Twin Stick Shooter - Survivors-likes List

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welcome to v0.001 of the website!! ty for bearing with us while we optimize the survivors-likes wiki! the main page loads the entire database for pinned browsing atm, so this will take a long time. You can scroll while it loads. try a search/filter query or click a taxonomy tag to see a smaller slice. Survivors-likes List Menu Search Edit 900+ games! Comparing bullet heavens, arena shooters, waves, hordes and more! Research data entered by hand ♡	Taxonomy Archive << Tag: Twin Stick Shooter ~ 60 found Game and Release Info Search and Filter Results 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] 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. Dev? Experienced player? Help us rank this game! [Submit Feature Survey] [Submit Review]	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 Review Disclaimer Every game ranked was played, but also scaled based on research, talking to developers & your feedback. The priority with the scale's initial design was to compare similarity on relatively objective features - so it doesn't claim to include reviews of the depth and clarity you'd get at a games journalism site, nor the intensive time played you might get from player reviews on steam. We try to incorporate and link all of that along with a 'review scale' that checks for bugs. See the heatmap and breakdown! Time played noted so you can take any notes with a big grain of salt! I can't get to high level gameplay in 850+ games so I heavily research every game. Over 80 game creators let me interview or survey them! I Hope to go back and refine. Please argue or submit your own scores and reviews to be incorporated with credit into the notes and score numbers. Added or last checked on 11/23/2023 An 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. There 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. I 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 Halls of Torment Tag Cloud - + More sortable taxonomies and categories associated with the game (genre tags are available in the main game table line!) We've just started adding tags to enable more sorting options, this section will get more filled out as we go! Release Tags LinuxSteam DeckWindows PCEAFree Available Sorting Categories SimilarRanked Genre and Control Style Tags Auto-ShooterBullet HeavenContent RichDungeon CrawlerEnemy HellHack and SlashHorde SurvivalMowing GameRogueliteSingle Stick ShooterSurvivors-likeTop Down or IsometricTwin Stick ShooterWave ShooterWave Survival Aesthetic Tags Pre-rendered SpritesRetroSerious Setting / Story Tags DungeonsFantasyHorrorHorror ThemedUndead Control Styles Auto-AimAuto-FireControllerController 1 HandedController Move OnlyKeyboard 1 HandedKeyboard OnlyMouse Only Game Mode Tags Boss EndedCurrency MetaprogressionDifficulty ModesEndless ModeEnemy Trap EventsHub ZoneInventory ManagementNo TutorialTimed SurvivalUnlockable CharactersWave Survival30m Features and Extras SoundtrackSteam AchievementsSteam Cloud Dev/Publisher Chasing Carrots Release Info & Community Links - + Direct Permalink: survivorslikes.com/videogame/halls-of-torment Contextual Table Link: survivorslikes.com/#halls-of-torment Google Sheet Edit Link: edit.survivorslikes.com row 6 Steam Link: steampowered.com/app/2218750/halls_of_torment Steam Price: 4.99 (USD) Release Date: Early Access 5/24/2023 Developer: Chasing Carrots Publisher: Chasing Carrots Fully Released? No Recent Updates? Yes Steam Compatibility Windows: Yes Mac: No Linux: Yes Steam Deck: Verified Other Platforms None Community & Social Links Forum Discord Subreddit Wiki Homepage Twitter Instagram YouTube Tag TikTok Tag Twitch Tag 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?" More info and fan reviews on steam 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! Dev? Experienced player? Help us rank this game! [Submit Feature Survey] [Submit Review]	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 Review Disclaimer Every game ranked was played, but also scaled based on research, talking to developers & your feedback. The priority with the scale's initial design was to compare similarity on relatively objective features - so it doesn't claim to include reviews of the depth and clarity you'd get at a games journalism site, nor the intensive time played you might get from player reviews on steam. We try to incorporate and link all of that along with a 'review scale' that checks for bugs. See the heatmap and breakdown! Time played noted so you can take any notes with a big grain of salt! I can't get to high level gameplay in 850+ games so I heavily research every game. Over 80 game creators let me interview or survey them! I Hope to go back and refine. Please argue or submit your own scores and reviews to be incorporated with credit into the notes and score numbers. Added or last checked on 11/21/2023 You 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. Full 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." "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 SimilarRanked 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 Release Info & Community Links - + Direct Permalink: survivorslikes.com/videogame/holocure-save-the-fans Contextual Table Link: survivorslikes.com/#holocure-save-the-fans Google Sheet Edit Link: edit.survivorslikes.com row 7 Steam Link: steampowered.com/app/2420510/holocure__save_the_fans Steam Price: 0 (USD) Release Date: Original Release 06/23/2022 Steam 08/16/2023 / 08/17/2023 (Indonesia Independence Day) Developer: KayAnimate Publisher: KayAnimate Fully Released? Yes Recent Updates? Yes Steam Compatibility Windows: Yes Mac: No Linux: No Steam Deck: Yes Other Platforms itch.io Community & Social Links Forum Discord Subreddit Wiki itch.io Homepage Twitter YouTube TikTok Tag Twitch Tag 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." More info and fan reviews on steam 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] Rogue: Genesia EA Free Available For me personally this is a game that very much scratches the VS itch, but has its own twist on the graphics, gameplay modes, and tons of interesting challenges. Ramps up a little slower. Does have manual dodge / special moves, but can get closer to one handed play either with the mouse or by turning on auto-aim. Dev? Experienced player? Help us rank this game! [Submit Feature Survey] [Submit Review]	Auto-Shooter Bullet Heaven Enemy Hell Horde Survival Mowing Game Roguelite Survivors-like Top Down or Isometric Twin Stick Shooter	8.9 Combined Ranking Score 4/72 Ranking Position 1493/1600 Total Points	9.3 Final Review 93% Steam 9.6 Scale 9.0 Vibes 4480 Steam Reviews 379/400 Review Points	8.6 Similarity Score 93% Diagnosis: Similar 1114/1200 Comparison Points	99% Genre 7.8/8 genre	70% Simple Controls 2.8/7 move	98% Survival Modes 3.8/4 modes	100% Power Progression 4/4 level	100% Buildcrafting Depth 5/5 build	87% Stage Features 5.2/7 stage	97% Content Breadth 8.5/9 stuff	91% Aesthetics 4.9/6 style	95% Gameplay Vibe Check 8.9/10 vibe vibe
Rogue: Genesia Ranking Notes - + Scaling and Review Notes Personal Hours Played: 19.7 Review Disclaimer Every game ranked was played, but also scaled based on research, talking to developers & your feedback. The priority with the scale's initial design was to compare similarity on relatively objective features - so it doesn't claim to include reviews of the depth and clarity you'd get at a games journalism site, nor the intensive time played you might get from player reviews on steam. We try to incorporate and link all of that along with a 'review scale' that checks for bugs. See the heatmap and breakdown! Time played noted so you can take any notes with a big grain of salt! I can't get to high level gameplay in 850+ games so I heavily research every game. Over 80 game creators let me interview or survey them! I Hope to go back and refine. Please argue or submit your own scores and reviews to be incorporated with credit into the notes and score numbers. Added or last checked on 10/16/2023 This one was put in pretty early so the review will be fleshed out a bit later. Options to play one handed with a mouse or to turn on auto-aim can make this feel more like VS. Contains an Endless Mode, but also "Rog's Mode" which has a map with multiple choices like some other Rogue-likes, with special challenges, bosses and bonuses along the way. A large amount of content, can be a little slow to get going but breaks your computer with overwhelmed screen eventually, like any good VS-like should! There's no limit to amount of items/upgrades you can get, so that's pretty fun. Is a little different in that targeting matters, there is a dodge and some other abilities. One class manually fires. Cool art style with the charm of pixel art and hd 2.5d kind of like Octopath Traveler / Live A Live remaster. I'll be honest, could bump up in my pure vibes rating a fair amount by offering some more gal characters (the Duelist is a femme but I didn't realize until the dev poked me.) You might recognize this one as the game that donated us some high res assets to use as the sub background! Great responsive dev. Rogue: Genesia Similarity Scale Heatmap - + Measured in 60 categories via likert-scale style options -1 to 1 in tenths, how does this game compare to Vampire Survivors. This allows 1200 total "points". It's easier to have a point of comparison and we just picked Vampire Survivors since it's the most popular and commonly referenced game in the subgenre. For detailed methodology read the explainer. For in depth examples at score value, see the scoring guide and for term definitions see the key. 8.6 Similarity Score 93% Diagnosis: 1114/1200 Comparison Points Rogue-lite 1/1 Auto-Fire / Auto-Battle 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) 0.2/1 Move Only 0.2/1 No Dash 0/1 No Trigger 0.9/1 No Special Move 0/1 No Aiming 0.5/1 No On-Aim / On-Fire Movement Penalty 1/1 Timed / Boss Ended Survival 1/1 Endless Mode 0.8/1 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 0/1 XP on Ground 1/1 Health on Ground 1/1 Temp Powerups / Items on Ground 1/1 Treasure Chests and/or Loot Events 1/1 Vendor / Merchant on Run 1/1 Enemy Variety 0.7/1 Bosses / Elites 1/1 Many Interesting Characters 0.8/1 Many Challenges 1/1 Multiple Stages 1/1 Difficulty Modifiers 1/1 Bestiary / Lore 1/1 Achievements 1/1 Secrets 1/1 Retro / Pixel Art 1/1 Damage Numbers 1/1 Lofi Charm 1/1 Bumpin Music 0.7/1 Fun Writing 0.7/1 Subtle Humor 0.5/1 Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 1/1 Over the Top 1/1 "One More Run" / Short Runs 1/1 Difficulty Ramp 1/1 Fun Ramp 0.8/1 Low Price 0.7/1 Technical Check 0.9/1 Controls Check 1/1 Fun Check 1/1 Feels like VS 1/1 Rogue: Genesia 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 93% Positive Steam Reviews 4480 Steam Reviews 9.0 Pure Vibes 9.6 Review Scale 379/400 Review Points Not Buggy 0.9/1 Not Janky 1/1 Good UI 1/1 Controller and Deck 1/1 Lots of Content 1/1 Good Theme 0.9/1 Good Graphics and Sound 1/1 Fun Feel 1/1 Unique Twists 0.8/1 Vibe Check 1/1 Rogue: Genesia Tag Cloud - + More sortable taxonomies and categories associated with the game (genre tags are available in the main game table line!) We've just started adding tags to enable more sorting options, this section will get more filled out as we go! Release Tags LinuxSteam DeckWindows PCEAFree Available Sorting Categories SimilarRanked Genre and Control Style Tags Auto-ShooterBullet HeavenEnemy HellHorde SurvivalMowing GameRogueliteSurvivors-likeTop Down or IsometricTwin Stick Shooter Aesthetic Tags HD-2DPixel Art Setting / Story Tags Fantasy Control Styles Auto-AimAuto-FireControllerController 1 HandedMouse Only Game Mode Tags Branching PathsCampaignCurrency MetaprogressionDifficulty ModesDifficulty ModifiersEndless ModeGoal Based RoundsNo TutorialRoulette ProgressionSpeed UpTimed SurvivalUnlockable CharactersWave Survival30m Features and Extras Steam AchievementsSteam CloudSteam LeaderboardsSteam Workshop Dev/Publisher Huard OuadiiolaCorp Studio Release Info & Community Links - + Direct Permalink: survivorslikes.com/videogame/rogue-genesia Contextual Table Link: survivorslikes.com/#rogue-genesia Google Sheet Edit Link: edit.survivorslikes.com row 8 Steam Link: steampowered.com/app/2067920/rogue_genesia Steam Price: 8.99 (USD) Release Date: Early Access 09/19/2022 Developer: Huard Ouadi Publisher: iolaCorp Studio Fully Released? No Recent Updates? Yes Steam Compatibility Windows: Yes Mac: No Linux: Yes Steam Deck: Yes Other Platforms None Community & Social Links Discord Subreddit Wiki 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: 35 Steam Leaderboards: Yes Steam Workshop: Yes Steam Trading Cards: No Extras, Etc. NSFW: No Demo Available: Yes DLC Available: Yes Soundtrack Available: No Marketing Blurb - + Some description of the game and its features from the creators. "Walk upon a new world and slay foes endangering it. Rogue: Genesia is an action rogue-lite game, where you fight relentless hordes consisting of hundreds and thousands of monsters, carve your path through their ranks, defeat the boss and save one of the many worlds." "Make your build from more than 170+ passive upgrades, 56 weapons. 52 + Powerful Artifacts to discover." More info and fan reviews on steam Control Style Notes - + Twin stick shooter with dodge, auto fire and optional auto aim. It's a little different in that targeting matters, there is a dodge and some other abilities. Options to play one handed with a mouse or to turn on auto-aim can make this feel more like VS. Automated Features Auto Fire Auto Aim Optional Auto Aim, always auto fire. Pressing stick in direction takes over until stick is let up Supported Controls Controller: Full Controller Move Only: No Controller One Handed: Yes Mouse Only: Yes Keyboard Only: ? Keyboard One Handed: ? Game Modes - + Rog's Mode (Campaign, Timed Survival, Goal Based Rounds, Branching Paths) Survivor Mode (Goal at Certain Time, Continues to Endless) Difficulty Modifiers (Many Challenges) Difficulty Modes (Corruption Slider) Game Mode Notes Rog's Mode consists of branching paths, with a series of rounds with objectives such as timed survival, killing an amount of enemies or an elite or boss, etc. The game has many specific challenges for both modes, a "corruption" difficulty slider for any run, and 2 profile modes for your account (normal and hero, the later of which only counts your best runs for the purpose of buying stuff from the soul shop) Run Times & Speedups - + Average Run Time: 30m Run Time Notes Rog's Mode is essentially a set of branching paths, with each node taking 30 seconds to 1 minute 30 seconds, depending on win condition. Later campaigns have more nodes and take longer. The "survivor" mode is technical endless. The "win" conditions are F rank: 15 minutes, E rank: 30 min, D rank: 45 min, C rank: 40min. Dev: "Once you reach this duration, the timer gets crazy (speeds up and continues to speed-up overtime) this is what we call "red timer". After enemies start spawning with infinite health, you reach what is called "infinity" (this is usually 1 to 3 hours IRL) and the run ends." Speed Settings A player ability can slow down the action. Corruption and challenges can speed up enemies, but there's no menu option to speed up play. "Quick Mode" shortens Rog's Mode run time by having less stages and more enemies, but doesn't change clock time / play speed.
	[edit] Elemental Survivors EA Free Available A "party based" jrpg styled survivors-like with togglable auto-aim. Some have noted this is a more chill survivors-like in Steam reviews, and it does seem less horror themed at least. My concern is it might be too easy at the start and I'm rarely forced to make a wacky useless build. I don't prefer an easy early game in this genre, but some on steam specifically say they like it because it's "more forgiving". If you find VS a little too stressful, this might be a great pick for you. Looking forward to checking back in on it during EA. Meta notes via dev! Dev? Experienced player? Help us rank this game! [Submit Feature Survey] [Submit Review]	Bullet Heaven Enemy Hell Hack and Slash Horde Survival JRPG Mowing Game Party Based Roguelite Single Stick Shooter Survivors-like Top Down or Isometric Twin Stick Shooter Wave Survival	8.7 Combined Ranking Score 8/72 Ranking Position 1484/1600 Total Points	8.6 Final Review 89% Steam 9.1 Scale 7.7 Vibes 53 Steam Reviews 357/400 Review Points	8.8 Similarity Score 94% Diagnosis: Similar 1127/1200 Comparison Points	99% Genre 7.9/8 genre	95% Simple Controls 6.3/7 move	84% Survival Modes 2.7/4 modes	100% Power Progression 4/4 level	86% Buildcrafting Depth 3.6/5 build	96% Stage Features 6.5/7 stage	88% Content Breadth 6.9/9 stuff	95% Aesthetics 5.4/6 style	96% Gameplay Vibe Check 9.2/10 vibe vibe
Elemental Survivors Ranking Notes - + Scaling and Review Notes Personal Hours Played: 2.6 Review Disclaimer Every game ranked was played, but also scaled based on research, talking to developers & your feedback. The priority with the scale's initial design was to compare similarity on relatively objective features - so it doesn't claim to include reviews of the depth and clarity you'd get at a games journalism site, nor the intensive time played you might get from player reviews on steam. We try to incorporate and link all of that along with a 'review scale' that checks for bugs. See the heatmap and breakdown! Time played noted so you can take any notes with a big grain of salt! I can't get to high level gameplay in 850+ games so I heavily research every game. Over 80 game creators let me interview or survey them! I Hope to go back and refine. Please argue or submit your own scores and reviews to be incorporated with credit into the notes and score numbers. Added or last checked on 11/5/2023 This is a survivors-like with a very cute SNES era RPG inspired vibe, complete with Nintendo Power themed menu and 4:3 ratio gameplay area. It's both more contemporary and more simplified in art style, but that's not a nitpick just an observation from a huge fan of the genre. It's overall very fun. It's a nice find, very familiar to VS in the relaxing ways and just a little different thematically, enough that it feels new and worth exploring. In fact the little world map style exploring is a fun part of it, though minimalistic. Technically waves are announced in a scrolling box on the right sidebar but it's easy to not notice and still feels organic. The visual theme fits since it's little twist is you hire a "party" not just picking weapons or abilities. It's got aim enabled by default but can be turned off in the menu quickly, so we're giving it high partial points in movement only. Some characters have "on stop moving" abilities hence a tenth off in "no on attack movement penalty." I have mixed feelings about "stats", sometimes preferring the more arcade style games, but I know many Brotato and RPG fans will appreciate more overt numbers on the screen. I think I do agree with the steam reviewer who prefers to not have borders on the screen, this also causes burn in on my OLED not just less immersion. I like a lot about the music but also it could relax just a little bit. I wish there were more lofi/relaxed options on start anyway. You can switch it at any time and for a bit I didn't realize I had it on shuffle, which was frustrating, using the trigger locks it to the track it's on. But I do have a concern it may be too easy. Or at least too tilted towards the player in a way that makes the ramp odd. My first run in I got all the way until the end of run boss without much effort,then got stomped. I would have rather had a series of shorter runs feeling like I earned it and then a chance at winning with more upgrades. Also, it tells me to pick STR abilities for a STR character, then hands me all and only level ups with the ones I pick. There's no way to make a badly optimized build or be forced to deal with a "bad draw". I imagine that comes later outside of my limited first look, but usually I encounter some of it quickly (that difficulty dropping down quick that rogue-inspired games are known for.) That challenge of high risk high reward is what draws me and makes me want to learn the new system. My hope is that I'll find more if it when I check back in on this early access title. The data for this one is based on a dev submitted scorecard, my personal review and another review submitted by Silver721 earlier. Here's Silver's review note: "Elemental Survivors wear's Vampire Survivors' inspiration on its sleeve, but distinguishes itself by incorporating Dungeons & Dragons and RPG elements to it. It features a party of characters with one main character, and each character has an array of stats like you would see in D&D. These stats influence which weapons are stronger with certain characters and allow for a wide variety of builds." Elemental Survivors Similarity Scale Heatmap - + Measured in 60 categories via likert-scale style options -1 to 1 in tenths, how does this game compare to Vampire Survivors. This allows 1200 total "points". It's easier to have a point of comparison and we just picked Vampire Survivors since it's the most popular and commonly referenced game in the subgenre. For detailed methodology read the explainer. For in depth examples at score value, see the scoring guide and for term definitions see the key. 8.8 Similarity Score 94% Diagnosis: 1127/1200 Comparison Points Rogue-lite 1/1 Auto-Fire / Auto-Battle 1/1 Real Time 1/1 Top Down or Isometric 1/1 Direct Control of Single Avatar 1/1 Arcade Style 1/1 Bullet Heaven A (Many Player Bullets) 1/1 Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) 0.9/1 One Handed Play (w Controller) 0.8/1 Move Only 0.8/1 No Dash 1/1 No Trigger 1/1 No Special Move 1/1 No Aiming 0.8/1 No On-Aim / On-Fire Movement Penalty 0.9/1 Timed / Boss Ended Survival 1/1 Endless Mode 0/1 Organic / Unannounced Waves 0.7/1 High Enemy Count (Horde) 1/1 Level Up on XP Gain Event 1/1 Streamlined Level Choices (Simple UI) 1/1 Currency Based Meta Unlocks 1/1 Goal Based Meta Unlocks 1/1 Build Crafting 0.8/1 0.8/1 Weapon Combination / "Evolution" 0.8/1 Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 0.5/1 Broken / Invincible Builds Possible 0.7/1 Explorable Map 0.8/1 BIG Maps 0.7/1 XP on Ground 1/1 Health on Ground 1/1 Temp Powerups / Items on Ground 1/1 Treasure Chests and/or Loot Events 1/1 Vendor / Merchant on Run 1/1 Enemy Variety 0.8/1 Bosses / Elites 1/1 Many Interesting Characters 1/1 Many Challenges 1/1 Multiple Stages 0.9/1 Difficulty Modifiers 1/1 Bestiary / Lore 0/1 Achievements 1/1 Secrets 0.2/1 Retro / Pixel Art 1/1 Damage Numbers 1/1 Lofi Charm 0.8/1 Bumpin Music 1/1 Fun Writing 0.8/1 Subtle Humor 0.8/1 Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 1/1 Over the Top 0.8/1 "One More Run" / Short Runs 1/1 Difficulty Ramp 0.8/1 Fun Ramp 0.8/1 Low Price 1/1 Technical Check 1/1 Controls Check 1/1 Fun Check 1/1 Feels like VS 1/1 Elemental Survivors Review Scale Heatmap - + The review scale is judged from -1 to 1 in 10 categories, with 200 possible "points" earned. Steam review positive percentage is worth another 100 points, and a "ten point" pure vibe review number adds extra subjectivity. Converted into points, that's 400 points total. The points aren't used directly in the ranking, though, which averages the three number scores for the final review score listed in the game line above. 8.6 Final Review 89% Positive Steam Reviews 53 Steam Reviews 7.7 Pure Vibes 9.1 Review Scale 357/400 Review Points Not Buggy 1/1 Not Janky 0.9/1 Good UI 0.9/1 Controller and Deck 1/1 Lots of Content 1/1 Good Theme 0.9/1 Good Graphics and Sound 0.9/1 Fun Feel 0.8/1 Unique Twists 0.7/1 Vibe Check 1/1 Elemental Survivors Tag Cloud - + More sortable taxonomies and categories associated with the game (genre tags are available in the main game table line!) We've just started adding tags to enable more sorting options, this section will get more filled out as we go! Release Tags Steam DeckWindows PCEAFree Available Sorting Categories SimilarRanked Genre and Control Style Tags Bullet HeavenEnemy HellHack and SlashHorde SurvivalJRPGMowing GameParty BasedRogueliteSingle Stick ShooterSurvivors-likeTop Down or IsometricTwin Stick ShooterWave Survival Aesthetic Tags 2DCuteJRPGPixel ArtRetro Setting / Story Tags Fantasy Control Styles Auto-AimControllerController 1 HandedController Move Only Game Mode Tags Goal Based RoundsNo TutorialTimed SurvivalWave Survival20m Features and Extras Steam AchievementsSteam Cloud Dev/Publisher Samobee Games Release Info & Community Links - + Direct Permalink: survivorslikes.com/videogame/elemental-survivors Contextual Table Link: survivorslikes.com/#elemental-survivors Google Sheet Edit Link: edit.survivorslikes.com row 12 Steam Link: steampowered.com/app/2180000/elemental_survivors Steam Price: 4.99 (USD) Release Date: Early Access 8/25/2023 Developer: Samobee Games Publisher: Samobee Games Fully Released? No Recent Updates? Yes Steam Compatibility Windows: Yes Mac: No Linux: No Steam Deck: Yes Other Platforms None Community & Social Links Discord Game Features - + Listing various features we've got info on. Multiplayer Local: No Online: No Player Count: 1 Leaderboards: Yes Steam Features Steam Cloud: Yes Steam Achievements: 94 Steam Leaderboards: No Steam Workshop: No Steam Trading Cards: No Extras, Etc. NSFW: No Demo Available: Yes DLC Available: No Soundtrack Available: No Marketing Blurb - + Some description of the game and its features from the creators. "Grind, die, upgrade, repeat in this auto-attacking roguelite/RPG! Transform into an enemy-blender with your fave attacks made devastating with equipment, party members, and elemental evolutions. Survive to earn gems to unlock areas, permanent upgrades, characters, and god-like summons." "A wide variety of attacks to level as you destroy your enemies. Varied randomly-generated areas to explore and unlock. Upgradeable equipment to aid you or powerup your attacks. Party members who increase your stats or skills, and who have their own specific attacks to make your party a powerhouse! More info and fan reviews on steam Control Style Notes - + Mostly movement focused, it's has manual aim enabled by default but can be toggled in the menu. Automated Features Auto Aim Toggle in menu, defaults to off. Supported Controls Controller: Yes Controller Move Only: Yes Controller One Handed: Yes Mouse Only: ? Keyboard Only: ? Keyboard One Handed: ? Game Modes - + Quest Mode (Goal Based Mamp) Journey Mode (Timed Survival) Game Mode Notes Quest Mode: "Enter a specific unlocked area and defeat bosses to complete quests and earn gems. Defeat the area boss to complete the area." Journey Mode: "Drops you into escalating areas for 1 minute chunks until final boss at minute 20. There are leaderboards for this mode (both overall and per character)" Run Times & Speedups - + Average Run Time: 20m Run Time Notes "Area boss spawns at 20 minute mark and gameplay ends when the player is defeated or defeats the area boss." "Journey mode is played in escalating difficulty chunks of 1 minute each." Speed Settings None
	[edit] Spellbook Demonslayers EA The vibe of this one is great, from the complex system of interactions to the metal soundtrack. Has a dodge button, though, and aiming, which is useful early on but a quick toggle allows you to switch to automatic. It's a smaller arena based shooter, I think my biggest simple desire for it would be more exploration aspects and some characters/ skins to mix it up. Dev? Experienced player? Help us rank this game! [Submit Feature Survey] [Submit Review]	Arena Shooter Auto-Shooter Bullet Heaven Enemy Hell Female Protagonist Horde Survival LGBTQ Mowing Game Roguelite Survivors-like Top Down or Isometric Twin Stick Shooter Wave Survival	8.5 Combined Ranking Score 12/72 Ranking Position 1460/1600 Total Points	8.7 Final Review 84% Steam 9.2 Scale 8.4 Vibes 1014 Steam Reviews 360/400 Review Points	8.3 Similarity Score 92% Diagnosis: Similar 1100/1200 Comparison Points	99% Genre 7.8/8 genre	83% Simple Controls 4.6/7 move	99% Survival Modes 3.9/4 modes	100% Power Progression 4/4 level	98% Buildcrafting Depth 4.8/5 build	71% Stage Features 2.9/7 stage	84% Content Breadth 6.1/9 stuff	100% Aesthetics 6/6 style	100% Gameplay Vibe Check 9.9/10 vibe vibe
Spellbook Demonslayers Ranking Notes - + Scaling and Review Notes Personal Hours Played: 6.8 Review Disclaimer Every game ranked was played, but also scaled based on research, talking to developers & your feedback. The priority with the scale's initial design was to compare similarity on relatively objective features - so it doesn't claim to include reviews of the depth and clarity you'd get at a games journalism site, nor the intensive time played you might get from player reviews on steam. We try to incorporate and link all of that along with a 'review scale' that checks for bugs. See the heatmap and breakdown! Time played noted so you can take any notes with a big grain of salt! I can't get to high level gameplay in 850+ games so I heavily research every game. Over 80 game creators let me interview or survey them! I Hope to go back and refine. Please argue or submit your own scores and reviews to be incorporated with credit into the notes and score numbers. Added or last checked on 10/19/2023 Waves are kind of unannounced but enemy spawns do have a red X before they show up, hence the tiny ding. Funny trivia but if you turn off enemy outlines the ones currently spawned will keep them until you kill them, while the new spawns show up without them. Don't really feel like it's a bug because it's fun. Appreciate when these games give you the option to make a run endless at the end, which this one does. Adds shrines to the mix. I really love this one, but I would like to see it have more characters even if they're reskins only of the main character. I know the books are kind of characters, but both the books and the demons just feel like items to equip and my runs generally 'look' the same to me with her in the middle. I do like her a lot, don't get me wrong, but I enjoy making a new build with a different colored dot in the middle sometimes. Like maybe I can change her clothes and dye her hair or something, normal people do that. I'm not saying that has to be an actual gameplay mechanic, the hair dying. Maybe has secrets? I wasn't able to find any info. Spellbook Demonslayers 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: 1100/1200 Comparison Points Rogue-lite 1/1 Auto-Fire / Auto-Battle 0.8/1 Real Time 1/1 Top Down or Isometric 1/1 Direct Control of Single Avatar 1/1 Arcade Style 1/1 Bullet Heaven A (Many Player Bullets) 1/1 Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) 1/1 One Handed Play (w Controller) 0.8/1 Move Only 0/1 No Dash 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 0.9/1 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" 0.8/1 Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 1/1 Broken / Invincible Builds Possible 1/1 Explorable Map -0.1/1 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 0.8/1 Bosses / Elites 1/1 Many Interesting Characters 0/1 Many Challenges 1/1 Multiple Stages 0.9/1 Difficulty Modifiers 1/1 Bestiary / Lore 0.4/1 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 1/1 Fun Ramp 1/1 Low Price 1/1 Technical Check 0.9/1 Controls Check 1/1 Fun Check 1/1 Feels like VS 1/1 Spellbook Demonslayers 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 84% Positive Steam Reviews 1014 Steam Reviews 8.4 Pure Vibes 9.2 Review Scale 360/400 Review Points Not Buggy 1/1 Not Janky 0.9/1 Good UI 0.9/1 Controller and Deck 1/1 Lots of Content 0.7/1 Good Theme 1/1 Good Graphics and Sound 0.9/1 Fun Feel 1/1 Unique Twists 0.8/1 Vibe Check 1/1 Spellbook Demonslayers Tag Cloud - + More sortable taxonomies and categories associated with the game (genre tags are available in the main game table line!) We've just started adding tags to enable more sorting options, this section will get more filled out as we go! Release Tags Steam DeckWindows PCEA Sorting Categories SimilarRanked Genre and Control Style Tags Arena ShooterAuto-ShooterBullet HeavenEnemy HellFemale ProtagonistHorde SurvivalLGBTQMowing GameRogueliteSurvivors-likeTop Down or IsometricTwin Stick ShooterWave Survival Aesthetic Tags 2DCartoonLofiMetalPixel Art Setting / Story Tags DemonsFantasyMagicUnderworld Control Styles Controller Game Mode Tags Unknown13m Features and Extras SoundtrackSteam AchievementsSteam Cloud Dev/Publisher ErabitXendra Release Info & Community Links - + Direct Permalink: survivorslikes.com/videogame/spellbook-demonslayers Contextual Table Link: survivorslikes.com/#spellbook-demonslayers Google Sheet Edit Link: edit.survivorslikes.com row 16 Steam Link: steampowered.com/app/2007530/spellbook_demonslayers Steam Price: 4.99 (USD) Release Date: Early Access 11/2/2022 Developer: Xendra Publisher: Erabit Fully Released? No Recent Updates? Yes Steam Compatibility Windows: Yes Mac: No Linux: No Steam Deck: Yes Other Platforms None Community & Social Links Discord 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: 100 Steam Leaderboards: No Steam Workshop: No Steam Trading Cards: No Extras, Etc. NSFW: No Demo Available: No DLC Available: No Soundtrack Available: YouTube Marketing Blurb - + Some description of the game and its features from the creators. "Spellbook Demonslayers is a fast-paced roguelite bullet heaven game inspired by my favorite parts of Vampire Survivors and Path of Exile! Customize your playstyle with magic, charms, abilities, and demon summoning to become the most overpowered slayer the Library has ever seen! Do you have what it takes to destroy the demonic horde, or will the Cosmic Library be lost forever?" More info and fan reviews on steam Run Times & Speedups - + Average Run Time: 13m Run Time Notes ? Speed Settings ?
	[edit] Time Wasters Released A commonly suggested survivors-like made even better if you'd rather aim and dodge boost in space. With a cute vibe, anime gal characters and satisfying gameplay, this one sucked me in. I spent a ton of time with this one, only reason it's not highly recommended is enemy and map variety is lacking, despite some fun map tower defense style features. Much zippier gameplay from the start compared to some games. It's easy to jump into your next run. Dev? Experienced player? Help us rank this game! [Submit Feature Survey] [Submit Review]	Arena Shooter Auto-Shooter Bullet Heaven Enemy Hell Horde Survival Mowing Game Rogue-lite Survivors-like Top Down or Isometric Twin Stick Shooter Wave Survival	8.4 Combined Ranking Score 14/72 Ranking Position 1432/1600 Total Points	9.2 Final Review 90% Steam 9.2 Scale 9.3 Vibes 1677 Steam Reviews 375/400 Review Points	7.6 Similarity Score 88% Diagnosis: Similar 1057/1200 Comparison Points	96% Genre 7.3/8 genre	70% Simple Controls 2.8/7 move	100% Survival Modes 4/4 modes	100% Power Progression 4/4 level	77% Buildcrafting Depth 2.7/5 build	93% Stage Features 6/7 stage	76% Content Breadth 4.6/9 stuff	89% Aesthetics 4.7/6 style	97% Gameplay Vibe Check 9.4/10 vibe vibe
Time Wasters Ranking Notes - + Scaling and Review Notes Personal Hours Played: 17.1 Review Disclaimer Every game ranked was played, but also scaled based on research, talking to developers & your feedback. The priority with the scale's initial design was to compare similarity on relatively objective features - so it doesn't claim to include reviews of the depth and clarity you'd get at a games journalism site, nor the intensive time played you might get from player reviews on steam. We try to incorporate and link all of that along with a 'review scale' that checks for bugs. See the heatmap and breakdown! Time played noted so you can take any notes with a big grain of salt! I can't get to high level gameplay in 850+ games so I heavily research every game. Over 80 game creators let me interview or survey them! I Hope to go back and refine. Please argue or submit your own scores and reviews to be incorporated with credit into the notes and score numbers. Added or last checked on 10/13/2023 Nice little anime-portrayed spaceship VS-like, very similar in gameplay though it does heavily rely on Dash and aiming. Many characters, though weapons are limited to the ones those characters have and no more. No weapon combo evolutions or upgrades that synergy with weapons and little map variety brings it down a bit in replayability, but it's fairly solid overall. It really gets the 'circle round and mop up the horde' feel down really well, and all the weapons feel unique, so I may try to 100% it. It may not measure up as much as some of the others on the face of it, but it keeps pulling me back to play, almost more than any other but VS at the moment I write this (10/19/23) One of my favorites, don't let the lack of written details here dissuade you. I just played it a lot before I started writing out details in this spreadsheet for games while I play. Will probably come back with more details eventually. Time Wasters Similarity Scale Heatmap - + Measured in 60 categories via likert-scale style options -1 to 1 in tenths, how does this game compare to Vampire Survivors. This allows 1200 total "points". It's easier to have a point of comparison and we just picked Vampire Survivors since it's the most popular and commonly referenced game in the subgenre. For detailed methodology read the explainer. For in depth examples at score value, see the scoring guide and for term definitions see the key. 7.6 Similarity Score 88% Diagnosis: 1057/1200 Comparison Points Rogue-lite 1/1 Auto-Fire / Auto-Battle 0.8/1 Real Time 1/1 Top Down or Isometric 1/1 Direct Control of Single Avatar 1/1 Arcade Style 1/1 Bullet Heaven A (Many Player Bullets) 0.9/1 Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) 0.6/1 One Handed Play (w Controller) 0.6/1 Move Only 0/1 No Dash 0/1 No Trigger 1/1 No Special Move 1/1 No Aiming -0.8/1 No On-Aim / On-Fire Movement Penalty 1/1 Timed / Boss Ended Survival 1/1 Endless Mode 1/1 Organic / Unannounced Waves 1/1 High Enemy Count (Horde) 1/1 Level Up on XP Gain Event 1/1 Streamlined Level Choices (Simple UI) 1/1 Currency Based Meta Unlocks 1/1 Goal Based Meta Unlocks 1/1 Build Crafting 0.3/1 0.9/1 Weapon Combination / "Evolution" 0.5/1 Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 0/1 Broken / Invincible Builds Possible 1/1 Explorable Map 0.9/1 BIG Maps 0.1/1 XP on Ground 1/1 Health on Ground 1/1 Temp Powerups / Items on Ground 1/1 Treasure Chests and/or Loot Events 1/1 Vendor / Merchant on Run 1/1 Enemy Variety 0.2/1 Bosses / Elites 1/1 Many Interesting Characters 1/1 Many Challenges 1/1 Multiple Stages 0.2/1 Difficulty Modifiers 0.2/1 Bestiary / Lore 0/1 Achievements 1/1 Secrets 0/1 Retro / Pixel Art 0/1 Damage Numbers 1/1 Lofi Charm 0.9/1 Bumpin Music 1/1 Fun Writing 1/1 Subtle Humor 0.8/1 Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 1/1 Over the Top 0.8/1 "One More Run" / Short Runs 1/1 Difficulty Ramp 1/1 Fun Ramp 0.8/1 Low Price 1/1 Technical Check 1/1 Controls Check 1/1 Fun Check 1/1 Feels like VS 1/1 Time Wasters Review Scale Heatmap - + The review scale is judged from -1 to 1 in 10 categories, with 200 possible "points" earned. Steam review positive percentage is worth another 100 points, and a "ten point" pure vibe review number adds extra subjectivity. Converted into points, that's 400 points total. The points aren't used directly in the ranking, though, which averages the three number scores for the final review score listed in the game line above. 9.2 Final Review 90% Positive Steam Reviews 1677 Steam Reviews 9.3 Pure Vibes 9.2 Review Scale 375/400 Review Points Not Buggy 1/1 Not Janky 1/1 Good UI 1/1 Controller and Deck 1/1 Lots of Content 0.6/1 Good Theme 1/1 Good Graphics and Sound 1/1 Fun Feel 0.9/1 Unique Twists 0.7/1 Vibe Check 1/1 Metacritic Scores - + This title has metacritic data! The "fuck the man" score is adjusted so each person's review is equally weighted, regardless of critic or fan status. Critic - Converted 10 Point Score - Number of Critic Reviews User 9.0 User Review Average 1 Number of User Reviews Average 9.0 Direct Average 9.0 "Fuck The Man" Combined Mean Time Wasters Tag Cloud - + More sortable taxonomies and categories associated with the game (genre tags are available in the main game table line!) We've just started adding tags to enable more sorting options, this section will get more filled out as we go! Release Tags Steam DeckWindows PCReleased Sorting Categories SimilarRanked Genre and Control Style Tags Arena ShooterAuto-ShooterBullet HeavenEnemy HellHorde SurvivalMowing GameRogue-liteSurvivors-likeTop Down or IsometricTwin Stick ShooterWave Survival Aesthetic Tags 2DAnimeCartoonCute Setting / Story Tags Sci-fiShip (Air/Space)Space Control Styles Controller Game Mode Tags Enemy Trap Events20m Features and Extras Steam AchievementsSteam Cloud Dev/Publisher Proton Studio Release Info & Community Links - + Direct Permalink: survivorslikes.com/videogame/time-wasters Contextual Table Link: survivorslikes.com/#time-wasters Google Sheet Edit Link: edit.survivorslikes.com row 18 Steam Link: steampowered.com/app/1290330/time_wasters Steam Price: 4.99 (USD) Release Date: Early Access 3/10/2023 Full 09/25/2023 Developer: Proton Studio Publisher: Proton Studio Fully Released? Yes Recent Updates? Yes Steam Compatibility Windows: Yes Mac: No Linux: No Steam Deck: Verified Other Platforms None Community & Social Links Discord Game Features - + Listing various features we've got info on. Multiplayer Local: No Online: No Player Count: 1 Leaderboards: ? Steam Features Steam Cloud: Yes Steam Achievements: 96 Steam Leaderboards: No Steam Workshop: No Steam Trading Cards: No Extras, Etc. NSFW: No Demo Available: No DLC Available: No Soundtrack Available: No Marketing Blurb - + Some description of the game and its features from the creators. "Time Wasters is a space shooter bullet heaven roguelite. Equip and upgrade weapons, destroy swarms of enemies, and collect Time & Space Cubes to bend the timeline to your advantage." "Fast paced ship movement with boost upgrades" "Option to manually aim all weapons" "Unlock, Establish & Protect Outposts that provide bonuses" More info and fan reviews on steam Run Times & Speedups - + Average Run Time: 20m Run Time Notes ? Speed Settings ?
	[edit] Scarlet Tower EA Free Available Perhaps the most thematically and directly inspired (non-shovelware) I've played so far, especially with regards to weapons. It tries to do a lot but comes off with the impression a lot of surface level complexity (and annoying if pretty UI) covers for less actual depth / impactful feeling gameplay. Control-wise, it has toggle-able auto-aim and auto-fire and a dash, so that bumps it down a little in the ranking despite it feeling more like VS than almost any other game on the list. Pretty, but felt too derivative vibe-wise to me. Dev? Experienced player? Help us rank this game! [Submit Feature Survey] [Submit Review]	Auto-Shooter Bullet Heaven Enemy Hell Horde Survival Mowing Game Roguelite Single Stick Shooter Survivors-like Top Down or Isometric Twin Stick Shooter Wave Survival	8.2 Combined Ranking Score 18/72 Ranking Position 1463/1600 Total Points	7.5 Final Review 86% Steam 6.9 Scale 6.9 Vibes 799 Steam Reviews 324/400 Review Points	9.0 Similarity Score 95% Diagnosis: Similar 1139/1200 Comparison Points	99% Genre 7.8/8 genre	88% Simple Controls 5.3/7 move	100% Survival Modes 4/4 modes	100% Power Progression 4/4 level	95% Buildcrafting Depth 4.5/5 build	100% Stage Features 7/7 stage	93% Content Breadth 7.8/9 stuff	85% Aesthetics 4.2/6 style	92% Gameplay Vibe Check 8.4/10 vibe vibe
Scarlet Tower Ranking Notes - + Scaling and Review Notes Personal Hours Played: 4.3 Review Disclaimer Every game ranked was played, but also scaled based on research, talking to developers & your feedback. The priority with the scale's initial design was to compare similarity on relatively objective features - so it doesn't claim to include reviews of the depth and clarity you'd get at a games journalism site, nor the intensive time played you might get from player reviews on steam. We try to incorporate and link all of that along with a 'review scale' that checks for bugs. See the heatmap and breakdown! Time played noted so you can take any notes with a big grain of salt! I can't get to high level gameplay in 850+ games so I heavily research every game. Over 80 game creators let me interview or survey them! I Hope to go back and refine. Please argue or submit your own scores and reviews to be incorporated with credit into the notes and score numbers. Added or last checked on 10/20/2023 Feels like a "clone", though it has dash, toggleable auto-aim and menu option for auto-fire. Interesting day/night cycle concept. Aesthetically, from the vampire theme to the characters to the directly ripped off and similarly named weapons, the clone aspect may be hard to get past. Gameplay feels crafted but progression feels slow as I'm several hours in, pretty good at these games now, and still only have the first map. Looks like it has more depth than it feels it has in play. Lots of systems but I am for some reason more confused than interested in them, maybe just because of how they are spread out through different menus for unlocks. I think there are four separate tabs for currency based unlocks, and each character has their own set of moves? It's a lot of flipping back and forth to try and figure out synergy. I have other UI quibbles, like it looks better but importantly it's annoying to get into a run by having to go use the joystick to click down to the map and then another step etc. Finally, the characters are more fully rendered but somehow also feel more generic. It's not actually bad. If it was the only game on the market I'd 100% it. As it is, if I want more vampire survivors to the extent I want the same game visually remastered but playwise toned down, I have better options. That sounds a little harsh re-reading it, but I'm probably going to have to learn to be harsh to get through trying 600 of these. Edit 12/21/2023: New features including Endless Mode and Bestiary bumping it significantly up the similarity scale and overall ranking. Scarlet Tower Similarity Scale Heatmap - + Measured in 60 categories via likert-scale style options -1 to 1 in tenths, how does this game compare to Vampire Survivors. This allows 1200 total "points". It's easier to have a point of comparison and we just picked Vampire Survivors since it's the most popular and commonly referenced game in the subgenre. For detailed methodology read the explainer. For in depth examples at score value, see the scoring guide and for term definitions see the key. 9.0 Similarity Score 95% Diagnosis: 1139/1200 Comparison Points Rogue-lite 1/1 Auto-Fire / Auto-Battle 0.8/1 Real Time 1/1 Top Down or Isometric 1/1 Direct Control of Single Avatar 1/1 Arcade Style 1/1 Bullet Heaven A (Many Player Bullets) 1/1 Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) 1/1 One Handed Play (w Controller) 0.8/1 Move Only 0.8/1 No Dash 0/1 No Trigger 0.9/1 No Special Move 1/1 No Aiming 0.8/1 No On-Aim / On-Fire Movement Penalty 1/1 Timed / Boss Ended Survival 1/1 Endless Mode 1/1 Organic / Unannounced Waves 1/1 High Enemy Count (Horde) 1/1 Level Up on XP Gain Event 1/1 Streamlined Level Choices (Simple UI) 1/1 Currency Based Meta Unlocks 1/1 Goal Based Meta Unlocks 1/1 Build Crafting 1/1 1/1 Weapon Combination / "Evolution" 1/1 Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 1/1 Broken / Invincible Builds Possible 0.5/1 Explorable Map 1/1 BIG Maps 1/1 XP on Ground 1/1 Health on Ground 1/1 Temp Powerups / Items on Ground 1/1 Treasure Chests and/or Loot Events 1/1 Vendor / Merchant on Run 1/1 Enemy Variety 1/1 Bosses / Elites 1/1 Many Interesting Characters 0.8/1 Many Challenges 1/1 Multiple Stages 1/1 Difficulty Modifiers 1/1 Bestiary / Lore 1/1 Achievements 1/1 Secrets 0/1 Retro / Pixel Art 1/1 Damage Numbers 1/1 Lofi Charm 0.8/1 Bumpin Music 1/1 Fun Writing 0.3/1 Subtle Humor 0.1/1 Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 1/1 Over the Top 0.9/1 "One More Run" / Short Runs 1/1 Difficulty Ramp 0.8/1 Fun Ramp 0.8/1 Low Price 1/1 Technical Check 1/1 Controls Check 1/1 Fun Check 0.8/1 Feels like VS 1/1 Scarlet Tower Review Scale Heatmap - + The review scale is judged from -1 to 1 in 10 categories, with 200 possible "points" earned. Steam review positive percentage is worth another 100 points, and a "ten point" pure vibe review number adds extra subjectivity. Converted into points, that's 400 points total. The points aren't used directly in the ranking, though, which averages the three number scores for the final review score listed in the game line above. 7.5 Final Review 86% Positive Steam Reviews 799 Steam Reviews 6.9 Pure Vibes 6.9 Review Scale 324/400 Review Points Not Buggy 1/1 Not Janky 1/1 Good UI 0.6/1 Controller and Deck 1/1 Lots of Content 0.8/1 Good Theme 0.2/1 Good Graphics and Sound 1/1 Fun Feel 0.7/1 Unique Twists 0.1/1 Vibe Check 0.5/1 Scarlet Tower Tag Cloud - + More sortable taxonomies and categories associated with the game (genre tags are available in the main game table line!) We've just started adding tags to enable more sorting options, this section will get more filled out as we go! Release Tags itch.ioSteam DeckWindows PCEAFree Available Sorting Categories SimilarRanked Genre and Control Style Tags Auto-ShooterBullet HeavenEnemy HellHorde SurvivalMowing GameRogueliteSingle Stick ShooterSurvivors-likeTop Down or IsometricTwin Stick ShooterWave Survival Aesthetic Tags 2DPixel ArtSerious Setting / Story Tags FantasyHorror ThemedVampires Control Styles Controller Game Mode Tags Unknown24m Features and Extras Steam AchievementsSteam Cloud Dev/Publisher Pyxeralia LLC Release Info & Community Links - + Direct Permalink: survivorslikes.com/videogame/scarlet-tower Contextual Table Link: survivorslikes.com/#scarlet-tower Google Sheet Edit Link: edit.survivorslikes.com row 22 Steam Link: steampowered.com/app/2181720/scarlet_tower Steam Price: 4.99 (USD) Release Date: Early Access 10/31/2022 Developer: Pyxeralia LLC Publisher: Pyxeralia LLC Fully Released? No Recent Updates? Yes Steam Compatibility Windows: Yes Mac: No Linux: No Steam Deck: Yes Other Platforms itch.io Community & Social Links Discord Game Features - + Listing various features we've got info on. Multiplayer Local: No Online: No Player Count: 1 Leaderboards: ? Steam Features Steam Cloud: Yes Steam Achievements: 60 Steam Leaderboards: No Steam Workshop: No Steam Trading Cards: No Extras, Etc. NSFW: No Demo Available: on itch.io DLC Available: No Soundtrack Available: No Marketing Blurb - + Some description of the game and its features from the creators. "Hunt during the day, be hunted during the NIGHT! Scarlet Tower is a gothic horror casual game with roguelike and RPG elements, like talent trees, classes, familiars and more!" "Look for relics and vendors that only spawn at night.Characters with unique customizable passives. Procedural Map Generation." More info and fan reviews on steam Run Times & Speedups - + Average Run Time: 24m Run Time Notes ? Speed Settings ?
	[edit] Greedland EA Free Available A Crysis meets Starship Troopers meets Crimsonland survivors-like, aka a top down shooter with sci fi tech. It seemed designed to be a twin stick shooter (looks like it) but with auto-aim on it's very much was a survivors-like stuck in a mission based 2010s shooter user interface. Once you get into a run it's solid. It's not a chatty game but actually does have subtle humor sprinkled about it and while it has a dash and special move they are all mapped to the left side of the controller by default. Lots of challenges and an endless mode. It's not AAA graphics but if you want your next survivors-like to be a sci fi wave shooter on land with a 3D engine this might be the best pick I've come across yet. Still developing! Dev? Experienced player? Help us rank this game! [Submit Feature Survey] [Submit Review]	Arena Shooter Auto-Shooter Bullet Heaven Enemy Hell Horde Survival Mowing Game Roguelite Single Stick Shooter Survivors-like Top Down or Isometric Twin Stick Shooter Wave Survival	8.1 Combined Ranking Score 22/72 Ranking Position 1421/1600 Total Points	8.4 Final Review 84% Steam 8.3 Scale 8.6 Vibes 912 Steam Reviews 353/400 Review Points	7.8 Similarity Score 89% Diagnosis: Similar 1068/1200 Comparison Points	99% Genre 7.8/8 genre	83% Simple Controls 4.6/7 move	100% Survival Modes 4/4 modes	100% Power Progression 4/4 level	98% Buildcrafting Depth 4.8/5 build	82% Stage Features 4.5/7 stage	83% Content Breadth 5.9/9 stuff	72% Aesthetics 2.6/6 style	93% Gameplay Vibe Check 8.6/10 vibe vibe
Greedland Ranking Notes - + Scaling and Review Notes Personal Hours Played: 5.1 Review Disclaimer Every game ranked was played, but also scaled based on research, talking to developers & your feedback. The priority with the scale's initial design was to compare similarity on relatively objective features - so it doesn't claim to include reviews of the depth and clarity you'd get at a games journalism site, nor the intensive time played you might get from player reviews on steam. We try to incorporate and link all of that along with a 'review scale' that checks for bugs. See the heatmap and breakdown! Time played noted so you can take any notes with a big grain of salt! I can't get to high level gameplay in 850+ games so I heavily research every game. Over 80 game creators let me interview or survey them! I Hope to go back and refine. Please argue or submit your own scores and reviews to be incorporated with credit into the notes and score numbers. Added or last checked on 11/6/2023 This survivors-like has a kind of Crysis meets Starship Troopers vibe, with perhaps the wit more on the side of Crysis (sparse, but sometimes surprises you.) Starship Troopers vibe is mostly just due to the hordes of often buggy aliens swarming towards you. Or there's the obvious inspiration: Crimsonland. Has a ton of menus shelving all kinds of customizations like equipment, starting weapons and upgrades. While I appreciated the customization found in many of these areas the finding of them was less enjoyable. I tend to prefer that when I open a game I can just ram the A button and end up in a run of some sort. This one brings you into an upgrade menu dead end, not that uncommon perhaps, but the LB over to the map, and then zoom in, and then select mission, and then select my loadout again and then finally into the action.. feels like it could be simplified. Lots of missions but maps aren't really different. Kind of an arena shooter, though it's not a small box. Feels more oldschool in terms of set up / grind / "missions", though it's technically the same stuff you'd unlock or do as activities in any other survivors-like. Has quick toggle button to switch to automatic which is honestly much better than manual fire imho, especially because you don't really have to choose because you can direct the fire with the right stick whenever you feel like. (You can even unlock auto leveling if you feel like it) That's one of my preferred methods of control for single stick shooters with an aim option, though my special interest at the moment is obviously the ones that basically have no aiming and force you to move interestingly. This one does have some of those moves like orbiting weapons and so on, so despite the stylings more often seen in first person shooters, it respects a lot of the genre conventions for more than just bullets. I thought my time so far with it was fun, never really felt like the runs were dragging and even early in the game there were actual choices that seemed varied. I appreciate the impactful feeling level options - even if the gameplay impact of getting 40% increase to attack is exactly the same as 10%, it saying 40% on the upgrade card is fun. And the game doesn't go too far, obviously 1000% feels fake. The design, when I understand it, is often smart like that (and some seems badly translated at the moment, but it's still Early Access). Thought this was going to get a neutral score in 'subtle humor' but it actually got me laughing a few times so full point. Perhaps because overall it feels a little dry compared to whimsical titles like Elemental Survivors, the moments of levity stand out a lot. My pod drops on a little alien and it does 666 damage and squishes it to start the level. Level 2? Two little aliens. I'm ashamed but I laughed. Less ashamed to laugh at the fact you can unequip your HUD and ability to fire in your meta-progression and customization area. Guess who accidentally did that for a second. I think the vibe usually worked for me when I was actually in game. The UI actually in a run is solid, nice big clear level choices and so on. So many of my issues are purely with how complicated it is to get in there. Probably extra fun if you really like to grind for odd goals and challenges. Very solid for a solo dev early access title imho. If this came out for PS3 I would have died. Greedland 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. 7.8 Similarity Score 89% Diagnosis: 1068/1200 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) 1/1 Move Only 1/1 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 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 0.8/1 Broken / Invincible Builds Possible 1/1 Explorable Map 0.4/1 BIG Maps 0.1/1 XP on Ground 1/1 Health on Ground 1/1 Temp Powerups / Items on Ground 1/1 Treasure Chests and/or Loot Events 1/1 Vendor / Merchant on Run 0/1 Enemy Variety 0.8/1 Bosses / Elites 0.8/1 Many Interesting Characters 0.8/1 Many Challenges 1/1 Multiple Stages 0.5/1 Difficulty Modifiers 1/1 Bestiary / Lore 0/1 Achievements 1/1 Secrets 0/1 Retro / Pixel Art 0/1 Damage Numbers 1/1 Lofi Charm 0.1/1 Bumpin Music 0.5/1 Fun Writing 0/1 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 0.6/1 Low Price 0.7/1 Technical Check 0.8/1 Controls Check 1/1 Fun Check 1/1 Feels like VS 1/1 Greedland Review Scale Heatmap - + The review scale is judged from -1 to 1 in 10 categories, with 200 possible "points" earned. Steam review positive percentage is worth another 100 points, and a "ten point" pure vibe review number adds extra subjectivity. Converted into points, that's 400 points total. The points aren't used directly in the ranking, though, which averages the three number scores for the final review score listed in the game line above. 8.4 Final Review 84% Positive Steam Reviews 912 Steam Reviews 8.6 Pure Vibes 8.3 Review Scale 353/400 Review Points Not Buggy 1/1 Not Janky 0.8/1 Good UI 0.4/1 Controller and Deck 1/1 Lots of Content 0.7/1 Good Theme 0.8/1 Good Graphics and Sound 1/1 Fun Feel 1/1 Unique Twists 0.6/1 Vibe Check 1/1 Greedland Tag Cloud - + More sortable taxonomies and categories associated with the game (genre tags are available in the main game table line!) We've just started adding tags to enable more sorting options, this section will get more filled out as we go! Release Tags Steam DeckWindows PCEAFree Available Sorting Categories SimilarRanked Genre and Control Style Tags Arena ShooterAuto-ShooterBullet HeavenEnemy HellHorde SurvivalMowing GameRogueliteSingle Stick ShooterSurvivors-likeTop Down or IsometricTwin Stick ShooterWave Survival Aesthetic Tags 3DRealistic Setting / Story Tags ComedyMilitarySci-fi Control Styles ControllerController 1 HandedController Move Only Game Mode Tags Unknown10m Features and Extras Steam AchievementsSteam CloudSteam Trading Cards Dev/Publisher 2P GamesGamersky GamesVaMP He Release Info & Community Links - + Direct Permalink: survivorslikes.com/videogame/greedland Contextual Table Link: survivorslikes.com/#greedland Google Sheet Edit Link: edit.survivorslikes.com row 26 Steam Link: steampowered.com/app/2218400/greedland Steam Price: 10.99 (USD) Release Date: Early Access 08/04/2023 Developer: VaMP He Publisher: Gamersky Games, 2P Games Fully Released? No Recent Updates? Yes Steam Compatibility Windows: Yes Mac: No Linux: No Steam Deck: Verified Other Platforms None Community & Social Links Discord 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: Yes Steam Achievements: 123 Steam Leaderboards: No Steam Workshop: No Steam Trading Cards: Yes Extras, Etc. NSFW: No Demo Available: Yes DLC Available: No Soundtrack Available: No Marketing Blurb - + Some description of the game and its features from the creators. "Greedland is a top-down shooter mixed with survivor-like elements. Slaughter the monsters, break out of the siege, and welcome the dawn of victory!" "Unleash an expansive array of powerful weapons and skills, crafting a satisfying loadout that harks back to the glory days of classic titles such as "Alien Shooter" and "Crimsonland." "Equip yourself with the fiercest tools the Galaxy has to offer, complemented by a diverse skill set. Step into the shoes of a relentless mercenary with endless strategic possibilities. Stay tuned for powerful mechs in future updates!" ""Greedland" already boasts three challenging maps, each with its own distinctive enemy blend and formidable bosses. As the game continues to evolve, anticipate the arrival of fresh maps, new gameplay modes, and an exhilarating four-player co-op option, enriching your adventure." More info and fan reviews on steam Run Times & Speedups - + Average Run Time: 10m Run Time Notes ? Speed Settings ?
	[edit] Goobies Free Available Released A cute goo busting survivors-like with pretty straightforward single stick shooter gameplay. In my first impressions, it's a pretty straight up Vampire Survivors clone gameplay style. While I kind of appreciate the art style, it was a little unclear in action sometimes and eventually overall it felt a little lacking to me. Not as much depth, not as much over the top aspects, no exploration. Endless mode only afaik, but that ends up with me never feeling like I've "won". It could benefit from clear specific build related challenges. If it was the only game available, I could play a lot of it, but otherwise it feels like I'm grinding a lot of time for less payoff in terms of wacky mechanics. Many love it, try the demo! Dev? Experienced player? Help us rank this game! [Submit Feature Survey] [Submit Review]	Arena Shooter Auto-Shooter Bullet Heaven Enemy Hell Horde Survival Roguelite Single Stick Shooter Survivors-like Top Down or Isometric Twin Stick Shooter Wave Survival	8.0 Combined Ranking Score 24/72 Ranking Position 1413/1600 Total Points	8.1 Final Review 92% Steam 7.7 Scale 7.5 Vibes 1131 Steam Reviews 344/400 Review Points	7.8 Similarity Score 89% Diagnosis: Similar 1069/1200 Comparison Points	100% Genre 8/8 genre	99% Simple Controls 6.9/7 move	88% Survival Modes 3/4 modes	100% Power Progression 4/4 level	82% Buildcrafting Depth 3.2/5 build	65% Stage Features 2.1/7 stage	85% Content Breadth 6.3/9 stuff	83% Aesthetics 4/6 style	96% Gameplay Vibe Check 9.2/10 vibe vibe
Goobies Ranking Notes - + Scaling and Review Notes Personal Hours Played: 2.2 Review Disclaimer Every game ranked was played, but also scaled based on research, talking to developers & your feedback. The priority with the scale's initial design was to compare similarity on relatively objective features - so it doesn't claim to include reviews of the depth and clarity you'd get at a games journalism site, nor the intensive time played you might get from player reviews on steam. We try to incorporate and link all of that along with a 'review scale' that checks for bugs. See the heatmap and breakdown! Time played noted so you can take any notes with a big grain of salt! I can't get to high level gameplay in 850+ games so I heavily research every game. Over 80 game creators let me interview or survey them! I Hope to go back and refine. Please argue or submit your own scores and reviews to be incorporated with credit into the notes and score numbers. Added or last checked on 11/16/2023 First impressions! This game is a pretty typical survivors-like control wise with a relatively unique "globs of goo" aesthetic look. It seems to be fairly popular and well reviewed, though I had trouble getting into it and actually bounced off it a couple times before coming back and trying to put some more time in for the review. It's not always easy to figure out exactly why something isn't working for me or get a full view of a game I haven't put a hundred hours into, but I attempted to examine this on pretty closely since it's very popular. People seem to enjoy that it's chill and often mention the aesthetics, but I did notice many of the positive reviewers also don't seem to have a huge amount of hours in the game. I agree it's very easy to play, the basics of moving around are enjoyable. The character designs are cute, though the top down angle doesn't show much enough of it. Personally I thought the music might be a little too upbeat. It's got a "World of Goo" kind of style with fairly abstract arenas and gooey trees and plenty of gooey enemies. I think this resulted in it feeling a little boring to me, though, eventually, as everything is goo and most of the enemies are also the same color. It's not a quick action game so unlike other abstract shape games I spent a lot of time staring at essentially the same shapes and colors moving slowly. They also explode in a way on hit spreading goop around them that makes it very hard to tell what is a live and recently dead enemy, resulting in me getting hit or at least stressed a fair amount while trying to skirt the edges of groups. It's endless but seems most runs end around 30 min when much harder stuff starts to show up, hence the run time we noted. There don't seem to be different stages, though it does change the stage through your run when you beat a boss. One challenge includes manual aiming, which I didn't really find fun at all, but for the most part it's an auto-shooter. It's pretty much a bullet heaven, though it does have 'avoid red circle' style enemy attacks that are fairly common as you get into it. There are a few characters and a currency based unlock menu for metaprogression, but I found this to feel pretty grindy. I think the lack of clear interesting build related challenges (not just kill x enemies) shown for goal based unlocks can be an issue for me, giving me less reasons to play for longer hours trying different builds. I'd like to get to the high level over the top gameplay I see on YouTube but feel I likely never will since it will just take so long to get there. In my two hours checking it out I didn't unlock a new character or any major changes to the gameplay, just some minor meta upgrades and the optional challenge turning off auto-fire (which I disliked and didn't use past one run since you can't toggle it off.) I feel like the notes here are coming out a little unfair to it since I'm trying to pin my feelings down - I see how many people like it - but personally it's just not pulling me in to play more since I have so many other options. I like more exploration and build crafting specific challenges. But the vibe is very cute and the core gameplay can be satisfying so if the art style appeals to you it may be worth sticking with it! Goobies 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. 7.8 Similarity Score 89% Diagnosis: 1069/1200 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 0.9/1 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) 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 0.9/1 1/1 Weapon Combination / "Evolution" 0.4/1 Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 0.8/1 Broken / Invincible Builds Possible 0.1/1 Explorable Map -1/1 BIG Maps -0.9/1 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 0.5/1 Bosses / Elites 1/1 Many Interesting Characters 0.7/1 Many Challenges 0.1/1 Multiple Stages 0/1 Difficulty Modifiers 1/1 Bestiary / Lore 1/1 Achievements 1/1 Secrets 1/1 Retro / Pixel Art 0/1 Damage Numbers 1/1 Lofi Charm 0.5/1 Bumpin Music 1/1 Fun Writing 0.7/1 Subtle Humor 0.8/1 Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 1/1 Over the Top 0.9/1 "One More Run" / Short Runs 1/1 Difficulty Ramp 0.8/1 Fun Ramp 0.8/1 Low Price 1/1 Technical Check 0.9/1 Controls Check 1/1 Fun Check 1/1 Feels like VS 1/1 Goobies 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 92% Positive Steam Reviews 1131 Steam Reviews 7.5 Pure Vibes 7.7 Review Scale 344/400 Review Points Not Buggy 0.9/1 Not Janky 1/1 Good UI 1/1 Controller and Deck 1/1 Lots of Content 0.6/1 Good Theme 0.7/1 Good Graphics and Sound 0.8/1 Fun Feel 0.8/1 Unique Twists 0.1/1 Vibe Check 0.8/1 Goobies 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 SimilarRanked Genre and Control Style Tags Arena ShooterAuto-ShooterBullet HeavenEnemy HellHorde SurvivalRogueliteSingle Stick ShooterSurvivors-likeTop Down or IsometricTwin Stick ShooterWave Survival Aesthetic Tags 3DCell ShadedClaymationUglycute Setting / Story Tags Abstract Control Styles ControllerController 1 HandedController Move Only Game Mode Tags Unknown30m Features and Extras SoundtrackSteam AchievementsSteam Cloud Dev/Publisher Knifes Release Info & Community Links - + Direct Permalink: survivorslikes.com/videogame/goobies Contextual Table Link: survivorslikes.com/#goobies Google Sheet Edit Link: edit.survivorslikes.com row 28 Steam Link: steampowered.com/app/2294130/goobies Steam Price: 5.99 (USD) Release Date: 7/14/2023 Developer: Knifes Publisher: Knifes Fully Released? Yes Recent Updates? Yes Steam Compatibility Windows: Yes Mac: No Linux: No Steam Deck: Yes Other Platforms None Community & Social Links Discord Subreddit Game Features - + Listing various features we've got info on. Multiplayer Local: No Online: No Player Count: 1 Leaderboards: ? Steam Features Steam Cloud: ? Steam Achievements: 43 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. "Battle thousands of blobs in this roguelike auto-shooter. Travel from island to island, defeat bosses, collect and upgrade items to become more powerful and discover lag-inducing combos in an endless blobbath." "Choose your champion from a diverse cast of 5 Goobies, each with their own unique passive ability and playstyle. Discover countless combinations of items by collecting over 30 of them, many of which have multiple unique upgrades. Unlock the power of up to 20 game-changing artifacts that will redefine the game's mechanics and visuals. Collect Goobie coins from each run to unlock more power all whilst keeping track of your progress and learning about the lore via the in-game encyclopedia!" More info and fan reviews on steam Run Times & Speedups - + Average Run Time: 30m Run Time Notes It's endless but seems most runs end around 30 min when much harder stuff starts to show up. Speed Settings ?
	[edit] Army of Ruin Released Incredibly similar in game design, VS-like score dragged down by special move button, muddy 3D graphics and lack of charm. Many people love it, personally I thought it felt slower and less impactful. With so many other options to play, I kind of bounced off it and based much of the scale for high level gameplay based on research. Dev? Experienced player? Help us rank this game! [Submit Feature Survey] [Submit Review]	Auto-Shooter Bullet Heaven Enemy Hell Horde Survival Mowing Game Roguelite Survivors-like Top Down or Isometric Twin Stick Shooter Wave Survival	7.9 Combined Ranking Score 25/72 Ranking Position 1419/1600 Total Points	7.5 Final Review 88% Steam 7.3 Scale 6.3 Vibes 1578 Steam Reviews 324/400 Review Points	8.3 Similarity Score 91% Diagnosis: Similar 1095/1200 Comparison Points	99% Genre 7.8/8 genre	81% Simple Controls 4.3/7 move	100% Survival Modes 4/4 modes	100% Power Progression 4/4 level	99% Buildcrafting Depth 4.9/5 build	91% Stage Features 5.8/7 stage	94% Content Breadth 8/9 stuff	68% Aesthetics 2.2/6 style	88% Gameplay Vibe Check 7.5/10 vibe vibe
Army of Ruin Ranking Notes - + Scaling and Review Notes Personal Hours Played: 1.7 Review Disclaimer Every game ranked was played, but also scaled based on research, talking to developers & your feedback. The priority with the scale's initial design was to compare similarity on relatively objective features - so it doesn't claim to include reviews of the depth and clarity you'd get at a games journalism site, nor the intensive time played you might get from player reviews on steam. We try to incorporate and link all of that along with a 'review scale' that checks for bugs. See the heatmap and breakdown! Time played noted so you can take any notes with a big grain of salt! I can't get to high level gameplay in 850+ games so I heavily research every game. Over 80 game creators let me interview or survey them! I Hope to go back and refine. Please argue or submit your own scores and reviews to be incorporated with credit into the notes and score numbers. Added or last checked on 10/13/2023 Bounced at first, but came back later and it feels less janky. Note: for high end computers, you'll want to check through all the advanced graphics options, some things should be disabled or set to lower levels to prevent it from looking muddy. Reddit likes this one a lot. Seems to be a fairly straight rip but I don't like the graphics as much - anyone wanna sell me on it? Loses points in the VS-Likes for not pixel art, lofi aesthetic, or humor/originality. The nature of the 3D animation makes it feel slower even when it's moving the same speed as pixels technically. Trying to come up with something else to write about this one. This review will get more fleshed out later as I go back through the sheet to actually review the games added earlier. Army of Ruin Similarity Scale Heatmap - + Measured in 60 categories via likert-scale style options -1 to 1 in tenths, how does this game compare to Vampire Survivors. This allows 1200 total "points". It's easier to have a point of comparison and we just picked Vampire Survivors since it's the most popular and commonly referenced game in the subgenre. For detailed methodology read the explainer. For in depth examples at score value, see the scoring guide and for term definitions see the key. 8.3 Similarity Score 91% Diagnosis: 1095/1200 Comparison Points Rogue-lite 1/1 Auto-Fire / Auto-Battle 0.8/1 Real Time 1/1 Top Down or Isometric 1/1 Direct Control of Single Avatar 1/1 Arcade Style 1/1 Bullet Heaven A (Many Player Bullets) 1/1 Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) 1/1 One Handed Play (w Controller) 0.6/1 Move Only 0.4/1 No Dash 1/1 No Trigger 1/1 No Special Move 0/1 No Aiming 0.5/1 No On-Aim / On-Fire Movement Penalty 0.8/1 Timed / Boss Ended Survival 1/1 Endless Mode 1/1 Organic / Unannounced Waves 1/1 High Enemy Count (Horde) 1/1 Level Up on XP Gain Event 1/1 Streamlined Level Choices (Simple UI) 1/1 Currency Based Meta Unlocks 1/1 Goal Based Meta Unlocks 1/1 Build Crafting 1/1 0.9/1 Weapon Combination / "Evolution" 1/1 Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 1/1 Broken / Invincible Builds Possible 1/1 Explorable Map 1/1 BIG Maps 0.8/1 XP on Ground 1/1 Health on Ground 1/1 Temp Powerups / Items on Ground 1/1 Treasure Chests and/or Loot Events 1/1 Vendor / Merchant on Run 0/1 Enemy Variety 1/1 Bosses / Elites 1/1 Many Interesting Characters 1/1 Many Challenges 1/1 Multiple Stages 1/1 Difficulty Modifiers 1/1 Bestiary / Lore 0/1 Achievements 1/1 Secrets 1/1 Retro / Pixel Art 0/1 Damage Numbers 1/1 Lofi Charm 0.2/1 Bumpin Music 1/1 Fun Writing 0/1 Subtle Humor 0/1 Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 1/1 Over the Top 0.8/1 "One More Run" / Short Runs 1/1 Difficulty Ramp 0.7/1 Fun Ramp 0.5/1 Low Price 0.8/1 Technical Check 1/1 Controls Check 0.9/1 Fun Check 0.8/1 Feels like VS 1/1 Army of Ruin Review Scale Heatmap - + The review scale is judged from -1 to 1 in 10 categories, with 200 possible "points" earned. Steam review positive percentage is worth another 100 points, and a "ten point" pure vibe review number adds extra subjectivity. Converted into points, that's 400 points total. The points aren't used directly in the ranking, though, which averages the three number scores for the final review score listed in the game line above. 7.5 Final Review 88% Positive Steam Reviews 1578 Steam Reviews 6.3 Pure Vibes 7.3 Review Scale 324/400 Review Points Not Buggy 1/1 Not Janky 1/1 Good UI 1/1 Controller and Deck 1/1 Lots of Content 1/1 Good Theme 0.5/1 Good Graphics and Sound 0.4/1 Fun Feel 0.8/1 Unique Twists 0/1 Vibe Check 0.6/1 Metacritic Scores - + This title has metacritic data! The "fuck the man" score is adjusted so each person's review is equally weighted, regardless of critic or fan status. Critic 8.0 Converted 10 Point Score 2 Number of Critic Reviews User 8.0 User Review Average 1 Number of User Reviews Average 8.0 Direct Average 8.0 "Fuck The Man" Combined Mean Army of Ruin Tag Cloud - + More sortable taxonomies and categories associated with the game (genre tags are available in the main game table line!) We've just started adding tags to enable more sorting options, this section will get more filled out as we go! Release Tags PS5Steam DeckSwitchWindows PCXboxReleased Sorting Categories SimilarRanked Genre and Control Style Tags Auto-ShooterBullet HeavenEnemy HellHorde SurvivalMowing GameRogueliteSurvivors-likeTop Down or IsometricTwin Stick ShooterWave Survival Aesthetic Tags 3DSerious Setting / Story Tags DungeonsFantasy Control Styles Controller Game Mode Tags Unknown15m Features and Extras SoundtrackSteam AchievementsSteam CloudSteam Trading Cards Dev/Publisher Milkstone Studios Release Info & Community Links - + Direct Permalink: survivorslikes.com/videogame/army-of-ruin Contextual Table Link: survivorslikes.com/#army-of-ruin Google Sheet Edit Link: edit.survivorslikes.com row 29 Steam Link: steampowered.com/app/1918040/army_of_ruin Steam Price: 7.99 (USD) Release Date: Early Access 10/27/2022 Full 6/8/2023 Developer: Milkstone Studios Publisher: Milkstone Studios Fully Released? Yes Recent Updates? Yes Steam Compatibility Windows: Yes Mac: Yes Linux: No Steam Deck: Verified Other Platforms PS5 Xbox Switch Community & Social Links Discord Subreddit Game Features - + Listing various features we've got info on. Multiplayer Local: No Online: No Player Count: 1 Leaderboards: ? Steam Features Steam Cloud: Yes Steam Achievements: 221 Steam Leaderboards: No Steam Workshop: No Steam Trading Cards: Yes Extras, Etc. NSFW: No Demo Available: No DLC Available: No Soundtrack Available: Steam Bandcamp YouTube GOG Amazon Apple Marketing Blurb - + Some description of the game and its features from the creators. "Wreak havoc on countless foes with mighty weapons and deadly spells! Enhance your skills and face even greater dangers! Army of Ruin is an auto-shooter where you become the Bullet Hell." "Hundreds of challenges await you!" More info and fan reviews on steam Run Times & Speedups - + Average Run Time: 15m Run Time Notes Melerion, via discord: "I found that setting aside about 30 minutes for a run (beyond early game) was sensible for me. End game, aka Endless Mode, could take 45 to 60 minutes on average - some longer, some not so much." Speed Settings ?
	[edit] Shape Shifter: Formations EA A game that applies all of the survivors-like lessons to a classic abstract arena shooter format, so far seems to be very good at both. Vibes of Geometry Wars or the vintage vector shooters both are based on. I've been playing mostly with auto aim / auto shoot which I think works pretty well and makes it feel a lot more survivors-like in a way my sore hands enjoy. Build depth is pretty good for a more arcade-style title and while there isn't much setting/stage variety I don't spend much time thinking about it. I admit I'd love if there was at least an unlockable boss-free mode, since it feels full on bullet hell with them. Great vibe overall, looking forward to more content. Dev? Experienced player? Help us rank this game! [Submit Feature Survey] [Submit Review]	Arcade Arena Shooter Auto-Shooter Bullet Heaven Bullet Hell Enemy Hell Roguelite Single Stick Shooter Survivors-like Top Down or Isometric Twin Stick Shooter Wave Shooter	7.9 Combined Ranking Score 26/72 Ranking Position 1357/1600 Total Points	9.6 Final Review 100% Steam 9.5 Scale 9.2 Vibes 62 Steam Reviews 387/400 Review Points	6.2 Similarity Score 81% Diagnosis: Similar 970/1200 Comparison Points	95% Genre 7.2/8 genre	72% Simple Controls 3.1/7 move	83% Survival Modes 2.6/4 modes	100% Power Progression 4/4 level	69% Buildcrafting Depth 1.9/5 build	50% Stage Features 0/7 stage	78% Content Breadth 5.1/9 stuff	83% Aesthetics 4/6 style	93% Gameplay Vibe Check 8.6/10 vibe vibe
Shape Shifter: Formations Ranking Notes - + Scaling and Review Notes Personal Hours Played: 3.5 Review Disclaimer Every game ranked was played, but also scaled based on research, talking to developers & your feedback. The priority with the scale's initial design was to compare similarity on relatively objective features - so it doesn't claim to include reviews of the depth and clarity you'd get at a games journalism site, nor the intensive time played you might get from player reviews on steam. We try to incorporate and link all of that along with a 'review scale' that checks for bugs. See the heatmap and breakdown! Time played noted so you can take any notes with a big grain of salt! I can't get to high level gameplay in 850+ games so I heavily research every game. Over 80 game creators let me interview or survey them! I Hope to go back and refine. Please argue or submit your own scores and reviews to be incorporated with credit into the notes and score numbers. Added or last checked on 11/14/2023 First impressions on this Early Access arcade style arena shooter are very positive. Honestly I'm super thankful for this resurgence of arcade style games so I can get stuff like this. It's a top down shooter in a small arena, with "shape" enemies more complicated than you might see in some retro shooters but very much giving the abstract vibe. While the aesthetics are quite good in my opinion, the general direction of them is that you should concentrate entirely on the play and the play so far is worth concentrating on. I absolutely don't mind when an arcade style game doesn't have plot/setting trappings, it can still get a full score for on the review scale categories from me if it feels like the 'world' is still crafted for the experience the player is supposed to have. You know, Tron without all that talking. I haven't yet encountered what I would really call multiple maps or stages, though the arena changes at different stages through the run. After beating a run once (referred to as "the game" in the guide accessible in the main menu), you unlock difficulty modifiers. Has both goal based and currency based unlocks. The goal based ones are pretty solid for giving you something to do in a run, as in the best of these games (get a new ship!) and I enjoy how the refundable currency upgrades also include different play or build styles, like deciding to prioritize burn for the burn ship. Some of these games don't really understand that meta unlocks can be like offering the player interesting new puzzles and not just ways to make the game easier. The skill tree luckily isn't too baroque and easy access to it at the death screen made it easy to loop into another run. Speaking of ease it certainly feels harder at first but I think this is partially the classic arcade style format. I'm not sure how much content actually exists here yet with early access, but in many of the games in this lineage you're not really expected to be beating all the bosses on your first run or very quickly. At least, I tried to tell myself this as I got used to actually dodging boss bullets again. There is a special move button and dash. It's in no way bloated, but does include some fun stuff like stats. No bestiary, but then again not a lot of enemy variety yet either. I'd love to be able to unlock an endless mode without bosses so I could truly zone out. It's definitely not a mowing game, with very projectile based attacks. The auto-aim/auto-fire is sometimes off in a way that feels a little bugged, but for the most part does work pretty satisfyingly. I found myself doing up close strafing more than I would in a classic arcade shooter, partially because I'm trying to collect the XP drops as well. In that way, while in an aesthetic wrapping of an older wave shooter, the gameplay can feel very much like a modern survivors-like. You move towards some things and away from others, getting into a fairly zen state interrupted only by quickly selecting from a simple selection of upgrades and eventually only sorely interrupted by the arrival of an often run ending boss. I'm a big fan of older arcade style shooters (my favorite perhaps being Super Stardust HD) and while this one is a little slower to get started because it has the metaprogression aspect I found it very much tickled that old enjoyment. The music seems to keep on the same theme and the visuals are a very satisfying mix of retro aesthetics and fairly active and busy scenery in implementation. Overall I had a lot of fun with it so far and am eager to see it get more content through Early Access. Shape Shifter: Formations Similarity Scale Heatmap - + Measured in 60 categories via likert-scale style options -1 to 1 in tenths, how does this game compare to Vampire Survivors. This allows 1200 total "points". It's easier to have a point of comparison and we just picked Vampire Survivors since it's the most popular and commonly referenced game in the subgenre. For detailed methodology read the explainer. For in depth examples at score value, see the scoring guide and for term definitions see the key. 6.2 Similarity Score 81% Diagnosis: 970/1200 Comparison Points Rogue-lite 1/1 Auto-Fire / Auto-Battle 0.8/1 Real Time 1/1 Top Down or Isometric 1/1 Direct Control of Single Avatar 1/1 Arcade Style 1/1 Bullet Heaven A (Many Player Bullets) 0.9/1 Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) 0.5/1 One Handed Play (w Controller) 0.5/1 Move Only 0/1 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 1/1 Endless Mode Planned/1 Organic / Unannounced Waves 1/1 High Enemy Count (Horde) 0.6/1 Level Up on XP Gain Event 1/1 Streamlined Level Choices (Simple UI) 1/1 Currency Based Meta Unlocks 1/1 Goal Based Meta Unlocks 1/1 Build Crafting 1/1 0.9/1 Weapon Combination / "Evolution" 0/1 Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 0.5/1 Broken / Invincible Builds Possible -0.5/1 Explorable Map -1/1 BIG Maps -1/1 XP on Ground 1/1 Health on Ground 0/1 Temp Powerups / Items on Ground 0/1 Treasure Chests and/or Loot Events 0/1 Vendor / Merchant on Run 1/1 Enemy Variety 0/1 Bosses / Elites 1/1 Many Interesting Characters 1/1 Many Challenges 1/1 Multiple Stages 0.1/1 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 0.9/1 Bumpin Music 1/1 Fun Writing 0.1/1 Subtle Humor 0/1 Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 0.8/1 Over the Top 0.8/1 "One More Run" / Short Runs 1/1 Difficulty Ramp 1/1 Fun Ramp 1/1 Low Price 1/1 Technical Check 1/1 Controls Check 1/1 Fun Check 1/1 Feels like VS 0.5/1 Shape Shifter: Formations 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 100% Positive Steam Reviews 62 Steam Reviews 9.2 Pure Vibes 9.5 Review Scale 387/400 Review Points Not Buggy 0.9/1 Not Janky 0.9/1 Good UI 1/1 Controller and Deck 1/1 Lots of Content 0.8/1 Good Theme 1/1 Good Graphics and Sound 1/1 Fun Feel 1/1 Unique Twists 0.9/1 Vibe Check 1/1 Shape Shifter: Formations Tag Cloud - + More sortable taxonomies and categories associated with the game (genre tags are available in the main game table line!) We've just started adding tags to enable more sorting options, this section will get more filled out as we go! Release Tags Steam DeckWindows PCEA Sorting Categories SimilarRanked Genre and Control Style Tags ArcadeArena ShooterAuto-ShooterBullet HeavenBullet HellEnemy HellRogueliteSingle Stick ShooterSurvivors-likeTop Down or IsometricTwin Stick ShooterWave Shooter Aesthetic Tags 3DGeometricNeonRaveRetroVector InspiredVivid Setting / Story Tags Abstract Control Styles Controller Game Mode Tags Unknown30m Features and Extras Steam AchievementsSteam Cloud Dev/Publisher Castec Studios Release Info & Community Links - + Direct Permalink: survivorslikes.com/videogame/shape-shifter-formations Contextual Table Link: survivorslikes.com/#shape-shifter-formations Google Sheet Edit Link: edit.survivorslikes.com row 30 Steam Link: steampowered.com/app/2202590/shape_shifter_formations Steam Price: 6.99 (USD) Release Date: Early Access 09/29/2023 Developer: Castec Studios Publisher: Castec Studios Fully Released? No Recent Updates? Yes Steam Compatibility Windows: Yes Mac: No Linux: No Steam Deck: Yes Other Platforms None Community & Social Links Discord 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: Yes Steam Achievements: 86 Steam Leaderboards: No Steam Workshop: No Steam Trading Cards: No Extras, Etc. NSFW: No Demo Available: No DLC Available: No Soundtrack Available: No Marketing Blurb - + Some description of the game and its features from the creators. "Shape Shifter: Formations is an action twin-stick shooter with rogue-lite elements, where you must destroy hordes of geometric enemies alone or with a friend. Select your ship and combine a large variety of weapons, abilities and infinitely stacking upgrades to craft your own unique build." "Choose from a wide variety of ships each with their own unique active and passive abilities, ranging from protective barriers or invisibility, to shocking tesla towers and a burning laser. Pick the ship the suits your play style and outfit it with a weapon of your choice. Spend cores gained each run on the skill tree to provide powerful permanent upgrades." Co-op notes: "So each player can select their own ship/weapon and receives their own choice of upgrades when levelling up. Players earn currency in each run together, but they get their own pool to spend at the shop separately. The only thing that's shared, is progression on the skill tree, but this is offset by the fact you progress through this a little quicker in co-op" More info and fan reviews on steam Run Times & Speedups - + Average Run Time: 30m Run Time Notes ? Speed Settings ?
	[edit] Disfigure Free Available Released A survivors-like for horror fans, if you want to pull the trigger in the dark with a flashlight. And considering it's totally free (with an optional tip for the dev DLC) there's little reason not to try it. Especially if you came way from VS looking for more arcade games. Bare bones in some ways, but it gets you quickly into the next run eager to try a totally new build. Minimalist horror vibe is just right. Dev? Experienced player? Help us rank this game! [Submit Feature Survey] [Submit Review]	Arcade Arena Shooter Bullet Heaven Enemy Hell Roguelite Survivors-like Top Down or Isometric Twin Stick Shooter Wave Survival	7.8 Combined Ranking Score 29/72 Ranking Position 1352/1600 Total Points	9.4 Final Review 96% Steam 9.5 Scale 9.1 Vibes 1803 Steam Reviews 382/400 Review Points	6.2 Similarity Score 81% Diagnosis: Similar 970/1200 Comparison Points	93% Genre 6.8/8 genre	56% Simple Controls 0.9/7 move	99% Survival Modes 3.9/4 modes	88% Power Progression 3/4 level	98% Buildcrafting Depth 4.8/5 build	50% Stage Features 0/7 stage	62% Content Breadth 2.2/9 stuff	100% Aesthetics 6/6 style	99% Gameplay Vibe Check 9.8/10 vibe vibe
Disfigure Ranking Notes - + Scaling and Review Notes Personal Hours Played: 2.1 Review Disclaimer Every game ranked was played, but also scaled based on research, talking to developers & your feedback. The priority with the scale's initial design was to compare similarity on relatively objective features - so it doesn't claim to include reviews of the depth and clarity you'd get at a games journalism site, nor the intensive time played you might get from player reviews on steam. We try to incorporate and link all of that along with a 'review scale' that checks for bugs. See the heatmap and breakdown! Time played noted so you can take any notes with a big grain of salt! I can't get to high level gameplay in 850+ games so I heavily research every game. Over 80 game creators let me interview or survey them! I Hope to go back and refine. Please argue or submit your own scores and reviews to be incorporated with credit into the notes and score numbers. Added or last checked on 10/23/2023 Disfigure is a cool game with an obviously cool dev who put it up for optional donation. Perhaps it's humble due to the lack of surface breadth - characters, skill trees, bestiaries - but the gameplay is tight. Steam reviewers seem to agree. Sometimes you just want an arcade game! It's an arena shooter without exploration and slower and more tense than most survivors-likes. It's got a shadowy minimalist vibe and great shifty beats on the soundtrack. While it's got a trigger button, I found it totally fine to play with auto fire on - aiming, however, is not optional with the strategy of pointing your light. We're going to count the "switch flashlight" button as a special move button. Rogue-lite aspects are limited to weapon unlocks and not permanent incremental upgrades, so still around the same level of skill (and luck) required each run. Steam cloud would be nice. I'll be playing more of this one! More notes to come then! Disfigure Similarity Scale Heatmap - + Measured in 60 categories via likert-scale style options -1 to 1 in tenths, how does this game compare to Vampire Survivors. This allows 1200 total "points". It's easier to have a point of comparison and we just picked Vampire Survivors since it's the most popular and commonly referenced game in the subgenre. For detailed methodology read the explainer. For in depth examples at score value, see the scoring guide and for term definitions see the key. 6.2 Similarity Score 81% Diagnosis: 970/1200 Comparison Points Rogue-lite 1/1 Auto-Fire / Auto-Battle 0.4/1 Real Time 1/1 Top Down or Isometric 1/1 Direct Control of Single Avatar 1/1 Arcade Style 1/1 Bullet Heaven A (Many Player Bullets) 0.8/1 Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) 0.6/1 One Handed Play (w Controller) 0/1 Move Only -0.5/1 No Dash 1/1 No Trigger 0.4/1 No Special Move 0/1 No Aiming -1/1 No On-Aim / On-Fire Movement Penalty 1/1 Timed / Boss Ended Survival 1/1 Endless Mode 1/1 Organic / Unannounced Waves 1/1 High Enemy Count (Horde) 0.9/1 Level Up on XP Gain Event 1/1 Streamlined Level Choices (Simple UI) 1/1 Currency Based Meta Unlocks 1/1 Goal Based Meta Unlocks 0/1 Build Crafting 1/1 1/1 Weapon Combination / "Evolution" 0.8/1 Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 1/1 Broken / Invincible Builds Possible 1/1 Explorable Map -1/1 BIG Maps 0/1 XP on Ground 1/1 Health on Ground 0/1 Temp Powerups / Items on Ground 0/1 Treasure Chests and/or Loot Events 0/1 Vendor / Merchant on Run 0/1 Enemy Variety 0.7/1 Bosses / Elites 1/1 Many Interesting Characters -1/1 Many Challenges 0/1 Multiple Stages 0/1 Difficulty Modifiers 0.5/1 Bestiary / Lore 0/1 Achievements 1/1 Secrets 0/1 Retro / Pixel Art 1/1 Damage Numbers 1/1 Lofi Charm 1/1 Bumpin Music 1/1 Fun Writing 1/1 Subtle Humor 1/1 Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 1/1 Over the Top 0.8/1 "One More Run" / Short Runs 1/1 Difficulty Ramp 1/1 Fun Ramp 1/1 Low Price 1/1 Technical Check 1/1 Controls Check 1/1 Fun Check 1/1 Feels like VS 0.6/1 Disfigure 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. 9.4 Final Review 96% Positive Steam Reviews 1803 Steam Reviews 9.1 Pure Vibes 9.5 Review Scale 382/400 Review Points Not Buggy 1/1 Not Janky 1/1 Good UI 1/1 Controller and Deck 1/1 Lots of Content 0.5/1 Good Theme 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 - Converted 10 Point Score - Number of Critic Reviews User 9.0 User Review Average 1 Number of User Reviews Average 9.0 Direct Average 9.0 "Fuck The Man" Combined Mean Disfigure 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 SimilarRanked Genre and Control Style Tags ArcadeArena ShooterBullet HeavenEnemy HellRogueliteSurvivors-likeTop Down or IsometricTwin Stick ShooterWave Survival Aesthetic Tags 2DPixel ArtRetroScary Setting / Story Tags AbstractHorrorHorror Themed Control Styles Controller Game Mode Tags Unknown20m Features and Extras Steam Achievements Dev/Publisher Cold Brew Entertainment Release Info & Community Links - + Direct Permalink: survivorslikes.com/videogame/disfigure Contextual Table Link: survivorslikes.com/#disfigure Google Sheet Edit Link: edit.survivorslikes.com row 33 Steam Link: steampowered.com/app/2083160/disfigure Steam Price: 0 (USD) Release Date: 7/27/2023 Developer: Cold Brew Entertainment Publisher: Cold Brew Entertainment Fully Released? Yes Recent Updates? Yes Steam Compatibility Windows: Yes Mac: No Linux: No Steam Deck: Playable Other Platforms itch.io Community & Social Links Discord Game Features - + Listing various features we've got info on. Multiplayer Local: No Online: No Player Count: 1 Leaderboards: ? Steam Features Steam Cloud: No Steam Achievements: 23 Steam Leaderboards: No Steam Workshop: No Steam Trading Cards: No Extras, Etc. NSFW: No Demo Available: Totally Free DLC Available: No Soundtrack Available: No Marketing Blurb - + Some description of the game and its features from the creators. "Disfigure is a top-down shooter rogue-like in which you fight countless grotesque creatures shrouded in darkness. Choose from a variety of weapons and over a hundred upgrades to create unique builds each run and survive." "In an arena shrouded by darkness, pay keen attention to your surroundings where monsters could be lurking. Choose between circle and cone vision" "Choose from over 100 upgrades and 90 weapon perks" More info and fan reviews on steam Run Times & Speedups - + Average Run Time: 20m Run Time Notes ? Speed Settings ?
	[edit] 20 Minutes Till Dawn Released Here's a game for people who would rather aim carefully and pull the trigger, at least for the first few hours of meta unlocks and the start of every run. It's got a cool vibe but feels more like 'traditional' arena shooters of the past couple decades, despite the obvious modern horde survival inspiration. Dev? Experienced player? Help us rank this game! [Submit Feature Survey] [Submit Review]	Arena Shooter Bullet Heaven Enemy Hell Horde Survival Roguelite Survivors-like Top Down or Isometric Twin Stick Shooter Wave Shooter Wave Survival	7.7 Combined Ranking Score 31/72 Ranking Position 1365/1600 Total Points	8.6 Final Review 92% Steam 9.0 Scale 7.5 Vibes 21787 Steam Reviews 357/400 Review Points	6.8 Similarity Score 84% Diagnosis: Similar 1008/1200 Comparison Points

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