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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]

HoloCure - Save the Fans!

Free Available Released

Very commonly recommended free game for if you want something tight to the Vampire Survivors formula and just as fun. Technically a fan game for Hololive, it's a feature rich game anyone can enjoy. Some features, including fishing, are tucked into a little life sim menu mode. Has aiming and special moves but they can be ignored and still play ok. Many meta notes via Joske and Genki on Discord!

Auto-Shooter Bullet Heaven Content Rich Enemy Hell Female Protagonist Fishing Horde Survival Mowing Game Roguelite Survivors-like Top Down or Isometric Twin Stick Shooter Wave Survival
9.0 Combined Ranking Score
3/72 Ranking Position
1501/1600 Total Points
9.3 Final Review
99% Steam
9.7 Scale
8.3 Vibes
21125 Steam Reviews
379/400 Review Points
8.7 Similarity Score
94% Diagnosis:
Similar
1122/1200 Comparison Points
99% Genre 7.8/8 genre
74% Simple Controls 3.3/7 move
100% Survival Modes 4/4 modes
100% Power Progression 4/4 level
100% Buildcrafting Depth 5/5 build
81% Stage Features 4.4/7 stage
94% Content Breadth 8/9 stuff
99% Aesthetics 5.9/6 style
99% Gameplay Vibe Check 9.8/10 vibe vibe

HoloCure - Save the Fans! Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 6.2

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 11/21/2023

tsukumo-sana-from_holocure-save-the-fans.gifYou might not realize these are all fan representations of HoloLive vtubers as characters, except for the game kind of tells you. Many players including myself have no idea who they are and still enjoy the game a lot. It has a lighter humorous tone that doesn't bog it down into meme game territory and nails the basic VS formula with some subtle twists and upgrades with weapon evolutions.

Adds aiming and a special move button, but some builds you can make work for 1 handed play. Also has a home decoration side game, fishing, and more! On the downside, feels a little 'light' and less immersive for some reason to me, but hey, it's free! I'll be playing more of it!

Did I say it's totally free? It's Free! I'll come back and make real notes later.

smol-ame-from_holocure-save-the-fans.webpFull level/progression notes from Genki: "Leveling up is done like Vampire Survivors. Enemies drop XP, on level up you choose a weapon (or item). Eventually there's an option to reroll or banish a weapon or item. Occasionally, anvils drop on the ground. Anvils allow you to level up a weapon/item without the need for xp, enchant a weapon (apply a random buff) or enhance a weapon beyond it's max level (each enhancement costs coins and every time per weapon the probability of success decreases).

Stamps also drop from time to time. Stamps are buffs that are only applied to the main character-unique weapon. You can equip a max of 3 stamps and level them up to level 3 by sacrificing other stamps. Stamps can also be sold for coins. There's a also a super rare chance for super-items to drop from boxes. Super items are buffed version of normal items without any downside.
"

fubuzilla-from_holocure-save-the-fans.gif"Players can combine certain weapons to make a collab, an evolved version of those two weapon that also frees a slot. When certain requirements are met and the player collects a golden hammer, they have the chance to combine a collab with an item to make a super collab."

HoloCure - Save the Fans! 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.

8.7 Similarity Score
94% Diagnosis:
1122/1200 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) 0/1
Move Only 0/1
No Dash 1/1
No Trigger 1/1
No Special Move 0/1
No Aiming 0.3/1
No On-Aim / On-Fire Movement Penalty 1/1
Timed / Boss Ended Survival 1/1
Endless Mode 1/1
Organic / Unannounced Waves 1/1
High Enemy Count (Horde) 1/1
Level Up on XP Gain Event 1/1
Streamlined Level Choices (Simple UI) 1/1
Currency Based Meta Unlocks 1/1
Goal Based Meta Unlocks 1/1
Build Crafting 1/1
1/1
Weapon Combination / "Evolution" 1/1
Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 1/1
Broken / Invincible Builds Possible 1/1
Explorable Map 0.2/1
BIG Maps 0.2/1
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 0.5/1
Bestiary / Lore 0.5/1
Achievements 1/1
Secrets 1/1
Retro / Pixel Art 1/1
Damage Numbers 1/1
Lofi Charm 0.9/1
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 0.8/1
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

HoloCure - Save the Fans! Review Scale Heatmap

- +

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

9.3 Final Review
99% Positive Steam Reviews
21125 Steam Reviews
8.3 Pure Vibes
9.7 Review Scale
379/400 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 0.7/1
Vibe Check 1/1

Metacritic Scores

- +

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

Critic

8.0 Converted 10 Point Score
1 Number of Critic Reviews

User

8.7 User Review Average
21 Number of User Reviews

Average

8.4 Direct Average
8.7 "Fuck The Man" Combined Mean

HoloCure - Save the Fans! Tag Cloud

- +

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

Release Tags

itch.ioSteam DeckWindows PCFree AvailableReleased

Sorting Categories

Similar

Genre and Control Style Tags

Auto-ShooterBullet HeavenContent RichEnemy HellFemale ProtagonistFishingHorde SurvivalMowing GameRogueliteSurvivors-likeTop Down or IsometricTwin Stick ShooterWave Survival

Aesthetic Tags

2DAnimeCutePixel Art

Setting / Story Tags

ComedyContemporaryMeme Game

Control Styles

Auto-FireControllerKeyboard Only

Game Mode Tags

Boss EndedCookingDifficulty ModifiersEndless ModeFishingHub ZoneIgnorable TutorialMinigame MetaprogressionMinigamesRoulette ProgressionTimed SurvivalUnlockable CharactersWave Survival20m

Features and Extras

SoundtrackSteam AchievementsSteam Cloud

Dev/Publisher

KayAnimate

Game Features

- +

Listing various features we've got info on.

Multiplayer

  • Local: No
  • Online: No
  • Player Count: 1
  • Leaderboards: In Game and Online Leaderboards Genki: "Finishing a run in Endless mode lets you upload your score to the board"

Steam Features

  • Steam Cloud: Yes
  • Steam Achievements: 82
  • Steam Leaderboards: No
  • Steam Workshop: No
  • Steam Trading Cards: No

Extras, Etc.

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

Marketing Blurb

- +

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

"Play as your favorite Vtubers from Hololive! Fight, explore, and clear your way through armies of fans and save them from their mind-control in this unofficial free fan-game."

"Free, unofficial fan game featuring the vtuber talents of Hololive and its surrounding community, with gameplay heavily inspired by Vampire Survivors and Magic Survival."

Control Style Notes

- +

Genki: "Twin stick shooter with special skills activated by a button and strafing / aiming lock also toggled by holding a button. Can be played with only keyboard (aiming and strafing will be locked to eight directions), mouse+keyboard or controller (both allow for free aiming 360 degrees)."

Automated Features

Auto-fire. Default, but there is a special move button.

No targeted auto-aiming, but by default all weapons that can be aimed fire in the direction your character moves. You can choose to lock(strafe) the aim in a specific direction or use free aiming with m+k or controller

Supported Controls

  • Controller: Partial
  • Controller Move Only: No
  • Controller One Handed: Partially Genki: "Possible to assign special skill and strafing to the two left triggers. Would be missing the free aim that comes with the right stick, though."
  • Mouse Only: No
  • Keyboard Only: Yes. Genki: "Weapon aiming and strafing will be restricted to only 8 directions, though."
  • Keyboard One Handed: Partially. Genki: "It's possible to play with 1 hand with certain weapon combinations and characters, but not all."

Accessibility & Tutorial

- +

Accessibility Notes

Game is semi-accessible as it can be played with one hand, but it loses the aiming features.

Menu FX Toggles: Attack opacity slider, Visual Effects, Screen Shake, Show Skill Radius

Tutorial Notes

Has a very quick basic tutorial when you start a run for the first time showing basic movement and aiming controls for both keyboard + mouse and controller (twin-stick controls).

Game Modes

- +

Stage Mode
(Timed Survival)

Endless Mode
(Endless Survival)

Time Mode
(Speedrun Mode)

HoloHouse
(Various Minigames: Management Sim, Farming, Fishing, Cooking)

Difficulty Modifiers
(via Meta Unlocks /
HoloHouse)

Game Mode Notes

Stage mode and Endless mode can be selected in all stages. Time mode has an specific stage specifically made for it.

The HoloHouse features various minigames such as fishing, farming, cooking, worker management and house building.

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: 20m

Run Time Notes

Stage mode is the default game mode that lasts 20 minutes and the run ends when the player defeats the final boss.

Endless mode lasts 30+ minutes (to upwards of 60 minutes, sometimes more depending on build and strategy), the run ends with a mob horde with exponentially increasing stats that eventually overwhelmed the player.

Time mode lasts 3-10 minutes. The goal is to complete a certain objective as fast as possible.

Speed Settings

None

Player Power Progression

- +

Detailed notes on progression systems.

In Run Progression

Very similar to Vampire Survivors. Enemies drop XP, on dialog pops up on level event, eventual reroll and "banish" options.

Occasionally dropped "anvils" allow you to instantly level, buff or a chance to further enhance a weapon beyond it's max level for coins.

Occasionally dropped "stamps" are also equippable/upgradeable/swappable buffs

Very rare chance of super-items dropped from boxes, which are buffed versions of items without any downside.

Weapons can combine and evolve, called a "collab", freeing an equip slot. In certain conditions they can combine with an item to make a "super collab".

Meta Progression

Players unlock new stages, items and weapons by completing certain goals. They can earn gold (holocoins) through runs that can be spent on upgrades and characters.

The characters can not be purchased directly and are instead obtained through gacha with the in-game currency. Repeat characters in the gacha upgrade the existing character. Repeat characters on a gacha banner also give a secondary currency (a "tear") per repeated character. Tears can be used to directly purchase
characters or outfits without the need for gacha.

Upgrades can be refunded, gold spent on gacha can not be refunded. In the HoloHouse, gold can be spent on farming crops and combined with fish obtained from a fishing minigame. It's cooked into various food items that give effects during gameplay (essentially difficulty modifiers.)

Content By The Numbers

- +

38 Characters, each one with a unique main weapon and 3 unique skills
64 Alternate Outfits in total

16 Base Weapons
23 Collabs
4 Super Collabs
34 Items(16 Super Item variants)
20 Stamps

16 Craftable Modifiers ("Foods")
1 XP pickup, 1 Healing Item (by default. Character skills can add more)
7 Stages (4 Normal, 3 Hard Variants with unique twists)
1 Time Stage
40+ Unique Enemies (and multiple variants)
17 Bosses

3 Levels of "Fandom" Buffs per character
168 In-Game Achievements(some also act as requirements for unlocks)

Multiple additional Features dependant on character skills

In Game Lore & Extras

Armory
- Check weapons, items, collabs and super collabs (super items not visible)

HoloHouse
- House Decoration minigame
- Fishing minigame
- Cooking
- Management minigame
(Fishing, cooking and management minigame required to 100% completion)

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

Play
->Character Select
-->Outfit Select (if extra outfits unlocked)
-> Mode Select (Stage, Endless or Time)
--> Stage Select(Also enable Food from HoloHouse)
HoloHouse
-> Character Select
Shop
-> Character Gacha
--> Banner Selection (Select your number of rolls from 1-10)
-> Tears Menu (Buy Outfits or Characters directly with the secondary currency tears)
-> Buy Upgrades
-> Armory (Collection)
Leaderboard
Achievements
-> Achievements
--> General Achievements
--> Character Specific Achievements
-> Fandoms (Character-based meta-progression based on goals)
Settings
Credits
Quit

Display & Sound

Available on the main menu or the pause menu

Display
- Resolution(720p or 1080p)
- Fullscreen
- Attack Opacity
- Damage Numbers
- Visual Effects
- Screen Shake
- Hud Portrait(Character Portrait)
- Hud HP bar
- Hud HP number
- Show Mini HP(above player)
- Hide HP if full
- Show Skill radius
- Show Stamps

Sound
- Music Volume Slider
- Sound Volume Slider

Gameplay / Input / Other Options

Available on the main menu or the pause menu
Gameplay
- Damage Numbers, Visual Effects, etc under the option "Graphic Settings". See Display and Sound Options column
Input
- Keybinds: Confirm/Strafe, Cancel/Special, Left,Right, Up,Down,SET ALL.
- Controller: Confirm/Strafe,Strafe(Alt),Cancel/Special,Special(Alt),Start,Menu,SET ALL
- Controller Vibration
Other
- Language (English, Indonesian, Japanese)
- HoloHouse Custom Names (randomizes workers names in HoloHouse)
- HoloHouse Custom Messages

UI Walkthrough: Player HUD & Pause

- +

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

Player HUD / Gameplay UI

XP bar runs across the screen. Level is displayed on the top right.

Character Portrait (Size can be selected in settings)

6 weapon slots and 6 item slots below them. All next to character portrait.

Character Skill icon and charging bar below character portrait.

Coins collected and below it, enemies defeated. Both top right close to level.

Timer on display at all times. Shows selected mode and time elapsed.

Pause Menus

Actual Pause Menu on the center. On the left, Character Artwork, name and stats are shown.
-Skills (check character-specific skills and their level)
-Stamps (upgrade, swap or sell stamps)
-Collabs (see a list of already unlocked collabs and super collabs)
-Resume
-Settings
-Quit

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 play buttons of varying color depending on the XP given. Gold drops from enemies. Health items can either drop randomly or be obtained by breaking certain objects. Anvils that let you upgrade your weapon also drop.

On XP Gain Event
- On the left, Character Artwork, name and stats are shown.
- Can bring up a side menu to see all available collabs possible.
- Pick from 4 options. Items/Weapons
- Reroll, Eliminate

On Stamp pickup
-Picked up stamp on left side. Description in the bottom center.
-Select an option to swap/upgrade/sell the stamp with any already placed stamp or place stamp in empty slot

On Collab
- Shows 6 weapons on screen. Weapons that can be collabed in general glow.

On Super Collab
- Shows all weapons and items on screen. Weapons and items that can super collab glow.

On Anvil pickup
- Shows all weapons and items. Maxed out items are greyed out.
- On item select: Level up item for free.
- On weapon select: Level up item for free if not maxed out. Can also "enchant" weapon (apply a buff) for coins.
If weapon already maxed, can choose to level up beyond max level for coins, has a probability to fail enhancement.

On box drop
- Can select to accept the drop or refuse it

Meta Unlock Menus

Characters can be purchased via gacha banners. There's a "tears" sub-menu per banner that also acts as a way to check alt outfit unlocked status.

Upgrades are bought in the shop. Divided in three menus: Enhancements (unlock basic game systems like stamps, rerolls, eliminates),
Stat Upgrades and Others(Game modifiers like weapon limit, banning super items, hardcore mode)

Enhancements: Special Attack, Growth, Reroll, Eliminate, Stamps, Enchantments, Fandom

Stat Upgrades: HP, ATK, Speed,Crit, Pickup Range, Haste, Regen, Defense, Special Cooldown Reduction, Skill Up, EXP Gain Up, Foods Drop Up, Coins Up, Enhancement Rates Up

Others: Marketing, Weapon Limit, Item Limit, Collab Ban, Super Items Ban, G Rank Off, Hardcore Mode, Refund All

All upgrades can be refunded, including the basic system ones (required for some achievements). Characters cannot be refunded, but
repeated characters on a gacha banner grant you a tear. With enough tears you can purchase characters or outfits directly without the need for gacha.

Fandom Menu: Under the Achievements Menu. Provides a list of every character's fandom exp and their conditions to level up. Fandoms grant you bonuses for each character. 3 levels of fandom per character.

[edit]

Boneraiser Minions

Released

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

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

Boneraiser Minions Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 5.8

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

Added or last checked on 10/18/2023

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Boneraiser Minions Similarity Scale Heatmap

- +

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

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

Boneraiser Minions Review Scale Heatmap

- +

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

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

Metacritic Scores

- +

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

Critic

9.0 Converted 10 Point Score
3 Number of Critic Reviews

User

7.7 User Review Average
7 Number of User Reviews

Average

8.4 Direct Average
8.1 "Fuck The Man" Combined Mean

Boneraiser Minions Tag Cloud

- +

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

Release Tags

Steam DeckWindows PCReleased

Sorting Categories

Similar

Genre and Control Style Tags

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

Aesthetic Tags

2DCuteNeonPixel ArtRetro

Setting / Story Tags

ComedyFantasyHorror ThemedMagicNecromancyUndeadVillain Protagonist

Control Styles

Auto-AimAuto-FireController

Game Mode Tags

Card GameCustom Mode/ScenarioDaily ChallengesEndless ModeMinigamesTimed SurvivalWave Survival20m

Features and Extras

SoundtrackSteam AchievementsSteam CloudSteam LeaderboardsSteam Trading Cards

Dev/Publisher

Caiys

Game Features

- +

Listing various features we've got info on.

Multiplayer

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

Steam Features

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

Extras, Etc.

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

Marketing Blurb

- +

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

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

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

Control Style Notes

- +

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

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

Automated Features

Auto-Battler

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

Supported Controls

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

Game Modes

- +

Timed Survival
Endless Survival

Daily & Weekly
Challenges

Custom Mode
("Creative Plaything")

Card Game Minigame
("Clashful Cards")

Game Mode Notes

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

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

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: 20m

Run Time Notes

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

Speed Settings

?

[edit]

Elemental Survivors

EA Free Available

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

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

Elemental Survivors Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 2.6

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

Added or last checked on 11/5/2023

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Elemental Survivors Similarity Scale Heatmap

- +

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

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

Elemental Survivors Review Scale Heatmap

- +

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

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

Elemental Survivors Tag Cloud

- +

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

Release Tags

Steam DeckWindows PCEAFree Available

Sorting Categories

Similar

Genre and Control Style Tags

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

Aesthetic Tags

2DCuteJRPGPixel ArtRetro

Setting / Story Tags

Fantasy

Control Styles

Auto-AimControllerController 1 HandedController Move Only

Game Mode Tags

Goal Based RoundsNo TutorialTimed SurvivalWave Survival20m

Features and Extras

Steam AchievementsSteam Cloud

Dev/Publisher

Samobee Games

Game Features

- +

Listing various features we've got info on.

Multiplayer

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

Steam Features

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

Extras, Etc.

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

Marketing Blurb

- +

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

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

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

Control Style Notes

- +

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

Automated Features

Auto Aim

Toggle in menu, defaults to off.

Supported Controls

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

Game Modes

- +

Quest Mode
(Goal Based Mamp)

Journey Mode
(Timed Survival)

Game Mode Notes

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

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

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: 20m

Run Time Notes

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

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

Speed Settings

None

[edit]

Keeper's Toll

EA

A solid choice if you want a game that feels like a Vampire Survivors visual remaster that focuses on individual class skill trees instead of combo synergies. EA, not a ton of content yet, but responsive devs. The closest in terms of movement controls on this list so far! Edit: seems it's adding a dodge, but nothing has changed about enemy patterns so it's hard to complain too much about it. Though I did lol to the ear of a very receptive dev.

Action RPG Auto-Shooter Bullet Heaven Dungeon Crawler Enemy Hell Hack and Slash Horde Survival Mowing Game Roguelite Single Stick Shooter Summoning Game Survivors-like Top Down or Isometric Wave Survival
8.6 Combined Ranking Score
9/72 Ranking Position
1471/1600 Total Points
8.6 Final Review
88% Steam
8.6 Scale
8.3 Vibes
105 Steam Reviews
357/400 Review Points
8.6 Similarity Score
93% Diagnosis:
Similar
1114/1200 Comparison Points
100% Genre 8/8 genre
88% Simple Controls 5.3/7 move
100% Survival Modes 4/4 modes
100% Power Progression 4/4 level
70% Buildcrafting Depth 2/5 build
100% Stage Features 7/7 stage
84% Content Breadth 6.2/9 stuff
97% Aesthetics 5.6/6 style
97% Gameplay Vibe Check 9.3/10 vibe vibe

Keeper's Toll Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 4.4

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 10/16/2023

necromancer-from_keepers-toll.gifPreviously called "Soul Survivors"

A so-far solid single stick shooter in Early Access. VERY close in aesthetic style and design and actually keeps 1 handed movement focused play. Edit: Seems they are adding a dodge, so this will need to be re-examined.

Also very Dark Souls inspired visually with some fun subtle jokes for fans. Bumpin' music. Graphics an upgrade - especially on elite/boss animations - while still feeling pretty lofi.

Necro earns this a summoning game tag from me.

spore-king-from_keepers-toll.gifClassic inspired classes have their own unique weapon and move set, with some interesting twists like fighting style movement combo to activate a move for the monk. They also have their own money pile and upgrade tiers. Not a ton of maps, but a decent range of characters considering their depth - unfortunately no crazy crossover evolutions it seems.

It's still early access so I intend to check back in later for a real review. First impressions are pretty positive.

Includes a necromancer summoning class In Early Access so we'll see how much of a summoning game it is - very responsive developer!

Keeper's Toll 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.

8.6 Similarity Score
93% Diagnosis:
1114/1200 Comparison Points
Rogue-lite 1/1
Auto-Fire / Auto-Battle 1/1
Real Time 1/1
Top Down or Isometric 1/1
Direct Control of Single Avatar 1/1
Arcade Style 1/1
Bullet Heaven A (Many Player Bullets) 1/1
Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) 1/1
One Handed Play (w Controller) 0.6/1
Move Only 0.7/1
No Dash 0/1
No Trigger 1/1
No Special Move 1/1
No Aiming 1/1
No On-Aim / On-Fire Movement Penalty 1/1
Timed / Boss Ended Survival 1/1
Endless Mode 1/1
Organic / Unannounced Waves 1/1
High Enemy Count (Horde) 1/1
Level Up on XP Gain Event 1/1
Streamlined Level Choices (Simple UI) 1/1
Currency Based Meta Unlocks 1/1
Goal Based Meta Unlocks 1/1
Build Crafting 0.5/1
1/1
Weapon Combination / "Evolution" 0/1
Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 0.5/1
Broken / Invincible Builds Possible 0/1
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 0.7/1
Multiple Stages 0.7/1
Difficulty Modifiers 0/1
Bestiary / Lore 0/1
Achievements 1/1
Secrets 1/1
Retro / Pixel Art 1/1
Damage Numbers 1/1
Lofi Charm 1/1
Bumpin Music 1/1
Fun Writing 0.6/1
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 0.8/1
Fun Ramp 0.8/1
Low Price 1/1
Technical Check 1/1
Controls Check 1/1
Fun Check 0.9/1
Feels like VS 1/1

Keeper's Toll Review Scale Heatmap

- +

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

8.6 Final Review
88% Positive Steam Reviews
105 Steam Reviews
8.3 Pure Vibes
8.6 Review Scale
357/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 1/1
Not Janky 1/1
Good UI 1/1
Controller and Deck 1/1
Lots of Content 0.5/1
Good Theme 0.6/1
Good Graphics and Sound 1/1
Fun Feel 1/1
Unique Twists 0.5/1
Vibe Check 1/1

Keeper's Toll 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

LinuxMacPS5Steam DeckSwitchWindows PCXboxEA

Sorting Categories

Similar

Genre and Control Style Tags

Action RPGAuto-ShooterBullet HeavenDungeon CrawlerEnemy HellHack and SlashHorde SurvivalMowing GameRogueliteSingle Stick ShooterSummoning GameSurvivors-likeTop Down or IsometricWave Survival

Aesthetic Tags

2DPixel Art

Setting / Story Tags

Dark FantasyDungeonsFantasyHorror ThemedMartial ArtsNecromancyUndead

Control Styles

ControllerController 1 HandedController Move OnlyKeyboard 1 HandedKeyboard Only

Game Mode Tags

Endless ModeIgnorable TutorialTimed SurvivalWave Survival20m

Features and Extras

Steam AchievementsSteam Cloud

Dev/Publisher

Stingbot Games

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: 29
  • 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.

"Keeper’s Toll is an action-packed arcade roguelite set within a dark fantasy world. Keeper’s Toll places a heavy focus on slow-paced, skill-based gameplay and intricate boss battles as you survive an onslaught of relentless fell hordes."

"The game controls like a top down beat-em-up with auto attacks that primarily go off in the direction your character is facing" "No twin stick controls or mouse aiming."

Dev notes: "A typical run to reach the final boss is roughly 20 mins. However, runs go into an endless mode each time called cursed mode where a new curse stacks every minute you survive. So essentially runs can last as long as you are capable of surviving."

Control Style Notes

- +

Dev: "Controls like VS with the exception that the player can perform an evasive move. you can press Left Shift or B on the game controller to perform a dodge roll. Dodge is tied to your stamina bar."

"Each class plays entirely different with their own set of unique actives and passives. Nothing is shared, including auto aim."

"The Shadow Monk has auto aim with his Fury Active attack (his base attack). None of the other existing character have auto aim except for the Ranger's homing shot, but it's not constant like Fury is for the Shadow Monk. Other future characters may have some auto aim abilities. there is no default auto aim though. That's not how the game plays by default. It's not a "setting""

Automated Features

There is no right stick aiming, but attacks aren't all directed towards enemies.

Accuracy of aimed attacks is character dependent.

Supported Controls

  • Controller: Full
  • Controller Move Only: Yes
  • Controller One Handed: Mapping planned Dev: "You can play with one hand, but if you want to perform a dodge roll, as of right now you would need to press B on the right side. It's not required to perform a dodge, but it is a feature nonetheless. it will be added in the next update that goes live."
  • Mouse Only: Planned
  • Keyboard Only: Yes
  • Keyboard One Handed: Yes

Game Modes

- +

Timed Survival

Endless Survival

Game Mode Notes

Default mode is timed survival.

Dev: "As of current: just level runs. Each level has an endless mode that activates when the final stage boss is defeated. Will split to be optional and include other game modes later in Early Access"

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: 20m

Run Time Notes

Dev: "Endless mode activates after the final stage boss is defeated. Curses stack every minute thereafter and the goal is to survive as many curses as possible."

Speed Settings

None

Player Power Progression

- +

Detailed notes on progression systems.

In Run Progression

Dev: "Enemies drop souls. Elites drop higher level souls. Bosses drop instant level ups. Enhancements to XP can be bought from the Merchant and/or obtained from challenge events and altars"

Souls are used on level gain event to pick from streamlined options, but each character has their own set of moves and options. XP is used in the meta.

Meta Progression

Players can spend gold collected in run at a meta Merchant, and can develop class trees by earning "XP"

Dev: "XP is earned from completing a run. XP is earned from a variety of factors including time survived, elites killed, bosses killed, curses survived, challenges completed as the most notable ways to earn XP."

Play to unlock endless mode.

"Endless mode activates after the final stage boss is defeated. Curses stack every minute thereafter and the goal is to survive as many curses as possible. Achievements and Meta Progression is tied into this mode as well as XP bonuses can be earned the longer you survive."

[edit]

Sea of Survivors

EA

An innovative seafaring survivors-like with a constantly moving sailing mechanic breathing fresh air into the genre. Simple controls, big challenge! Just came out into Early Access but had an earlier demo people enjoyed. I'm not sure yet how over the top it gets, help me figure it out and send in adjustments to the score! Currently placed a little lower due to lack of content in the 'breadth' section, but movement focus wise this is one of the closer ones and the only one so far with its own unique twist on movement-only!

Auto-Shooter Bullet Heaven Enemy Hell Horde Survival Naval Combat Roguelite Single Stick Shooter Survivors-like Top Down or Isometric Wave Survival
8.5 Combined Ranking Score
11/72 Ranking Position
1464/1600 Total Points
8.7 Final Review
82% Steam
8.7 Scale
9.2 Vibes
97 Steam Reviews
361/400 Review Points
8.4 Similarity Score
92% Diagnosis:
Similar
1103/1200 Comparison Points
100% Genre 8/8 genre
100% Simple Controls 7/7 move
85% Survival Modes 2.8/4 modes
96% Power Progression 3.7/4 level
80% Buildcrafting Depth 3/5 build
93% Stage Features 6/7 stage
76% Content Breadth 4.7/9 stuff
100% Aesthetics 6/6 style
96% Gameplay Vibe Check 9.1/10 vibe vibe

Sea of Survivors Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 2.0

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

Added or last checked on 10/24/2023

Great twist on the movement mechanic by having a sailing vessel that you steer. It adds more challenge and feels unique without losing much of the 'zone out' appeal. Interesting ship weapon-chaining mechanics. Keeps meta unlocks simple, one currency and then goal-based (perfect!) While the gathering mechanic is satisfyingly there with the gold drops, I think you get your XP automatically when killing.

Seatime music may be hit or miss for you, but it's a well crafted original soundtrack. Runs are 20 minutes. There are ship crew but kind of feel more like equipable upgrades than "interesting characters" since that means interesting builds.

Just came out of free demo into paid Early Access, with a lot of praise so far. Controller navigation is a little buggy in the kind of confusing menus, but it's not a big deal. Still kind of low on content - one map, not a lot of difficulty modifiers, etc. One to watch!

Sea of 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.

8.4 Similarity Score
92% Diagnosis:
1103/1200 Comparison Points
Rogue-lite 1/1
Auto-Fire / Auto-Battle 1/1
Real Time 1/1
Top Down or Isometric 1/1
Direct Control of Single Avatar 1/1
Arcade Style 1/1
Bullet Heaven A (Many Player Bullets) 1/1
Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) 1/1
One Handed Play (w Controller) 1/1
Move Only 1/1
No Dash 1/1
No Trigger 1/1
No Special Move 1/1
No Aiming 1/1
No On-Aim / On-Fire Movement Penalty 1/1
Timed / Boss Ended Survival 1/1
Endless Mode 0/1
Organic / Unannounced Waves 1/1
High Enemy Count (Horde) 0.8/1
Level Up on XP Gain Event 1/1
Streamlined Level Choices (Simple UI) 0.7/1
Currency Based Meta Unlocks 1/1
Goal Based Meta Unlocks 1/1
Build Crafting 1/1
0.5/1
Weapon Combination / "Evolution" 0/1
Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 0.5/1
Broken / Invincible Builds Possible 1/1
Explorable Map 1/1
BIG Maps 1/1
XP on Ground 1/1
Health on Ground 1/1
Temp Powerups / Items on Ground 1/1
Treasure Chests and/or Loot Events 1/1
Vendor / Merchant on Run 0/1
Enemy Variety 1/1
Bosses / Elites 1/1
Many Interesting Characters 0.5/1
Many Challenges 1/1
Multiple Stages 0/1
Difficulty Modifiers 0.2/1
Bestiary / Lore 0/1
Achievements 1/1
Secrets 0/1
Retro / Pixel Art 1/1
Damage Numbers 1/1
Lofi Charm 1/1
Bumpin Music 1/1
Fun Writing 1/1
Subtle Humor 1/1
Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 1/1
Over the Top 0.5/1
"One More Run" / Short Runs 1/1
Difficulty Ramp 1/1
Fun Ramp 1/1
Low Price 1/1
Technical Check 0.6/1
Controls Check 1/1
Fun Check 1/1
Feels like VS 1/1

Sea of 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.

8.7 Final Review
82% Positive Steam Reviews
97 Steam Reviews
9.2 Pure Vibes
8.7 Review Scale
361/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 1/1
Not Janky 0.8/1
Good UI 0.7/1
Controller and Deck 0.7/1
Lots of Content 0.6/1
Good Theme 0.9/1
Good Graphics and Sound 1/1
Fun Feel 1/1
Unique Twists 1/1
Vibe Check 1/1

Sea of Survivors Tag Cloud

- +

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

Release Tags

Steam DeckWindows PCEA

Sorting Categories

Similar

Genre and Control Style Tags

Auto-ShooterBullet HeavenEnemy HellHorde SurvivalNaval CombatRogueliteSingle Stick ShooterSurvivors-likeTop Down or IsometricWave Survival

Aesthetic Tags

2DCuteLofiPixel Art

Setting / Story Tags

Nautical

Control Styles

ControllerController Move Only

Game Mode Tags

Unending Movement20m

Features and Extras

SoundtrackSteam Achievements

Dev/Publisher

Nah Yeah Games

Game Features

- +

Listing various features we've got info on.

Multiplayer

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

Steam Features

  • Steam Cloud: No
  • Steam Achievements: 39
  • Steam Leaderboards: No
  • Steam Workshop: No
  • Steam Trading Cards: No

Extras, Etc.

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

Marketing Blurb

- +

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

"In Sea of Survivors, you can sail your ship in any direction but you can never stop moving. Evade and destroy hordes of pirates and sea monsters to gain experience, level up and choose upgrades for your ship. Discover mysterious curses, unlock unique treasures and fight for survival."

"Control your direction, but you can't stop moving" "Action-packed 20-minute runs with epic bosses to defeat"

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: 20m

Run Time Notes

?

Speed Settings

?

[edit]

Time Wasters

Released

A commonly suggested survivors-like made even better if you'd rather aim and dodge boost in space. With a cute vibe, anime gal characters and satisfying gameplay, this one sucked me in. I spent a ton of time with this one, only reason it's not highly recommended is enemy and map variety is lacking, despite some fun map tower defense style features. Much zippier gameplay from the start compared to some games. It's easy to jump into your next run.

Arena Shooter Auto-Shooter Bullet Heaven Enemy Hell Horde Survival Mowing Game Rogue-lite Survivors-like Top Down or Isometric Twin Stick Shooter Wave Survival
8.4 Combined Ranking Score
14/72 Ranking Position
1432/1600 Total Points
9.2 Final Review
90% Steam
9.2 Scale
9.3 Vibes
1677 Steam Reviews
375/400 Review Points
7.6 Similarity Score
88% Diagnosis:
Similar
1057/1200 Comparison Points
96% Genre 7.3/8 genre
70% Simple Controls 2.8/7 move
100% Survival Modes 4/4 modes
100% Power Progression 4/4 level
77% Buildcrafting Depth 2.7/5 build
93% Stage Features 6/7 stage
76% Content Breadth 4.6/9 stuff
89% Aesthetics 4.7/6 style
97% Gameplay Vibe Check 9.4/10 vibe vibe

Time Wasters Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 17.1

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

Added or last checked on 10/13/2023

Nice little anime-portrayed spaceship VS-like, very similar in gameplay though it does heavily rely on Dash and aiming. Many characters, though weapons are limited to the ones those characters have and no more. No weapon combo evolutions or upgrades that synergy with weapons and little map variety brings it down a bit in replayability, but it's fairly solid overall.

It really gets the 'circle round and mop up the horde' feel down really well, and all the weapons feel unique, so I may try to 100% it. It may not measure up as much as some of the others on the face of it, but it keeps pulling me back to play, almost more than any other but VS at the moment I write this (10/19/23)

One of my favorites, don't let the lack of written details here dissuade you. I just played it a lot before I started writing out details in this spreadsheet for games while I play. Will probably come back with more details eventually.

Time Wasters 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.

7.6 Similarity Score
88% Diagnosis:
1057/1200 Comparison Points
Rogue-lite 1/1
Auto-Fire / Auto-Battle 0.8/1
Real Time 1/1
Top Down or Isometric 1/1
Direct Control of Single Avatar 1/1
Arcade Style 1/1
Bullet Heaven A (Many Player Bullets) 0.9/1
Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) 0.6/1
One Handed Play (w Controller) 0.6/1
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) 1/1
Level Up on XP Gain Event 1/1
Streamlined Level Choices (Simple UI) 1/1
Currency Based Meta Unlocks 1/1
Goal Based Meta Unlocks 1/1
Build Crafting 0.3/1
0.9/1
Weapon Combination / "Evolution" 0.5/1
Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 0/1
Broken / Invincible Builds Possible 1/1
Explorable Map 0.9/1
BIG Maps 0.1/1
XP on Ground 1/1
Health on Ground 1/1
Temp Powerups / Items on Ground 1/1
Treasure Chests and/or Loot Events 1/1
Vendor / Merchant on Run 1/1
Enemy Variety 0.2/1
Bosses / Elites 1/1
Many Interesting Characters 1/1
Many Challenges 1/1
Multiple Stages 0.2/1
Difficulty Modifiers 0.2/1
Bestiary / Lore 0/1
Achievements 1/1
Secrets 0/1
Retro / Pixel Art 0/1
Damage Numbers 1/1
Lofi Charm 0.9/1
Bumpin Music 1/1
Fun Writing 1/1
Subtle Humor 0.8/1
Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 1/1
Over the Top 0.8/1
"One More Run" / Short Runs 1/1
Difficulty Ramp 1/1
Fun Ramp 0.8/1
Low Price 1/1
Technical Check 1/1
Controls Check 1/1
Fun Check 1/1
Feels like VS 1/1

Time Wasters 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
90% Positive Steam Reviews
1677 Steam Reviews
9.3 Pure Vibes
9.2 Review Scale
375/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 1/1
Not Janky 1/1
Good UI 1/1
Controller and Deck 1/1
Lots of Content 0.6/1
Good Theme 1/1
Good Graphics and Sound 1/1
Fun Feel 0.9/1
Unique Twists 0.7/1
Vibe Check 1/1

Metacritic Scores

- +

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

Critic

- Converted 10 Point Score
- Number of Critic Reviews

User

9.0 User Review Average
1 Number of User Reviews

Average

9.0 Direct Average
9.0 "Fuck The Man" Combined Mean

Time Wasters Tag Cloud

- +

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

Release Tags

Steam DeckWindows PCReleased

Sorting Categories

Similar

Genre and Control Style Tags

Arena ShooterAuto-ShooterBullet HeavenEnemy HellHorde SurvivalMowing GameRogue-liteSurvivors-likeTop Down or IsometricTwin Stick ShooterWave Survival

Aesthetic Tags

2DAnimeCartoonCute

Setting / Story Tags

Sci-fiShip (Air/Space)Space

Control Styles

Controller

Game Mode Tags

Enemy Trap Events20m

Features and Extras

Steam AchievementsSteam Cloud

Dev/Publisher

Proton 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: 96
  • 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.

"Time Wasters is a space shooter bullet heaven roguelite. Equip and upgrade weapons, destroy swarms of enemies, and collect Time & Space Cubes to bend the timeline to your advantage."

"Fast paced ship movement with boost upgrades" "Option to manually aim all weapons" "Unlock, Establish & Protect Outposts that provide bonuses"

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: 20m

Run Time Notes

?

Speed Settings

?

[edit]

Time Survivors

Free Available Upcoming

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

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

Time Survivors Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 3.4

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

Added or last checked on 12/9/2023

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

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

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

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

Time Survivors Similarity Scale Heatmap

- +

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

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

Time Survivors Review Scale Heatmap

- +

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

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

Time Survivors Tag Cloud

- +

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

Release Tags

Windows PCFree AvailableUpcoming

Sorting Categories

Similar

Genre and Control Style Tags

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

Aesthetic Tags

Pre-rendered SpritesRetro

Setting / Story Tags

Meme GameTime Travel

Control Styles

Auto-AimAuto-FireControllerKeyboard 1 HandedKeyboard Only

Game Mode Tags

Difficulty ModesTimed Survival20m

Features and Extras

Steam AchievementsSteam Cloud

Dev/Publisher

Lunar Chill

Game Features

- +

Listing various features we've got info on.

Multiplayer

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

Steam Features

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

Extras, Etc.

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

Marketing Blurb

- +

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

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

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

Control Style Notes

- +

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

Automated Features

Auto-Aim
Auto-Fire

Supported Controls

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

Game Modes

- +

Timed Survival

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

Endless Mode (Planned)

Game Mode Notes

Ghost Mode: All enemies will be barely visible ghosts

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

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

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: 20m

Run Time Notes

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

Speed Settings

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

Player Power Progression

- +

Detailed notes on progression systems.

In Run Progression

"There are 3 ways to progress during the run:

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

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

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

Meta Progression

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

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

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

[edit]

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]

Nova Drift

EA

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

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

Nova Drift Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 20.1

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

Added or last checked on 10/13/2023

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

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

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

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

Nova Drift Similarity Scale Heatmap

- +

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

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

Nova Drift Review Scale Heatmap

- +

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

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

Metacritic Scores

- +

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

Critic

8.0 Converted 10 Point Score
1 Number of Critic Reviews

User

- User Review Average
- Number of User Reviews

Average

8.0 Direct Average
8.0 "Fuck The Man" Combined Mean

Nova Drift Tag Cloud

- +

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

Release Tags

Directitch.ioMacSteam DeckWindows PCEA

Sorting Categories

Different

Genre and Control Style Tags

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

Aesthetic Tags

2DArtyGeometricNeonRaveRetroVector InspiredVivid

Setting / Story Tags

AbstractShip (Air/Space)Space

Control Styles

Controller

Game Mode Tags

Unknown20m

Features and Extras

SoundtrackSteam AchievementsSteam CloudSteam Leaderboards

Dev/Publisher

ChimericPixeljam

Game Features

- +

Listing various features we've got info on.

Multiplayer

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

Steam Features

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

Extras, Etc.

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

Marketing Blurb

- +

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

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

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

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: 20m

Run Time Notes

?

Speed Settings

?

[edit]

Bounty of One

Free Available Released

Full release is out now! Western themed survivors-like worth checking out. Interesting mechanic where you only fire when standing still. Auto Aim is very direct and weapons tend to basically just be guns, so with the dash-stand-dash gameplay it feels kind of like a more tactical Brotato, but I think more fun feeling theme wise. However, it doesn't have the build depth of Brotato at this time. You only get one weapon and they aren't very different for most characters, so it's not as over the top as VS either.

Arena Shooter Auto-Shooter Enemy Hell Rogue-lite Single Stick Shooter Survivors-like Top Down or Isometric
8.1 Combined Ranking Score
23/72 Ranking Position
1410/1600 Total Points
8.6 Final Review
89% Steam
8.8 Scale
8.0 Vibes
1778 Steam Reviews
357/400 Review Points
7.6 Similarity Score
88% Diagnosis:
Similar
1053/1200 Comparison Points
93% Genre 6.9/8 genre
67% Simple Controls 2.4/7 move
96% Survival Modes 3.7/4 modes
100% Power Progression 4/4 level
89% Buildcrafting Depth 3.9/5 build
72% Stage Features 3.1/7 stage
89% Content Breadth 7/9 stuff
91% Aesthetics 4.9/6 style
97% Gameplay Vibe Check 9.4/10 vibe vibe

Bounty of One Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 6.0

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

Added or last checked on 11/4/2023

This western themed game is worth checking out if you want to mix it up a bit and aren't as addicted to mowing. Pretty good music. I checked this out when it first came out and wasn't sure about it, glad I came back for 1.0 thanks to this project! It has a good twist on the movement I didn't originally quite get. You only fire when you are standing still. If you're looking for a game to move around in circles for hours this might turn you off at first. But there are some builds you can make where you do exactly that and just give up on firing your weapon and that won me over on it.

You might find it slower and less exciting or more tactical and interesting, depending on your viewpoint. They intend to do a lot of updates with more characters coming etc as of the time of this review.

Major UI controller issue with unlocks seems fixed now. Something about how the content unlocks is making me feel odd, note to self to check reviews. You can do endless mode after completing a run but you don't get any rewards, dinging it in the category.

Has four player multiplayer which is pretty notable. I kind of wish it was pixel art but the cartoony art style is pretty good overall and I enjoy the goblin main character quite a lot though the others aren't as notable. I wish the weapons were more varied and over the top and the reasons to play more were more clear, but it's not a bad choice to put some time into.

Bounty of One 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.

7.6 Similarity Score
88% Diagnosis:
1053/1200 Comparison Points
Rogue-lite 1/1
Auto-Fire / Auto-Battle 0.8/1
Real Time 1/1
Top Down or Isometric 1/1
Direct Control of Single Avatar 1/1
Arcade Style 1/1
Bullet Heaven A (Many Player Bullets) 0.8/1
Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) 0.3/1
One Handed Play (w Controller) 0.6/1
Move Only 0.8/1
No Dash -1/1
No Trigger 1/1
No Special Move 1/1
No Aiming 1/1
No On-Aim / On-Fire Movement Penalty -1/1
Timed / Boss Ended Survival 1/1
Endless Mode 0.7/1
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" 0/1
Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 1/1
Broken / Invincible Builds Possible 1/1
Explorable Map 0/1
BIG Maps 0.1/1
XP on Ground 1/1
Health on Ground 1/1
Temp Powerups / Items on Ground 0/1
Treasure Chests and/or Loot Events 1/1
Vendor / Merchant on Run 0/1
Enemy Variety 1/1
Bosses / Elites 1/1
Many Interesting Characters 1/1
Many Challenges 1/1
Multiple Stages 0/1
Difficulty Modifiers 1/1
Bestiary / Lore 1/1
Achievements 1/1
Secrets 0/1
Retro / Pixel Art 0.1/1
Damage Numbers 1/1
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 0.7/1
Controls Check 0.7/1
Fun Check 1/1
Feels like VS 1/1

Bounty of One Review Scale Heatmap

- +

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

8.6 Final Review
89% Positive Steam Reviews
1778 Steam Reviews
8.0 Pure Vibes
8.8 Review Scale
357/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 0.8/1
Not Janky 0.7/1
Good UI 0.8/1
Controller and Deck 0.8/1
Lots of Content 0.7/1
Good Theme 1/1
Good Graphics and Sound 1/1
Fun Feel 1/1
Unique Twists 1/1
Vibe Check 1/1

Metacritic Scores

- +

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

Critic

6.9 Converted 10 Point Score
2 Number of Critic Reviews

User

- User Review Average
- Number of User Reviews

Average

6.9 Direct Average
6.9 "Fuck The Man" Combined Mean

Bounty of One 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

Browseritch.ioLinuxMacSteam DeckWindows PCFree AvailableReleased

Sorting Categories

Similar

Genre and Control Style Tags

Arena ShooterAuto-ShooterEnemy HellRogue-liteSingle Stick ShooterSurvivors-likeTop Down or Isometric

Aesthetic Tags

2DCartoon

Setting / Story Tags

FantasyWestern

Control Styles

Controller

Game Mode Tags

Unknown20m

Features and Extras

SoundtrackSteam AchievementsSteam CloudSteam Leaderboards

Dev/Publisher

OptizOnion

Game Features

- +

Listing various features we've got info on.

Multiplayer

  • Local: Co-Op
  • Online: Co-Op (Remote Play)
  • Player Count: 4
  • Leaderboards: ?

Steam Features

  • Steam Cloud: Yes
  • Steam Achievements: 98
  • Steam Leaderboards: Yes
  • Steam Workshop: No
  • Steam Trading Cards: No

Extras, Etc.

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

Marketing Blurb

- +

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

Fallen hero of the Wild West, you're wanted and in disgrace! Grab your guns, survive endless hordes of bounty hunters and fight to clear your name! Bounty of One is a fast-paced casual roguelite bullet hell for 1 to 4 players. Dash, Dodge, Shoot, Repeat!


Bounty Of One is a fast-paced casual roguelite bullet hell where mobility is key. Play solo or with your friends up to four players on the same screen or remotely with ‘Steam Play Together.’ Play with a keyboard or a gamepad."

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: 20m

Run Time Notes

?

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]

Forest Fire

Free Available Released

A Little Different. A fucked up arcade rogue-lite about setting little pixel people and hosptials on fire. Feels esepcially fucked right now but it's just so cute! Maybe this is climate change activism? Interesting twist, not a bullet heaven and perhaps not a horde survival game, but very similar enemy hell with movement focus and how it plays. It's a pretty creative and satisfying arcade game and would have been a huge hit when I was a child in an actual arcade. If you like the dodging, it could be your zone out game. However, without real build depth I feel it's likely most people will enjoy it for a few hours and not a few dozen, unless they just find it comforting. Also feel my money was well spent though. Also feel a little dirty.

Arcade Dodge Em Up Enemy Hell Roguelite Single Stick Shooter
7.8 Combined Ranking Score
28/72 Ranking Position
1366/1600 Total Points
8.8 Final Review
88% Steam
9.2 Scale
8.5 Vibes
53 Steam Reviews
365/400 Review Points
6.7 Similarity Score
83% Diagnosis:
A Little Different
1001/1200 Comparison Points
89% Genre 6.2/8 genre
84% Simple Controls 4.7/7 move
90% Survival Modes 3.2/4 modes
100% Power Progression 4/4 level
59% Buildcrafting Depth 0.9/5 build
81% Stage Features 4.4/7 stage
73% Content Breadth 4.1/9 stuff
91% Aesthetics 4.9/6 style
90% Gameplay Vibe Check 8/10 vibe vibe

Forest Fire Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 1.2

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

Added or last checked on 11/9/2023

Totally fucked up cute little game about burning tiny pixel people alive. Great twist on the movement only formula so far, where you start burnign things just by staying still for a second (though there is a special move button.) As you level up there are some skills that technically shoot, so we can call this movement focused game a single stick shooter if we want to.

We're giving it a 0 for the No Movement Penalty column since you need to stop to light things on fire, which is basically a movement penalty in terms of gameplay. But it doesn't feel bad, since the main challenge of the game is moving! You don't collect XP on the ground (you get it by setting things on fire as they burn) so it gives you a reason to balance avoiding enemies with another objecitve (like moving towards xp in other survivors-likes)

It feel Vampire Survivors influenced so I'm going to call it a survivors-like, but it doesn't really feel like wave survival just because of how it's aesthetically presented. You dodge a lot of clouds (that actually do have similar formations to many survivors-likes enemy formations) but you usually can't kill them. I think we can also call it a dodge em up. It's also certainly an "enemy hell" since there aren't really bullets, which is a term we don't use for tags but is defined in the key.

It's cute as hell and actually does some kind of cool stuff in terms of pixel simulating the fire (not really necessary and it's no Noita, but it's fun!) The main mode is based on points, not time, but it's pretty similar in play so we give it a high partial score for timed survival. You get powerups through your run but they really are just power ups and don't interact with each other for builds or change the play style much. Primary healing is by starting fire.. on ground.. but there's also heals so "heal on ground" is a full point either way.

It has the presentation of a game with a lot of unlocks, and I think it's there to keep you going if you really like the gameplay and want a reason to, but at the same time I don't think it actually has the build depth or variety in gameplay or build reasons to really chase the unlocks. It's more just like challenges with small rewards to keep you playing a generally enjoyable gameplay loop. It doesn't really feel cheap or like it's trying to trick you into seeing more depth that isn't there, but some people may be disappointed. I think it's enough to give it high scores in those categories though.

The gameplay at the start is, I think for the most part, what you get, from what I've seen of anyone playing. Which is fine for an arcade game, but means you have to like it and not expect a ramp.

I'm giving it high scores on the review, but honestly it's a little hard to review this because it's like if playing pacman made me feel like a war criminal. I think that's good? It's certainly unique. It's a fun little arcade game, but without the build depth I imagine most people will be happy with it but only play for a few hours and not a few hundred.

Forest Fire 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.

6.7 Similarity Score
83% Diagnosis:
1001/1200 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) -0.8/1
Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) 1/1
One Handed Play (w Controller) 1/1
Move Only 0.8/1
No Dash 1/1
No Trigger 1/1
No Special Move 0/1
No Aiming 1/1
No On-Aim / On-Fire Movement Penalty -0.1/1
Timed / Boss Ended Survival 0.4/1
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 0.1/1
0.8/1
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 0.4/1
Health on Ground 1/1
Temp Powerups / Items on Ground 1/1
Treasure Chests and/or Loot Events 0/1
Vendor / Merchant on Run 0/1
Enemy Variety 0/1
Bosses / Elites 0.5/1
Many Interesting Characters 0.6/1
Many Challenges 0.1/1
Multiple Stages 0.8/1
Difficulty Modifiers 0.1/1
Bestiary / Lore 0/1
Achievements 1/1
Secrets 1/1
Retro / Pixel Art 1/1
Damage Numbers 0/1
Lofi Charm 1/1
Bumpin Music 0.9/1
Fun Writing 1/1
Subtle Humor 1/1
Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 1/1
Over the Top 0.8/1
"One More Run" / Short Runs 1/1
Difficulty Ramp 0.2/1
Fun Ramp 0.2/1
Low Price 0.9/1
Technical Check 1/1
Controls Check 1/1
Fun Check 0.9/1
Feels like VS 0.7/1

Forest Fire Review Scale Heatmap

- +

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

8.8 Final Review
88% Positive Steam Reviews
53 Steam Reviews
8.5 Pure Vibes
9.2 Review Scale
365/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 1/1
Not Janky 1/1
Good UI 0.9/1
Controller and Deck 1/1
Lots of Content 0.5/1
Good Theme 1/1
Good Graphics and Sound 1/1
Fun Feel 0.8/1
Unique Twists 1/1
Vibe Check 1/1

Forest Fire 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.ioLinuxMacSteam DeckWindows PCFree AvailableReleased

Sorting Categories

A Little Different

Genre and Control Style Tags

ArcadeDodge Em UpEnemy HellRogueliteSingle Stick Shooter

Aesthetic Tags

2DCutePixel ArtUglycute

Setting / Story Tags

AbstractComedyContemporaryMeme Game

Control Styles

Controller

Game Mode Tags

Unknown20m

Features and Extras

Steam AchievementsSteam Cloud

Dev/Publisher

Chute Apps

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: 34
  • Steam Leaderboards: No
  • Steam Workshop: No
  • Steam Trading Cards: No

Extras, Etc.

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

Marketing Blurb

- +

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

"Be the Forest Fire and burn everything in sight! A Rogue-lite destruction-fest where every pixel is physically simulated. Burn trees, buildings, vehicles, and tiny screaming humans. Dodge bullet-hell rain clouds and pissed-off firefighters to stay alive... Only YOU can start Forest Fires."

"Don't think you'll burn unopposed. Mother nature has sent in a bullet-hell array of rain clouds and other obstacles to put an end to your destruction fest. Your flame must weave through the storm to survive. Firefighting helicopters, planes, and little firemen will also be out to get you. The more you burn their buildings the more pissed off they get (and the more combo points you get!)"

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: 20m

Run Time Notes

?

Speed Settings

?

[edit]

Disfigure

Free Available Released

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

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

Disfigure Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 2.1

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

Added or last checked on 10/23/2023

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

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

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

Disfigure Similarity Scale Heatmap

- +

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

6.2 Similarity Score
81% Diagnosis:
970/1200 Comparison Points
Rogue-lite 1/1
Auto-Fire / Auto-Battle 0.4/1
Real Time 1/1
Top Down or Isometric 1/1
Direct Control of Single Avatar 1/1
Arcade Style 1/1
Bullet Heaven A (Many Player Bullets) 0.8/1
Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) 0.6/1
One Handed Play (w Controller) 0/1
Move Only -0.5/1
No Dash 1/1
No Trigger 0.4/1
No Special Move 0/1
No Aiming -1/1
No On-Aim / On-Fire Movement Penalty 1/1
Timed / Boss Ended Survival 1/1
Endless Mode 1/1
Organic / Unannounced Waves 1/1
High Enemy Count (Horde) 0.9/1
Level Up on XP Gain Event 1/1
Streamlined Level Choices (Simple UI)