ?

Steam Features

  • Steam Cloud: Yes
  • Steam Achievements: 11
  • Steam Leaderboards: No
  • Steam Workshop: No
  • Steam Trading Cards: No

Extras, Etc.

  • NSFW: No
  • Demo Available: No
  • DLC Available: No
  • Soundtrack Available: No

Marketing Blurb

- +

Some description of the game and its features from the creators.

"GunDeck is a lightning-fast twin-stick shooter where you'll build your arsenal from randomly-dealt cards. Weapons fire in a rainbow of elements with unique effects. Dart and dodge to survive the fireworks unleashed against you, and retaliate with your own display! Can YOU survive to wave 100?"

From discord: "We've been told it's like brotato in space". Dev notes: "If I feel I have a winning run, chances are I'm just about to lose."

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: 30m

Run Time Notes

?

Speed Settings

?