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<< Developer or Publisher: Freedom Games ~ 4 found

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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]

City of Beats

Released

Very Different. A dungeon crawl style twin stick shooter with each run consisting of branching paths, the noteworthy mechanic here is that your shots are notes to the beat and overall it's just very plugged in to the music. In a great way! The action takes place on cloudy cyberpunk rooftops and not in dank cellars, but it may remind you of games like Hades. While we're reviewing it due to being in the Steam Bullet Heaven Fest, it's not a survivors-like and not sure it's a bullet heaven either. Seems like a classic twin stick shooter! Since it's not on topic, I probably won't put as many hours into this one, but will attempt some review. More difficult in a hands on way than most survivors-like fans may be looking for.

Dev? Experienced player? Help us rank this game! [Submit Feature Survey] [Submit Review]

Dungeon Crawler Roguelite Top Down or Isometric Twin Stick Shooter
6.0 Combined Ranking Score
54/72 Ranking Position
1158/1600 Total Points
8.7 Final Review
94% Steam
8.8 Scale
8.0 Vibes
39 Steam Reviews
362/400 Review Points
3.3 Similarity Score
66% Diagnosis:
Very Different
796/1200 Comparison Points
75% Genre 4/8 genre
14% Simple Controls -5/7 move
29% Survival Modes -1.7/4 modes
88% Power Progression 3/4 level
64% Buildcrafting Depth 1.4/5 build
76% Stage Features 3.7/7 stage
76% Content Breadth 4.7/9 stuff
88% Aesthetics 4.5/6 style
83% Gameplay Vibe Check 6.5/10 vibe vibe

City of Beats 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 11/5/2023

This twin stick shooter room by room roguelite has a pretty nice cloudy cyber vibe and syncs pretty well to the music. It's very much a "dungeon crawl" and not a survival game, though there are small waves of a few enemies in each room. Overall the balance there feels a lot like Hades if you want a similar game.

The sound aspect is deeper than it seems at first with it synced to your attacks, when explosives go off and so on. This is a nice contrast to another game on this list, Beat Hazard 3, where the gameplay itself doesn't feel synced enough and it's mostly just loud flashes. This game is also more subdued than Beat Hazard but I found that much more pleasing to my eyes and less straining. No way to bring in my own music but I don't really want to.

But sometimes it feels like it's just really off from the music when my gameplay is off and that's odd feeling too.

You get your upgrades and items on "room end" like most "dungeon crawlers", but there are several things to collect from drops during play even if there's no XP. These can be used in run or for meta progression. "UI" is in world for the hub, but it's simple and quick to get into the run which I like. Shield on ground we'll call health.

I think there's just one character without much fleshing out and no personal special ability or build impact, hence the partially negative score in many characters. There also isn't a lot of variety for weapons it seems to have available and the upgrades aren't always super interesting.

It doesn't seem like there is a ton of content here for the price tag compared to other roguelites, though it did get an update in June so maybe they intend to add a little more. I can see it getting a little old after a bit if the music and weapons are not that varied, but it could also be comfort food to some.

I wish I could play games like this for longer periods, but the aiming and firing (at the same time) for an entire run really destroys my hands with pain due to the EDS. If I'm going to be holding it down the whole time anyway, adding in auto-fire would be nice. Or you could just make it fire on the stick direction since you need to do both anyway, that way I wouldn't have to do the "claw" for an entire run. In games where I have to I'm often dying at the end there just due to exhaustion and pain making me let go of the controller for just a second and no idea if I'd be any good otherwise. (Button mashing the entire time is easier on me than holding something down). I get it's fun to control it for the musical notes but maybe there's a middle ground.

In any case, it's ok because it's not really a survivors-like so besides showing the data to conclude that I don't feel a need to do a super in depth review. I think it might be a good game though. If anyone has played more and wants to offer corrections please do!

City of Beats Similarity Scale Heatmap

 - +

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

3.3 Similarity Score
66% Diagnosis:
796/1200 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) 0.5/1
Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) -0.5/1
One Handed Play (w Controller) -1/1
Move Only -1/1
No Dash -1/1
No Trigger -1/1
No Special Move -1/1
No Aiming -1/1
No On-Aim / On-Fire Movement Penalty 1/1
Timed / Boss Ended Survival -1/1
Endless Mode -1/1
Organic / Unannounced Waves 0.3/1
High Enemy Count (Horde) 0/1
Level Up on XP Gain Event 0/1
Streamlined Level Choices (Simple UI) 1/1
Currency Based Meta Unlocks 1/1
Goal Based Meta Unlocks 1/1
Build Crafting 0.5/1
0.4/1
Weapon Combination / "Evolution" 0/1
Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 0.5/1
Broken / Invincible Builds Possible 0/1
Explorable Map 0.2/1
BIG Maps -0.5/1
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 1/1
Enemy Variety 0.6/1
Bosses / Elites 1/1
Many Interesting Characters -0.5/1
Many Challenges 0.4/1
Multiple Stages 1/1
Difficulty Modifiers 1/1
Bestiary / Lore 0/1
Achievements 1/1
Secrets 0.2/1
Retro / Pixel Art 0/1
Damage Numbers 1/1
Lofi Charm 0.5/1
Bumpin Music 1/1
Fun Writing 1/1
Subtle Humor 1/1
Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 0.8/1
Over the Top 0.2/1
"One More Run" / Short Runs 0.7/1
Difficulty Ramp 0.4/1
Fun Ramp 0.6/1
Low Price 0/1
Technical Check 0.8/1
Controls Check 1/1
Fun Check 1/1
Feels like VS -0.5/1

City of Beats 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
94% Positive Steam Reviews
39 Steam Reviews
8.0 Pure Vibes
8.8 Review Scale
362/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 1/1
Not Janky 1/1
Good UI 1/1
Controller and Deck 1/1
Lots of Content 0.4/1
Good Theme 0.8/1
Good Graphics and Sound 0.9/1
Fun Feel 0.9/1
Unique Twists 0.9/1
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

7.9 Converted 10 Point Score
3 Number of Critic Reviews

User

- User Review Average
- Number of User Reviews

Average

7.9 Direct Average
7.9 "Fuck The Man" Combined Mean

City of Beats Tag Cloud

 - +

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

Release Tags

EpicSteam DeckSwitchWindows PCReleased

Sorting Categories

Very DifferentRanked

Genre and Control Style Tags

Dungeon CrawlerRogueliteTop Down or IsometricTwin Stick Shooter

Aesthetic Tags

3DGeometricNeonRaveVector Inspired

Setting / Story Tags

Cyberpunk

Control Styles

Controller

Game Mode Tags

Unknown40m

Features and Extras

SoundtrackSteam AchievementsSteam CloudSteam Leaderboards

Dev/Publisher

Freedom GamesTorched Hill

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: 19
  • Steam Leaderboards: Yes
  • 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.

"Shoot. Groove. Loot. Repeat. Cross an ever-changing city skyline, flowing through encounters in tune with the cityscape beat. From the weapons you fire, to the enemies you shoot, to the zen-like flow, the only way to win is to become one with the beat"

"Embark on endless expeditions across procedurally generated maps. No two playthroughs are the same, meaning different enemies, encounters, and upgrades each and every time. Experiment with different builds during each run."

Dev notes from interview:

Difficulty Modifiers & Rewards: There are Challenge Expeditions that not only increase general difficulty, but also add new mechanics & reward additional meta currencies & unlocks

Panic & Zen: I think is a big part of the game, especially getting into a zen-like flow-state through the music & rhythm

More info and fan reviews on steam

Run Times & Speedups

 - +

Average Run Time: 40m

Run Time Notes

?

Speed Settings

?

[edit]

Asterogues

EA

Very Different. More Enter the Gungeon style than survivors-like. Was in the steam "Bullet Heaven" sale but while it has an interesting mechanic where you gather enemies shots and send back at them, I'm not sure it really is one. It seems to be entirely in a dungeon crawl format Hades style, not sure yet how a lot of mechanics work for sure. Making notes. Doesn't seem to have survival modes, probably not what you're looking for if you're looking for a survivors-like, but maybe for a dungeon crawl. Still in development!

Dev? Experienced player? Help us rank this game! [Submit Feature Survey] [Submit Review]

Bullet Hell Dungeon Crawler Hack and Slash Roguelite Top Down or Isometric Twin Stick Shooter
5.9 Combined Ranking Score
56/72 Ranking Position
1141/1600 Total Points
9.0 Final Review
100% Steam
8.7 Scale
8.2 Vibes
28 Steam Reviews
369/400 Review Points
2.9 Similarity Score
64% Diagnosis:
Very Different
772/1200 Comparison Points
71% Genre 3.3/8 genre
7% Simple Controls -6/7 move
25% Survival Modes -2/4 modes
63% Power Progression 1/4 level
60% Buildcrafting Depth 1/5 build
85% Stage Features 4.9/7 stage
87% Content Breadth 6.6/9 stuff
88% Aesthetics 4.5/6 style
73% Gameplay Vibe Check 4.5/10 vibe vibe

Asterogues Ranking Notes

 - +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 1.4

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 11/4/2023

Tried this Early Access (at time of review) title out during the steam Bullet Heaven fest. It's different than most of the games in the sale, it's not wave survival format and has a little intro and then drops you into a dungeon crawl format. It's a more tactictical style of game similar to Enter the Gungeon.

Since it's not that familiar and there are so many games to rank, I didn't put a ton of time into this yet but watched videos, read every review and forum post on steam and contacted the dev (as usual) to try and make sure the features are accurate. We'll call the chest choices "level choices". Will check back in for more play time once the game is released.

In the main unique gameplay mechanic you gather up enemy bullets and send them back. While aiming you slow down time so we give it a major -1 in on-aim movement penalty. It's helpful to not die though. It feels like it wants to be a bullet heaven and a bullet hell and maybe it is both.

Dev interview helped clarify and adjust some feature scores.

"There's different types of powerups in the game:
-passive items, which are found in chests and shops
-active items, which are like equipped weapons (chest and shops)
-hearts (closest thing to temporary powerups, different types of hearts that grant different bonuses)
-pets, found in the same places as the other passives"

"All of the loot usually drops at the end of the rooms. Hearts can drop during battle after killing an enemy. There's a shop both in runs and a meta shop in the hub area. There's also a tavern in the first area where you can buy drinks which are temporary effects with positives and negatives.

When you complete steam achievements, you often get an item reward at the end of the run. There's also cursed items that get unlocked in the hub when you complete runs with a certain number of cursed items. I wouldn't say there's any secrets right now in a traditional sense but there are special characters to unlock which you'll have to stumble across or read the wiki to find out how.

Asterogues Similarity Scale Heatmap

 - +

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

2.9 Similarity Score
64% Diagnosis:
772/1200 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 0.6/1
Bullet Heaven A (Many Player Bullets) 0.7/1
Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) -1/1
One Handed Play (w Controller) -1/1
Move Only -1/1
No Dash 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 0/1
High Enemy Count (Horde) 0/1
Level Up on XP Gain Event -1/1
Streamlined Level Choices (Simple UI) 0/1
Currency Based Meta Unlocks 1/1
Goal Based Meta Unlocks 1/1
Build Crafting 0.5/1
0/1
Weapon Combination / "Evolution" 0/1
Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 0.5/1
Broken / Invincible Builds Possible 0/1
Explorable Map 0.5/1
BIG Maps 0.4/1
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 1/1
Enemy Variety 1/1
Bosses / Elites 1/1
Many Interesting Characters 1/1
Many Challenges 0.5/1
Multiple Stages 1/1
Difficulty Modifiers 0.1/1
Bestiary / Lore 0/1
Achievements 1/1
Secrets 1/1
Retro / Pixel Art 1/1
Damage Numbers 1/1
Lofi Charm 0.1/1
Bumpin Music 1/1
Fun Writing 1/1
Subtle Humor 0.4/1
Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 0.2/1
Over the Top 0.2/1
"One More Run" / Short Runs 0.5/1
Difficulty Ramp 0.2/1
Fun Ramp 0.2/1
Low Price 0/1
Technical Check 0.8/1
Controls Check 1/1
Fun Check 1/1
Feels like VS -0.2/1

Asterogues Review Scale Heatmap

 - +

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

9.0 Final Review
100% Positive Steam Reviews
28 Steam Reviews
8.2 Pure Vibes
8.7 Review Scale
369/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 0.9/1
Not Janky 0.8/1
Good UI 0.7/1
Controller and Deck 1/1
Lots of Content 0.8/1
Good Theme 1/1
Good Graphics and Sound 1/1
Fun Feel 0.8/1
Unique Twists 1/1
Vibe Check 0.7/1

Asterogues 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

Very DifferentRanked

Genre and Control Style Tags

Bullet HellDungeon CrawlerHack and SlashRogueliteTop Down or IsometricTwin Stick Shooter

Aesthetic Tags

2DPixel Art

Setting / Story Tags

Sci-fiSpace

Control Styles

Controller

Game Mode Tags

Unknown30m

Features and Extras

Steam AchievementsSteam Cloud

Dev/Publisher

Freedom GamesPipotchi600

Game Features

 - +

Listing various features we've got info on.

Multiplayer

  • Local: Co-Op
  • Online: Co-Op
  • Player Count: 2
  • Leaderboards: ?

Steam Features

  • Steam Cloud: Yes
  • Steam Achievements: 24
  • 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.

"Beat up planets in Asterogues, a cosmic bullet hell shoot-em-up hybrid! Pick your character from a band of outcasts banished to the Asteroid Belt, dodge and shoot your way through a brutal onslaught of bullets, and take revenge against the Solar System!"

30m estimated "run time" according to dev (game design goal in my words)

More info and fan reviews on steam

Run Times & Speedups

 - +

Average Run Time: 30m

Run Time Notes

?

Speed Settings

?

[edit]

Jetboard Joust

Released

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

Dev? Experienced player? Help us rank this game! [Submit Feature Survey] [Submit Review]

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

Jetboard Joust Ranking Notes

 - +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 2.0

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

Added or last checked on 11/4/23

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

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

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

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

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

Jetboard Joust Similarity Scale Heatmap

 - +

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

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

Jetboard Joust Review Scale Heatmap

 - +

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

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

Metacritic Scores

 - +

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

Critic

7.5 Converted 10 Point Score
3 Number of Critic Reviews

User

- User Review Average
- Number of User Reviews

Average

7.5 Direct Average
7.5 "Fuck The Man" Combined Mean

Jetboard Joust Tag Cloud

 - +

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

Release Tags

EpicGOGitch.ioLinuxMacPS5Steam DeckSwitchWindows PCXboxReleased

Sorting Categories

Very DifferentRanked

Genre and Control Style Tags

ArcadeDungeon CrawlerShoot 'Em UpSidescrolling Shmup

Aesthetic Tags

2DPixel ArtRetro

Setting / Story Tags

Flying Saucer AliensSci-fi

Control Styles

Controller

Game Mode Tags

Unknown240m

Features and Extras

Steam AchievementsSteam Leaderboards

Dev/Publisher

BitBull LtdFreedom Games

Game Features

 - +

Listing various features we've got info on.

Multiplayer

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

Steam Features

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

Extras, Etc.

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

Marketing Blurb

 - +

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

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

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

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

More info and fan reviews on steam

Run Times & Speedups

 - +

Average Run Time: 240m

Run Time Notes

?

Speed Settings

?

[edit]

Godstrike

Released

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

Dev? Experienced player? Help us rank this game! [Submit Feature Survey] [Submit Review]

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

Godstrike Ranking Notes

 - +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 1.1

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

Added or last checked on 11/4/2023

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

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

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

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

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

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

Godstrike Similarity Scale Heatmap

 - +

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

0.1 Similarity Score
51% Diagnosis:
607/1200 Comparison Points
Rogue-lite 0.8/1
Auto-Fire / Auto-Battle -1/1
Real Time 1/1
Top Down or Isometric 1/1
Direct Control of Single Avatar 1/1
Arcade Style 1/1
Bullet Heaven A (Many Player Bullets) 0.1/1
Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) -1/1
One Handed Play (w Controller) -1/1
Move Only -1/1
No Dash -1/1
No Trigger 0.1/1
No Special Move -1/1
No Aiming -1/1
No On-Aim / On-Fire Movement Penalty 1/1
Timed / Boss Ended Survival 1/1
Endless Mode -1/1
Organic / Unannounced Waves -1/1
High Enemy Count (Horde) -1/1
Level Up on XP Gain Event -1/1
Streamlined Level Choices (Simple UI) -1/1
Currency Based Meta Unlocks 0/1
Goal Based Meta Unlocks 0/1
Build Crafting 0.3/1
0.2/1
Weapon Combination / "Evolution" 0/1
Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 0.1/1
Broken / Invincible Builds Possible -1/1
Explorable Map -1/1
BIG Maps -1/1
XP on Ground 0/1
Health on Ground 0/1
Temp Powerups / Items on Ground 1/1
Treasure Chests and/or Loot Events 0/1
Vendor / Merchant on Run 0/1
Enemy Variety 0/1
Bosses / Elites 1/1
Many Interesting Characters -0.5/1
Many Challenges 1/1
Multiple Stages 0.3/1
Difficulty Modifiers 1/1
Bestiary / Lore 0.1/1
Achievements 1/1
Secrets 0/1
Retro / Pixel Art 0/1
Damage Numbers 0/1
Lofi Charm 0/1
Bumpin Music 0.4/1
Fun Writing 0.1/1
Subtle Humor 0/1
Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 0/1
Over the Top 0/1
"One More Run" / Short Runs 1/1
Difficulty Ramp 0.5/1
Fun Ramp 0.2/1
Low Price 0/1
Technical Check 0.8/1
Controls Check 0.7/1
Fun Check 0.5/1
Feels like VS -1/1

Godstrike Review Scale Heatmap

 - +

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

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

Metacritic Scores

 - +

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

Critic

6.8 Converted 10 Point Score
7 Number of Critic Reviews

User

8.0 User Review Average
1 Number of User Reviews

Average

7.4 Direct Average
7.0 "Fuck The Man" Combined Mean

Godstrike Tag Cloud

 - +

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

Release Tags

Steam DeckWindows PCReleased

Sorting Categories

Extremely DifferentRanked

Genre and Control Style Tags

Arena ShooterBoss RushBullet HellRogueliteTop Down or IsometricTwin Stick Shooter

Aesthetic Tags

3DCell ShadedSerious

Setting / Story Tags

Fantasy

Control Styles

Controller

Game Mode Tags

Unknown30m

Features and Extras

Steam AchievementsSteam Leaderboards

Dev/Publisher

Freedom GamesOverPowered Team

Game Features

 - +

Listing various features we've got info on.

Multiplayer

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

Steam Features

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

Extras, Etc.

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

Marketing Blurb

 - +

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

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

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

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

More info and fan reviews on steam

Run Times & Speedups

 - +

Average Run Time: 30m

Run Time Notes

?

Speed Settings

?

Thanks for visiting The Monstergirl Scale!

There are many more games in the database! Use the search/filter to browse them!

I hope The Monstergirl Scale for Ranking Vampire Survivors Similarity has been useful for you! I spent a positively silly amount of time developing the scale, surveys and websites to collect the data. While it's a personal project, it's also ideally a public resource so I've kept detailed update notes and a discord work journal. There's also a public to-do list open for comment. Hover over any randomly placed sprite to see the source game and click them to be taken to the database entry! Big thanks especially to all the devs who sent in assets and helped, above and beyond just the surveys.

You probably have questions. Unlike commercial secret sauce recommendation engines, this one collects no personal data (it does leave a cookie of your sort/display preferences and has basic analytics), seeks no affiliate income and bows to no advertisers. It might not be as personalized as steam, it might only be recommending based on one game... but it gives you control and is transparent. We also have much better data gathered directly from developers and checked over by superfan communities. You can see exactly what is going on as the entire 'algorithm' is broken down into simple public google sheet formulas.

Now you can make your own adult decisions! You can even copy the entire active database right from the google sheet and mix it up however you want - for personal use. Please don't scrape or resell this, it's entirely against the spirit of the project. But you absolutely can use it to make visualizations to learn from or cite it in your research. The sheet is packed with metadata columns and tags to make that easy - it's literally the same sheet imported via csv link to update this site! We came to some conclusions about genre terms and advice for steam's admins and users with regards to tagging. My thanks and citations here.

Maybe you're unfamiliar with some of the gaming terms on the page, so there's a large dictionary of how I use them in the context of this subgenre. Maybe you noticed something in the project is missing (marked with a -, unknown, or ?) or perhaps dead wrong. Please consider contributing by clicking [edit] in any cell or going to edit.survivorslikes.com. The edit link should bring you to the row.

You can right click on the Google sheet and leave a comment anywhere! Submit the score card web form to get a game ranked! The survey is a series of easy drop down and checkbox questions about a game's features, should take 5-10 minutes depending on how much time you'd like to get on the optional text fields. There's an in depth scoring guide partially done. Devs are highly encouraged to do a survey on their own game to get it ranked! Players can also take the survey to help us distinguish features. We also have a review form for players only.

I tried to whip up this site to make the info in the spreadsheet more accessible, but it's never going to be ideal on phone. The bigger screen you have, the more data you'll be able to see. You can also try the compact view. If you can't read the text, try zooming in or out using your browser or our font size [-] [+] controls. They should kinda probably maybe not break the website. The loading text is fake. Many website features are planned but not yet implemented. Feedback greatly appreciated! Drop by the r/survivorslikes subreddit, the discord, or send an email to xoxomonstergirl@gmail.com.

"👀 damn the spreadsheet is 🔥, I don't think I have the patience to collect that much info. XD"

- kemeo

"it's like 6 degrees of kevin bacon"

- vanniall

"I don't like seeing incomplete spreadsheets"

- genki