Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 4.4

Review Disclaimer

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

Previously 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.

Classic 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!

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 3.4

Review Disclaimer

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.

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 2.0

Review Disclaimer

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

Added or last checked on 10/20/2023

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

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

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

Note: Run lengths highly variably by player choice.

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 10.8

Review Disclaimer

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

Added or last checked on 11/16/2023

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

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

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

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

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

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

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 59.6

Review Disclaimer

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

A Diablo-like ARPG, Path of Exile is sometimes recommended to VS fans since it's similarly focused on creating insane builds to screenwipe huge mobs of enemies.The biggest difference is you do this with potentially hundreds of hours put into a single character's playthrough.

Generally played without the permadeath option on, instead of kind of speedrunning the entire experience by quickly leveling up and then dying in a rogue-lite. It might appeal similarly to some players, but it's not a VS-like.

One of the most relevant Action RPGS in my opinion. And I've tried most of them. Tons of fun, considering it's free!

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 3.1

Review Disclaimer

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

Tagged as a Rogue-like but it's really not, besides some buff items dropped. Very Diablo-inspired isometric pixel art Action RPG. Came out before Vampire Survivors or many of the games on this list, but sometimes is mentioned. It's not a wave survival game and doesn't share most other features. Like Diablo, sometimes the enemy count can get a little Horde-ish and the moves can get a little over the top. Lovely little graphics and vibe though the UI is a bit hard on steam deck or TV. Graphics look GREAT on steam deck though. You can no longer attack while moving as quickly, also different.

Let's call the jump a dodge. Seems at some point the game got a 2.0 full of microtransactions or DLC at some point though, clogging the unlock menus full of confusing purchase options. Loses out on "low price" and lofi charm due to all the DLC, inventor tabs, etc. survivors-likes seem like a very distilled version of this kind of gameplay, speed running and streamlining the leveling while throwing all the enemies at you at once. Vampire Survivors has basically one control - the movement stick - and ARPGS are defined by almost the opposite, by the huge amount of move and menu options during play.

There was like an earlier version of this game that was much different and I admit I didn't put in the time to research where that went. I think they just replaced it?

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 283.3

Review Disclaimer

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

Added or last checked on 10/17/2023

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

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

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

Scaling and Review Notes

Review Disclaimer

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

Added or last checked on 10/29/2023

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

Game currently available in closed beta, Dev states will be totally free on upcoming Early Access release.

Dev Scorecard notes: "Elewar: Fused Survivors is a game similar to VS, enriches it with more player choices and hardcore difficulty. Enemies each have their own attacks, and there might be lots of enemy shots, if you don't overpower them with your build."

Dev Scorecard notes: "The map is fixed sized, but features different events spawning on it all the time, making exploring it well worth it"

Help us rank this game! [Submit Review]

Scaling and Review Notes

Review Disclaimer

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

Added or last checked on 11/3/2023

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

Dev Notes from scorecard: "The game is a mashup between Path of Exile and Survivor-style gameplay, borrowing elements from both game/genres."

Help us rank this game! [Submit Review]

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 2

Review Disclaimer

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 12/23/2023

First impressions! Scoring subject to change as I play more - but it's not a survivors-like really so it's not top priority.

A first person shooter rogue-lite that sometimes comes up recommended to survivors-like fans looking to switch up the gameplay perspective. I'm just starting to try it out, as it seems to be one of the recent titles with a larger player base and many play hours visible in the steam reviews. However, it doesn't seem to be oriented around wave survival. It's more like a dungeon crawler.

A big draw here is the multiplayer, which allows up to 4 players co-op. As a big Borderlands/Destiny player on steam (with my partner), this one has been shoved in my face by the platform for a couple years now (It fully came out in November 2021 after a year and a half of Early Access from May 2020.)

It's not a bullet heaven - while you certainly shoot a lot of bullets and can get quite OP, the enemies are always going to be shooting a lot as well. It's not really a bullet hell either, though, since you don't weave your way among enemy shot patterns. It's just an FPS.

It's got a low polygon cel shaded aesthetic which is overall alright for the enemies and sometimes quite cute for the characters. It can be pretty sometimes but most of the time just serves its purpose. The vibe is a kind of eastern adventure RPG, a little more cozy and definitely more furry than the Borderlands wastelands that obviously inspired it.

Translation from chinese can feel a little stilted. It's hard to say if the game has/had more personality in the writing before that. Some weapons (like literally just a brick) are funny enough to give it some positive score in subtle humor.

Overall it can feel a little underwhelming aesthetically when you focus on the details, but I think it's likely the visual style prioritizes being able to work on a wide variety of machines to enable the multiplayer aspect. And it's not a AAA studio, which of course I respect.

The controls are much more complex than most of the games on this list, which makes sense considering it's a first person shooter. Compared to other FPS games, though, it's somewhat simplified in some areas and mixed up in others. For example, the first character and many weapons use a secondary fire on the left trigger instead of an aim. There's a dodge instead of a sprint/run and so on.

I think the general gameplay and controls, along with character styles, would feel at home to Risk of Rain 2 players. It does seem to be missing some of that verticality (also from games like destiny) and to me it's also missing some of the visual depth and vibe that keeps a game on my big screen, but I'm looking forward to playing more on steam deck.

Honestly I admit kind of wanking around in first person shooters, so I tend to enjoy ones that let me die a lot in co-op.

The initial tutorial walkthrough makes it feel more complicated than it really is - part of why I dislike them - as overall it's got a currency unlock menu and some character upgrades. The major way you progress in game is by picking up weapons, which comparing stats on is kind of more complex than a simple 3 or 4 card level option (hence the related low score for streamlined levels). Find based unlocks exist here too.

I'm counting the elemental fusion system (synergy from attacking with different weapon elements) as a partial score for weapon combination.

It's more expensive than many of the games on this list, but given the 3D first person art style, it makes sense. It's still cheap enough to consider buying a copy for your partner or friend to play with you.

I think this is likely a great option to try if you really want an FPS roguelite, but also won't really appeal to core survivors-likes fans looking for a very similar mechanics vibe either from a bullet heaven or simplified controls/ui perspective.

Pixel sprites are from Steam emotes, not in game.