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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]

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]

Scarlet Tower

EA Free Available

Perhaps the most thematically and directly inspired (non-shovelware) I've played so far, especially with regards to weapons. It tries to do a lot but comes off with the impression a lot of surface level complexity (and annoying if pretty UI) covers for less actual depth / impactful feeling gameplay. Control-wise, it has toggle-able auto-aim and auto-fire and a dash, so that bumps it down a little in the ranking despite it feeling more like VS than almost any other game on the list. Pretty, but felt too derivative vibe-wise to me.

Auto-Shooter Bullet Heaven Enemy Hell Horde Survival Mowing Game Roguelite Single Stick Shooter Survivors-like Top Down or Isometric Twin Stick Shooter Wave Survival
8.2 Combined Ranking Score
18/72 Ranking Position
1463/1600 Total Points
7.5 Final Review
86% Steam
6.9 Scale
6.9 Vibes
799 Steam Reviews
324/400 Review Points
9.0 Similarity Score
95% Diagnosis:
Similar
1139/1200 Comparison Points
99% Genre 7.8/8 genre
88% Simple Controls 5.3/7 move
100% Survival Modes 4/4 modes
100% Power Progression 4/4 level
95% Buildcrafting Depth 4.5/5 build
100% Stage Features 7/7 stage
93% Content Breadth 7.8/9 stuff
85% Aesthetics 4.2/6 style
92% Gameplay Vibe Check 8.4/10 vibe vibe

Scarlet Tower Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 4.3

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 10/20/2023

Feels like a "clone", though it has dash, toggleable auto-aim and menu option for auto-fire. Interesting day/night cycle concept. Aesthetically, from the vampire theme to the characters to the directly ripped off and similarly named weapons, the clone aspect may be hard to get past. Gameplay feels crafted but progression feels slow as I'm several hours in, pretty good at these games now, and still only have the first map. Looks like it has more depth than it feels it has in play. Lots of systems but I am for some reason more confused than interested in them, maybe just because of how they are spread out through different menus for unlocks.

I think there are four separate tabs for currency based unlocks, and each character has their own set of moves? It's a lot of flipping back and forth to try and figure out synergy. I have other UI quibbles, like it looks better but importantly it's annoying to get into a run by having to go use the joystick to click down to the map and then another step etc. Finally, the characters are more fully rendered but somehow also feel more generic. It's not actually bad.

If it was the only game on the market I'd 100% it. As it is, if I want more vampire survivors to the extent I want the same game visually remastered but playwise toned down, I have better options. That sounds a little harsh re-reading it, but I'm probably going to have to learn to be harsh to get through trying 600 of these.

Edit 12/21/2023: New features including Endless Mode and Bestiary bumping it significantly up the similarity scale and overall ranking.

Scarlet Tower 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 0.8/1
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 0.8/1
No Dash 0/1
No Trigger 0.9/1
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 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 0.5/1
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 0.8/1
Many Challenges 1/1
Multiple Stages 1/1
Difficulty Modifiers 1/1
Bestiary / Lore 1/1
Achievements 1/1
Secrets 0/1
Retro / Pixel Art 1/1
Damage Numbers 1/1
Lofi Charm 0.8/1
Bumpin Music 1/1
Fun Writing 0.3/1
Subtle Humor 0.1/1
Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 1/1
Over the Top 0.9/1
"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 0.8/1
Feels like VS 1/1

Scarlet Tower 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.

7.5 Final Review
86% Positive Steam Reviews
799 Steam Reviews
6.9 Pure Vibes
6.9 Review Scale
324/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 1/1
Not Janky 1/1
Good UI 0.6/1
Controller and Deck 1/1
Lots of Content 0.8/1
Good Theme 0.2/1
Good Graphics and Sound 1/1
Fun Feel 0.7/1
Unique Twists 0.1/1
Vibe Check 0.5/1

Scarlet Tower 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 PCEAFree Available

Sorting Categories

Similar

Genre and Control Style Tags

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

Aesthetic Tags

2DPixel ArtSerious

Setting / Story Tags

FantasyHorror ThemedVampires

Control Styles

Controller

Game Mode Tags

Unknown24m

Features and Extras

Steam AchievementsSteam Cloud

Dev/Publisher

Pyxeralia 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: 60
  • Steam Leaderboards: No
  • Steam Workshop: No
  • Steam Trading Cards: No

Extras, Etc.

  • NSFW: No
  • Demo Available: on itch.io
  • DLC Available: No
  • Soundtrack Available: No

Marketing Blurb

- +

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

"Hunt during the day, be hunted during the NIGHT! Scarlet Tower is a gothic horror casual game with roguelike and RPG elements, like talent trees, classes, familiars and more!"

"Look for relics and vendors that only spawn at night.Characters with unique customizable passives. Procedural Map Generation."

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: 24m

Run Time Notes

?

Speed Settings

?

[edit]

Yet Another Zombie Survivors

EA

What my partner called "a survivors for the Call of Duty demographic", this zombie slaying take has some of the more complex 3D graphics in this genre, but manages to keep things fast, simple and snappy despite the "realism". While we're a little burnt on zombies and the aesthetic doesn't appeal as much to us and resulted in some quibbles ("taller" and easier to get hit, gems floating so hard to identify position) for some people this likely appeals to you in a way games with pixel graphics simply never will. Could use more content but it's pretty fully developed for Early Access and I'm looking forward to coming back on release.

Arena Shooter Auto-Shooter Bullet Heaven Enemy Hell Horde Survival Party Based Roguelite Single Stick Shooter Survivors-like Top Down or Isometric Wave Survival
8.2 Combined Ranking Score
19/72 Ranking Position
1431/1600 Total Points
8.3 Final Review
90% Steam
7.8 Scale
8.1 Vibes
4499 Steam Reviews
349/400 Review Points
8.0 Similarity Score
90% Diagnosis:
Similar
1082/1200 Comparison Points
99% Genre 7.9/8 genre
100% Simple Controls 7/7 move
99% Survival Modes 3.9/4 modes
100% Power Progression 4/4 level
85% Buildcrafting Depth 3.5/5 build
77% Stage Features 3.8/7 stage
84% Content Breadth 6.1/9 stuff
73% Aesthetics 2.8/6 style
97% Gameplay Vibe Check 9.3/10 vibe vibe

Yet Another Zombie Survivors 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 11/5/2023

A zombie themed survivors-like notable for being one of the best with 3D art style. Despite the very 'realistic' 3D graphics (and they're not actually attempting to be, favoring simple style that reminds me of PS3 era shooters), it keeps the arcade vibe, fast pace and almost all of the gameplay style of Vampire Survivors, making you focus on moving away from some things (enemies) and towards others (your leveling resource) as the primary strategy. I think they could have done more complex graphics but decided not to, favoring ability to stack enemy density.

It notes in the menu that the optional manual aim and fire were implemented at the request of the community (pretty cool) but the game was not designed around them. That auto-first design and explicit noting, plus that it's enabled by default, gets it full points in those categories despite the presence of other options. Weapons "evolve" but not in the combine two to get something weird way.

Technically you control a group of "survivors" (really seems more like a military unit but I guess if you're shooting this many guns that makes sense) but we're going to call it 1 for Direct Control of Single Avatar since you don't individually trigger any of their abilities, for the most part it's just an aesthetic representation of how there could be so many attacks on screen.

Due to the engine there's never quite as many enemies or attacks on screen, but it still feels fairly over the top and invincible builds are possible in endless mode. Due to the style of weapons it's not as common for each survivor to cause you to move in different ways, which is something I like about other games I call mowing games. Due to the "realism" it also never quite seems to get as creative, though it does pretty well inside the genre. While it seems obvious in retrospect, the helicopter strike for example felt fresh mechanically and visually. Like the best abilities in these games it changes the way you move, in this case kiting huge crowds in as straight a line as possible.

Kind of wish one of the gals was available in the first three characters as the realistic style makes the masculine first three even more apparent (and overall masculine vibe) even though technically the game has a better balance than many on this list. I originally had a longer rant on it but it doesn't feel fair to leave it when many on the list have no girl characters.

My partner said they dislike that the gems float so they can't tell exactly where they are and hit enemies more, something I hadn't noticed. In general the more isometric viewpoint and "correct" height characters makes it more easy to hit enemies. Overall this one is pretty solid if you like the presentation and I didn't feel ready to move on when I had to.

Yet Another Zombie 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.

8.0 Similarity Score
90% Diagnosis:
1082/1200 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) 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) 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" 0.5/1
Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 0/1
Broken / Invincible Builds Possible 1/1
Explorable Map 0.3/1
BIG Maps -0.5/1
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 0.4/1
Multiple Stages 0.2/1
Difficulty Modifiers 0.5/1
Bestiary / Lore 0/1
Achievements 1/1
Secrets 1/1
Retro / Pixel Art -0.5/1
Damage Numbers 1/1
Lofi Charm 0.1/1
Bumpin Music 1/1
Fun Writing 0.2/1
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 0.8/1
Low Price 0.7/1
Technical Check 1/1
Controls Check 1/1
Fun Check 1/1
Feels like VS 0.9/1

Yet Another Zombie 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.

8.3 Final Review
90% Positive Steam Reviews
4499 Steam Reviews
8.1 Pure Vibes
7.8 Review Scale
349/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 1/1
Not Janky 0.7/1
Good UI 0.6/1
Controller and Deck 1/1
Lots of Content 0.4/1
Good Theme 0.6/1
Good Graphics and Sound 0.9/1
Fun Feel 1/1
Unique Twists 0.7/1
Vibe Check 0.9/1

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

8.0 User Review Average
1 Number of User Reviews

Average

8.0 Direct Average
8.0 "Fuck The Man" Combined Mean

Yet Another Zombie 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 PCEA

Sorting Categories

Similar

Genre and Control Style Tags

Arena ShooterAuto-ShooterBullet HeavenEnemy HellHorde SurvivalParty BasedRogueliteSingle Stick ShooterSurvivors-likeTop Down or IsometricWave Survival

Aesthetic Tags

3DRealisticSerious

Setting / Story Tags

Horror ThemedMilitaryZombies

Control Styles

ControllerController 1 HandedController Move OnlyMouse Only

Game Mode Tags

Unknown20m

Features and Extras

Steam AchievementsSteam Cloud

Dev/Publisher

Awesome Games Studio

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: 70
  • 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.

Same dev, I think, as Yet Another Zombie Defense HD.

"The Horde is coming but you're ready to fight it! Assemble your team and decide upon their enhancements to find the most efficient synergies against thousands of the undead. Survive. Then evolve. Then break all the limits in this deceivingly simple but addictive reverse bullet hell."

"Forget about things like complicated controls or hour-long cutscenes — jump right into the fray and watch the fireworks! It's a game that everyone will enjoy, no matter their gaming experience, as the characters you command aim and shoot on their own. Just drop onto the couch and bask in your endorphin rising from a survivors-like gameplay loop!"

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: 20m

Run Time Notes

?

Speed Settings

?

[edit]

Army of Ruin

Released

Incredibly similar in game design, VS-like score dragged down by special move button, muddy 3D graphics and lack of charm. Many people love it, personally I thought it felt slower and less impactful. With so many other options to play, I kind of bounced off it and based much of the scale for high level gameplay based on research.

Auto-Shooter Bullet Heaven Enemy Hell Horde Survival Mowing Game Roguelite Survivors-like Top Down or Isometric Twin Stick Shooter Wave Survival
7.9 Combined Ranking Score
25/72 Ranking Position
1419/1600 Total Points
7.5 Final Review
88% Steam
7.3 Scale
6.3 Vibes
1578 Steam Reviews
324/400 Review Points
8.3 Similarity Score
91% Diagnosis:
Similar
1095/1200 Comparison Points
99% Genre 7.8/8 genre
81% Simple Controls 4.3/7 move
100% Survival Modes 4/4 modes
100% Power Progression 4/4 level
99% Buildcrafting Depth 4.9/5 build
91% Stage Features 5.8/7 stage
94% Content Breadth 8/9 stuff
68% Aesthetics 2.2/6 style
88% Gameplay Vibe Check 7.5/10 vibe vibe

Army of Ruin Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 1.7

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

Bounced at first, but came back later and it feels less janky. Note: for high end computers, you'll want to check through all the advanced graphics options, some things should be disabled or set to lower levels to prevent it from looking muddy. Reddit likes this one a lot.

Seems to be a fairly straight rip but I don't like the graphics as much - anyone wanna sell me on it? Loses points in the VS-Likes for not pixel art, lofi aesthetic, or humor/originality. The nature of the 3D animation makes it feel slower even when it's moving the same speed as pixels technically.

Trying to come up with something else to write about this one. This review will get more fleshed out later as I go back through the sheet to actually review the games added earlier.

Army of Ruin 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
91% Diagnosis:
1095/1200 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) 0.6/1
Move Only 0.4/1
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 0.8/1
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
0.9/1
Weapon Combination / "Evolution" 1/1
Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 1/1
Broken / Invincible Builds Possible 1/1
Explorable Map 1/1
BIG Maps 0.8/1
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 0/1
Damage Numbers 1/1
Lofi Charm 0.2/1
Bumpin Music 1/1
Fun Writing 0/1
Subtle Humor 0/1
Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 1/1
Over the Top 0.8/1
"One More Run" / Short Runs 1/1
Difficulty Ramp 0.7/1
Fun Ramp 0.5/1
Low Price 0.8/1
Technical Check 1/1
Controls Check 0.9/1
Fun Check 0.8/1
Feels like VS 1/1

Army of Ruin 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.

7.5 Final Review
88% Positive Steam Reviews
1578 Steam Reviews
6.3 Pure Vibes
7.3 Review Scale
324/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 1/1
Not Janky 1/1
Good UI 1/1
Controller and Deck 1/1
Lots of Content 1/1
Good Theme 0.5/1
Good Graphics and Sound 0.4/1
Fun Feel 0.8/1
Unique Twists 0/1
Vibe Check 0.6/1

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
2 Number of Critic Reviews

User

8.0 User Review Average
1 Number of User Reviews

Average

8.0 Direct Average
8.0 "Fuck The Man" Combined Mean

Army of Ruin 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

PS5Steam DeckSwitchWindows PCXboxReleased

Sorting Categories

Similar

Genre and Control Style Tags

Auto-ShooterBullet HeavenEnemy HellHorde SurvivalMowing GameRogueliteSurvivors-likeTop Down or IsometricTwin Stick ShooterWave Survival

Aesthetic Tags

3DSerious

Setting / Story Tags

DungeonsFantasy

Control Styles

Controller

Game Mode Tags

Unknown15m

Features and Extras

SoundtrackSteam AchievementsSteam CloudSteam Trading Cards

Dev/Publisher

Milkstone Studios

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: 221
  • 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 GOG Amazon Apple

Marketing Blurb

- +

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

"Wreak havoc on countless foes with mighty weapons and deadly spells! Enhance your skills and face even greater dangers! Army of Ruin is an auto-shooter where you become the Bullet Hell."

"Hundreds of challenges await you!"

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: 15m

Run Time Notes

Melerion, via discord: "I found that setting aside about 30 minutes for a run (beyond early game) was sensible for me. End game, aka Endless Mode, could take 45 to 60 minutes on average - some longer, some not so much."

Speed Settings

?

[edit]

Soulstone Survivors

EA Free Available

This is a popular survivors-like many seem to prefer to VS, though it's not my personal favorite. It's got a heavy dash reliance and a more "professional" 3D vibe. it would rank way higher except for aesthetics and small maps. Devs said "a spin on the genre taking itself more seriously." I'm not sure that's what I'm looking for. Personally I like meta-progression to not be spread over so many different views. it has a lot to draw people back, but never gets quite as crazy in a run. Much more focused on avoiding red enemy attack circles. You might agree it feels generic or you might love it!

Action RPG Arena Shooter Auto-Shooter Bullet Heaven Content Rich Enemy Hell Hack and Slash Horde Survival Mowing Game Roguelite Single Stick Shooter Survivors-like Wave Survival
7.8 Combined Ranking Score
27/72 Ranking Position
1389/1600 Total Points
8.1 Final Review
90% Steam
8.2 Scale
7.0 Vibes
13136 Steam Reviews
342/400 Review Points
7.5 Similarity Score
87% Diagnosis:
Similar
1047/1200 Comparison Points
98% Genre 7.7/8 genre
81% Simple Controls 4.3/7 move
98% Survival Modes 3.8/4 modes
100% Power Progression 4/4 level
89% Buildcrafting Depth 3.9/5 build
66% Stage Features 2.2/7 stage
92% Content Breadth 7.6/9 stuff
67% Aesthetics 2/6 style
91% Gameplay Vibe Check 8.2/10 vibe vibe

Soulstone 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 10/22/2023

One of the most popular games in the genre, it feels like a bigger company got ahold of the concept and felt they could do it better and in many ways (on the surface anyway) pulled it off. I admit I'm mostly recommending it because so many other people do. My theory, though, is it simply got out quickly, was polished, and people were hungry for anything good. I don't prefer the 3D art style for these games because the slowly approaching horde almost always looks comically slow at first, making the whole game feel slower. To me 3D graphics is almost worse by default but I'm not dinging it in the review scale. Eventually that changes, but it's hard not to bounce off of when other games feel so immediate.

Adds a variety of mechanics. Auto aim is togglable. Very fully crafted presentation, though it loses a bit of lofi charm there. Personally I think the characters have less charm with the stylized blank faces, though they're technically fairly detailed. I like more simple unlock systems with really only one currency, ideally.

I don't love having to keep track of so many different tabs and currencies, to me it feels like artificially creating depth through complexity when the run gameplay could be just as fun with less menu fiddling. Which is funny,coming from someone who loves spreadsheets and menu fiddling. In this case, slows down my 'one more run' flow, but it could keep you addicted. Or feel grindy.

Soulstone 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.

7.5 Similarity Score
87% Diagnosis:
1047/1200 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) 1/1
One Handed Play (w Controller) 0.5/1
Move Only 0/1
No Dash 0/1
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 1/1
Endless Mode 1/1
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 1/1
1/1
Weapon Combination / "Evolution" 0/1
Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 1/1
Broken / Invincible Builds Possible 0.9/1
Explorable Map 0.3/1
BIG Maps -0.1/1
XP on Ground 1/1
Health on Ground 1/1
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 1/1
Multiple Stages 0.8/1
Difficulty Modifiers 1/1
Bestiary / Lore 0/1
Achievements 1/1
Secrets 0.8/1
Retro / Pixel Art 0/1
Damage Numbers 1/1
Lofi Charm 0/1
Bumpin Music 1/1
Fun Writing 0/1
Subtle Humor 0/1
Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 1/1
Over the Top 0.8/1
"One More Run" / Short Runs 0.9/1
Difficulty Ramp 1/1
Fun Ramp 0.8/1
Low Price 0.8/1
Technical Check 1/1
Controls Check 1/1
Fun Check 0.9/1
Feels like VS 1/1

Soulstone 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.

8.1 Final Review
90% Positive Steam Reviews
13136 Steam Reviews
7.0 Pure Vibes
8.2 Review Scale
342/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 1/1
Not Janky 1/1
Good UI 0.7/1
Controller and Deck 1/1
Lots of Content 1/1
Good Theme 0.4/1
Good Graphics and Sound 0.8/1
Fun Feel 0.8/1
Unique Twists 0.7/1
Vibe Check 0.8/1

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
1 Number of Critic Reviews

User

5.5 User Review Average
4 Number of User Reviews

Average

7.3 Direct Average
6.2 "Fuck The Man" Combined Mean

Soulstone 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

LinuxMacSteam DeckWindows PCEAFree Available

Sorting Categories

Similar

Genre and Control Style Tags

Action RPGArena ShooterAuto-ShooterBullet HeavenContent RichEnemy HellHack and SlashHorde SurvivalMowing GameRogueliteSingle Stick ShooterSurvivors-likeWave Survival

Aesthetic Tags

3DCell ShadedSerious

Setting / Story Tags

DungeonsFantasy

Control Styles

ControllerMouse Only

Game Mode Tags

Holiday Event20m

Features and Extras

SoundtrackSteam AchievementsSteam Cloud

Dev/Publisher

Game Smithing Limited

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: 256
  • Steam Leaderboards: No
  • Steam Workshop: No
  • Steam Trading Cards: No

Extras, Etc.

  • NSFW: No
  • Demo Available: Yes
  • DLC Available: No
  • Soundtrack Available: Steam YouTube Bandcamp Spotify Apple

Marketing Blurb

- +

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

"Face the Lords of the Void and their endless minions, collect their Soulstones and become a god! In this Action Roguelite, unveil secret spells, craft mighty weapons, unlock multiple characters, discover game-breaking synergies and conquer the power of the void."

"A spin on the genre taking itself more seriously."

"With deep RPG mechanics intertwined with Roguelite elements, Soulstone Survivors offers a condensed, yet deep Action RPG experience." "With the spoils of every match craft weapons, unlock new characters, upgrade your skill tree and equip new runes."

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: 20m

Run Time Notes

?

Speed Settings

?

[edit]

God of Weapons

Free Available Released

An inventory management Brotato-style survivors-like with an enjoyable dungeon (if not actual crawling.. elevator riding?) presentation for the arena. This is a newer but fully released title a lot of folks are excited about with an active fan community. My first impressions are very positive. It's not as over the top but the inventory management for "leveling up" is a puzzle twist I liked. Also similar to Brotato (aside from the small arena) with end of round equipment choices instead of leveling on XP gain with organic waves. Not as lofi feeling but still a lot of charm, worth checking out if you'd like to spend some time stacking axes in gloomy rooms.

Arena Shooter Auto-Shooter Brotato-style Hack and Slash Horde Survival Puzzle Roguelite Single Stick Shooter Survivors-like Wave Survival
7.5 Combined Ranking Score
33/72 Ranking Position
1351/1600 Total Points
8.4 Final Review
85% Steam
8.6 Scale
8.2 Vibes
1762 Steam Reviews
353/400 Review Points
6.6 Similarity Score
83% Diagnosis:
Similar
998/1200 Comparison Points
96% Genre 7.4/8 genre
82% Simple Controls 4.5/7 move
74% Survival Modes 1.9/4 modes
78% Power Progression 2.2/4 level
90% Buildcrafting Depth 4/5 build
68% Stage Features 2.5/7 stage
79% Content Breadth 5.2/9 stuff
73% Aesthetics 2.7/6 style
92% Gameplay Vibe Check 8.4/10 vibe vibe

God of Weapons Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 2.3

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 11/5/2023

A brotato-style survivors-like with a fun (for me anyway) inventory management twist to powering up. It's fully released but I need more time with it so let's consider this a first look review. I'll be checking on discord and with the devs on the features in the comparison ranking.

It's a 3D style game and based to my prior exposure I can't help sometimes feeling like it's a smooth Halls of Torment. The weapons play pretty differently though, or at least feel different. The isometric shift is also more intense, which can make it a little harder to avoid enemies at times. Has dash, doesn't seem you can map it to the left side so 0 still on one handed.

Luckily your weapons will be heavily favoring the closest enemy so often you're not worrying as much about one close tag. You get XP from to level up, which determines how much inventory you unlock on the next round. You gather currency from the ground to spend on round end. We'll call this a store and not level choices.

Worked fine on Steam Deck but had issues getting controller to work on PC, had to use a custom profile by some other steam user.

Personally I don't like when rounds end while there are still enemies and then it says the wave is complete, but when the timer is up for the round, well, it's over. Then it sends me to the store to power up and puts me in a new room with new enemies.

A fair amount of the arena shooters do stuff like that, but I much much prefer the more modern survivors-like trend of having organic waves and leveling up with a simple dialog that then drops you back into the same exact gameplay. This makes and the small arena makes it a "brotato-style" game which is another subsubgenre defined in the terms.

I like that I can see my DPS if I want. Low score in multiple stages because moving between the rooms feels so repetitive. While I prefer more exploration, I was still charmed by what's here.

My partner has basically no patience for the inventory management mechanic, but personally I like the blocks, the picking new inventory spaces to unlock, items from a large array of options, and then shifting things around. Well, mostly. I admit I often play games in this genre to turn my brain off more or at least just think about statistics, but it does help the game stand out and is utilized in interesting ways for proximity buffs, not just a matter of putting stuff in there.

Really then, with the short rounds, the game became all about the inventory to me, which is perhaps the point. I spend about as much time thinking and fiddling with it as I do in the round sometimes. Not complaining. Overall though it felt a tinsy bit dreary to me, missing something. I need to spend more time with it to know if that's a reasonable feeling, but with the enclosed arena shooters I get antsy quick. I could see myself getting very into this on a smaller screen while traveling.

God of Weapons 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:
998/1200 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) 0.6/1
Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) 1/1
One Handed Play (w Controller) 0/1
Move Only 0.5/1
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 0/1
Organic / Unannounced Waves 0.2/1
High Enemy Count (Horde) 0.7/1
Level Up on XP Gain Event 0.2/1
Streamlined Level Choices (Simple UI) 0/1
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 -0.5/1
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 0/1
Vendor / Merchant on Run 1/1
Enemy Variety 0.7/1
Bosses / Elites 0.8/1
Many Interesting Characters 1/1
Many Challenges 1/1
Multiple Stages 0.2/1
Difficulty Modifiers 0.5/1
Bestiary / Lore 0/1
Achievements 1/1
Secrets 0/1
Retro / Pixel Art 0.1/1
Damage Numbers 1/1
Lofi Charm 0.6/1
Bumpin Music 0.8/1
Fun Writing 0.2/1
Subtle Humor 0/1
Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 1/1
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 1/1

God of Weapons 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.

8.4 Final Review
85% Positive Steam Reviews
1762 Steam Reviews
8.2 Pure Vibes
8.6 Review Scale
353/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 0.9/1
Not Janky 0.9/1
Good UI 0.6/1
Controller and Deck 0.8/1
Lots of Content 0.8/1
Good Theme 0.7/1
Good Graphics and Sound 0.9/1
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

8.4 Converted 10 Point Score
1 Number of Critic Reviews

User

3.0 User Review Average
2 Number of User Reviews

Average

5.7 Direct Average
4.8 "Fuck The Man" Combined Mean

God of Weapons 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 PCFree AvailableReleased

Sorting Categories

Similar

Genre and Control Style Tags

Arena ShooterAuto-ShooterBrotato-styleHack and SlashHorde SurvivalPuzzleRogueliteSingle Stick ShooterSurvivors-likeWave Survival

Aesthetic Tags

3DSerious

Setting / Story Tags

DungeonsFantasy

Control Styles

Controller

Game Mode Tags

Advance on Round EndInventory ManagementShort Rounds25m

Features and Extras

SoundtrackSteam AchievementsSteam Cloud

Dev/Publisher

Archmage Games StudioArchmage Labs

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: 93
  • Steam Leaderboards: No
  • Steam Workshop: No
  • Steam Trading Cards: No

Extras, Etc.

  • NSFW: No
  • Demo Available: On itch.io
  • DLC Available: No
  • Soundtrack Available: YouTube

Marketing Blurb

- +

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

"Embark on a thrilling journey in God of Weapons, an action roguelike where you must ascend the tower of Zhor to reclaim the last light for the world. To survive the monster onslaught on each tower's level, you'll need to obtain and carefully organize weapons and accessories in your inventory"

I just found out after I wrote this all it's made by the Sexy Mystic Survivors folks? Which is funny to me because this is one of the least horny games on the list.

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: 25m

Run Time Notes

?

Speed Settings

?

[edit]

The Riftbreaker

DLC Released

Very Different. A top down shooter horde survival game, but in the long term resource gathering sense in the main campaign mode. Build a base, or rather multiple bases, as you attempt to survive on an alien planet. Relevant to this sheet is the timed survival mode. It recently came on sale on steam so I decided to see how it matches up on this scale considering it shares some elements. It may be an interesting one to check out if you enjoyed the horde and exploration aspects of the genre but wished for a long game with persistent progression instead of short runs. Technically, though, with a hardcore mode enabling permadeath it's optionally rogueish. I wouldn't say it's similar to Vampire Survivors, but it is a horde survival game for sure!

Action RPG Base Building Content Rich Horde Survival Roguelite Sandbox Story Rich Survival Craft Top Down or Isometric Tower Defense Twin Stick Shooter Wave Survival
6.3 Combined Ranking Score
48/72 Ranking Position
1182/1600 Total Points
9.0 Final Review
91% Steam
9.4 Scale
8.5 Vibes
13901 Steam Reviews
370/400 Review Points
3.5 Similarity Score
68% Diagnosis:
Very Different
812/1200 Comparison Points
68% Genre 2.8/8 genre
11% Simple Controls -5.5/7 move
85% Survival Modes 2.8/4 modes
38% Power Progression -1/4 level
80% Buildcrafting Depth 3/5 build
82% Stage Features 4.5/7 stage
95% Content Breadth 8.1/9 stuff
69% Aesthetics 2.3/6 style
75% Gameplay Vibe Check 5/10 vibe vibe

The Riftbreaker Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 10.8

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 11/16/2023

An interesting game to compare and not unlikely to come up in your search because it's a "survival" game with "hordes" of enemies. It's also top down and a twin stick shooter and randomization, so it's got some surface level similarities. But it's also an incredibly complex game with many controls, so in many ways the polar opposite of something like Vampire Survivors.

It has a campaign mode but also a survival mode with timed waves. The general gameplay loop consists of gathering resources and base building to develop and increase various weapon powers and survive waves of enemies. Set up towers, do research, explore and so on. It's really a rather cool mashup of genres, which got me interested in checking it out.

It's got kind of the polar opposite of "simple level choices", having some of the most complex systems to upgrade your fighting level imaginable (dependent on base building.) I mostly liked that, but for my review score I'll have to note I found the voice acting grating when I should have been loving this. It might hurt that my name is also Ashley so it just felt like my robot dad was yelling at me a lot.

With a game design really revolving around long term play, it's definitely not a roguelite, but with map generation and hardcore mode, it is a non-traditional Roguelike in the same manner that Diablo 2 is a roguelike. I usually use roguelite to refer to metaprogression and I'm not sure if the campaign unlocks apply to hardcore mode yet - and if they do to the survival mode, it actually shares more in common with these games than I thought at first glance. In any case, I'm giving it a partial score in "rogue-lite".

It doesn't have a sprawling open world or stretching maps, but you do explore to other maps through the same game when playing the campaign. Aesthetics feels a little like some custom Star Trek map with one mech defending from waves of zerg rushes. Voice acting and writing is kind of annoying imho, probably could have done entirely without it but it doesn't intrude too often.

It feels a bit more bullet heaven when you equip a gun on each hand and stand near a million towers you set up. Enemies do have ranged attacks, though. All in all it's more of an ARPG / base building hybrid and not a survivors-like, but it could tickle your fancy for long term wave defense with more complex systems.

The Riftbreaker 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.

3.5 Similarity Score
68% Diagnosis:
812/1200 Comparison Points
Rogue-lite 0.7/1
Auto-Fire / Auto-Battle -0.5/1
Real Time 1/1
Top Down or Isometric 1/1
Direct Control of Single Avatar 0.7/1
Arcade Style -1/1
Bullet Heaven A (Many Player Bullets) 0.6/1
Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) 0.3/1
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 0.5/1
Timed / Boss Ended Survival 0.8/1
Endless Mode 1/1
Organic / Unannounced Waves 0/1
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" 0.5/1
Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 0.5/1
Broken / Invincible Builds Possible 0/1
Explorable Map 1/1
BIG Maps 0.9/1
XP on Ground 0.5/1
Health on Ground 0/1
Temp Powerups / Items on Ground 0.1/1
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 0.1/1
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 -0.5/1
Bumpin Music 1/1
Fun Writing 1/1
Subtle Humor 0.8/1
Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 0.3/1
Over the Top 0.6/1
"One More Run" / Short Runs -1/1
Difficulty Ramp 1/1
Fun Ramp 1/1
Low Price -0.7/1
Technical Check 1/1
Controls Check 1/1
Fun Check 1/1
Feels like VS 0/1

The Riftbreaker 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.

9.0 Final Review
91% Positive Steam Reviews
13901 Steam Reviews
8.5 Pure Vibes
9.4 Review Scale
370/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 1/1
Not Janky 0.8/1
Good UI 0.8/1
Controller and Deck 0.8/1
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

8.3 Converted 10 Point Score
9 Number of Critic Reviews

User

8.4 User Review Average
64 Number of User Reviews

Average

8.4 Direct Average
8.4 "Fuck The Man" Combined Mean

The Riftbreaker 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

EpicGOGPS5Steam DeckWindows PCXboxDLCReleased

Sorting Categories

Very Different

Genre and Control Style Tags

Action RPGBase BuildingContent RichHorde SurvivalRogueliteSandboxStory RichSurvival CraftTop Down or IsometricTower DefenseTwin Stick ShooterWave Survival

Aesthetic Tags

3DRealisticSerious

Setting / Story Tags

MechaSci-fi

Control Styles

Controller

Game Mode Tags

Custom Mode/ScenarioDifficulty ModesDifficulty ModifiersHardcore Mode (Optional Permadeath)Inventory ManagementMap Based CampaignResearch TreesTimed SurvivalWave Survival60m

Features and Extras

SoundtrackSteam AchievementsSteam CloudSteam Trading CardsSteam Workshop

Dev/Publisher

EXOR StudiosSurefire Games

Game Features

- +

Listing various features we've got info on.

Multiplayer

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

Steam Features

  • Steam Cloud: Yes
  • Steam Achievements: 41
  • Steam Leaderboards: No
  • Steam Workshop: Yes
  • Steam Trading Cards: Yes

Extras, Etc.

  • NSFW: No
  • Demo Available: Yes
  • DLC Available: Yes
  • Soundtrack Available: Steam YouTube Soundcloud Apple GOG

Marketing Blurb

- +

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

"The Riftbreaker™ is a base-building, survival game with Action-RPG elements. You are an elite scientist/commando inside an advanced Mecha-Suit capable of dimensional rift travel. Hack & slash countless enemies. Build up your base, collect samples and research new inventions to survive."

"Your presence on this planet will not go unnoticed. As you build up your industry and disrupt the natural order, the world will start seeing you as a threat. Build up your defenses. Construct walls, barriers and defense towers as the attacks get stronger with every passing day. You will face thousands of hostile creatures trying to eliminate your presence."

"If intense fight for survival is not your thing either, then try out the Sandbox mode, where we give you control over the entire game – including resources, enemy spawns, and weather conditions."

Game Modes

- +

Map Based Campaign

Timed Survival

Custom Scenario,
Difficulty Modes &
Difficulty Modifiers
(For both modes)

Hardcore Mode
(Optional Permadeath)

Game Mode Notes

The game is designed with a campaign across several procedurally generated maps. It mimics sandbox base construction games a little bit, but the starting map does run out of resources relatively quickly if not enemies. The game lets you explore and set up other bases on other maps and then return to your main one until you complete the campaign.

There is a secondary survival mode which speeds up research and challenges you to survive until the end of a timer. Both modes allow a large degree of customization for challenge and difficulty.

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: 60m

Run Time Notes

The default mode is a campaign with multiple procedurally generated maps. You build bases as you progress objectives and survive waves, but you can spend as long as you want on any map, in theory (?). You make bases that persist as you explore other maps.

There's also a survival mode, which speeds up in game research for a compressed experience on a single map. 60m refers to the default run time of the first "survival" mode.

Speed Settings

None

[edit]

Returnal

Released

Very Different. Perhaps you want a lot more action challenge and AAA graphics. Third-Person Shooter Rogue-Lite, might scratch some of the same itches but very bullet hell compared to heaven. You see it mentioned on reddit an it's not an out of the line recommendation, because it does really pull you into another short run and you can certainly see a lot of bullets on screen at once. It's a great game, but not particularly similar at all in the movement categories.

Bullet Hell Dungeon Crawler Roguelite Roguevania Story Rich Third-Person Shooter
6.2 Combined Ranking Score
51/72 Ranking Position
1170/1600 Total Points
9.2 Final Review
81% Steam
10.0 Scale
9.5 Vibes
3116 Steam Reviews
376/400 Review Points
3.2 Similarity Score
66% Diagnosis:
Very Different
794/1200 Comparison Points
55% Genre 0.8/8 genre
7% Simple Controls -6/7 move
50% Survival Modes 0/4 modes
60% Power Progression 0.8/4 level
64% Buildcrafting Depth 1.4/5 build
100% Stage Features 7/7 stage
92% Content Breadth 7.5/9 stuff
68% Aesthetics 2.2/6 style
82% Gameplay Vibe Check 6.4/10 vibe vibe

Returnal Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 8.0

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 10/16/2023

Third-Person Shooter Rogue-Lite by Shmup Legends Housemarque, might scratch some of the same itches but very bullet hell compared to heaven. Mostly played on PS5.

This sometimes gets suggested and it's a fun one, but very different in many ways.

I haven't gotten good enough at it to see any bullet heaven overclocked builds personally.

Popular game so you can look up youtube videos.

Returnal 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.

3.2 Similarity Score
66% Diagnosis:
794/1200 Comparison Points
Rogue-lite 1/1
Auto-Fire / Auto-Battle -1/1
Real Time 1/1
Top Down or Isometric -0.9/1
Direct Control of Single Avatar 1/1
Arcade Style 0.4/1
Bullet Heaven A (Many Player Bullets) 0.3/1
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 0/1
Timed / Boss Ended Survival -1/1
Endless Mode 0.8/1
Organic / Unannounced Waves 0/1
High Enemy Count (Horde) 0.2/1
Level Up on XP Gain Event 0/1
Streamlined Level Choices (Simple UI) 0/1
Currency Based Meta Unlocks 0.2/1
Goal Based Meta Unlocks 0.6/1
Build Crafting 0.3/1
0/1
Weapon Combination / "Evolution" 0.5/1
Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 0.5/1
Broken / Invincible Builds Possible 0.1/1
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 0/1
Many Challenges 0.5/1
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 0/1
Bumpin Music 0.2/1
Fun Writing 1/1
Subtle Humor 1/1
Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 0.1/1
Over the Top 0.3/1
"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 0.3/1

Returnal 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
81% Positive Steam Reviews
3116 Steam Reviews
9.5 Pure Vibes
10.0 Review Scale
376/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 1/1
Not Janky 1/1
Good UI 1/1
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

8.6 Converted 10 Point Score
47 Number of Critic Reviews

User

6.7 User Review Average
188 Number of User Reviews

Average

7.7 Direct Average
7.1 "Fuck The Man" Combined Mean

Returnal 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

EpicPS5Steam DeckWindows PCReleased

Sorting Categories

Very Different

Genre and Control Style Tags

Bullet HellDungeon CrawlerRogueliteRoguevaniaStory RichThird-Person Shooter

Aesthetic Tags

3DRealisticSerious

Setting / Story Tags

DungeonsSci-fiTime Loop

Control Styles

Controller

Game Mode Tags

Dungeon CrawlEndless Mode90m

Features and Extras

SoundtrackSteam AchievementsSteam Cloud

Dev/Publisher

Climax StudiosHousemarquePlaystation Studios

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

Extras, Etc.

  • NSFW: No
  • Demo Available: No
  • DLC Available: No
  • Soundtrack Available: YouTube Amazon Spotify Apple Retail (LP)

Marketing Blurb

- +

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

"Fight to survive as this award-winning third-person shooter brings Selene’s story to PC. Take on roguelike challenges. Engage enemies in bullet hell-fuelled clashes. Share your journey through Returnal™ with another player."

Game Modes

- +

Dungeon Crawl Runs
(Story Act 1 & 2)

Endless Dungeon Crawl
(Tower of Sisyphus)

Game Mode Notes

Minor spoilers: For game modes there's story act 1, story act 2 and the tower. The tower is an endless climbing mode that gets progressively more difficult. It features a unique boss and weapon consumables. Co op is available for the story but not the tower.

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: 90m

Run Time Notes

Via HollowSeeking on Discord: "Run time varies, you can complete a story cycle in well under an hour. Speed runners can do fresh file runs in well under an hour. A full clear story act on replay is around one hour depending on thoroughness and play style. I usually take 1.5 hours but I'm slow, thorough, and easily distracted. First playthrough can take much longer. 8 hours, 20, 60 hours, it varies by a huge margin."

Speed Settings

There's no clock speed up. You can run past battles but enemy and projectile speeds stay the same always. Some weapons you can get traits for or stat investments that speed up things like fire rate. Some other gameplay mechanics can impact run speed. So run time may vary, but you can't use a menu option to change game speed or timed goals.

[edit]

Rogue

Free Available

Extremely Different. The original mid-eighties game which named the rogue-like genre. Yes, it's on Steam! For 2.99! Rogue-lites have metaprogression, this game does not. Traditional Rogue-likes are also turn based among many other hotly debated features. Included to test the scale and out of curiosity. Turns out Vampire Survivors is totally a Rogue-lite but Rogue is nothing like a Vampire survivors-like. Well worth checking out if you want to experience videogame history.

Dungeon Crawler Top Down or Isometric Traditional Roguelike
4.8 Combined Ranking Score
62/72 Ranking Position
1017/1600 Total Points
8.5 Final Review
96% Steam
8.0 Scale
8.0 Vibes
340 Steam Reviews
356/400 Review Points
1.0 Similarity Score
55% Diagnosis:
Extremely Different
661/1200 Comparison Points
44% Genre -0.9/8 genre
44% Simple Controls -0.8/7 move
25% Survival Modes -2/4 modes
38% Power Progression -1/4 level
43% Buildcrafting Depth -0.7/5 build
71% Stage Features 3/7 stage
69% Content Breadth 3.5/9 stuff
73% Aesthetics 2.7/6 style
71% Gameplay Vibe Check 4.1/10 vibe vibe

Rogue Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 4.0

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

There are many different versions of Rogue, but this one is on Steam! This is a pretty interesting one to compare since obviously it's the namesake for now two hotly debated genres with hopping sales! Rogue-Likes and Rogue-Lites both share some similarities with Rogue, and now we can see how it lines up with Vampire Survivors.

Run time highly estimated. Many people play on and off for decades without managing to beat it. As an old game, it can be very unforgiving. It's also turn based, so can highly vary with the player. Plus there is the randomization element, which is much broader in this game than many on the list. Anecdotally it takes "several hours" if you actually manage to get down and then back up.

It's not likely the developers thought of "run time" the way we do these days after 40 years of iterating on this game.

We'll be rating based on the steam release. I think some versions did have music, but this one does not. Loses a bit on our review scale for lack of modern controls / UI, but that's just how that scale works. 10/10 on vibes. I haven't put in nearly enough time to be an expert on this game so please let me know if you have corrections or adjustments!

This is another one included to kind of demonstrate how games fall on the scale. And because the debate about if game is a rogue-like is also never ending.

You could make a scale like this with Rogue as the example game but the people who talk about this non stop are exhausting. That's why I do my best to endorse multiple terms through this document. The evolution and use of language is interesting, but it's kind of nuts to sit around and pretend it hasn't evolved when it's already moved past you. I didn't like survivors-like at first either.

Rogue 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.

1.0 Similarity Score
55% Diagnosis:
661/1200 Comparison Points
Rogue-lite 0.5/1
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 0.1/1
Bullet Heaven A (Many Player Bullets) -1/1
Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) -0.5/1
One Handed Play (w Controller) 0.2/1
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 0/1
Timed / Boss Ended Survival -1/1
Endless Mode -1/1
Organic / Unannounced Waves 0/1
High Enemy Count (Horde) 0/1
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 0/1
0.3/1
Weapon Combination / "Evolution" 0/1
Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 0/1
Broken / Invincible Builds Possible -1/1
Explorable Map 1/1
BIG Maps 1/1
XP on Ground 0/1
Health on Ground 0/1
Temp Powerups / Items on Ground 1/1
Treasure Chests and/or Loot Events 0/1
Vendor / Merchant on Run 0/1
Enemy Variety 1/1
Bosses / Elites 0.5/1
Many Interesting Characters 0/1
Many Challenges 0/1
Multiple Stages 1/1
Difficulty Modifiers 0/1
Bestiary / Lore 0/1
Achievements 0/1
Secrets 1/1
Retro / Pixel Art 1/1
Damage Numbers 0/1
Lofi Charm 1/1
Bumpin Music -1/1
Fun Writing 0.9/1
Subtle Humor 0.8/1
Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 0.2/1
Over the Top -1/1
"One More Run" / Short Runs 0.7/1
Difficulty Ramp 0/1
Fun Ramp 0/1
Low Price 1/1
Technical Check 0.9/1
Controls Check 0.5/1
Fun Check 1/1
Feels like VS -1/1

Rogue 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.

8.5 Final Review
96% Positive Steam Reviews
340 Steam Reviews
8.0 Pure Vibes
8.0 Review Scale
356/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 1/1
Not Janky 1/1
Good UI 0/1
Controller and Deck 0/1
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

Rogue 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 Available

Sorting Categories

Extremely Different

Genre and Control Style Tags

Dungeon CrawlerTop Down or IsometricTraditional Roguelike

Aesthetic Tags

AsciiLofiSerious

Setting / Story Tags

AbstractDungeonsFantasy

Control Styles

Keyboard 1 HandedKeyboard Only

Game Mode Tags

Unknown240m

Features and Extras

Dev/Publisher

EpyxInc.Pixel Games UK

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: No
  • 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.

"Experience the commercial port of the game that spawned a thousand 'Rogue-likes'. Venture into the Dungeons of Doom in search of the legendary Amulet of Yendor, and hopefully escape with your life! Randomly generated dungeons await you, full of nasty monsters, insidious traps, and glittering loot."

"In the early 1980s, a computer game emerged that changed the world of fantasy gaming forever. Randomly generated rooms meant that each journey into the infamous Dungeons of Doom was unique. "

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: 240m

Run Time Notes

Run time highly estimated. Many people play on and off for decades without managing to beat it. As an old game, it can be very unforgiving.

It's also turn based, so time varies highly with the player. Plus there is the randomization element, which is much broader in this game than many on the list. Anecdotally it takes "several hours" if you actually manage to get down and then back up.

Speed Settings

?

[edit]

Elden Ring

Released

Extremely Different. Perhaps you'd like leveling up and challenge with a horror fantasy setting but prefer a drastic change in format to AAA 3rd person and want to always progress one character. I thought it might be interesting to include a very different game I've got a lot of hours in and see what's similar. Included to test the scale. A souls-like technically has some similarities to a rogue-lite - there is a similar "one more run" feeling after death at least, but Elden Ring is totally focused on permanent progression. It's a very good game but even high review scores can't bring a game this different above the 5.0 threshold that I internally think of as separating the "recommended" games from the ones that likely won't satisfy your search for another game similar to Vampire Survivors.

3rd Person Adventure Action RPG Content Rich Open World Soulslike Story Rich
3.9 Combined Ranking Score
66/72 Ranking Position
879/1600 Total Points
9.7 Final Review
92% Steam
10.0 Scale
10.0 Vibes
537133 Steam Reviews
392/400 Review Points
-1.9 Similarity Score
41% Diagnosis:
Extremely Different
487/1200 Comparison Points
31% Genre -3/8 genre
0% Simple Controls -7/7 move
9% Survival Modes -3.3/4 modes
25% Power Progression -2/4 level
25% Buildcrafting Depth -2.5/5 build
73% Stage Features 3.2/7 stage
79% Content Breadth 5.3/9 stuff
50% Aesthetics 0/6 style
50% Gameplay Vibe Check 0/10 vibe vibe

Elden Ring Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 283.3

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 10/17/2023

I've put an insane amount of hours into all the From Software Souls-Likes and thought it might be interesting to use one to test the scale. Souls-likes have a slightly similar feel in that their "one more try" dynamic after dying feels a lot like the "one more run" addiction of rouge-lites.

It also has a lot of exploration, levels, depth, and technically the XP is on the ground sometimes. Great game! Will it scratch your VS itch? Almost definitely not... but maybe.

I love Soulslikes but I wouldn't put most of them on this list. I just picked the latest one and I think it was the most widely played as well, The mechanics in most of them are very similar. The FromSoft games, anyway.

Elden Ring 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.

-1.9 Similarity Score
41% Diagnosis:
487/1200 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) 0/1
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 -0.5/1
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 1/1
-0.5/1
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 -0.8/1
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 0.1/1
Many Challenges 1/1
Multiple Stages 1/1
Difficulty Modifiers -1/1
Bestiary / Lore 0.2/1
Achievements 1/1
Secrets 1/1
Retro / Pixel Art -1/1
Damage Numbers 0/1
Lofi Charm -1/1
Bumpin Music 0/1
Fun Writing 1/1
Subtle Humor 1/1
Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 0/1
Over the Top 0/1
"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

Elden Ring 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.

9.7 Final Review
92% Positive Steam Reviews
537133 Steam Reviews
10.0 Pure Vibes
10.0 Review Scale
392/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 1/1
Not Janky 1/1
Good UI 1/1
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

9.4 Converted 10 Point Score
60 Number of Critic Reviews

User

7.1 User Review Average
5931 Number of User Reviews

Average

8.3 Direct Average
7.1 "Fuck The Man" Combined Mean

Elden Ring 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

PS4PS5Steam DeckWindows PCXboxReleased

Sorting Categories

Extremely Different

Genre and Control Style Tags

3rd Person AdventureAction RPGContent RichOpen WorldSoulslikeStory Rich

Aesthetic Tags

3DRealisticSerious

Setting / Story Tags

DungeonsFantasyHorrorHorror Themed

Control Styles

Controller

Game Mode Tags

Unknownn/a

Features and Extras

SoundtrackSteam AchievementsSteam CloudSteam Trading Cards

Dev/Publisher

Bandai NamcoFromSoftware

Game Features

- +

Listing various features we've got info on.

Multiplayer

  • Local: No
  • Online: Co-Op Versus
  • Player Count: 3 (Co-Op) 6 (PVP)
  • Leaderboards: ?

Steam Features

  • Steam Cloud: Yes
  • Steam Achievements: 42
  • Steam Leaderboards: No
  • Steam Workshop: No
  • Steam Trading Cards: Yes

Extras, Etc.

  • NSFW: No
  • Demo Available: No
  • DLC Available: No
  • Soundtrack Available: Spotify Apple Amazon YouTube Bandai Namco (LP)

Marketing Blurb

- +

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

"The New Fantasy Action RPG. Rise, Tarnished, and be guided by grace to brandish the power of the Elden Ring and become an Elden Lord in the Lands Between."

"A vast world where open fields with a variety of situations and huge dungeons with complex and three-dimensional designs are seamlessly connected.""In addition to customizing the appearance of your character, you can freely combine the weapons, armor, and magic that you equip. You can develop your character according to your play style, such as increasing your muscle strength to become a strong warrior, or mastering magic."

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: n/a

Run Time Notes

?

Speed Settings

?

[edit]

Godstrike

Released

Extremely Different. Isometric shmup but while it's listed alongside over a hundred survivors-likes in the Steam Bullet Heaven Fest it's actually a very demanding boss rush twin stick shooter that feels quite unlike Vampire Survivors. Most games like this aren't on this spreadsheet, but we'll keep it on here as an example of the genre since it's currently suggested alongside the rest of these games. Personally, I think a twitch reaction bullet hell boss rush game like this is unlikely to fulfill your desire for a game like Vampire Survivors.

Arena Shooter Boss Rush Bullet Hell Roguelite Top Down or Isometric Twin Stick Shooter
3.3 Combined Ranking Score
67/72 Ranking Position
899/1600 Total Points
6.4 Final Review
70% Steam
6.2 Scale
6.0 Vibes
120 Steam Reviews
292/400 Review Points
0.1 Similarity Score
51% Diagnosis:
Extremely Different
607/1200 Comparison Points
68% Genre 2.9/8 genre
22% Simple Controls -3.9/7 move
25% Survival Modes -2/4 modes
25% Power Progression -2/4 level
46% Buildcrafting Depth -0.4/5 build
43% Stage Features -1/7 stage
72% Content Breadth 3.9/9 stuff
54% Aesthetics 0.5/6 style
69% Gameplay Vibe Check 3.7/10 vibe vibe

Godstrike Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 1.1

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 11/4/2023

This one was part of Steam's "Bullet Heaven" Fest. Personally, it doesn't seem to be a bullet heaven, rather it's a textbook bullet hell boss rush with some upgrades and equipping between rounds. It has a lot of movement and action controls possible with unlockable and applicable abilities. While it's isometric and a shooter, the gameplay feel and loop doesn't really feel like Vampire Survivors.

It's a little confusing in the menus with the top option being a mode where you can seemingly select any ability you want to challenge yourself, then a campaign mode that seems like a roguelite run, kind of, and then daily challenges and other challenge modes.

I found the menu set up, navigation and way the gameplay loop works unintuitive considering how simple it turned out to really be. Roguelite mode is called "story mode". You can only attempt the daily challenge once which feels sad.

-1 for timed survival since it's all about you running out of time, not trying to run out the clock. Regardless of the mode picked you'll always be trying to defeat the same run of bosses without much in between. Bosses spit out a ton of bullets which I personally found hard to see with the games graphical style. (Edit: Turns out this was because graphics are bugged on my high end gaming PC, it looks different on steam deck.)

While I appreciate "tilt to fire" twin stick controls, it complicates them with a lot of possible special moves, dodge, etc.

Overall it doesn't feel like it gains from these complicated controls, since the boss attack patterns and strategies don't feel that special compared to hundreds of other bullet hell bosses out there. Not memorable cutscenes but won't let you skip them. At this price point, it's hard to say there's a lot here compared to many of the amazing games on this list.

Godstrike 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.

0.1 Similarity Score
51% Diagnosis:
607/1200 Comparison Points
Rogue-lite 0.8/1
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) 0.1/1
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 0.1/1
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 0/1
Goal Based Meta Unlocks 0/1
Build Crafting 0.3/1
0.2/1
Weapon Combination / "Evolution" 0/1
Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 0.1/1
Broken / Invincible Builds Possible -1/1
Explorable Map -1/1
BIG Maps -1/1
XP on Ground 0/1
Health on Ground 0/1
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
Bosses / Elites 1/1
Many Interesting Characters -0.5/1
Many Challenges 1/1
Multiple Stages 0.3/1
Difficulty Modifiers 1/1
Bestiary / Lore 0.1/1
Achievements 1/1
Secrets 0/1
Retro / Pixel Art 0/1
Damage Numbers 0/1
Lofi Charm 0/1
Bumpin Music 0.4/1
Fun Writing 0.1/1
Subtle Humor 0/1
Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 0/1
Over the Top 0/1
"One More Run" / Short Runs 1/1
Difficulty Ramp 0.5/1
Fun Ramp 0.2/1
Low Price 0/1
Technical Check 0.8/1
Controls Check 0.7/1
Fun Check 0.5/1
Feels like VS -1/1

Godstrike 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.

6.4 Final Review
70% Positive Steam Reviews
120 Steam Reviews
6.0 Pure Vibes
6.2 Review Scale
292/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 1/1
Not Janky 0.7/1
Good UI 0.4/1
Controller and Deck 0.9/1
Lots of Content 0.4/1
Good Theme 0.5/1
Good Graphics and Sound 0.6/1
Fun Feel 0.6/1
Unique Twists 0.5/1
Vibe Check 0.6/1

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

6.8 Converted 10 Point Score
7 Number of Critic Reviews

User

8.0 User Review Average
1 Number of User Reviews

Average

7.4 Direct Average
7.0 "Fuck The Man" Combined Mean

Godstrike 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

Extremely Different

Genre and Control Style Tags

Arena ShooterBoss RushBullet HellRogueliteTop Down or IsometricTwin Stick Shooter

Aesthetic Tags

3DCell ShadedSerious

Setting / Story Tags

Fantasy

Control Styles

Controller

Game Mode Tags

Unknown30m

Features and Extras

Steam AchievementsSteam Leaderboards

Dev/Publisher

Freedom GamesOverPowered Team

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

Extras, Etc.

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

Marketing Blurb

- +

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

"Godstrike is a twin-stick shooter where time is your health and currency. Face off against ruthless bosses in tense, 1v1 showdowns as Talaal, the last Herald."

"Godstrike is a 3D boss rush bullet hell where time is your health and currency. Face and defeat powerful bosses before time runs out. Taking damage and using abilities drains your remaining combat time, so watch out!"

"Customizable ability loadouts, allowing the players to optimize their game style.
Competition focused gameplay so you can challenge your friends and beat the highscores.
Multiple game modes, including Roguelite-style mode!
"

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: 30m

Run Time Notes

?

Speed Settings

?

[edit]

Call of Duty 2

Released

Extremely Different. If you don't want to play Vampire Survivors at all! This WWII campaign based first person shooter is nothing alike! Yes, it's a 'shooter' but it's completely different! Included to test the scale. Our use of a negative-shifted measurement within categories allows us to get a low ranking for a very different game, and it still be a functional game sharing basic features. It's mostly an aesthetic difference, but a lower score is easily understood at a glance. Otherwise a game like this might get around a confusingly high score! It may be a little confusing now, but as we fully rank more games, these different ones will stay near the bottom.

First Person Shooter Story Rich
2.1 Combined Ranking Score
68/72 Ranking Position
711/1600 Total Points
8.0 Final Review
93% Steam
7.2 Scale
7.5 Vibes
6842 Steam Reviews
340/400 Review Points
-3.8 Similarity Score
31% Diagnosis:
Extremely Different
371/1200 Comparison Points
37% Genre -2.1/8 genre
14% Simple Controls -5/7 move
6% Survival Modes -3.5/4 modes
0% Power Progression -4/4 level
5% Buildcrafting Depth -4.5/5 build
48% Stage Features -0.3/7 stage
56% Content Breadth 1/9 stuff
38% Aesthetics -1.5/6 style
40% Gameplay Vibe Check -2/10 vibe vibe

Call of Duty 2 Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 20.0

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 10/14/2023

Included here to test/show the scale - kind of demonstrating that to properly show a game is nothing like VS you gotta use a lot of -1 scores. In theory you could go all the way negative to -60, but most games would share some features! Our scale is heavily designed to be useful for differentiating very similar games, so if very different games earned a 5.0 it would be less clear. This shifting allows us to clearly differentiate from the very similar games up top.

Some random scoring notes: It does away with the healthpack drops from the first game, so no more "health on ground." Call of Duty 2 also has no sprint! So full score in "no dash", basically. We use this one a lot in the scoring guide so check out if you're curious about the numbers!

Matter of the scale being -1 to 1 is mostly a matter of aesthetics really, it's just a 20 point range that allows you to see easily what is just a lack of a feature and which is an intentional difference in design philosophy.

Call of Duty 2 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.

-3.8 Similarity Score
31% Diagnosis:
371/1200 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) 0.2/1
Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) -0.3/1
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) -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 -1/1
-1/1
Weapon Combination / "Evolution" -0.5/1
Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy -1/1
Broken / Invincible Builds Possible -1/1
Explorable Map 0.7/1
BIG Maps 0.5/1
XP on Ground -1/1
Health on Ground -1/1
Temp Powerups / Items on Ground 1/1
Treasure Chests and/or Loot Events 0.5/1
Vendor / Merchant on Run -1/1
Enemy Variety 0.5/1
Bosses / Elites 0.5/1
Many Interesting Characters -1/1
Many Challenges 0/1
Multiple Stages 1/1
Difficulty Modifiers 0/1
Bestiary / Lore 0/1
Achievements 0/1
Secrets 0/1
Retro / Pixel Art -1/1
Damage Numbers 0/1
Lofi Charm -1/1
Bumpin Music 0/1
Fun Writing 0.5/1
Subtle Humor 0/1
Panic & Zen Duo Vibe -0.5/1
Over the Top 0/1
"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 0.5/1
Fun Check 1/1
Feels like VS -1/1

Call of Duty 2 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
93% Positive Steam Reviews
6842 Steam Reviews
7.5 Pure Vibes
7.2 Review Scale
340/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 1/1
Not Janky 1/1
Good UI 1/1
Controller and Deck 0/1
Lots of Content 0.6/1
Good Theme 0.6/1
Good Graphics and Sound 0.5/1
Fun Feel 1/1
Unique Twists 0.5/1
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

8.6 Converted 10 Point Score
64 Number of Critic Reviews

User

8.5 User Review Average
1033 Number of User Reviews

Average

8.6 Direct Average
8.5 "Fuck The Man" Combined Mean

Call of Duty 2 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

MacWindows PCXbox 360Released

Sorting Categories

Extremely Different

Genre and Control Style Tags

First Person ShooterStory Rich

Aesthetic Tags

3DRealisticSerious

Setting / Story Tags

HistoricalMilitaryWWII

Control Styles

Controller

Game Mode Tags

Unknownn/a

Features and Extras

Soundtrack

Dev/Publisher

ActivisionInfinity Ward

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: No
  • Steam Leaderboards: No
  • Steam Workshop: No
  • Steam Trading Cards: No

Extras, Etc.

  • NSFW: No
  • Demo Available: No
  • DLC Available: No
  • Soundtrack Available: YouTube Retail (CD)

Marketing Blurb

- +

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

"The sequel to 2003's Call of Duty, winner of over 80 Game of the Year awards, Call of Duty 2 offers more immense, more intense, more realistic battles than ever before"

"All-new, unprecedented enhancements from stunningly realistic graphics to seamless gameplay, thanks to the revolutionary COD2 engine"

"The dozens of Allied soldiers surrounding you are fully aware of the changing situations around them, and will let you know using an all-new, context-sensitive battle chatter system." etc etc

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: n/a

Run Time Notes

?

Speed Settings

?

[edit]

Beach Invasion 1944

Released

Very Different. First person wave shooter where you play as the wrong side at the battle of Normandy. WARNING I got the code for this game to review as part of a press package for many games in a sale and didn't realize what it was. This game will put n-zi Medals on your profile earning a previously unconceived -1 in achievements due to the unique gameplay loop of panicking and contacting support to remove them. Much more detail in notes. Probably don't try this one. I feel dirty sharing the link even for academic purposes. I didn't originally expect games to really go below 0, but I guess it's useful to have some outlier examples for a scoring guide.

First Person Shooter Malware Tower Defense Wave Shooter
-0.4 Combined Ranking Score
72/72 Ranking Position
562/1600 Total Points
2.9 Final Review
86% Steam
0.2 Scale
0.0 Vibes
568 Steam Reviews
188/400 Review Points
-3.8 Similarity Score
31% Diagnosis:
Very Different
374/1200 Comparison Points
41% Genre -1.5/8 genre
22% Simple Controls -3.9/7 move
61% Survival Modes 0.9/4 modes
18% Power Progression -2.6/4 level
30% Buildcrafting Depth -2/5 build
55% Stage Features 0.7/7 stage
37% Content Breadth -2.4/9 stuff
10% Aesthetics -4.8/6 style
15% Gameplay Vibe Check -7/10 vibe vibe

Beach Invasion 1944 Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 0.7

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

Wow holy shit! Avoid haha

Was given a review key for this game as part of a press bundle for an event. Just installed all of them and started working my way into the list. I was a half hour into this game, mostly just making notes, before I realized what beach I was on, what the tank near me was named, and what the popups rushing by on the left were.

The game is kind of subtle. No n-zi flags. You have to actually think back to war photos to realize what side of the beach means what, you have to know the logos on the trucks, etc. I should have recognized it sooner, I'm Jewish, had family who fought for the American forces and family in the camps. I was mostly thinking about how dark it is to throw you in on this side to start (I don't know if there are other levels, functionally) but then it gave me the Iron Cross, I realized it was an actual achievement and quit the hell out.

This is the first game that gets a negative score in achievements for having achievements so bad I'm classifying them as malware. Literally had to contact support to try and have them removed. That's a first for me. It's 10 dollars and what is here is relatively unique in terms of being in this genre, but not in terms of being a poorly made world war II game.

It's janky, aiming is buggy as hell, controller support hardly works in the menu at all. In fact I feel it flat out doesn't. And it already has paid DLC out. It feels like it's a way for n-zis to just pay ten dollars and then put the Iron Cross on their profile.

At the same time I will say it was a unique gameplay experience. If the n-zi awards weren't there for funsies it could even be worth experiencing. Felt very dark. Music is not there or bleak. Gamification aspects just made it feel darker, like slow mo zoom kills and powerups popping up in the middle of the endless meatgrinder of one of the all time worst moments in mankind's history. Run feels like it goes on forever and I just wanted to die but for some reason I couldn't. Ctrl alt deleted to get past a bugging menu and closed the app with a feeling of absolute horror. Then had to contact tech support. The vibes on this one are positively otherworldly bad.

But hey it's nice to have something firmly at the bottom here. Worst vibe yet!

Beach Invasion 1944 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.

-3.8 Similarity Score
31% Diagnosis:
374/1200 Comparison Points
Rogue-lite 0/1
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) 0.5/1
Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) -1/1
One Handed Play (w Controller) -1/1
Move Only 0.1/1
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 0/1
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) 0.4/1
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 0/1
Broken / Invincible Builds Possible 0/1
Explorable Map -1/1
BIG Maps -1/1
XP on Ground 0.3/1
Health on Ground 0.7/1
Temp Powerups / Items on Ground 0.7/1
Treasure Chests and/or Loot Events 0.5/1
Vendor / Merchant on Run 0.5/1
Enemy Variety 0.3/1
Bosses / Elites 0.3/1
Many Interesting Characters -1/1
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 0/1
Lofi Charm -0.8/1
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 0/1
Feels like VS -1/1

Beach Invasion 1944 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.

2.9 Final Review
86% Positive Steam Reviews
568 Steam Reviews
0.0 Pure Vibes
0.2 Review Scale
188/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 0.3/1
Not Janky 0/1
Good UI 0/1
Controller and Deck 0/1
Lots of Content 0.1/1
Good Theme -1/1
Good Graphics and Sound 0.5/1
Fun Feel 0.7/1
Unique Twists 0.6/1
Vibe Check -1/1

Beach Invasion 1944 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

EpicSteam DeckWindows PCReleased

Sorting Categories

Very Different