The Scale

The Monstergirl Scale

For determining if a game is like Vampire Survivors

-1 to 1 in 60 categories

Genre

1. Rogue-Lite 2. Auto-Shooter / Auto-Battler 3. Real Time 4. Top-Down or Isometric 5. Direct Control of Single Avatar Camera Usually Centered on Player 6. Arcade Style (Little Plot) 7. Bullet Heaven A Many Player Shots 8. Bullet Heaven B Few Enemy Shots / Damage on Touch Focus

Simple Movement Focused Controls

9. One Handed Play (With Controller) 10. Move Only 11. No Dash / Dodge 12. No Trigger 13. No Special Move Button 14. No Aiming 15. No On Attack / On Aim Movement Penalty

Survival Game Modes

16. Timed Survival / Boss Mode 17. Endless Mode 18. Unannounced & Organic Waves 19. High Enemy Count / "Horde"

Power Progression

20. Level on XP Gain Run Event 21. Streamlined Level Choices 22. Currency Based Meta Unlocks 23. Goal Based / Find Based Meta Unlocks

Depth of Buildcrafting

24. Build Crafting 25. Impactful Level / Item Options 26. Weapon Combination / Evolution 27. Interesting Weapon, Item & Ability Synergy 28. Invincible / Broken Builds Possible

Map / Level Features

29. Explorable Map 30. BIG Maps 31. XP / Currency on Ground 32. Health on Ground 33. Temp Powerups / Items on Ground 34. Treasure Chests / Loot Events 35. Vendors on Map / Run

Depth and Breadth of Content

36. Enemy Variety 37. Elites & Bosses 38. Many and /or Interesting Characters 39. Many Challenges 40. Multiple Stages 41. Difficulty Modifiers 42. Bestiary / Lore 43. Achievements 44. Secrets

Aesthetics

45. Retro / Pixel Art Style 46. Damage Numbers 47. Lo-Fi Charm 48. Bumpin' Music 49. Unique / Fun Names / Writing 50. Subtle Humor

Gameplay Vibe Check

51. Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 52. Over The Top 53. "One More Run" / Short Runs 54. Difficulty Ramp 55. Fun Ramp 56. Low Price 57. Technical Check / Functional Polish 58. Controls Check 59. Fun Check 60. Feels like VS

How to Tally

-1 to 1 in 60 Categories
Scoring in 10ths
(example: -.4 or .8)

1: Feature Fully Present
0: Feature Missing
-1: Critical Difference

Tip:

Rely Heavily on Vibes!

Report as number out of 60,
Or Convert into 10 Point Score.

The scale "assumes you're
ranking a very "similar game.
In theory a final score can be negative.

See Definitions for a full explanation of every category on the similarity and review scales. See scoring guide for detailed examples.

Comparison Scale Examples:

Vampire Survivors

10.0 | 60

Halls of Torment

9.0 | 53.9

Chess Survivors

8.0 | 48.0

20 Minutes Till Dawn

6.8 | 40.8

Risk of Rain

5.1 | 30.7

Hades

4.4 | 26.3

Returnal

3.2 | 19.4

Rogue

1.0 | 6.1

Elden Ring

-1.9 | -11.3

Call of Duty 2

-3.8 | -22.9

Fun at Home!

Score games yourself with The Scorecard!

Argue about it on the playground!

Patch Notes Archive

Home » Updates » Patch Notes Feed » Swarmlake » Swarmlake 3.0 Out Now

Patch notes are imported from steam. There may be errors. This mostly exists so I can stay on top of them to update the features in our tags and scoring categories (which I do manually), but since many of you liked the idea of staying up to date with all the games in one place I'm working on making this data automated (right now I manually hit it every couple days) with better info and linking in with the game views.

There will be more data and proper atribution here (original author, steam link, original post date, etc) real soon, I promise. This is just like a technical test to see if they're coming in ok at all.

Swarmlake » Swarmlake 3.0 Out Now

Hi, the free Swarmlake 3.0 Update is out now:

  • Added player health

    Improves understandability of game overs which was by far the most common complaint since release. In the past the binary nature of one-hit deaths resulted in frustrations as there was no warning possible. Also increases the elasticity of the game challenge. This will affect the gameplay dynamic as it is now possible to intentionally take damage to get to a bomb.

  • Added bowl-shaped arena wall

    Removes the punishing nature of falling off the arena while keeping effectively the same playspace as the recently introduced arena limit. As a reminder having a limited arena reduces the amount of invalid options such as running infinitely backwards/forwards or making too big of circles. Since the game gets harder over time this only ever resulted in slower and more frustrating deaths which were not obvious to understand. It also increases the required decision making and adds more positioning and meaning to space. So overall this improves the depth tree for both beginner and expert players.

  • Added wall jump
  • Added bomb detonation healing a fraction of health
  • Added health bar display
  • Added player damage audiovisual feedback
  • Added player top percent display to leaderboard
  • Added leaderboard rank display
  • Added settings tab to hide individual HUD elements
  • Improved enemy jump sign display
  • Improved shard despawn warning feedback clarity by increasing flicker speed over time
  • Improved sound effects mix clarity
  • Improved milestone score visual effect
  • Improved startup speed
  • Fixed startup delay if loading showcase failed
  • Reset leaderboard and settings
  • Decreased fire rate by 10%

    Better fits expectations of when taking damage relative to enemy density. Also increases decision making by having to avoid enemies more and adapting to their patterns. This changes game feel so it might take some time to get used to it.

  • Increased bomb spawn height variation by 20%

    Encourages more vertical play and reduces repetitive single jump strategies.

  • Increased enemy spawn scaling by 25%

    Speeds up pacing and balances out the increased survivability of the player due to adding health.

Unfortunately the leaderboard also had to be reset.

Swarmlake has continuously evolved over time with the goal to make it more fun for more players by always keeping player feedback in mind. I am aware that people dislike change and I am sorry for the frustration this can cause.

Thank you
– Dominique