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

Genre/Control

Specific tags for the title's features

Ranking

Similarity & Review

Review

Multiple Sources

Similarity

Compared to VS. Not a review!

Similarity Scale

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

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

Vampire Survivors

DLC Released

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

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

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

Vampire Survivors Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 92.8

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

Added or last checked on 11/23/2023

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Vampire Survivors Similarity Scale Heatmap

- +

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

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

Vampire Survivors Review Scale Heatmap

- +

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

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

Metacritic Scores

- +

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

Critic

8.7 Converted 10 Point Score
29 Number of Critic Reviews

User

8.3 User Review Average
332 Number of User Reviews

Average

8.5 Direct Average
8.3 "Fuck The Man" Combined Mean

Game Features

- +

Listing various features we've got info on.

Multiplayer

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

Steam Features

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

Extras, Etc.

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

Critic Review Excerpt

- +

Here's another perspective to evaluate the game.

Marketing Blurb

- +

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

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

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

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

Control Style Notes

- +

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

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

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

Enemies from maze like patterns.

Automated Features

Auto-Aim
Auto-Fire

Default, no option for manual aim or trigger.

Supported Controls

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

Accessibility & Tutorial

- +

Accessibility Notes

Seizure warning.

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

Menu FX Toggles: Flashing VFX and screen shake toggle

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

Option to disable blood.

Tutorial Notes

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

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

Game Modes

- +

Timed Survival
Endless Survival

Campaign / Story
(Adventure DLC)

Difficulty Modes
(Hyper, Hurry, Inverse, Endless)

Difficulty Modifiers
(Via Meta Unlocks)

Multiplayer Co-Op

Game Mode Notes

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

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

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

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: 30m

Run Time Notes

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

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

Speed Settings

2x
Unlockable
"Hyper Mode"

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

Player Power Progression

- +

Detailed notes on progression systems.

In Run Progression

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

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

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

Meta Progression

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

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

Content By The Numbers

- +

58 Characters (16 secret, 16 DLC)

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

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

In Game Lore & Extras

Collection
- Browse weapons, items,
relics, arcana

Bestiary
- Browse Enemies

Music
- On stage select,
can listen jukebox-style

UI Walkthrough: Main Menus

- +

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

Main Menu

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

Display & Sound

Both under "Options" in main menu.

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

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

Track / speed options for music available at level select.

Gameplay / Input / Other Options

Under "options" in the main menu.

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

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

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

UI Walkthrough: Player HUD & Pause

- +

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

Player HUD / Gameplay UI

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

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

Mouse pause button in top right corner, low opacity.

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

Pause Menus

Stats Sidebar, Map

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

UI Walkthrough: Leveling & Progression

- +

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

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

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

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

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

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

End Run Displays Results
-> Done

Meta Unlock Menus

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

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

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

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

[edit]

Halls of Torment

EA Free Available

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

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

Halls of Torment Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 11.3

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

Added or last checked on 11/23/2023

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

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

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

Halls of Torment Similarity Scale Heatmap

- +

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

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

Halls of Torment Review Scale Heatmap

- +

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

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

Metacritic Scores

- +

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

Critic

- Converted 10 Point Score
- Number of Critic Reviews

User

8.4 User Review Average
19 Number of User Reviews

Average

8.4 Direct Average
8.4 "Fuck The Man" Combined Mean

Game Features

- +

Listing various features we've got info on.

Multiplayer

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

Steam Features

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

Extras, Etc.

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

Marketing Blurb

- +

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

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

Control Style Notes

- +

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

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

Enemies form satisfying maze like patterns.

Automated Features

Auto-Aim
Auto-Fire

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

Supported Controls

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

Accessibility & Tutorial

- +

Accessibility Notes

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

Menu FX Toggle: Damage Flash Intensity

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

Tutorial Notes

Input hints on start is toggleable in the menu.

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

Tooltips help show information about abilities on hover.

Game Modes

- +

Timed / Boss Ended
Survival

"Agony" Modes
(Difficulty Increase)

Camp
(Main Menu
/Hub Zone)

Game Mode Notes

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

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

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

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: 30m

Run Time Notes

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

Speed Settings

None

Player Power Progression

- +

Detailed notes on progression systems.

In Run Progression

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

Equipment is also another difference, see also meta notes.

There are a couple powerups and a magnet ability.

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

Meta Progression

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

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

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

Content By The Numbers

- +

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

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

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

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

In Game Lore & Extras

2 rescuable hub zone NPCs with light voice acted dialog.

UI Walkthrough: Main Menus

- +

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

Main Menu

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

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

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

Display & Sound

On the settings tab of the main menu

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

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

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

Gameplay / Input / Other Options

On the settings tab of the main menu

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

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

UI Walkthrough: Player HUD & Pause

- +

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

Player HUD / Gameplay UI

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

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

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

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

Pause Menus

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

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

Character
- View and equip items, view stats.

Traits and Abilities
- View Traits and Ability Stats

Settings
- (Same as Main Menu Settings)

Quit
- Return to Camp, Quit Game

UI Walkthrough: Leveling & Progression

- +

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Meta Unlock Menus

Various features for the hub world unlock through play.

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

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

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

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

[edit]

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]

Bio Prototype

Released

This bioengineering themed arena wave survival game might be my favorite of the Brotato-style auto shooters so far. The logic puzzle style chaining of abilities from your "brain" gives me something enjoyable to look forward to on each round end and within the rounds the movement-only wave survival is quite enjoyable. I also dig the ugly-cute aesthetic and overall vibe, making this a title I'm looking forward to putting more time into. I think if you like Brotato and want to really think through strategy between rounds, this is a good choice. If you like "spellcrafting" games this could be considered similar. It even lets you test your build before going to the next wave!

Arena Shooter Auto-Shooter Brotato-style Bullet Heaven Content Rich Enemy Hell Roguelite Single Stick Shooter Spell Crafting Survivors-like Top Down or Isometric Wave Survival
8.5 Combined Ranking Score
13/72 Ranking Position
1436/1600 Total Points
9.3 Final Review
92% Steam
9.9 Scale
8.8 Vibes
2041 Steam Reviews
379/400 Review Points
7.6 Similarity Score
88% Diagnosis:
Similar
1057/1200 Comparison Points
100% Genre 8/8 genre
100% Simple Controls 7/7 move
85% Survival Modes 2.8/4 modes
56% Power Progression 0.5/4 level
100% Buildcrafting Depth 5/5 build
54% Stage Features 0.6/7 stage
86% Content Breadth 6.4/9 stuff
100% Aesthetics 6/6 style
98% Gameplay Vibe Check 9.5/10 vibe vibe

Bio Prototype Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 4.1

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 11/13/2023

Bio Prototype is an excellent creature creating survivors-like, though more in the Brotato-style since it does all of the upgrading on round ends and the gameplay stays within a small box-like arena. I haven't played or unlocked nearly enough of it, but it's popular enough that I was able to enjoy some nice gameplay videos and other content to help with my first impressions review.

The lack of exploration aspects may make it less similar to Vampire Survivors, as does the relatively complex upgrade system, but I found it quite satisfying both in avoiding the enemies and upgrading during my run. The enemy drops don't auto gather so it feels a tiny bit more like VS compared to Brotato. The upgrading is done by selecting from a small amount of options for "organs" to implant and then chaining them up from your "brain." This works like a simple puzzle, well simple in terms of left to right alignment but complicated in terms of the chain of events. You can sell your previous upgrades if needed (we're counting this interface as a vendor as well) and even test your ability layout between rounds.

Tweaking this brain linking to get the most heavenly of bullet heavens results in a satisfying gameplay loop that I think will keep many fans busy for a solid set of hours (this is one I intend to come back to after trying out all the games, myself.) It's also helped along by the simple in round movement controls (single stick only!) You avoid mobs and try to gather resources while also lining up your attacks without the distraction of additional controls. The enemy waves are laid out well, as in the best of these games, to make pathing the maze between them satisfying enough to pull you into the zen point (at least until the end of the round.)

There are a variety of playable creatures as well as a fair amount of variation in attacks and abilities. It has multiple stages, though as far as I know they're basically all a simple arena. There's an endless mode and a "draft" mode. It's pretty full of content which is mostly hidden at first behind a pretty simple and straight to the action main menu (something I very much appreciate to get me into the next run quickly.)

Some organs create temporary health/powerup drops so partial score there. There are a lot of challenges to unlock things, but no currency based meta unlocks as far as I know. This makes it a bit more skill and strategy based for progression than some games on this list that mostly reward time spent grinding. That can make it either more or less appealing to you, to me it's just different and sometimes I'm in the mood for one or the other. But I have to admit more obviously grind-happy games sometimes steal more hours away from me.

I think the "round end" upgrade cycle allows it a great complexity in the strategy, but that's not always my personal preference for playing these games (You'll notice I didn't particularly end up enamored with Brotato, kind of king of the round end upgrade auto shooters.) In this case, the game won me over by what I find to be a much more charming aesthetic, relatively unique system for upgrades, and the basic logic/programming puzzle of setting up moves.

Bio Prototype 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 1/1
Real Time 1/1
Top Down or Isometric 1/1
Direct Control of Single Avatar 1/1
Arcade Style 1/1
Bullet Heaven A (Many Player Bullets) 1/1
Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) 1/1
One Handed Play (w Controller) 1/1
Move Only 1/1
No Dash 1/1
No Trigger 1/1
No Special Move 1/1
No Aiming 1/1
No On-Aim / On-Fire Movement Penalty 1/1
Timed / Boss Ended Survival 1/1
Endless Mode 1/1
Organic / Unannounced Waves 0/1
High Enemy Count (Horde) 0.8/1
Level Up on XP Gain Event -0.5/1
Streamlined Level Choices (Simple UI) 0/1
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 0.3/1
Temp Powerups / Items on Ground 0.3/1
Treasure Chests and/or Loot Events 0/1
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 0.6/1
Difficulty Modifiers 1/1
Bestiary / Lore 0/1
Achievements 1/1
Secrets 0/1
Retro / Pixel Art 1/1
Damage Numbers 1/1
Lofi Charm 1/1
Bumpin Music 1/1
Fun Writing 1/1
Subtle Humor 1/1
Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 1/1
Over the Top 1/1
"One More Run" / Short Runs 1/1
Difficulty Ramp 0.5/1
Fun Ramp 1/1
Low Price 1/1
Technical Check 1/1
Controls Check 1/1
Fun Check 1/1
Feels like VS 0.9/1

Bio Prototype 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
92% Positive Steam Reviews
2041 Steam Reviews
8.8 Pure Vibes
9.9 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 0.9/1
Good Theme 1/1
Good Graphics and Sound 1/1
Fun Feel 1/1
Unique Twists 1/1
Vibe Check 1/1

Game Features

- +

Listing various features we've got info on.

Multiplayer

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

Steam Features

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

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 wave of irrational experimentation rushes toward you. Hurry up and mutate! evolution! Become scarier monsters than them! Use flesh and blood to bloom a way of survival! 24 characters, more than 80 kinds of organs, and endless build combinations"

"Hurry up and mutate! evolution! Become scarier monsters than them! Use flesh and blood to bloom a way of survival! 19 characters, more than 40 kinds of organs, and endless build combinations!"

"Link organs to your brain to create exponentially increasing combos" "More than 80 kinds of organs, 40 special designed characters, and infinite combinations"

Control Style Notes

- +

The game is a single stick shooter, with no options for manual aim. It's not quite as much of a mowing game, so you mostly avoid enemies while chaining projectile combos.

Automated Features

Auto-Aim
Auto-Fire

No Manual options.

Supported Controls

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

Game Modes

- +

Timed Survival

Endless Survival

Daily Challenge

Test Mode

Game Mode Notes

The primary mode is the timed round survival in the menu. When upgrading within a run, there is an option to enter a sort of test mode where you can see how your abilities end up chaining together and test the damage against dummy targets.

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: 30m

Run Time Notes

Runs are separated into 15 small rounds, with upgrades at the end of each round brotato-style. You can test your build between rounds.

Disclaimer: Hard to say exact run time from my gameplay, since I spend so much time between rounds fiddling 15 short rounds can take me 45 minutes or even an hour. Part of that is just me being silly and spending too much time in the test mode probably. "Run time "Depends on difficulty. In normal mode you can expect 20-35 minutes. You can clock over an hour in endless mode." via BrziKorak on the forum. Sounds about right.

Speed Settings

None

Player Power Progression

- +

Detailed notes on progression systems.

In Run Progression

In between rounds you are awarded a choice of "organs" which are your ability chain and weapon items. You can sell your organs and have access to a store where you can upgrade your capabilities or buy more organ picks. You then must create a programming like chain of attacks from your brain by linking organs, which you can move and rearrange as you wish between rounds.

Some organs create temporary powerups which can be picked up off the ground.

Meta Progression

Achievements unlock new "classes" and new types of organs (the way abilities and attacks chain from your characters brain, or brains rather.)

[edit]

Bing in Wonderland

Free Available Released

Pretty Different. A side perspective rogue-lite hack and slash arena bullet heaven. This one from Wanba Studio in Beijing is among the more notable titles on the list. It takes the best features from many different games while confidently (and at time absurdly) doing its own thing. A vibe like if Binding of Isaac was made by classical Chinese ink wash painters, just impeccable low/high brow ugly/cute vibes throughout. Good music, packed with charm (and content too.) Action focused controls but full auto-aim and button mash friendly design makes it still relatively accessible compared to other sidescrolling rogue-lites. My partner and I both dig this one very much, which is good because I need to rest my hands after a run.

Arena Shooter Brotato-style Bullet Heaven Content Rich Dungeon Crawler Hack and Slash Roguelite Sidescroller Wave Survival
8.2 Combined Ranking Score
20/72 Ranking Position
1394/1600 Total Points
9.7 Final Review
97% Steam
9.7 Scale
9.8 Vibes
1479 Steam Reviews
392/400 Review Points
6.7 Similarity Score
84% Diagnosis:
Pretty Different
1002/1200 Comparison Points
87% Genre 5.9/8 genre
38% Simple Controls -1.7/7 move
69% Survival Modes 1.5/4 modes
85% Power Progression 2.8/4 level
95% Buildcrafting Depth 4.5/5 build
71% Stage Features 3/7 stage
100% Content Breadth 9/9 stuff
98% Aesthetics 5.8/6 style
100% Gameplay Vibe Check 9.9/10 vibe vibe

Bing in Wonderland Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 5.6

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 11/9/2023

Bing is in Wonderland and you can be too! Fairly unique title on the list and has features that may appeal to a wide range of players.

Picked this one up from my Steam Queue unsure about what it exactly was and I've never been happier. First of all, I just want to say that it's incredibly refreshing to have fun silly games based on mythology not as overdone as Norse, Greek, Celtic, etc and Beijing based Wanba Studio really delivers. And in an incredibly silly lofi refreshing way. The localization team deserves a nobel peace prize.

It's a "sidescroller" but really only in small arena style stages linked together in the now classic branching paths rogue-lite fashion. You don't see all your paths on a map, but you can pick a stage with a certain kind of power progression. New skill, stat increase, vendor, etc. It's somewhere near Hades but also feels a little brotato style with wave design.

So in that way it's perhaps more similar to other dungeon crawlers, but they say "without exploration elements". With the picking up resources off the ground, over the top upgrades, and general streamlined presentation it fits in well with what a lot of survivors-likes fans are looking for.

Tons more build depth, weapon variety, etc than you'd expect from it at first. Just packed with content. Maps, characters, bestiary, you name it. Sometimes the UI organization is rough but it can also be really creative so hard to ding it too much.

Besides the change in perspective, the biggest difference is with the complexity of controls. It's an action heavy game, though not really a tactical or challenging one. It lends itself very well to button mashing so I quite enjoy it, but the amount of different buttons involved can make it less accessible (I have to play in rounds with my partner for runs, since my hands tire easily.)

I very much appreciate that it has only auto aim, no manual aim, so at least that part you don't need to worry about. Which is good because this most definitely is a bullet heaven, even if the dungeon crawling nature of it makes it perhaps not a survivors-like. There is auto-fire, but it's a mid game unlockable hence partial score.

More scoring modes: We're judging the area selects as "maps/stages" in the VS sense, since they function very similarly. Has both jump and dodge but can't go past -1 in that column anyway. Early runs to clear the first few stages were maybe 8-10 minutes. Probably can go down if you're better and go up on later levels.

But speaking of that, the button mash friendly action focus and streamlined nature also makes this a game that appeals highly to my partner as well as me (while my partner sometimes bounces off buildcrafting and I bounce off games too reliant on tactical button presses). It reminds me a bit of Hades, which I was able to complete runs of, in that when it's going well you're constantly dashing around the screen.

Lovely uglycute art style based on classical Chinese ink wash paintings, I'm honestly unsure I've ever seen anything exactly like it. Especially mixed with the lowbrow humor. This is probably off a little bit since I'm not an expert on the art history, but my first impression was like if Binding of Isaac was made during the Tang Dynasty. Screenshots and even videos don't really do it justice. Just fresh.

Sometimes a game might actually get dinged in 'subtle' humor when it's got a lot of poop jokes, but it's got a wide range of humor overall. Something I thought was a UI bug was a "prank" so watch out for those. Did I mention the music is really good? Devs should play this game and take notes.

Bing in Wonderland 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
84% Diagnosis:
1002/1200 Comparison Points
Rogue-lite 1/1
Auto-Fire / Auto-Battle 0.5/1
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) 1/1
Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) 0.4/1
One Handed Play (w Controller) -1/1
Move Only -1/1
No Dash -1/1
No Trigger 0.5/1
No Special Move -1/1
No Aiming 1/1
No On-Aim / On-Fire Movement Penalty 0.8/1
Timed / Boss Ended Survival 0/1
Endless Mode 0/1
Organic / Unannounced Waves 0.5/1
High Enemy Count (Horde) 1/1
Level Up on XP Gain Event 0/1
Streamlined Level Choices (Simple UI) 0.8/1
Currency Based Meta Unlocks 1/1
Goal Based Meta Unlocks 1/1
Build Crafting 1/1
1/1
Weapon Combination / "Evolution" 1/1
Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 1/1
Broken / Invincible Builds Possible 0.5/1
Explorable Map -1/1
BIG Maps -1/1
XP on Ground 1/1
Health on Ground 1/1
Temp Powerups / Items on Ground 1/1
Treasure Chests and/or Loot Events 1/1
Vendor / Merchant on Run 1/1
Enemy Variety 1/1
Bosses / Elites 1/1
Many Interesting Characters 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 0.8/1
Damage Numbers 1/1
Lofi Charm 1/1
Bumpin Music 1/1
Fun Writing 1/1
Subtle Humor 1/1
Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 1/1
Over the Top 1/1
"One More Run" / Short Runs 1/1
Difficulty Ramp 1/1
Fun Ramp 1/1
Low Price 0.9/1
Technical Check 1/1
Controls Check 1/1
Fun Check 1/1
Feels like VS 0.5/1

Bing in Wonderland Review Scale Heatmap

- +

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

9.7 Final Review
97% Positive Steam Reviews
1479 Steam Reviews
9.8 Pure Vibes
9.7 Review Scale
392/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 1/1
Not Janky 0.9/1
Good UI 0.8/1
Controller and Deck 1/1
Lots of Content 1/1
Good Theme 1/1
Good Graphics and Sound 1/1
Fun Feel 1/1
Unique Twists 1/1
Vibe Check 1/1

Metacritic Scores

- +

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

Critic

8.0 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

Bing in Wonderland Tag Cloud

- +

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

Release Tags

Steam DeckWindows PCFree AvailableReleased

Sorting Categories

Pretty Different

Genre and Control Style Tags

Arena ShooterBrotato-styleBullet HeavenContent RichDungeon CrawlerHack and SlashRogueliteSidescrollerWave Survival

Aesthetic Tags

2DBrowser GameCalligraphyCartoonCuteInk WashLofiPainterlyUglycute

Setting / Story Tags

ComedyDungeonsFantasyGrossoutMartial ArtsMeme GameWuxiaXianxia

Control Styles

Auto-AimAuto-FireController

Game Mode Tags

Auto-AimAuto-AttackBranching PathsEquipmentJumpingMerchant On Run8m

Features and Extras

SoundtrackSteam AchievementsSteam CloudSteam Trading Cards

Dev/Publisher

Wanba 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: 68
  • Steam Leaderboards: No
  • Steam Workshop: No
  • Steam Trading Cards: Yes

Extras, Etc.

  • NSFW: No
  • Demo Available: Yes
  • DLC Available: No
  • Soundtrack Available: Steam (Coming Soon)

Marketing Blurb

- +

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

"Bing in Wonderland is a new entry in the Wanba Warriors franchise. A Roguelite monster killing satisfaction galore without any exploration elements. The game is filled to the brim with exotic enemies and stages with a collection of deep and robust boons, weapons, and items plus an abundance of pointless features and useless details."

"Although an Indie game studio, we wanted to create a game rivaling that of other triple A games; so we simply redefined the A in triple A. The game features A lot of pancakes, A lot of Money and A lot of fishes."

In game bestiary has stuff like this where I just can't not write down: "2-Headed Fish: An ingenious tactic where two fishes spin by fusing their butts." Why does this make me laugh? I'm almost 40!

Control Style Notes

- +

It's a very button mash friendly action platformer, with mostly short ranged attacks. It uses a wide variety of remappable buttons with various combos.

It does however have some auto features not typical to other action platformers. The player bounces around the stage drawn by their attacks and manual jumping. They throw a hat and then dash to the location, which can also be a form of attack or give i-frames.

Automated Features

Auto-Aim
Auto-Attack

Auto-Aim is available and while the game is very action focused, it is possible to unlock a menu with in game currency that allows selecting that automates some attacks as well.

Supported Controls

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

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: 8m

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]

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]

Brotato

Released

A must play for Newgrounds nostalgic arena shooter fans that also seems to alienate some hardcore Vampire Survivors fans. Featuring 1 handed play and on the surface very similar and often suggested, but missing many exploration features and subtle differences (like leveling at end of waves) might make it not hit the zen mark. Lots of people love this one but I admit I personally couldn't get into it. It was a little disappointing after the many recommendations. Great character ability twists and buildcrafting challenges if it clicks for you. Very popular for a reason!

Arena Shooter Auto-Shooter Brotato-style Bullet Heaven Content Rich Roguelite Single Stick Shooter Survivors-like Top Down or Isometric Wave Survival
7.6 Combined Ranking Score
32/72 Ranking Position
1365/1600 Total Points
8.1 Final Review
96% Steam
7.8 Scale
7.0 Vibes
48003 Steam Reviews
344/400 Review Points
7.0 Similarity Score
85% Diagnosis:
Similar
1021/1200 Comparison Points
95% Genre 7.2/8 genre
99% Simple Controls 6.8/7 move
85% Survival Modes 2.8/4 modes
73% Power Progression 1.8/4 level
93% Buildcrafting Depth 4.3/5 build
68% Stage Features 2.5/7 stage
80% Content Breadth 5.4/9 stuff
69% Aesthetics 2.3/6 style
93% Gameplay Vibe Check 8.6/10 vibe vibe

Brotato Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 2.7

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

Added or last checked on 10/17/2023

Brotato is a common recommendation and many people love it. It does have pretty satisfying one handed gameplay (with optional aim I imagine most people don't use), but personally it doesn't hit the mark. I don't like how the waves are counted off and you level at the end of the round instead of when you get enough XP, nor that every one minute all the gems are swept up - it interrupts the flow for me and removes the gameplay element of trying to gather the drops.

Every match is in the same small box instead of a vibe of exploring an interesting map with secrets. I also think the characters are ugly and the gun designs boring. But I can see how people sink a lot of time into it - it has many positive steam reviews.

Probably it's popular in a big way because of the excellent variety in character builds and possible run combinations and the challenges created this way.

Thread on steam to check back in on later: As fans, do you think brotato-style games are significantly different than survivors-likes?"

Brotato 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.

7.0 Similarity Score
85% Diagnosis:
1021/1200 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) 0.9/1
Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) 0.4/1
One Handed Play (w Controller) 1/1
Move Only 1/1
No Dash 1/1
No Trigger 1/1
No Special Move 1/1
No Aiming 0.8/1
No On-Aim / On-Fire Movement Penalty 1/1
Timed / Boss Ended Survival 1/1
Endless Mode 1/1
Organic / Unannounced Waves 0/1
High Enemy Count (Horde) 0.8/1
Level Up on XP Gain Event 0/1
Streamlined Level Choices (Simple UI) 0.8/1
Currency Based Meta Unlocks 0/1
Goal Based Meta Unlocks 1/1
Build Crafting 1/1
0.8/1
Weapon Combination / "Evolution" 0.5/1
Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 1/1
Broken / Invincible Builds Possible 1/1
Explorable Map -1/1
BIG Maps -1/1
XP on Ground 1/1
Health on Ground 1/1
Temp Powerups / Items on Ground 0.7/1
Treasure Chests and/or Loot Events 1/1
Vendor / Merchant on Run 0.8/1
Enemy Variety 0.4/1
Bosses / Elites 1/1
Many Interesting Characters 1/1
Many Challenges 1/1
Multiple Stages 0/1
Difficulty Modifiers 1/1
Bestiary / Lore 0/1
Achievements 1/1
Secrets 0/1
Retro / Pixel Art 0.2/1
Damage Numbers 1/1
Lofi Charm 0.2/1
Bumpin Music 0.5/1
Fun Writing 0/1
Subtle Humor 0.4/1
Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 1/1
Over the Top 0.5/1
"One More Run" / Short Runs 1/1
Difficulty Ramp 0.9/1
Fun Ramp 0.8/1
Low Price 1/1
Technical Check 1/1
Controls Check 1/1
Fun Check 1/1
Feels like VS 0.8/1

Brotato 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
96% Positive Steam Reviews
48003 Steam Reviews
7.0 Pure Vibes
7.8 Review Scale
344/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 1/1
Not Janky 1/1
Good UI 0.8/1
Controller and Deck 1/1
Lots of Content 0.8/1
Good Theme 0.4/1
Good Graphics and Sound 0.3/1
Fun Feel 1/1
Unique Twists 1/1
Vibe Check 0.5/1

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

7.6 Converted 10 Point Score
4 Number of Critic Reviews

User

8.2 User Review Average
14 Number of User Reviews

Average

7.9 Direct Average
8.1 "Fuck The Man" Combined Mean

Brotato 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

AndroidiOSitch.ioSteam DeckSwitchWindows PCReleased

Sorting Categories

Similar

Genre and Control Style Tags

Arena ShooterAuto-ShooterBrotato-styleBullet HeavenContent RichRogueliteSingle Stick ShooterSurvivors-likeTop Down or IsometricWave Survival

Aesthetic Tags

2DBrowser GameCartoonLofiUglycute

Setting / Story Tags

ComedyFlying Saucer AliensMeme GameSci-fi

Control Styles

ControllerController 1 HandedController Move OnlyKeyboard 1 HandedKeyboard OnlyMouse Only

Game Mode Tags

Advance on Round EndShort RoundsVacuum Collectables at Round End20m

Features and Extras

SoundtrackSteam AchievementsSteam CloudSteam Workshop

Dev/Publisher

Blobfish

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: 83
  • Steam Leaderboards: No
  • Steam Workshop: Yes
  • Steam Trading Cards: No

Extras, Etc.

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

Marketing Blurb

- +

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

"Brotato is a top-down arena shooter roguelite where you play a potato wielding up to 6 weapons at a time to fight off hordes of aliens. Choose from a variety of traits and items to create unique builds and survive until help arrives."

"Auto-firing weapons by default with a manual aiming option" "Hundreds of items and weapons to choose from" "Accessibility options: tweak the health, damage and speed of enemies so the difficulty is right for you"

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: 20m

Run Time Notes

?

Speed Settings

?

[edit]

Risk of Rain 2

DLC Released

Very Different. An action focused rogue-lite third-person shooter with tons of enemies. Often recommended on reddit to fans of over the top builds, but high focus on reaction speed and aiming makes this very different from VS. It's also notable for an active multiplayer player base. No currency based meta progression, so very highly dependent on player skill.

Bullet Heaven Content Rich Dungeon Crawler Horde Survival Roguelite Third-Person Shooter Wave Survival
7.2 Combined Ranking Score
38/72 Ranking Position
1294/1600 Total Points
9.0 Final Review
96% Steam
8.5 Scale
8.9 Vibes
166251 Steam Reviews
370/400 Review Points
5.4 Similarity Score
77% Diagnosis:
Very Different
924/1200 Comparison Points
69% Genre 3/8 genre
12% Simple Controls -5.3/7 move
84% Survival Modes 2.7/4 modes
69% Power Progression 1.5/4 level
88% Buildcrafting Depth 3.8/5 build
88% Stage Features 5.3/7 stage
100% Content Breadth 9/9 stuff
90% Aesthetics 4.8/6 style
91% Gameplay Vibe Check 8.1/10 vibe vibe

Risk of Rain 2 Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 4.1

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 10/18/2023

Third person shooter sometimes recommended on the VS subreddit to people looking for broken high level builds. You level up, but you don't get choices on level up, rather you have to pick up and stack items. The weapons you start with tend to be it, besides a special move and drones. Permanent progression is a little less obvious, through unlocked items and characters, not through a currency based unlock menu. It's a rogue-lite (or "like" perhaps without the obvious meta progression) but a third-person shooter most well known for multiplayer.

Very similar to the first game, which was a sidescroller. Most characters don't have a dodge, but let's call the jump a dodge for scoring purposes. Got more bullet-heaven-y for me when I realized I could hold all 4 "triggers" down at once with some classes, but the railgun (my fav) plays more like FPS snipers - completely aim and trigger dependant.

Annoying UI navigation issues with controller on PC. Kept getting bugs and connecting to multiplayer is a pain on PC for controller players IMHO. Quibbles Quibbles.

Risk of Rain 2 Similarity Scale Heatmap

- +

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

5.4 Similarity Score
77% Diagnosis:
924/1200 Comparison Points
Rogue-lite 1/1
Auto-Fire / Auto-Battle -1/1
Real Time 1/1
Top Down or Isometric -0.5/1
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) 0/1
One Handed Play (w Controller) -1/1
Move Only -1/1
No Dash -0.5/1
No Trigger -1/1
No Special Move -1/1
No Aiming -1/1
No On-Aim / On-Fire Movement Penalty 0.2/1
Timed / Boss Ended Survival 0/1
Endless Mode 1/1
Organic / Unannounced Waves 1/1
High Enemy Count (Horde) 0.7/1
Level Up on XP Gain Event 0.5/1
Streamlined Level Choices (Simple UI) 0/1
Currency Based Meta Unlocks 0/1
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 0.8/1
Explorable Map 1/1
BIG Maps 1/1
XP on Ground 0/1
Health on Ground 0.3/1
Temp Powerups / Items on Ground 1/1
Treasure Chests and/or Loot Events 1/1
Vendor / Merchant on Run 1/1
Enemy Variety 1/1
Bosses / Elites 1/1
Many Interesting Characters 1/1
Many Challenges 1/1
Multiple Stages 1/1
Difficulty Modifiers 1/1
Bestiary / Lore 1/1
Achievements 1/1
Secrets 1/1
Retro / Pixel Art 0.2/1
Damage Numbers 1/1
Lofi Charm 0.8/1
Bumpin Music 1/1
Fun Writing 1/1
Subtle Humor 0.8/1
Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 0.5/1
Over the Top 0.9/1
"One More Run" / Short Runs 1/1
Difficulty Ramp 1/1
Fun Ramp 1/1
Low Price 0/1
Technical Check 0.9/1
Controls Check 1/1
Fun Check 1/1
Feels like VS 0.3/1

Risk of Rain 2 Review Scale Heatmap

- +

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

9.0 Final Review
96% Positive Steam Reviews
166251 Steam Reviews
8.9 Pure Vibes
8.5 Review Scale
370/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 0.7/1
Not Janky 0.8/1
Good UI 0.7/1
Controller and Deck 0.6/1
Lots of Content 1/1
Good Theme 1/1
Good Graphics and Sound 1/1
Fun Feel 0.8/1
Unique Twists 1/1
Vibe Check 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

8.5 Converted 10 Point Score
20 Number of Critic Reviews

User

8.4 User Review Average
321 Number of User Reviews

Average

8.5 Direct Average
8.4 "Fuck The Man" Combined Mean

Risk of Rain 2 Tag Cloud

- +

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

Release Tags

EpicPS4PS5StadiaSteam DeckSwitchWindows PCXboxDLCReleased

Sorting Categories

Very Different

Genre and Control Style Tags

Bullet HeavenContent RichDungeon CrawlerHorde SurvivalRogueliteThird-Person ShooterWave Survival

Aesthetic Tags

3DCell Shaded

Setting / Story Tags

Sci-fi

Control Styles

Controller

Game Mode Tags

Unknown60m

Features and Extras

SoundtrackSteam AchievementsSteam CloudSteam Leaderboards

Dev/Publisher

Gearbox PublishingHopoo Games

Game Features

- +

Listing various features we've got info on.

Multiplayer

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

Steam Features

  • Steam Cloud: Yes
  • Steam Achievements: 118
  • Steam Leaderboards: Yes
  • Steam Workshop: No
  • Steam Trading Cards: No

Extras, Etc.

  • NSFW: No
  • Demo Available: No
  • DLC Available: Yes
  • Soundtrack Available: Steam Bandcamp Spotify YouTube Black Screen Records (LP)

Marketing Blurb

- +

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

"Escape a chaotic alien planet by fighting through hordes of frenzied monsters – with your friends, or on your own. Combine loot in surprising ways and master each character until you become the havoc you feared upon your first crash landing."

"More than 110 items keep each run fresh and full of new challenge."

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: 60m

Run Time Notes

?

Speed Settings

?

[edit]

Hades

Released

Very Different. Perhaps you want a 30m run isometric rogue-lite but with more hands on hack & slash action, no horde survival, no bullet heaven and need a full story. Very different! One of 10 games Included to test the scale (see FAQ) with a commonly seen recommendation that does share some mechanics but differs widely on others. This is game came out to universal critical acclaim and has received some fun updates since. As shown here, a game that's very different but extremely highly regarded might still be able to get around a 7 on our ranking - it may still be worth trying!

Action Roguelike Content Rich Dating Sim Dungeon Crawler Hack and Slash Roguelite Story Rich Top Down or Isometric
7.1 Combined Ranking Score
40/72 Ranking Position
1256/1600 Total Points
9.8 Final Review
98% Steam
10.0 Scale
9.5 Vibes
216232 Steam Reviews
393/400 Review Points
4.4 Similarity Score
72% Diagnosis:
Very Different
863/1200 Comparison Points
75% Genre 4/8 genre
11% Simple Controls -5.5/7 move
31% Survival Modes -1.5/4 modes
88% Power Progression 3/4 level
87% Buildcrafting Depth 3.7/5 build
75% Stage Features 3.5/7 stage
93% Content Breadth 7.8/9 stuff
86% Aesthetics 4.3/6 style
89% Gameplay Vibe Check 7.7/10 vibe vibe

Hades Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 26.6

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 10/14/2023

Included here to test/show the scale - accurately about halfway similar to VS. Sometimes recommended for VS fans, Hades is a hack and slash isometric dungeon crawl game that has you move from room to room and defeat a couple small but powerful waves of enemies in each room. It's not an auto battler, not movement-only, very much an action game and not a zen game. Runs are to beat several areas and bosses, not to survive a countdown or endlessly survive.

There's only one character. But it is a rogue-lite, with meaningful and fun upgrade systems (though not multiple weapons), around 30 minute run time, and many other positive features, meaning it does make sense that people recommend it. It's an excellent game - just won't scratch the itch of "more Vampire Survivors!" for many people.

Calling the way powers/items are selected "streamlined level choices" even though its' not "leveling up." It's a good example of how a dungeon crawler might handle the same concept.

Hades Similarity Scale Heatmap

- +

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

4.4 Similarity Score
72% Diagnosis:
863/1200 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 0.7/1
Bullet Heaven A (Many Player Bullets) 0.2/1
Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) 0.1/1
One Handed Play (w Controller) -1/1
Move Only -1/1
No Dash -1/1
No Trigger -1/1
No Special Move -1/1
No Aiming 0/1
No On-Aim / On-Fire Movement Penalty -0.5/1
Timed / Boss Ended Survival -1/1
Endless Mode -1/1
Organic / Unannounced Waves 0.2/1
High Enemy Count (Horde) 0.3/1
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 1/1
1/1
Weapon Combination / "Evolution" 0.5/1
Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 1/1
Broken / Invincible Builds Possible 0.2/1
Explorable Map 0.5/1
BIG Maps 0/1
XP on Ground 0/1
Health on Ground 0/1
Temp Powerups / Items on Ground 1/1
Treasure Chests and/or Loot Events 1/1
Vendor / Merchant on Run 1/1
Enemy Variety 0.8/1
Bosses / Elites 1/1
Many Interesting Characters 0/1
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 0.1/1
Damage Numbers 1/1
Lofi Charm 0.2/1
Bumpin Music 1/1
Fun Writing 1/1
Subtle Humor 1/1
Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 0.2/1
Over the Top 0.3/1
"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 0.3/1

Hades Review Scale Heatmap

- +

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

9.8 Final Review
98% Positive Steam Reviews
216232 Steam Reviews
9.5 Pure Vibes
10.0 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 1/1
Good Theme 1/1
Good Graphics and Sound 1/1
Fun Feel 1/1
Unique Twists 1/1
Vibe Check 1/1

Metacritic Scores

- +

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

Critic

9.3 Converted 10 Point Score
61 Number of Critic Reviews

User

8.8 User Review Average
1936 Number of User Reviews

Average

9.1 Direct Average
8.8 "Fuck The Man" Combined Mean

Hades 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

MacPS4PS5Steam DeckSwitchWindows PCXboxReleased

Sorting Categories

Very Different

Genre and Control Style Tags

Action RoguelikeContent RichDating SimDungeon CrawlerHack and SlashRogueliteStory RichTop Down or Isometric

Aesthetic Tags

3DArtyCartoonCell Shaded

Setting / Story Tags

DungeonsFantasyGreek MythologyMythologyRomanceUnderworld

Control Styles

Controller

Game Mode Tags

Unknown30m

Features and Extras

SoundtrackSteam AchievementsSteam CloudSteam Trading Cards

Dev/Publisher

Supergiant Games

Game Features

- +

Listing various features we've got info on.

Multiplayer

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

Steam Features

  • Steam Cloud: Yes
  • Steam Achievements: 49
  • Steam Leaderboards: No
  • Steam Workshop: No
  • Steam Trading Cards: Yes

Extras, Etc.

  • NSFW: No
  • Demo Available: No
  • DLC Available: No
  • Soundtrack Available: Steam YouTube Bandcamp iam8bit (LP)

Marketing Blurb

- +

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

"Hades is a god-like rogue-like dungeon crawler that combines the best aspects of Supergiant's critically acclaimed titles, including the fast-paced action of Bastion, the rich atmosphere and depth of Transistor, and the character-driven storytelling of Pyre."

"New surprises await each time you delve into the ever-shifting Underworld, whose guardian bosses will remember you."

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: 30m

Run Time Notes

?

Speed Settings

?

[edit]

Risk of Rain

Free Available Released

Very Different. Sidescrolling metroidvania style shooter often recommended on reddit to fans of over the top builds. But it's very reliant on action controls with many buttons and doesn't have a bullet heaven vibe right away.

Action Platformer Bullet Heaven Content Rich Dungeon Crawler Roguelite Roguevania Sidescroller Wave Shooter Wave Survival
6.9 Combined Ranking Score
44/72 Ranking Position
1268/1600 Total Points
8.7 Final Review
93% Steam
8.8 Scale
8.0 Vibes
20147 Steam Reviews
361/400 Review Points
5.1 Similarity Score
76% Diagnosis:
Very Different
907/1200 Comparison Points
67% Genre 2.7/8 genre
7% Simple Controls -6/7 move
84% Survival Modes 2.7/4 modes
71% Power Progression 1.7/4 level
68% Buildcrafting Depth 1.8/5 build
93% Stage Features 6/7 stage
97% Content Breadth 8.5/9 stuff
100% Aesthetics 6/6 style
91% Gameplay Vibe Check 8.2/10 vibe vibe

Risk of Rain Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 3.8

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

Added or last checked on 10/17/2023

An action rogue-lite that many people love. Supposedly you can make pretty broken builds in this game and that is satisfying in a similar way, but this game really requires a lot of action skill while pressing many buttons. I suck at sidescrollers that require jumping so it's hard for me to progress.

There isn't a currency based meta unlock menu (just goal based unlocks) and it doesn't give you a choice of abilities on level up. It can be hard to tell what you're unlocking as you go, but there are menu where you can see that info. You can choose items sometimes, but it's not really the same.

It's a good game and I get why people mention it (we're talking mostly about rogue-lites here and it is one) but no need to discuss too in depth since it's not super relevant.

Risk of Rain Similarity Scale Heatmap

- +

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

5.1 Similarity Score
76% Diagnosis:
907/1200 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) 0.2/1
One Handed Play (w Controller) -1/1
Move Only -1/1
No Dash -1/1
No Trigger -1/1
No Special Move -1/1
No Aiming -1/1
No On-Aim / On-Fire Movement Penalty 0/1
Timed / Boss Ended Survival 0/1
Endless Mode 1/1
Organic / Unannounced Waves 1/1
High Enemy Count (Horde) 0.7/1
Level Up on XP Gain Event 0.7/1
Streamlined Level Choices (Simple UI) 0/1
Currency Based Meta Unlocks 0/1
Goal Based Meta Unlocks 1/1
Build Crafting 0.2/1
0.5/1
Weapon Combination / "Evolution" 0/1
Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 0.7/1
Broken / Invincible Builds Possible 0.4/1
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 1/1
Enemy Variety 1/1
Bosses / Elites 1/1
Many Interesting Characters 1/1
Many Challenges 1/1
Multiple Stages 1/1
Difficulty Modifiers 0.5/1
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 0.5/1
Over the Top 0.5/1
"One More Run" / Short Runs 1/1
Difficulty Ramp 1/1
Fun Ramp 0.8/1
Low Price 0.6/1
Technical Check 1/1
Controls Check 1/1
Fun Check 0.8/1
Feels like VS 0.1/1

Risk of Rain 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
93% Positive Steam Reviews
20147 Steam Reviews
8.0 Pure Vibes
8.8 Review Scale
361/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 1/1
Not Janky 1/1
Good UI 0.4/1
Controller and Deck 0.5/1
Lots of Content 1/1
Good Theme 1/1
Good Graphics and Sound 1/1
Fun Feel 1/1
Unique Twists 1/1
Vibe Check 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

7.7 Converted 10 Point Score
12 Number of Critic Reviews

User

8.1 User Review Average
319 Number of User Reviews

Average

7.9 Direct Average
8.1 "Fuck The Man" Combined Mean

Risk of Rain 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

GOGLinuxMacPS4PS5Steam DeckSwitchVitaWindows PCXboxFree AvailableReleased

Sorting Categories

Very Different

Genre and Control Style Tags

Action PlatformerBullet HeavenContent RichDungeon CrawlerRogueliteRoguevaniaSidescrollerWave ShooterWave Survival

Aesthetic Tags

2DArtyPixel Art

Setting / Story Tags

Sci-fi

Control Styles

Controller

Game Mode Tags

Unknown60m

Features and Extras

SoundtrackSteam AchievementsSteam Trading Cards

Dev/Publisher

ChucklefishHopoo Games

Game Features

- +

Listing various features we've got info on.

Multiplayer

  • Local: Co-Op
  • Online: Co-Op
  • Player Count: 2 (Local) 10 (Online)
  • Leaderboards: ?

Steam Features

  • Steam Cloud: No
  • Steam Achievements: 15
  • Steam Leaderboards: No
  • Steam Workshop: No
  • Steam Trading Cards: Yes

Extras, Etc.

  • NSFW: No
  • Demo Available: No
  • DLC Available: No
  • Soundtrack Available: Steam YouTube Bandcamp Apple Soundcloud Itch.Io Black Screen Records (LP)

Marketing Blurb

- +

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

"Risk of Rain is an action platformer with roguelike elements. With permanent death as a primary feature, players will have to play their best to get as far as possible. Fight on a mysterious planet with randomly spawning enemies and bosses, either alone or with 3 friends in online co-op."

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: 60m

Run Time Notes

?

Speed Settings

?

[edit]

Dead Cells

DLC Released

Very Different. Metroidvania Sidescroller Rouge-lite with Souls inspired combat, it shares some elements with other Rogue-lites. Perhaps you want to jump and slash and don't like currency based meta power creep, preferring to develop your skills and find in-game discoveries to progress. Very Hard! Want it to feel more like Vampire Survivors? Get the Castlevania crossover DLC. That kind of makes it worth including.

Content Rich Dungeon Crawler Hack and Slash Metroidvania Roguelite Roguevania Sidescroller
6.8 Combined Ranking Score
45/72 Ranking Position
1223/1600 Total Points
9.6 Final Review
97% Steam
10.0 Scale
9.1 Vibes
119571 Steam Reviews
388/400 Review Points
3.9 Similarity Score
70% Diagnosis:
Very Different
835/1200 Comparison Points
66% Genre 2.6/8 genre
11% Simple Controls -5.5/7 move
26% Survival Modes -1.9/4 modes
50% Power Progression 0/4 level
71% Buildcrafting Depth 2.1/5 build
93% Stage Features 6/7 stage
96% Content Breadth 8.2/9 stuff
100% Aesthetics 6/6 style
85% Gameplay Vibe Check 6.9/10 vibe vibe

Dead Cells Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 8.0

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

Added or last checked on 10/23/2023

Played a fair amount on Switch as well. Very skill based sidescrolling Rogue-lite. Deep combat system inspired by Dark Souls but with a lot of mechanics of its own. It's another great game I'm not very good at. You may love the One More Run pull of it, but if you aren't good at jumping and juggling a lot of buttons, it won't be able to draw you past that. Gameplay wise it feels very different, but it shares some genre conventions with Vampire Survivors.

Many buttons to keep track of and high challenge from smaller amounts of enemies. Currency drops during runs to be used during runs, there's only goal/find based meta-unlocks (and stuff passed to your next run.)

This was be an interesting one to rate. I was inspired to pull it onto this sheet by the Castlevania DLC which not only includes some characters and weapons but a whole fucking castle and soundtrack, so it does have some neo-castlevania vibes which obviously also heavily influenced VS.

A lot of people say it's their "favorite game like vampire survivors" in reddit threads from a while ago, and at that time they just meant.. an action game with meta progression.

Dead Cells Similarity Scale Heatmap

- +

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

3.9 Similarity Score
70% Diagnosis:
835/1200 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 0.9/1
Bullet Heaven A (Many Player Bullets) 0/1
Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) 0.7/1
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
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
High Enemy Count (Horde) 0.1/1
Level Up on XP Gain Event -1/1
Streamlined Level Choices (Simple UI) 0/1
Currency Based Meta Unlocks 0/1
Goal Based Meta Unlocks 1/1
Build Crafting 0.4/1
0.7/1
Weapon Combination / "Evolution" 0/1
Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 1/1
Broken / Invincible Builds Possible 0/1
Explorable Map 1/1
BIG Maps 1/1
XP on Ground 1/1
Health on Ground 0/1
Temp Powerups / Items on Ground 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 0.2/1
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 0.2/1
Over the Top 0.3/1
"One More Run" / Short Runs 1/1
Difficulty Ramp 0.6/1
Fun Ramp 0.8/1
Low Price 0/1
Technical Check 1/1
Controls Check 1/1
Fun Check 1/1
Feels like VS 0.1/1

Dead Cells Review Scale Heatmap

- +

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

9.6 Final Review
97% Positive Steam Reviews
119571 Steam Reviews
9.1 Pure Vibes
10.0 Review Scale
388/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 1/1
Not Janky 1/1
Good UI 1/1
Controller and Deck 1/1
Lots of Content 1/1
Good Theme 1/1
Good Graphics and Sound 1/1
Fun Feel 1/1
Unique Twists 1/1
Vibe Check 1/1

Metacritic Scores

- +

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

Critic

8.9 Converted 10 Point Score
35 Number of Critic Reviews

User

8.2 User Review Average
742 Number of User Reviews

Average

8.6 Direct Average
8.2 "Fuck The Man" Combined Mean

Dead Cells 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

AndroidEpiciOSitch.ioLinuxMacPS4PS5Steam DeckSwitchWindows PCXboxDLCReleased

Sorting Categories

Very Different

Genre and Control Style Tags

Content RichDungeon CrawlerHack and SlashMetroidvaniaRogueliteRoguevaniaSidescroller

Aesthetic Tags

2DPixel Art

Setting / Story Tags

DungeonsFantasy

Control Styles

Controller

Game Mode Tags

Find Based Metaprogression30m

Features and Extras

SoundtrackSteam AchievementsSteam CloudSteam Trading CardsSteam Workshop

Dev/Publisher

Motion Twin

Game Features

- +

Listing various features we've got info on.

Multiplayer

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

Steam Features

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

Extras, Etc.

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

Marketing Blurb

- +

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

"Dead Cells is a rogue-lite, metroidvania inspired, action-platformer. You'll explore a sprawling, ever-changing castle... assuming you're able to fight your way past its keepers in 2D souls-lite combat. No checkpoints. Kill, die, learn, repeat. Regular free content updates!"

"RogueVania: The progressive exploration of an interconnected world, with the replayability of a rogue-lite and the adrenaline pumping threat of permadeath."

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: 30m

Run Time Notes

?

Speed Settings

?

[edit]

Crypt of the Necrodancer

DLC Released

Extremely Different. Rogue style short runs in a horror fantasy setting with pixel graphics, but rhythm based gameplay without bullet heaven elements. Used to come up more in recommendation threads on reddit. Fan comparison scores via Necrodancer discord. Maqua: "A rhythm turn-based roguelike that lets you perform beat downs to the beat. Less like Vampire Survivors due to fundamental differences in design, but the variety of characters as well as in-game leaderboards allows you to get a lot of replay value even after you master the mechanics." Tufwfo: "Extremely difficult roguelike where all inputs are done to the beat of the music. Learning the patterns of all the enemies leads to mastering the game which is incredibly satisfying after hundreds of hours." Movement focus, but feels very different!

Content Rich Grid-Based Movement Rhythm Game Roguelike Roguelite Top Down or Isometric Turn Based Hybrid
6.5 Combined Ranking Score
47/72 Ranking Position
1200/1600 Total Points
9.3 Final Review
95% Steam
9.4 Scale
9.0 Vibes
20594 Steam Reviews
379/400 Review Points
3.7 Similarity Score
68% Diagnosis:
Extremely Different
821/1200 Comparison Points
61% Genre 1.7/8 genre
69% Simple Controls 2.7/7 move
63% Survival Modes 1/4 modes
38% Power Progression -1/4 level
61% Buildcrafting Depth 1.1/5 build
65% Stage Features 2.1/7 stage
88% Content Breadth 6.9/9 stuff
74% Aesthetics 2.9/6 style
80% Gameplay Vibe Check 6/10 vibe vibe

Crypt of the Necrodancer Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 3 (xoxomonstergirl) 4129 (Tufwfo Review) 828.4 (Maqua Review)

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 11/18/2023

I'm terrible at rhythm games, so went to discord for help investigating this suggestion I'd seen on reddit! Number scores averaged between our user surveys or by scoring guide. Fan review score notes from Tufwfo and Maqua on the Necrodancer discord! Reprinted from the survey with some editing. Maqua Notes: "Crypt of the Necrodancer is a rhythm turn based roguelike. Its unique gameplay style allows it to flow in its own interesting way without separating itself from the identifiers that make it a roguelike." Tufwfo: "It's a very difficult rhythm based roguelike." This gives it a partial score in real time, since it does go on without you.

DLC: "Certain features are limited to the Synchrony DLC such as online multiplayer and versus"

Maqua: "You move on tiles to the beat of the backing music track, using the arrow keys in time with the music. Moving into an enemy makes you attack the enemy, and if an enemy is able to move into the tile you are on, or moving to, they attack you. It is a very different game from Vampire Survivors since there is a constrained grid system, a low max enemy count per floor, and progression based on if you can make it to the bottom of the crypt or not. It's less about avoidance and more about planning and execution."

They're both movement focused spins on roguelike games, but very different! Maqua: "I'm going at this from the perspective of a player with over 840 hours on steam. Necrodancer is a roguelike that relies mostly on player knowledge of the game to be difficult and fun, and any progression elements are mostly reserved for players learning the game for the first time. After that, it's about knowing how to control scenarios in game such that you don't make any mistakes."

Maqua continues: "The real complexity comes from the pseudo-turn-based combat that the beat of the game revolves around, making sure you perform correct actions in the scenario you're in without making any mistakes. I find it much different than Vampire Survivors in that aspect, since after a certain point in any run, you're just waiting for the timer to hit zero and move onto the next. In Necrodancer, the very act of clearing a run with a specific character is a major accomplishment by itself. It's also worth noting that Necrodancer's idea of scaling is drastically different than VS, since the stats in ND revolve around low value integers, instead of ranges exceeding a thousand. With ND, you need to have a more active role in play, rather than letting passive item effects let you walk through the rest of your run without much thought."

Tufwfo: "All enemies have a specific pattern so over time you learn them all to be able to handle any situation. The game is incredibly fair (in my thousands of hours there's only 1 thing I would say is explicitly unfair) so even playing low% (no items or healing) you can win every run if you're good enough. I consider Vampire Survivors to be a fairly chill game while Necrodancer is extremely difficult. If you're willing to challenge yourself then I absolutely recommend it."

Maqua, recommends for VS fans: "..only on the basis that I would recommend this game to anyone. If anyone wants to try something new, this is a game for you." It's worth noting the more rogue-lite side of the game, Single Zones Mode, is easier and earns it a high partial on the rogue-lite feature score.

Maqua: "There exists a spin off game, "Cadence of Hyrule feat. Crypt of the Necrodancer" that released on Nintendo Switch by Brace Yourself Games. It is even less similar to a roguelike/roguelite game, but is way more accessible to a newcomer to the style of game. I got into Necrodancer through Cadence of Hyrule first, and the differences between the two games are massive. If anyone finds Necrodancer too rough to get into, I'd personally recommend Cadence of Hyrule as a watered down, but more accessible and charming version of the game."

Crypt of the Necrodancer 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.

3.7 Similarity Score
68% Diagnosis:
821/1200 Comparison Points
Rogue-lite 0.8/1
Auto-Fire / Auto-Battle -1/1
Real Time 0.7/1
Top Down or Isometric 1/1
Direct Control of Single Avatar 0.9/1
Arcade Style 0.8/1
Bullet Heaven A (Many Player Bullets) -1/1
Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) -0.5/1
One Handed Play (w Controller) 1/1
Move Only -0.2/1
No Dash 0.5/1
No Trigger 0.8/1
No Special Move 0.8/1
No Aiming 0.8/1
No On-Aim / On-Fire Movement Penalty -1/1
Timed / Boss Ended Survival 0.5/1
Endless Mode 1/1
Organic / Unannounced Waves 0/1
High Enemy Count (Horde) -0.5/1
Level Up on XP Gain Event -1/1
Streamlined Level Choices (Simple UI) -1/1
Currency Based Meta Unlocks 0.5/1
Goal Based Meta Unlocks 0.5/1
Build Crafting 0.2/1
0.5/1
Weapon Combination / "Evolution" 0.1/1
Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 0.3/1
Broken / Invincible Builds Possible 0/1
Explorable Map 0.5/1
BIG Maps -0.8/1
XP on Ground 0.5/1
Health on Ground 0.2/1
Temp Powerups / Items on Ground 0.2/1
Treasure Chests and/or Loot Events 0.5/1
Vendor / Merchant on Run 1/1
Enemy Variety 0.7/1
Bosses / Elites 0.5/1
Many Interesting Characters 0.7/1
Many Challenges 1/1
Multiple Stages 1/1
Difficulty Modifiers 0.3/1
Bestiary / Lore 0.7/1
Achievements 1/1
Secrets 1/1
Retro / Pixel Art 1/1
Damage Numbers 0/1
Lofi Charm 0/1
Bumpin Music 1/1
Fun Writing 0.5/1
Subtle Humor 0.4/1
Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 0.4/1
Over the Top 0/1
"One More Run" / Short Runs 1/1
Difficulty Ramp 0.5/1
Fun Ramp 0.2/1
Low Price 0.5/1
Technical Check 1/1
Controls Check 1/1
Fun Check 1/1
Feels like VS -0.9/1

Crypt of the Necrodancer 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
95% Positive Steam Reviews
20594 Steam Reviews
9.0 Pure Vibes
9.4 Review Scale
379/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 1/1
Not Janky 0.8/1
Good UI 0.7/1
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

8.7 Converted 10 Point Score
46 Number of Critic Reviews

User

7.8 User Review Average
240 Number of User Reviews

Average

8.3 Direct Average
7.9 "Fuck The Man" Combined Mean

Crypt of the Necrodancer 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

AndroidEpiciOSLinuxMacPS4PS5Steam DeckSwitchWindows PCXboxDLCReleased

Sorting Categories

Extremely Different

Genre and Control Style Tags

Content RichGrid-Based MovementRhythm GameRoguelikeRogueliteTop Down or IsometricTurn Based Hybrid

Aesthetic Tags

2DPixel Art

Setting / Story Tags

DungeonsFantasyHorror ThemedUndead

Control Styles

Controller

Game Mode Tags

Unknown30m

Features and Extras

SoundtrackSteam AchievementsSteam CloudSteam LeaderboardsSteam Trading CardsSteam Workshop

Dev/Publisher

Brace Yourself GamesKlei Entertainment

Game Features

- +

Listing various features we've got info on.

Multiplayer

  • Local: Co-Op Versus
  • Online: Co-Op Versus
  • Player Count: 4 (Local) Many (Online with DLC)
  • Leaderboards: ?

Steam Features

  • Steam Cloud: Yes
  • Steam Achievements: 61
  • Steam Leaderboards: Yes
  • Steam Workshop: Yes
  • Steam Trading Cards: Yes

Extras, Etc.

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

Marketing Blurb

- +

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

"Crypt of the NecroDancer is an award winning hardcore roguelike rhythm game. Move on the beat to navigate an ever changing dungeon while battling dancing skeletons, zombies, dragons, and more."

"Descend into the crypt as 15 playable characters with unique play styles and challenges! Jam out to over 40 original songs in Danny Baranowsky’s award winning soundtrack, or set your own beats with songs from your own MP3 collection!" "BONUS: Includes 6 playable remixes of the entire soundtrack. Remixes by FamilyJules, A_Rival, Chipzel, OCRemix, Girlfriend Records, and Virt!"

"Reach great heights as you disco down through the depths of the crypt. Whether you aim to get the highest scores or complete runs in the fastest times, you can compete against a robust community of players in a range of permanent and daily challenges across all characters." (There are no leaderboards in rogue-lite mode)

Single Zone Mode: "Gather diamonds to unlock permanent upgrades and better equipment to traverse deeper into the NecroDancer’s lair. The deeper you go, the more treacherous enemies you'll face."

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: 30m

Run Time Notes

Maqua: "22 minute casual runs". Tufwfo: "40 Minutes Maximum"

Speed Settings

None

[edit]

The Riftbreaker

DLC Released

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

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

The Riftbreaker Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 10.8

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

Added or last checked on 11/16/2023

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Riftbreaker Similarity Scale Heatmap

- +

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

3.5 Similarity Score
68% Diagnosis:
812/1200 Comparison Points
Rogue-lite 0.7/1
Auto-Fire / Auto-Battle -0.5/1
Real Time 1/1
Top Down or Isometric 1/1
Direct Control of Single Avatar 0.7/1
Arcade Style -1/1
Bullet Heaven A (Many Player Bullets) 0.6/1
Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) 0.3/1
One Handed Play (w Controller) -1/1
Move Only -1/1
No Dash -1/1
No Trigger -1/1
No Special Move -1/1
No Aiming -1/1
No On-Aim / On-Fire Movement Penalty 0.5/1
Timed / Boss Ended Survival 0.8/1
Endless Mode 1/1
Organic / Unannounced Waves 0/1
High Enemy Count (Horde) 1/1
Level Up on XP Gain Event -1/1
Streamlined Level Choices (Simple UI) -1/1
Currency Based Meta Unlocks 0/1
Goal Based Meta Unlocks 1/1
Build Crafting 1/1
1/1
Weapon Combination / "Evolution" 0.5/1
Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 0.5/1
Broken / Invincible Builds Possible 0/1
Explorable Map 1/1
BIG Maps 0.9/1
XP on Ground 0.5/1
Health on Ground 0/1
Temp Powerups / Items on Ground 0.1/1
Treasure Chests and/or Loot Events 1/1
Vendor / Merchant on Run 1/1
Enemy Variety 1/1
Bosses / Elites 1/1
Many Interesting Characters 0.1/1
Many Challenges 1/1
Multiple Stages 1/1
Difficulty Modifiers 1/1
Bestiary / Lore 1/1
Achievements 1/1
Secrets 1/1
Retro / Pixel Art -1/1
Damage Numbers 1/1
Lofi Charm -0.5/1
Bumpin Music 1/1
Fun Writing 1/1
Subtle Humor 0.8/1
Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 0.3/1
Over the Top 0.6/1
"One More Run" / Short Runs -1/1
Difficulty Ramp 1/1
Fun Ramp 1/1
Low Price -0.7/1
Technical Check 1/1
Controls Check 1/1
Fun Check 1/1
Feels like VS 0/1

The Riftbreaker Review Scale Heatmap

- +

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

9.0 Final Review
91% Positive Steam Reviews
13901 Steam Reviews
8.5 Pure Vibes
9.4 Review Scale
370/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 1/1
Not Janky 0.8/1
Good UI 0.8/1
Controller and Deck 0.8/1
Lots of Content 1/1
Good Theme 1/1
Good Graphics and Sound 1/1
Fun Feel 1/1
Unique Twists 1/1
Vibe Check 1/1

Metacritic Scores

- +

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

Critic

8.3 Converted 10 Point Score
9 Number of Critic Reviews

User

8.4 User Review Average
64 Number of User Reviews

Average

8.4 Direct Average
8.4 "Fuck The Man" Combined Mean

The Riftbreaker Tag Cloud

- +

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

Release Tags

EpicGOGPS5Steam DeckWindows PCXboxDLCReleased

Sorting Categories

Very Different

Genre and Control Style Tags

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

Aesthetic Tags

3DRealisticSerious

Setting / Story Tags

MechaSci-fi

Control Styles

Controller

Game Mode Tags

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

Features and Extras

SoundtrackSteam AchievementsSteam CloudSteam Trading CardsSteam Workshop

Dev/Publisher

EXOR StudiosSurefire Games

Game Features

- +

Listing various features we've got info on.

Multiplayer

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

Steam Features

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

Extras, Etc.

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

Marketing Blurb

- +

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

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

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

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

Game Modes

- +

Map Based Campaign

Timed Survival

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

Hardcore Mode
(Optional Permadeath)

Game Mode Notes

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

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

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: 60m

Run Time Notes

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

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

Speed Settings

None

[edit]

Loop Hero

Free Available Released

Extremely Different. It's hard to have a better pick if you want a rogue-lite auto-battler with really unique map-building non-direct control of the main character. But chances are you didn't know you were looking for that. Included to test the scale but also because it's a great game that might scratch your itch if it's about exploring a new system with great progression and interesting synergies, along with tense action that's not reflex based even if it doesn't have stick movement focus. It's above 5.0 so it might be recommended to appeal to VS fans, but only with major disclaimers about differences.

Auto-Battler Content Rich Deckbuilding Roguelite Story Rich Strategy
6.3 Combined Ranking Score
49/72 Ranking Position
1168/1600 Total Points
9.6 Final Review
93% Steam
9.4 Scale
10.0 Vibes
29569 Steam Reviews
387/400 Review Points
3.0 Similarity Score
65% Diagnosis:
Extremely Different
781/1200 Comparison Points
59% Genre 1.5/8 genre
21% Simple Controls -4/7 move
44% Survival Modes -0.5/4 modes
65% Power Progression 1.2/4 level
73% Buildcrafting Depth 2.3/5 build
31% Stage Features -2.6/7 stage
91% Content Breadth 7.3/9 stuff
100% Aesthetics 6/6 style
95% Gameplay Vibe Check 8.9/10 vibe vibe

Loop Hero Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 80.0

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 10/17/2023

nospawn/litch-from_loop-hero.gifA map-making rogue-lite auto battler. You have a character that goes around a loop fighting enemies during your run, but you can only help him by placing map parts and changing gear - no direct control. There's so much to talk about with this one, but it's pretty different from most of the games on our scale. What it shares is really satisfying metaprogression and some autobattle elements.

Put in about 44.6 hours on Steam and then another 40+ hours on Switch when it released there. Amazing game, totally unique, interesting to compare to VS in terms of mechanics. The game is a strategy game played in menus and by putting down tiles, but we'll call the real time use of a click button a 'trigger' press.

One of the best games ever imho, but it's pretty different so no need to really discuss in detail here.

Loop Hero 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.

3.0 Similarity Score
65% Diagnosis:
781/1200 Comparison Points
Rogue-lite 1/1
Auto-Fire / Auto-Battle 0.8/1
Real Time 0.6/1
Top Down or Isometric 1/1
Direct Control of Single Avatar -0.7/1
Arcade Style 0.8/1
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 -1/1
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 0/1
Endless Mode 1/1
Organic / Unannounced Waves -1/1
High Enemy Count (Horde) -0.5/1
Level Up on XP Gain Event 0.2/1
Streamlined Level Choices (Simple UI) -1/1
Currency Based Meta Unlocks 1/1
Goal Based Meta Unlocks 1/1
Build Crafting 1/1
0.2/1
Weapon Combination / "Evolution" 0/1
Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 0.1/1
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 0/1
Vendor / Merchant on Run 0/1
Enemy Variety 1/1
Bosses / Elites 1/1
Many Interesting Characters 0.6/1
Many Challenges 1/1
Multiple Stages 0.7/1
Difficulty Modifiers 0/1
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 0.4/1
"One More Run" / Short Runs 1/1
Difficulty Ramp 1/1
Fun Ramp 1/1
Low Price 0.5/1
Technical Check 1/1
Controls Check 1/1
Fun Check 1/1
Feels like VS -1/1

Loop Hero Review Scale Heatmap

- +

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

9.6 Final Review
93% Positive Steam Reviews
29569 Steam Reviews
10.0 Pure Vibes
9.4 Review Scale
387/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 1/1
Not Janky 1/1
Good UI 1/1
Controller and Deck 0.4/1
Lots of Content 1/1
Good Theme 1/1
Good Graphics and Sound 1/1
Fun Feel 1/1
Unique Twists 1/1
Vibe Check 1/1

Metacritic Scores

- +

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

Critic

8.2 Converted 10 Point Score
63 Number of Critic Reviews

User

7.9 User Review Average
194 Number of User Reviews

Average

8.1 Direct Average
8.0 "Fuck The Man" Combined Mean

Loop Hero 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.ioLinuxMacSteam DeckSwitchWindows PCXboxFree AvailableReleased

Sorting Categories

Extremely Different

Genre and Control Style Tags

Auto-BattlerContent RichDeckbuildingRogueliteStory RichStrategy

Aesthetic Tags

2DArtyPixel Art

Setting / Story Tags

Alternate RealityApocalypseFantasyTime Loop

Control Styles

ControllerMouse Only

Game Mode Tags

Boss ModeDifficulty ModifiersEndless ModeHub ZoneSpeed UpWave Survival30m

Features and Extras

SoundtrackSteam AchievementsSteam CloudSteam Trading Cards

Dev/Publisher

Devolver DigitalFour Quarters

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: 50
  • Steam Leaderboards: No
  • Steam Workshop: No
  • Steam Trading Cards: Yes

Extras, Etc.

  • NSFW: No
  • Demo Available: Alpha on itch.io
  • DLC Available: No
  • Soundtrack Available: Steam YouTube GOG Devolver Digital (LP)

Marketing Blurb

- +

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

"The Lich has thrown the world into a timeless loop and plunged its inhabitants into never ending chaos. Wield an expanding deck of mystical cards to place enemies, buildings, and terrain along each unique expedition loop for the brave hero."

"Infinite Adventure: Select from unlockable character classes and deck cards before setting out on each expedition along a randomly generated loop path." "Strategically place building, terrain, and enemy cards along each loop."

Game Modes

- +

Endless Survival /
Boss Challenge

"Chapter" Difficulty Modifiers and Rewards

Game Mode Notes

There is only one run type, with metaprogression between runs. There are four "chapters", each with a specific difficulty change, rewards and bosses. Until you beat the earlier chapters, the bosses for later ones will not show up in your run. The first three chapters each have one boss and the 4 requires beating them all. You can select earlier chapters to play again.

You can pick what tiles are available to you in the next run.

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: 30m

Run Time Notes

Each run finds the player starting with a blank map and loop of road, which they then place map pieces around as a timer counts towards a boss event. Early runs are guaranteed to be ended by the first boss, and players eventually work towards "endless" runs. There's no time based goal to complete, you simply decide to head back to camp or risk losing the run. The goal is to survive while gathering as much as possible before dying.

Average run time is probably more accurately 10m - 60m, but it also depends on the player selected speed / pause usage.

Speed Settings

The game can be paused or sped up by player toggle. While paused, the player can still manipulate the game field and inventory, then unpause or move to high speed to see how it plays out.

[edit]

Path of Exile

Free Available Released

Very Different. Sometimes you just want to slowly craft one build. Forever. An isometric MMO Action RPG sometimes recommended on reddit to fans of over the top screenwiping builds. No short runs - you can play the same character and slowly buildcraft for 100s of hours. Included to test the scale. Games above 5.0 on our ranking might satisfy your urges from Vampire Survivors, but the higher up ones are generally more likely to do so.

Action RPG Bullet Heaven Content Rich Dungeon Crawler Hack and Slash Mowing Game Spell Crafting Story Rich Top Down or Isometric
6.2 Combined Ranking Score
50/72 Ranking Position
1175/1600 Total Points
9.0 Final Review
88% Steam
9.1 Scale
9.0 Vibes
208558 Steam Reviews
369/400 Review Points
3.4 Similarity Score
67% Diagnosis:
Very Different
806/1200 Comparison Points
59% Genre 1.5/8 genre
7% Simple Controls -6/7 move
44% Survival Modes -0.5/4 modes
31% Power Progression -1.5/4 level
95% Buildcrafting Depth 4.5/5 build
93% Stage Features 6/7 stage
97% Content Breadth 8.5/9 stuff
67% Aesthetics 2/6 style
82% Gameplay Vibe Check 6.3/10 vibe vibe

Path of Exile Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 59.6

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 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!

Path of Exile 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.

3.4 Similarity Score
67% Diagnosis:
806/1200 Comparison Points
Rogue-lite -1/1
Auto-Fire / Auto-Battle -0.9/1
Real Time 1/1
Top Down or Isometric 1/1
Direct Control of Single Avatar 1/1
Arcade Style -1/1
Bullet Heaven A (Many Player Bullets) 0.8/1
Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) 0.6/1
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 0.5/1
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 -0.5/1
Build Crafting 1/1
1/1
Weapon Combination / "Evolution" 0.5/1
Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 1/1
Broken / Invincible Builds Possible 1/1
Explorable Map 1/1
BIG Maps 1/1
XP on Ground 0/1
Health on Ground 1/1
Temp Powerups / Items on Ground 1/1
Treasure Chests and/or Loot Events 1/1
Vendor / Merchant on Run 1/1
Enemy Variety 1/1
Bosses / Elites 1/1
Many Interesting Characters 0.5/1
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 -0.5/1
Damage Numbers 1/1
Lofi Charm 0.2/1
Bumpin Music 0.5/1
Fun Writing 0.3/1
Subtle Humor 0.5/1
Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 0.8/1
Over the Top 0.9/1
"One More Run" / Short Runs 0/1
Difficulty Ramp 0/1
Fun Ramp 0.2/1
Low Price 1/1
Technical Check 0.9/1
Controls Check 1/1
Fun Check 1/1
Feels like VS 0.3/1

Path of Exile 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
88% Positive Steam Reviews
208558 Steam Reviews
9.0 Pure Vibes
9.1 Review Scale
369/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 1/1
Not Janky 0.8/1
Good UI 0.7/1
Controller and Deck 1/1
Lots of Content 1/1
Good Theme 1/1
Good Graphics and Sound 0.8/1
Fun Feel 1/1
Unique Twists 0.8/1
Vibe Check 1/1

Metacritic Scores

- +

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

Critic

8.6 Converted 10 Point Score
27 Number of Critic Reviews

User

7.9 User Review Average
2238 Number of User Reviews

Average

8.3 Direct Average
7.9 "Fuck The Man" Combined Mean

Path of Exile 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

EpicMacPS4PS5Steam DeckWindows PCXboxFree AvailableReleased

Sorting Categories

Very Different

Genre and Control Style Tags

Action RPGBullet HeavenContent RichDungeon CrawlerHack and SlashMowing GameSpell CraftingStory RichTop Down or Isometric

Aesthetic Tags

3DRealistic

Setting / Story Tags

DungeonsFantasyHorror Themed

Control Styles

Controller

Game Mode Tags

CampaignMap BasedMassively Multiplayer

Features and Extras

SoundtrackSteam AchievementsSteam CloudSteam Trading Cards

Dev/Publisher

Grinding Gear Games

Game Features

- +

Listing various features we've got info on.

Multiplayer

  • Local: No
  • Online: Co-Op Versus
  • Player Count: MMO 6 (Party) 2 (PVP)
  • Leaderboards: ?

Steam Features

  • Steam Cloud: Yes
  • Steam Achievements: 127
  • Steam Leaderboards: No
  • Steam Workshop: No
  • Steam Trading Cards: Yes

Extras, Etc.

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

Marketing Blurb

- +

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

"Created by hardcore gamers, Path of Exile is an online Action RPG set in a dark fantasy world." "Create and customize hundreds of unique skill combinations from tradable itemized gems and our gigantic passive skill tree. Combine skill gems, support gems and trigger gems to create your own unique combination of power, defense and destruction."

Game Modes

- +

Map Based Campaign

Game Mode Notes

The primary game mode is a linear campaign through a series of maps, with procedural generation for layout and enemy variety. A player can go back and play the same character on previous maps and eventually explore in a variety of directions.

Within the campaign there are many events, goals and game modes including timed wave survival, dungeon crawling, boss challenges, PVP and more.

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time:

Run Time Notes

A massively multiplayer online action RPG, the game is essentially designed to allow for near infinite play on a single character. Maps, dungeons and events within the campaign have a variety of time required to complete.

Speed Settings

None

[edit]

Enter the Gungeon

Released

Very Different. On the surface similar, this dungeon crawling twin stick shooter has high action complexity. It's a rogue-lite bullet hell shooter with heavy emphasis on trigger pulling and dungeon exploration instead of horde waves. It's much more tactical and requires careful aiming. I get why people might recommend it since it's popular and also a rogue-lite but personally I don't think it has what interests me about this particular subgenre, ditching obvious build crafting for reflexes. Instead of heavy emphasis on distilling to the basic controls it adds FPS style reload and trigger controls to twin stick shooters, which is making it more complicated. It's a highly regarded game, just attempting to do very different things.

Content Rich Dungeon Crawler Roguelite Top Down or Isometric Twin Stick Shooter
6.0 Combined Ranking Score
55/72 Ranking Position
1153/1600 Total Points
9.0 Final Review
95% Steam
8.9 Scale
8.5 Vibes
67389 Steam Reviews
369/400 Review Points
3.1 Similarity Score
65% Diagnosis:
Very Different
784/1200 Comparison Points
70% Genre 3.2/8 genre
14% Simple Controls -5.1/7 move
25% Survival Modes -2/4 modes
63% Power Progression 1/4 level
60% Buildcrafting Depth 1/5 build
72% Stage Features 3.1/7 stage
100% Content Breadth 9/9 stuff
83% Aesthetics 4/6 style
77% Gameplay Vibe Check 5.3/10 vibe vibe

Enter the Gungeon 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 11/10/2023

Disclaimer: I've personally played mostly on switch, but tried to put some time in on PC too. I think it's pretty much the same game.

Enter the Gungeon is a popular dungeon crawling rogue-lite that I feel has a relatively high difficulty in part due to mechanics pulled from FPS games like reload and even cover to kick over and hide behind. It's structured as a room clearing game instead of a wave survival game like most of the ones on this list.

That being said, it makes sense that it was an early common recommendation for people looking for "more games like vampire survivors" since it's also a top down shooter and a rogue-lite. When Vampire Survivors first came out there wasn't really a lot of 'survivors-likes' movement focused games so it was common to see people mention this or games like Hades. At that time a "similar game" just meant another action game that was a rogue-lite.

Personally I'm kind of bad at it (perhaps a little impatient with it) and that makes it a little harder to review, but I did put in some more substantial time in Co-Op on switch with my partner. We enjoyed it (any game with couch co-op generally gets a solid try around here) but agreed that it was a lot more tactical than we were expecting. I think that this likely gives a lot more playability in the long term to people who enjoy it, but we're kind of embarrassingly into more button mashy stuff unless it's a first person shooter. I think we saw how this is a popular title, though.

Scoring notes: Almost neutral score for food/items on ground since they drop at the end of the room instead of a gather mechanic. They technically dropped but really you don't take them into account with your movement while playing in the same way.

It has an optional auto aim in the menu, which is great for accessibility, but doesn't seem to be designed around it, hence the .4 score.

I'm surprised I couldn't find a way to enable damage numbers, usually common in these type of games, but that's just a small difference in aesthetics. It's top down, pixel art (rather detailed and beautiful pixel art, really, when you slow down to look at it, less lofi.) I'm not putting a zero for "panic and zen" but not a negative score either. I don't think it's the gameplay intention and I wasn't able to zone out with it, but I imagine some people could.

It didn't seem to have much of a difficulty or fun ramp there (this isn't to say it's not fun, it's to say that the rogue-lite features change the gameplay but don't really amp it up while making it easier). The "build depth" has little RPG mechanics, just items, so that's what those scores mean.

Worth checking out if more hands on action and a feeling of exploring a dungeon appeals to you!

Enter the Gungeon 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.

3.1 Similarity Score
65% Diagnosis:
784/1200 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) 0.6/1
Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) -1/1
One Handed Play (w Controller) -1/1
Move Only -1/1
No Dash -1/1
No Trigger -1/1
No Special Move -1/1
No Aiming 0.4/1
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
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 0/1
Health on Ground 0.1/1
Temp Powerups / Items on Ground 0.1/1
Treasure Chests and/or Loot Events 1/1
Vendor / Merchant on Run 1/1
Enemy Variety 1/1
Bosses / Elites 1/1
Many Interesting Characters 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 0/1
Lofi Charm 0.2/1
Bumpin Music 1/1
Fun Writing 0.9/1
Subtle Humor 0.9/1
Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 0/1
Over the Top 0.2/1
"One More Run" / Short Runs 0.6/1
Difficulty Ramp 0.2/1
Fun Ramp 0.2/1
Low Price 0.2/1
Technical Check 1/1
Controls Check 1/1
Fun Check 1/1
Feels like VS -0.2/1

Enter the Gungeon 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
95% Positive Steam Reviews
67389 Steam Reviews
8.5 Pure Vibes
8.9 Review Scale
369/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 1/1
Not Janky 1/1
Good UI 0.8/1
Controller and Deck 1/1
Lots of Content 1/1
Good Theme 0.7/1
Good Graphics and Sound 1/1
Fun Feel 0.8/1
Unique Twists 0.8/1
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

8.4 Converted 10 Point Score
28 Number of Critic Reviews

User

8.1 User Review Average
450 Number of User Reviews

Average

8.3 Direct Average
8.1 "Fuck The Man" Combined Mean

Enter the Gungeon 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

LinuxLunaMacPS4PS5StadiaSteam DeckSwitchWindows PCXboxReleased

Sorting Categories

Very Different

Genre and Control Style Tags

Content RichDungeon CrawlerRogueliteTop Down or IsometricTwin Stick Shooter

Aesthetic Tags

2DPixel Art

Setting / Story Tags

ComedyDungeonsFantasy

Control Styles

Controller

Game Mode Tags

Unknown45m

Features and Extras

SoundtrackSteam AchievementsSteam Cloud

Dev/Publisher

Devolver DigitalDodge Roll

Game Features

- +

Listing various features we've got info on.

Multiplayer

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

Steam Features

  • Steam Cloud: Full
  • Steam Achievements: 54
  • Steam Leaderboards: No
  • Steam Workshop: No
  • Steam Trading Cards: No

Extras, Etc.

  • NSFW: No
  • Demo Available: No
  • DLC Available: Kind of (Joke DLC to support devs with one early unlock item)
  • Soundtrack Available: Steam YouTube Spotify Bandcamp Vinyl (Several at several retailers)

Marketing Blurb

- +

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

"Enter the Gungeon is a bullet hell dungeon crawler following a band of misfits seeking to shoot, loot, dodge roll and table-flip their way to personal absolution by reaching the legendary Gungeon’s ultimate treasure: the gun that can kill the past."

"Choose between one of several unlikely heroes, each burdened by a deep regret and in search of a way to change their past, no matter the cost. Filled with equal parts courage and desperation, these adventurers won't hesitate to dive across flaming walls, roll through a wall of bullets, or take cover behind whatever is around to make it to their goal alive!"

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: 45m

Run Time Notes

It's dungeon crawling and can vary, but fans in the discord seem to feel around 45 minutes is right and I agree.

Speed Settings

?

[edit]

Dwarf Fortress

Free Available Released

Extremely Different. A titan of gaming history and a personal recommendation to anyone on the planet, but while it is influenced by Rogue and has some surface traits in common it's So different that attempting to score it on these named categories is very hard. A long form rogue-Like where you manage many many characters. An interesting one, Included to test the scale. You may find some similar aspects of this game appealing, though! Don't mind my 378 play hours, that was all just one run so I haven't really seen much of the game. Note: We're scaling the base management mode, not the single character control Adventure.

Basebuilding Colony Sim Content Rich Real Time With Pause Roguelike Story Rich Survival
5.0 Combined Ranking Score
61/72 Ranking Position
1015/1600 Total Points
9.6 Final Review
95% Steam
9.3 Scale
10.0 Vibes
19980 Steam Reviews
388/400 Review Points
0.5 Similarity Score
52% Diagnosis:
Extremely Different
627/1200 Comparison Points
38% Genre -1.9/8 genre
14% Simple Controls -5/7 move
53% Survival Modes 0.2/4 modes
5% Power Progression -3.6/4 level
10% Buildcrafting Depth -4/5 build
86% Stage Features 5/7 stage
81% Content Breadth 5.5/9 stuff
92% Aesthetics 5/6 style
68% Gameplay Vibe Check 3.5/10 vibe vibe

Dwarf Fortress Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 378.8

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 10/23/2023

Now with a graphics inclusive version on Steam, Dwarf Fortress is inspired by classical Rogue-likes, but your permadeath possible "run" is managing a fortress with many characters instead of just one. Over the years the game has gained a lot of features that bring it more close to contemporary games than Rogue itself. The extreme differences in genre and control and mechanics makes it very hard to rate on our scale (which is designed to tease out subtle differences in very similar games) but it's interesting to test the scale. It is, after all, technically an "endless wave survival" game.

Mostly real time, but with a lot of optional pauses. For the movement section, we're counting all the various controls (there are many) for categories like "special moves" but there's no reflex "dodge", etc. DF doesn't have any victory conditions or set challenges, a huge difference. Nor does it let you chose how to level your characters, they progress themselves. Eventually, there are big hordes of enemy invaders, usually.

Worth noting the "Adventure" mode not reviewed here has both more in common with original Rogue and modern Rogue-lites.

This is an amazing game, but again we're mostly including it here to show how the scale is used and can be used for just about anything. There's more about it in the scoring guide, like many of the ones included to test and then demonstrate the scale.

And I guess it's here because I can't resist a chance to talk about Dwarf Fortress.

Dwarf Fortress 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.

0.5 Similarity Score
52% Diagnosis:
627/1200 Comparison Points
Rogue-lite 0.3/1
Auto-Fire / Auto-Battle 0.2/1
Real Time 0.5/1
Top Down or Isometric 1/1
Direct Control of Single Avatar -1/1
Arcade Style -0.9/1
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 0/1
No Trigger -1/1
No Special Move -1/1
No Aiming -1/1
No On-Aim / On-Fire Movement Penalty 0/1
Timed / Boss Ended Survival -1/1
Endless Mode 1/1
Organic / Unannounced Waves 0/1
High Enemy Count (Horde) 0.2/1
Level Up on XP Gain Event -1/1
Streamlined Level Choices (Simple UI) -1/1
Currency Based Meta Unlocks -0.8/1
Goal Based Meta Unlocks -0.8/1
Build Crafting -1/1
0/1
Weapon Combination / "Evolution" -1/1
Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy -1/1
Broken / Invincible Builds Possible -1/1
Explorable Map 1/1
BIG Maps 1/1
XP on Ground 0.5/1
Health on Ground 0/1
Temp Powerups / Items on Ground 0.5/1
Treasure Chests and/or Loot Events 1/1
Vendor / Merchant on Run 1/1
Enemy Variety 1/1
Bosses / Elites 1/1
Many Interesting Characters 1/1
Many Challenges -1/1
Multiple Stages 1/1
Difficulty Modifiers 1/1
Bestiary / Lore 1/1
Achievements 0/1
Secrets 0.5/1
Retro / Pixel Art 1/1
Damage Numbers 0/1
Lofi Charm 1/1
Bumpin Music 1/1
Fun Writing 1/1
Subtle Humor 1/1
Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 0.5/1
Over the Top 0/1
"One More Run" / Short Runs -1/1
Difficulty Ramp 0/1
Fun Ramp 0/1
Low Price 0/1
Technical Check 1/1
Controls Check 1/1
Fun Check 1/1
Feels like VS -1/1

Dwarf Fortress Review Scale Heatmap

- +

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

9.6 Final Review
95% Positive Steam Reviews
19980 Steam Reviews
10.0 Pure Vibes
9.3 Review Scale
388/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 1/1
Not Janky 0.9/1
Good UI 0.9/1
Controller and Deck 0.5/1
Lots of Content 1/1
Good Theme 1/1
Good Graphics and Sound 1/1
Fun Feel 1/1
Unique Twists 1/1
Vibe Check 1/1

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

9.3 Converted 10 Point Score
12 Number of Critic Reviews

User

8.5 User Review Average
242 Number of User Reviews

Average

8.9 Direct Average
8.5 "Fuck The Man" Combined Mean

Dwarf Fortress 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.ioLinuxSteam DeckWindows PCFree AvailableReleased

Sorting Categories

Extremely Different

Genre and Control Style Tags

BasebuildingColony SimContent RichReal Time With PauseRoguelikeStory RichSurvival

Aesthetic Tags

2DAsciiLofiPixel Art

Setting / Story Tags

DungeonsFantasy

Control Styles

Keyboard OnlyMouse Only

Game Mode Tags

Custom Mode/ScenarioEndless ModeSandboxSurvival CraftTraditional RoguelikeWave Survival

Features and Extras

SoundtrackSteam Workshop

Dev/Publisher

Bay 12 GamesKitfox 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: No
  • Steam Achievements: Planned
  • Steam Leaderboards: No
  • Steam Workshop: Yes
  • Steam Trading Cards: No

Extras, Etc.

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

Marketing Blurb

- +

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

"The deepest, most intricate simulation of a world that's ever been created. The legendary Dwarf Fortress is now on Steam. Build a fortress and try to help your dwarves survive against a deeply generated world."

"In this complex construction/management/roguelike simulation, every generated world brings a unique challenge, whether it’s dwarves with their own simulated personalities or aquifers."

"One of the first video games acquired by the Museum of Modern Art in New York" "The original inspiration for RimWorld, Prison Architect, Minecraft and more."

Control Style Notes

- +

Game is presented as a top down management sim, similar to later games like Rimworld, and not with direct control of a player avatar.

Classic DF was entirely keyboard based, but the steam version has mouse support baked in. Experienced players know many hotkeys and ways to navigate many menus quickly.

It's now possible to mostly play with mouse for long periods, or just use keyboard to move the camera around.

Automated Features

To a great degree in DF the action is carried out by orders issued to your population, which sometimes they treat more like suggestions. You can tell them to attack an enemy, but it might be more common to tell them to patrol an area, and so on.

There's no way to directly attack an enemy or manipulate anything, you can only give orders and set the priority for them.

Supported Controls

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

Game Modes

- +

Endless Survival
Custom Scenario
Sandbox Survival Craft
("Fortress Mode")

Traditional Roguelike
("Adventure Mode")

Game Mode Notes

The primary mode is a roguelike colony sim, with a great deal of procedural generation for your world and maps.

There is no win condition, you simply want to build a civilization and survive as long as possible. Default settings will throw increasingly dire waves of invaders and dangerous monsters at you, as well as many emergent challenges.

There is an absolutely incredible amount of customization available before generating a world and starting a scenario, customization many times still available in the menus even after you've embarked and started your perhaps hundreds of hours in your "run."

It's possible to play completely peacefully, but there will always be risks to your population. Further customization is available with mods and dfhack.

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time:

Run Time Notes

You can manage a single fortress essentially "forever", except likely at some point your computer and the game won't be able to handle the size and complexity of your save file and current concurrent interactions.

Once it dies, you can start another fort in the same world or an adventure playthrough from any saves. Functionally the game is as "endless" as any game, but many people consider the end of a fortress the end of a story, closing the pages on that world in favor of the next epic "run."

My longest living fort was 400 hours of person time, many generations of dwarves. (Actually, I'd modded myself a kobold fortress.)

Speed Settings

Mostly "real time with pause", there is also a great degree of freedom overclock speed. The game works through frames, so limiting your FPS to 1 or 2 frames greatly slows down the time. Of course, my computer could only do 7 FPS max at the end with my fort.

This isn't actually the graphical refresh rate, it's the amount of frames the game is generating for you to see.

Player Power Progression

- +

Detailed notes on progression systems.

In Run Progression

There are no skill trees or level up dialogs for individual members of your fort, but they do increase in skill and opinion of things in many many different ways. Much of the mystery and appeal of Dwarf Fortress is figuring out how to increase the overall prosperity of your Fort and skill of your citizens without much in the way of set goals or information about what would do what next.

It's about as complex a system as you could possibly get in a game, but it also doesn't force decisions in a classical sense so it's easy to just end up watching how things hash out and crossing your fingers. While you can spend a long time simply building a lovely fort.

Meta Progression

Dwarf Fortress in its most "pure" style according to many is a true roguelike, with the history of the world unique and death permanent, all drillable down to a turn based system in "adventure mode".

However, DF has many features that may feel similar to metaprogression. When everyone at your fortress dies, you can start another in the same world or even reclaim it with a new set of settlers. You can play adventure mode by importing an old fortress save. There's no way to have 'advancement' that unlocks for a new world, all options are there when generating. But death is perhaps not the end of your story.

[edit]

Elden Ring

Released

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

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

Elden Ring Ranking Notes

- +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 283.3

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

Added or last checked on 10/17/2023

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

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

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

Elden Ring Similarity Scale Heatmap

- +

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

-1.9 Similarity Score
41% Diagnosis:
487/1200 Comparison Points
Rogue-lite -1/1
Auto-Fire / Auto-Battle -1/1
Real Time 1/1
Top Down or Isometric -1/1
Direct Control of Single Avatar 1/1
Arcade Style -1/1
Bullet Heaven A (Many Player Bullets) -1/1
Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) 0/1
One Handed Play (w Controller) -1/1
Move Only -1/1
No Dash -1/1
No Trigger -1/1
No Special Move -1/1
No Aiming -1/1
No On-Aim / On-Fire Movement Penalty -1/1
Timed / Boss Ended Survival -1/1
Endless Mode -1/1
Organic / Unannounced Waves -0.5/1
High Enemy Count (Horde) -0.8/1
Level Up on XP Gain Event 1/1
Streamlined Level Choices (Simple UI) -1/1
Currency Based Meta Unlocks -1/1
Goal Based Meta Unlocks -1/1
Build Crafting 1/1
-0.5/1
Weapon Combination / "Evolution" -1/1
Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy -1/1
Broken / Invincible Builds Possible -1/1
Explorable Map 1/1
BIG Maps 1/1
XP on Ground -0.8/1
Health on Ground -1/1
Temp Powerups / Items on Ground 1/1
Treasure Chests and/or Loot Events 1/1
Vendor / Merchant on Run 1/1
Enemy Variety 1/1
Bosses / Elites 1/1
Many Interesting Characters 0.1/1
Many Challenges 1/1
Multiple Stages 1/1
Difficulty Modifiers -1/1
Bestiary / Lore 0.2/1
Achievements 1/1
Secrets 1/1
Retro / Pixel Art -1/1
Damage Numbers 0/1
Lofi Charm -1/1
Bumpin Music 0/1
Fun Writing 1/1
Subtle Humor 1/1
Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 0/1
Over the Top 0/1
"One More Run" / Short Runs -1/1
Difficulty Ramp -1/1
Fun Ramp -1/1
Low Price -1/1
Technical Check 1/1
Controls Check 1/1
Fun Check 1/1
Feels like VS -1/1

Elden Ring Review Scale Heatmap

- +

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

9.7 Final Review
92% Positive Steam Reviews
537133 Steam Reviews
10.0 Pure Vibes
10.0 Review Scale
392/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 1/1
Not Janky 1/1
Good UI 1/1
Controller and Deck 1/1
Lots of Content 1/1
Good Theme 1/1
Good Graphics and Sound 1/1
Fun Feel 1/1
Unique Twists 1/1
Vibe Check 1/1

Metacritic Scores

- +

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

Critic

9.4 Converted 10 Point Score
60 Number of Critic Reviews

User

7.1 User Review Average
5931 Number of User Reviews

Average

8.3 Direct Average
7.1 "Fuck The Man" Combined Mean

Elden Ring Tag Cloud

- +

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

Release Tags

PS4PS5Steam DeckWindows PCXboxReleased

Sorting Categories

Extremely Different

Genre and Control Style Tags

3rd Person AdventureAction RPGContent RichOpen WorldSoulslikeStory Rich

Aesthetic Tags

3DRealisticSerious

Setting / Story Tags

DungeonsFantasyHorrorHorror Themed

Control Styles

Controller

Game Mode Tags

Unknownn/a

Features and Extras

SoundtrackSteam AchievementsSteam CloudSteam Trading Cards

Dev/Publisher

Bandai NamcoFromSoftware

Game Features

- +

Listing various features we've got info on.

Multiplayer

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

Steam Features

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

Extras, Etc.

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

Marketing Blurb

- +

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

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

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

Run Times & Speedups

- +

Average Run Time: n/a

Run Time Notes

?

Speed Settings

?

Games Currently Being Evaluated (Ranking in Progress)

This section includes games with fan scores submitted via score card or web form or I'm currently playing or researching or discussing with devs.

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

[edit]

Nordic Ashes

EA

Note: Feature comparison score reported based on reviewer submitted scorecard. Tweaking in progress.

Auto-Shooter Bullet Heaven Content Rich Hack and Slash Horde Survival Roguelite Survivors-like Wave Survival
8.1 Combined Ranking Score
-/72 Ranking Position
-/1600 Total Points
8.5 Final Review
85% Steam
- Scale
- Vibes
2527 Steam Reviews
-/400 Review Points
7.7 Similarity Score
88% Diagnosis:
Similar
1061/1200 Comparison Points
97% Genre 7.5/8 genre
75% Simple Controls 3.5/7 move
94% Survival Modes 3.5/4 modes
88% Power Progression 3/4 level
85% Buildcrafting Depth 3.5/5 build
100% Stage Features 7/7 stage
94% Content Breadth 7.9/9 stuff
62% Aesthetics 1.4/6 style
93% Gameplay Vibe Check 8.6/10 vibe vibe

Nordic Ashes 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 11/1/2023

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

Scoring submitted by Silver721

Nordic Ashes 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.

7.7 Similarity Score
88% Diagnosis:
1061/1200 Comparison Points
Rogue-lite 1/1
Auto-Fire / Auto-Battle 0.5/1
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 0.5/1
No Dash 1/1
No Trigger 0.5/1
No Special Move -1/1
No Aiming 0.5/1
No On-Aim / On-Fire Movement Penalty 1/1
Timed / Boss Ended Survival 1/1
Endless Mode 1/1
Organic / Unannounced Waves 0.5/1
High Enemy Count (Horde) 1/1
Level Up on XP Gain Event 1/1
Streamlined Level Choices (Simple UI) 0.5/1
Currency Based Meta Unlocks 1/1
Goal Based Meta Unlocks 0.5/1
Build Crafting 0.5/1
0.5/1
Weapon Combination / "Evolution" 1/1
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 1/1
Enemy Variety 1/1
Bosses / Elites 1/1
Many Interesting Characters 0.7/1
Many Challenges 0.7/1
Multiple Stages 1/1
Difficulty Modifiers 1/1
Bestiary / Lore 1/1
Achievements 1/1
Secrets 0.5/1
Retro / Pixel Art 0/1
Damage Numbers 0/1
Lofi Charm 0/1
Bumpin Music 0.5/1
Fun Writing 0.6/1
Subtle Humor 0.3/1
Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 1/1
Over the Top 1/1
"One More Run" / Short Runs 0.8/1
Difficulty Ramp 1/1
Fun Ramp 0.7/1
Low Price 1/1
Technical Check 1/1
Controls Check 1/1
Fun Check 0.8/1
Feels like VS 0.5/1

Nordic Ashes Review Scale Heatmap

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

8.5 Final Review
85% Positive Steam Reviews
2527 Steam Reviews
- Pure Vibes
- Review Scale
-/400 Review Points
Not Buggy -/1
Not Janky -/1
Good UI -/1
Controller and Deck -/1
Lots of Content -/1
Good Theme -/1
Good Graphics and Sound -/1
Fun Feel -/1
Unique Twists -/1
Vibe Check -/1

Nordic Ashes Tag Cloud

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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 HeavenContent RichHack and SlashHorde SurvivalRogueliteSurvivors-likeWave Survival

Aesthetic Tags

Unknown

Setting / Story Tags

Unknown

Control Styles

Controller

Game Mode Tags

Unknown20m

Features and Extras

Steam AchievementsSteam CloudSteam LeaderboardsSteam Trading Cards

Dev/Publisher

Noxfall Studios

Game Features

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Listing various features we've got info on.

Multiplayer

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

Steam Features

  • Steam Cloud: Yes
  • Steam Achievements: 153
  • Steam Leaderboards: Yes
  • Steam Workshop: No
  • Steam Trading Cards: Yes

Extras, Etc.

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

Marketing Blurb

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

"Nordic Ashes: Survivors of Ragnarok, is a challenging Norse inspired Roguelite enemy hell game, where you'll have to survive hordes of creatures that come your way. Fight all sorts of beasts, from basic creatures to Elite monsters and Epic bosses with their own behaviour. Don’t be fooled, even minions can be dangerous! Unlock new weapons and abilities as you battle. Upgrade your characters’ stats with Constellation Ability Trees and slay your enemies before they surround you, or it may be too late…"

Run Times & Speedups

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Average Run Time: 20m

Run Time Notes

?

Speed Settings

?

[edit]

Atomicrops

DLC Released

Note: Review scores based on fan submitted review card by peA_sh0ter on Discord. Once the game is scaled for similarity as well, it will be reviewed and then moved up. Some review notes edited for space and clarity. I was interested in learning more about this twin stick shooter farming sim roguelite, so I sought out a very experienced player to help us out. PeA_sh0ter: "Atomicrops is like nothing else on the market. It is nothing like stardew valley or most other roguelikes, focusing on wacky art, interesting mechanics, and overall astonishing out of the box game design, anyone can easily pick up the controller, only to wake up three days later with 500 7000$ cats having been grinded in pure irradiated fever!"

Content Rich Farming Isometric or Top Down Roguelite Twin Stick Shooter
- Combined Ranking Score
-/72 Ranking Position
-/1600 Total Points
8.9 Final Review
93% Steam
7.5 Scale
10.0 Vibes
4587 Steam Reviews
-/400 Review Points
- Similarity Score
- Diagnosis:
Similar
-/1200 Comparison Points
- Genre -/8 genre
- Simple Controls -/7 move
- Survival Modes -/4 modes
- Power Progression -/4 level
- Buildcrafting Depth -/5 build
- Stage Features -/7 stage
- Content Breadth -/9 stuff
- Aesthetics -/6 style
- Gameplay Vibe Check -/10 vibe vibe

Atomicrops Ranking Notes

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Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 4 (xoxomonstergirl) 4500ish (peA_sh0ter)

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 ?

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

PeA_sh0ter: "Imagine you are peacefully farming... and throw all that garbage out the window. No dew or stars can be found here, only blood, bullets, and blooms! This top down shooter will allow you to rain botanical hell (and hoes!) on all sorts of foes, all while keeping track of time to get back to the farm before those pesky snails show up at night! Keep the cashews flowing, or else your blood will be. Grow crops in the extreme radioactive environment via super genetic engineering. Listen to them hoot and holler, and then harvest to prepare the land for the next wave of seeds. Fight wacky, mutated foes, and mash em into fertilizer before you get flown back to town!"

"This game is very much multitasking+planning oriented. You must manage your time while out beating camps to get items, while also planning out your build, and then heading back in time to fight off waves of foes coming in to eat your crops or take you down, all while frantically farming! Crops are of the utmost importance, giving you money to buy weapons, seeds, tools, etc."

"Your farm is in the middle of four biomes: desert, tundra, plains, and jungle. Each of these has some special enemies that inhabit them, with desert and plains being easier. Each biome will have a extra hard tier that is best visited later, once you have some good firepower. Camps in these biomes can hold seeds, farm animals that help with farming, gameplay altering items, and all sorts of special goodies."

"I don't want to spoil it like a rotting tomato, but the exploration part of the game is just as fun as the farming! Speaking of farming, did the sun just go down?!?? Seeing as the day was only two and a half minutes, it makes logical sense, but no time for sense or logic! Better book it to the farm, as waves of monsters will start invading, each wave about 30 seconds long."

"During night, this is the best time to harvest crops and plant new ones, all while dodging bombs and bullets. Keep the snails off your plants! Once dawn comes, all foes will vanish, including any bosses you failed to beat, along with their rewards."

"Then comes the town. Here you can buy guns to get stats and customize your build, flirt with townsfolk for items and eventually marry them, and host festivals! In order to flirt, you need roses. Roses are a special crop found in any biome, and are basically a direct currency to items. They are contrasts to heart beets, the way you heal in this game."

"Harvesting a heart beat will heal you, and partly increase your health. If you fertilize four heart beets, they will make one big one that is far better at healing and expanding you health. Fertilizing crops is actually where a big part of strategy comes in this game, as a fertilized crop is worth far more than an unfertilized one, and merged crops are worth much more, and can even by max fertilized too! All fertilizer is gained from killing foes, which is part of why exploring during the day is important."

"Each third night, a boss will appear, and they can have all sorts of patterns! Killing them will reward you, but should dawn come they will escape. Will you survive to winter to fight the final boss? You can always throw a festival after you beat a boss! These are special times when all sorts of deals, bets, and trades can be made, and the more food you made, the more rewards."

"Atomicrops is a real work of gritty, gross, and hilarious art that is sure to have you clenching your teeth, chewing your veggies, and blasting your foes to the moon! My only gripe with the game is this: there is not enough! The developers have dropped the game, and while the main dev wishes to keep on working on the game, he does not have the funding to make any more."

"The game can be played in one sitting, or in three minutes at a time. The art is special and I have only seen such a style in this game. Gameplay is far different from your generic shoot shoot shoot roguelike, as it makes you think and plan all while farming and adrenaline pumping!

"GO PLAY THE GAMMMMMMME! It gives old school difficulty with a very interesting twist a life of its own. Whether you are looking for fun, difficulty, or grinding, you will love this game from the get go, and it will grow on you, like a radioactive brain tumor in the best possible way!"

Atomicrops Review Scale Heatmap

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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.

8.9 Final Review
93% Positive Steam Reviews
4587 Steam Reviews
10.0 Pure Vibes
7.5 Review Scale
-/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 1/1
Not Janky 0.9/1
Good UI 1/1
Controller and Deck 0/1
Lots of Content -0.1/1
Good Theme 1/1
Good Graphics and Sound 1/1
Fun Feel 0.7/1
Unique Twists 1/1
Vibe Check 1/1

Metacritic Scores

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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

7.8 Converted 10 Point Score
9 Number of Critic Reviews

User

7.5 User Review Average
17 Number of User Reviews

Average

7.7 Direct Average
7.6 "Fuck The Man" Combined Mean

Atomicrops 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 PCDLCReleased

Sorting Categories

Similar

Genre and Control Style Tags

Content RichFarmingIsometric or Top DownRogueliteTwin Stick Shooter

Aesthetic Tags

Unknown

Setting / Story Tags

Unknown

Control Styles

Controller

Game Mode Tags

Unknown25m

Features and Extras

Dev/Publisher

Unknown

Game Features

- +

Listing various features we've got info on.

Multiplayer

  • Local: ?
  • Online: ?
  • Player Count: ?
  • Leaderboards: ?

Steam Features

  • Steam Cloud: ?
  • Steam Achievements: ?
  • Steam Leaderboards: ?
  • Steam Workshop: ?
  • Steam Trading Cards: ?

Extras, Etc.

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

Marketing Blurb

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

An action-packed roguelite where you must cultivate and defend the last farm in the post-apocalypse wasteland. Farm mutated crops, marry townsfolk, and kill every mutant creature that tries to invade! This ain't no ordinary farming simulator.

PeA_sh0ter notes an active modding community: "I REALLY wish there was more content, as the game can sometimes get stale, but that is the only problem I can see in this game. Plus, I and my friends are making mods for the game so more content shall slowly seep into this somewhat forgotten field of treasure." Modding discord link.

Note: That's a person with over 4000 hours in the game saying it sometimes gets stale.

Control Style Notes

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Controller style is fairly typical twin stick shooter, with a few buttons to manipulate your surroundings.

Keyboard: "Movement+mouse usage, you move with arrow keys and aim/fire with right mouse. Farming is done with left mouse button which tills soil, plants seeds, and harvest is via scroll wheel. Scrolls and tractors can be activated via extra keys, starting at F and 1 respectively. All other interactions are done via F."

Supported Controls

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

Run Times & Speedups

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Average Run Time: 25m

Run Time Notes

"Usually 20-30 minutes, can vary, usually shorter"

Speed Settings

?