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

Genre/Control

Specific tags for the title's features

Ranking

Similarity & Review

Review

Multiple Sources

Similarity

Compared to VS. Not a review!

Similarity Scale

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

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

Crypt of the Necrodancer

DLC Released

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

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

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

Crypt of the Necrodancer Ranking Notes

 - +

Scaling and Review Notes

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

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

Added or last checked on 11/18/2023

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Crypt of the Necrodancer Similarity Scale Heatmap

 - +

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

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

Crypt of the Necrodancer Review Scale Heatmap

 - +

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

9.3 Final Review
95% Positive Steam Reviews
20594 Steam Reviews
9.0 Pure Vibes
9.4 Review Scale
379/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 1/1
Not Janky 0.8/1
Good UI 0.7/1
Controller and Deck 1/1
Lots of Content 1/1
Good Theme 1/1
Good Graphics and Sound 1/1
Fun Feel 0.9/1
Unique Twists 1/1
Vibe Check 1/1

Metacritic Scores

 - +

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

Critic

8.7 Converted 10 Point Score
46 Number of Critic Reviews

User

7.8 User Review Average
240 Number of User Reviews

Average

8.3 Direct Average
7.9 "Fuck The Man" Combined Mean

Crypt of the Necrodancer Tag Cloud

 - +

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

Release Tags

AndroidEpiciOSLinuxMacPS4PS5Steam DeckSwitchWindows PCXboxDLCReleased

Sorting Categories

Extremely DifferentRanked

Genre and Control Style Tags

Content RichGrid-Based MovementRhythm GameRoguelikeRogueliteTop Down or IsometricTurn Based Hybrid

Aesthetic Tags

2DPixel Art

Setting / Story Tags

DungeonsFantasyHorror ThemedUndead

Control Styles

Controller

Game Mode Tags

Unknown30m

Features and Extras

SoundtrackSteam AchievementsSteam CloudSteam LeaderboardsSteam Trading CardsSteam Workshop

Dev/Publisher

Brace Yourself GamesKlei Entertainment

Game Features

 - +

Listing various features we've got info on.

Multiplayer

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

Steam Features

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

Extras, Etc.

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

Marketing Blurb

 - +

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

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

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

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

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

More info and fan reviews on steam

Run Times & Speedups

 - +

Average Run Time: 30m

Run Time Notes

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

Speed Settings

None

[edit]

Loop Hero

Free Available Released

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

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

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

Loop Hero Ranking Notes

 - +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 80.0

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

Added or last checked on 10/17/2023

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

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

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

Loop Hero Similarity Scale Heatmap

 - +

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

3.0 Similarity Score
65% Diagnosis:
781/1200 Comparison Points
Rogue-lite 1/1
Auto-Fire / Auto-Battle 0.8/1
Real Time 0.6/1
Top Down or Isometric 1/1
Direct Control of Single Avatar -0.7/1
Arcade Style 0.8/1
Bullet Heaven A (Many Player Bullets) -1/1
Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) -1/1
One Handed Play (w Controller) 0/1
Move Only -1/1
No Dash 0/1
No Trigger -1/1
No Special Move 0/1
No Aiming -1/1
No On-Aim / On-Fire Movement Penalty -1/1
Timed / Boss Ended Survival 0/1
Endless Mode 1/1
Organic / Unannounced Waves -1/1
High Enemy Count (Horde) -0.5/1
Level Up on XP Gain Event 0.2/1
Streamlined Level Choices (Simple UI) -1/1
Currency Based Meta Unlocks 1/1
Goal Based Meta Unlocks 1/1
Build Crafting 1/1
0.2/1
Weapon Combination / "Evolution" 0/1
Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 0.1/1
Broken / Invincible Builds Possible 1/1
Explorable Map 0.2/1
BIG Maps 0.2/1
XP on Ground -1/1
Health on Ground -1/1
Temp Powerups / Items on Ground -1/1
Treasure Chests and/or Loot Events 0/1
Vendor / Merchant on Run 0/1
Enemy Variety 1/1
Bosses / Elites 1/1
Many Interesting Characters 0.6/1
Many Challenges 1/1
Multiple Stages 0.7/1
Difficulty Modifiers 0/1
Bestiary / Lore 1/1
Achievements 1/1
Secrets 1/1
Retro / Pixel Art 1/1
Damage Numbers 1/1
Lofi Charm 1/1
Bumpin Music 1/1
Fun Writing 1/1
Subtle Humor 1/1
Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 1/1
Over the Top 0.4/1
"One More Run" / Short Runs 1/1
Difficulty Ramp 1/1
Fun Ramp 1/1
Low Price 0.5/1
Technical Check 1/1
Controls Check 1/1
Fun Check 1/1
Feels like VS -1/1

Loop Hero Review Scale Heatmap

 - +

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

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

Metacritic Scores

 - +

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

Critic

8.2 Converted 10 Point Score
63 Number of Critic Reviews

User

7.9 User Review Average
194 Number of User Reviews

Average

8.1 Direct Average
8.0 "Fuck The Man" Combined Mean

Loop Hero Tag Cloud

 - +

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

Release Tags

EpicGOGitch.ioLinuxMacSteam DeckSwitchWindows PCXboxFree AvailableReleased

Sorting Categories

Extremely DifferentRanked

Genre and Control Style Tags

Auto-BattlerContent RichDeckbuildingRogueliteStory RichStrategy

Aesthetic Tags

2DArtyPixel Art

Setting / Story Tags

Alternate RealityApocalypseFantasyTime Loop

Control Styles

ControllerMouse Only

Game Mode Tags

Boss ModeDifficulty ModifiersEndless ModeHub ZoneSpeed UpWave Survival30m

Features and Extras

SoundtrackSteam AchievementsSteam CloudSteam Trading Cards

Dev/Publisher

Devolver DigitalFour Quarters

Game Features

 - +

Listing various features we've got info on.

Multiplayer

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

Steam Features

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

Extras, Etc.

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

Marketing Blurb

 - +

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

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

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

More info and fan reviews on steam

Game Modes

 - +

Endless Survival /
Boss Challenge

"Chapter" Difficulty Modifiers and Rewards

Game Mode Notes

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

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

Run Times & Speedups

 - +

Average Run Time: 30m

Run Time Notes

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

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

Speed Settings

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

[edit]

Dwarf Fortress

Free Available Released

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

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

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

Dwarf Fortress Ranking Notes

 - +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 378.8

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

Added or last checked on 10/23/2023

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

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

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

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

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

Dwarf Fortress Similarity Scale Heatmap

 - +

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

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

Dwarf Fortress Review Scale Heatmap

 - +

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

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

Metacritic Scores

 - +

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

Critic

9.3 Converted 10 Point Score
12 Number of Critic Reviews

User

8.5 User Review Average
242 Number of User Reviews

Average

8.9 Direct Average
8.5 "Fuck The Man" Combined Mean

Dwarf Fortress Tag Cloud

 - +

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

Release Tags

Directitch.ioLinuxSteam DeckWindows PCFree AvailableReleased

Sorting Categories

Extremely DifferentRanked

Genre and Control Style Tags

BasebuildingColony SimContent RichReal Time With PauseRoguelikeStory RichSurvival

Aesthetic Tags

2DAsciiLofiPixel Art

Setting / Story Tags

DungeonsFantasy

Control Styles

Keyboard OnlyMouse Only

Game Mode Tags

Custom Mode/ScenarioEndless ModeSandboxSurvival CraftTraditional RoguelikeWave Survival∞

Features and Extras

SoundtrackSteam Workshop

Dev/Publisher

Bay 12 GamesKitfox Games

Game Features

 - +

Listing various features we've got info on.

Multiplayer

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

Steam Features

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

Extras, Etc.

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

Marketing Blurb

 - +

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

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

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

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

More info and fan reviews on steam

Control Style Notes

 - +

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

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

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

Automated Features

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

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

Supported Controls

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

Game Modes

 - +

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

Traditional Roguelike
("Adventure Mode")

Game Mode Notes

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

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

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

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

Run Times & Speedups

 - +

Average Run Time: ∞

Run Time Notes

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

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

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

Speed Settings

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

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

Player Power Progression

 - +

Detailed notes on progression systems.

In Run Progression

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

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

Meta Progression

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

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

[edit]

Rogue

Free Available

Extremely Different. The original mid-eighties game which named the rogue-like genre. Yes, it's on Steam! For 2.99! Rogue-lites have metaprogression, this game does not. Traditional Rogue-likes are also turn based among many other hotly debated features. Included to test the scale and out of curiosity. Turns out Vampire Survivors is totally a Rogue-lite but Rogue is nothing like a Vampire survivors-like. Well worth checking out if you want to experience videogame history.

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

Dungeon Crawler Top Down or Isometric Traditional Roguelike
4.8 Combined Ranking Score
62/72 Ranking Position
1017/1600 Total Points
8.5 Final Review
96% Steam
8.0 Scale
8.0 Vibes
340 Steam Reviews
356/400 Review Points
1.0 Similarity Score
55% Diagnosis:
Extremely Different
661/1200 Comparison Points
44% Genre -0.9/8 genre
44% Simple Controls -0.8/7 move
25% Survival Modes -2/4 modes
38% Power Progression -1/4 level
43% Buildcrafting Depth -0.7/5 build
71% Stage Features 3/7 stage
69% Content Breadth 3.5/9 stuff
73% Aesthetics 2.7/6 style
71% Gameplay Vibe Check 4.1/10 vibe vibe

Rogue Ranking Notes

 - +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 4.0

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

Added or last checked on 10/20/2023

There are many different versions of Rogue, but this one is on Steam! This is a pretty interesting one to compare since obviously it's the namesake for now two hotly debated genres with hopping sales! Rogue-Likes and Rogue-Lites both share some similarities with Rogue, and now we can see how it lines up with Vampire Survivors.

Run time highly estimated. Many people play on and off for decades without managing to beat it. As an old game, it can be very unforgiving. It's also turn based, so can highly vary with the player. Plus there is the randomization element, which is much broader in this game than many on the list. Anecdotally it takes "several hours" if you actually manage to get down and then back up.

It's not likely the developers thought of "run time" the way we do these days after 40 years of iterating on this game.

We'll be rating based on the steam release. I think some versions did have music, but this one does not. Loses a bit on our review scale for lack of modern controls / UI, but that's just how that scale works. 10/10 on vibes. I haven't put in nearly enough time to be an expert on this game so please let me know if you have corrections or adjustments!

This is another one included to kind of demonstrate how games fall on the scale. And because the debate about if game is a rogue-like is also never ending.

You could make a scale like this with Rogue as the example game but the people who talk about this non stop are exhausting. That's why I do my best to endorse multiple terms through this document. The evolution and use of language is interesting, but it's kind of nuts to sit around and pretend it hasn't evolved when it's already moved past you. I didn't like survivors-like at first either.

Rogue Similarity Scale Heatmap

 - +

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

1.0 Similarity Score
55% Diagnosis:
661/1200 Comparison Points
Rogue-lite 0.5/1
Auto-Fire / Auto-Battle -1/1
Real Time -1/1
Top Down or Isometric 1/1
Direct Control of Single Avatar 1/1
Arcade Style 0.1/1
Bullet Heaven A (Many Player Bullets) -1/1
Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) -0.5/1
One Handed Play (w Controller) 0.2/1
Move Only -1/1
No Dash 1/1
No Trigger -1/1
No Special Move -1/1
No Aiming 1/1
No On-Aim / On-Fire Movement Penalty 0/1
Timed / Boss Ended Survival -1/1
Endless Mode -1/1
Organic / Unannounced Waves 0/1
High Enemy Count (Horde) 0/1
Level Up on XP Gain Event 1/1
Streamlined Level Choices (Simple UI) 0/1
Currency Based Meta Unlocks -1/1
Goal Based Meta Unlocks -1/1
Build Crafting 0/1
0.3/1
Weapon Combination / "Evolution" 0/1
Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy 0/1
Broken / Invincible Builds Possible -1/1
Explorable Map 1/1
BIG Maps 1/1
XP on Ground 0/1
Health on Ground 0/1
Temp Powerups / Items on Ground 1/1
Treasure Chests and/or Loot Events 0/1
Vendor / Merchant on Run 0/1
Enemy Variety 1/1
Bosses / Elites 0.5/1
Many Interesting Characters 0/1
Many Challenges 0/1
Multiple Stages 1/1
Difficulty Modifiers 0/1
Bestiary / Lore 0/1
Achievements 0/1
Secrets 1/1
Retro / Pixel Art 1/1
Damage Numbers 0/1
Lofi Charm 1/1
Bumpin Music -1/1
Fun Writing 0.9/1
Subtle Humor 0.8/1
Panic & Zen Duo Vibe 0.2/1
Over the Top -1/1
"One More Run" / Short Runs 0.7/1
Difficulty Ramp 0/1
Fun Ramp 0/1
Low Price 1/1
Technical Check 0.9/1
Controls Check 0.5/1
Fun Check 1/1
Feels like VS -1/1

Rogue 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.

8.5 Final Review
96% Positive Steam Reviews
340 Steam Reviews
8.0 Pure Vibes
8.0 Review Scale
356/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 1/1
Not Janky 1/1
Good UI 0/1
Controller and Deck 0/1
Lots of Content 1/1
Good Theme 1/1
Good Graphics and Sound 1/1
Fun Feel 1/1
Unique Twists 1/1
Vibe Check 1/1

Rogue Tag Cloud

 - +

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

Release Tags

Windows PCFree Available

Sorting Categories

Extremely DifferentRanked

Genre and Control Style Tags

Dungeon CrawlerTop Down or IsometricTraditional Roguelike

Aesthetic Tags

AsciiLofiSerious

Setting / Story Tags

AbstractDungeonsFantasy

Control Styles

Keyboard 1 HandedKeyboard Only

Game Mode Tags

Unknown240m

Features and Extras

Dev/Publisher

EpyxInc.Pixel Games UK

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: No
  • 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.

"Experience the commercial port of the game that spawned a thousand 'Rogue-likes'. Venture into the Dungeons of Doom in search of the legendary Amulet of Yendor, and hopefully escape with your life! Randomly generated dungeons await you, full of nasty monsters, insidious traps, and glittering loot."

"In the early 1980s, a computer game emerged that changed the world of fantasy gaming forever. Randomly generated rooms meant that each journey into the infamous Dungeons of Doom was unique. "

More info and fan reviews on steam

Run Times & Speedups

 - +

Average Run Time: 240m

Run Time Notes

Run time highly estimated. Many people play on and off for decades without managing to beat it. As an old game, it can be very unforgiving.

It's also turn based, so time varies highly with the player. Plus there is the randomization element, which is much broader in this game than many on the list. Anecdotally it takes "several hours" if you actually manage to get down and then back up.

Speed Settings

?

[edit]

Elden Ring

Released

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

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

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

Elden Ring Ranking Notes

 - +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 283.3

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

Added or last checked on 10/17/2023

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

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

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

Elden Ring Similarity Scale Heatmap

 - +

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

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

Elden Ring Review Scale Heatmap

 - +

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

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

Metacritic Scores

 - +

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

Critic

9.4 Converted 10 Point Score
60 Number of Critic Reviews

User

7.1 User Review Average
5931 Number of User Reviews

Average

8.3 Direct Average
7.1 "Fuck The Man" Combined Mean

Elden Ring Tag Cloud

 - +

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

Release Tags

PS4PS5Steam DeckWindows PCXboxReleased

Sorting Categories

Extremely DifferentRanked

Genre and Control Style Tags

3rd Person AdventureAction RPGContent RichOpen WorldSoulslikeStory Rich

Aesthetic Tags

3DRealisticSerious

Setting / Story Tags

DungeonsFantasyHorrorHorror Themed

Control Styles

Controller

Game Mode Tags

Unknownn/a

Features and Extras

SoundtrackSteam AchievementsSteam CloudSteam Trading Cards

Dev/Publisher

Bandai NamcoFromSoftware

Game Features

 - +

Listing various features we've got info on.

Multiplayer

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

Steam Features

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

Extras, Etc.

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

Marketing Blurb

 - +

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

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

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

More info and fan reviews on steam

Run Times & Speedups

 - +

Average Run Time: n/a

Run Time Notes

?

Speed Settings

?

[edit]

Godstrike

Released

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

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

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

Godstrike Ranking Notes

 - +

Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 1.1

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

Added or last checked on 11/4/2023

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

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

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

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

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

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

Godstrike Similarity Scale Heatmap

 - +

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

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

Godstrike Review Scale Heatmap

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

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

Metacritic Scores

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

Critic

6.8 Converted 10 Point Score
7 Number of Critic Reviews

User

8.0 User Review Average
1 Number of User Reviews

Average

7.4 Direct Average
7.0 "Fuck The Man" Combined Mean

Godstrike Tag Cloud

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

Release Tags

Steam DeckWindows PCReleased

Sorting Categories

Extremely DifferentRanked

Genre and Control Style Tags

Arena ShooterBoss RushBullet HellRogueliteTop Down or IsometricTwin Stick Shooter

Aesthetic Tags

3DCell ShadedSerious

Setting / Story Tags

Fantasy

Control Styles

Controller

Game Mode Tags

Unknown30m

Features and Extras

Steam AchievementsSteam Leaderboards

Dev/Publisher

Freedom GamesOverPowered Team

Game Features

 - +

Listing various features we've got info on.

Multiplayer

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

Steam Features

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

Extras, Etc.

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

Marketing Blurb

 - +

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

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

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

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

More info and fan reviews on steam

Run Times & Speedups

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Average Run Time: 30m

Run Time Notes

?

Speed Settings

?

[edit]

Call of Duty 2

Released

Extremely Different. If you don't want to play Vampire Survivors at all! This WWII campaign based first person shooter is nothing alike! Yes, it's a 'shooter' but it's completely different! Included to test the scale. Our use of a negative-shifted measurement within categories allows us to get a low ranking for a very different game, and it still be a functional game sharing basic features. It's mostly an aesthetic difference, but a lower score is easily understood at a glance. Otherwise a game like this might get around a confusingly high score! It may be a little confusing now, but as we fully rank more games, these different ones will stay near the bottom.

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

First Person Shooter Story Rich
2.1 Combined Ranking Score
68/72 Ranking Position
711/1600 Total Points
8.0 Final Review
93% Steam
7.2 Scale
7.5 Vibes
6842 Steam Reviews
340/400 Review Points
-3.8 Similarity Score
31% Diagnosis:
Extremely Different
371/1200 Comparison Points
37% Genre -2.1/8 genre
14% Simple Controls -5/7 move
6% Survival Modes -3.5/4 modes
0% Power Progression -4/4 level
5% Buildcrafting Depth -4.5/5 build
48% Stage Features -0.3/7 stage
56% Content Breadth 1/9 stuff
38% Aesthetics -1.5/6 style
40% Gameplay Vibe Check -2/10 vibe vibe

Call of Duty 2 Ranking Notes

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Scaling and Review Notes

Personal Hours Played: 20.0

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

Added or last checked on 10/14/2023

Included here to test/show the scale - kind of demonstrating that to properly show a game is nothing like VS you gotta use a lot of -1 scores. In theory you could go all the way negative to -60, but most games would share some features! Our scale is heavily designed to be useful for differentiating very similar games, so if very different games earned a 5.0 it would be less clear. This shifting allows us to clearly differentiate from the very similar games up top.

Some random scoring notes: It does away with the healthpack drops from the first game, so no more "health on ground." Call of Duty 2 also has no sprint! So full score in "no dash", basically. We use this one a lot in the scoring guide so check out if you're curious about the numbers!

Matter of the scale being -1 to 1 is mostly a matter of aesthetics really, it's just a 20 point range that allows you to see easily what is just a lack of a feature and which is an intentional difference in design philosophy.

Call of Duty 2 Similarity Scale Heatmap

 - +

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

-3.8 Similarity Score
31% Diagnosis:
371/1200 Comparison Points
Rogue-lite -1/1
Auto-Fire / Auto-Battle -1/1
Real Time 1/1
Top Down or Isometric -1/1
Direct Control of Single Avatar 1/1
Arcade Style -1/1
Bullet Heaven A (Many Player Bullets) 0.2/1
Bullet Heaven B (Few Enemy Bullets) -0.3/1
One Handed Play (w Controller) -1/1
Move Only -1/1
No Dash 1/1
No Trigger -1/1
No Special Move -1/1
No Aiming -1/1
No On-Aim / On-Fire Movement Penalty -1/1
Timed / Boss Ended Survival -1/1
Endless Mode -1/1
Organic / Unannounced Waves -1/1
High Enemy Count (Horde) -0.5/1
Level Up on XP Gain Event -1/1
Streamlined Level Choices (Simple UI) -1/1
Currency Based Meta Unlocks -1/1
Goal Based Meta Unlocks -1/1
Build Crafting -1/1
-1/1
Weapon Combination / "Evolution" -0.5/1
Interesting Item / Weapon / Ability Synergy -1/1
Broken / Invincible Builds Possible -1/1
Explorable Map 0.7/1
BIG Maps 0.5/1
XP on Ground -1/1
Health on Ground -1/1
Temp Powerups / Items on Ground 1/1
Treasure Chests and/or Loot Events 0.5/1
Vendor / Merchant on Run -1/1
Enemy Variety 0.5/1
Bosses / Elites 0.5/1
Many Interesting Characters -1/1
Many Challenges 0/1
Multiple Stages 1/1
Difficulty Modifiers 0/1
Bestiary / Lore 0/1
Achievements 0/1
Secrets 0/1
Retro / Pixel Art -1/1
Damage Numbers 0/1
Lofi Charm -1/1
Bumpin Music 0/1
Fun Writing 0.5/1
Subtle Humor 0/1
Panic & Zen Duo Vibe -0.5/1
Over the Top 0/1
"One More Run" / Short Runs -1/1
Difficulty Ramp -1/1
Fun Ramp -1/1
Low Price -1/1
Technical Check 1/1
Controls Check 0.5/1
Fun Check 1/1
Feels like VS -1/1

Call of Duty 2 Review Scale Heatmap

 - +

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

8.0 Final Review
93% Positive Steam Reviews
6842 Steam Reviews
7.5 Pure Vibes
7.2 Review Scale
340/400 Review Points
Not Buggy 1/1
Not Janky 1/1
Good UI 1/1
Controller and Deck 0/1
Lots of Content 0.6/1
Good Theme 0.6/1
Good Graphics and Sound 0.5/1
Fun Feel 1/1
Unique Twists 0.5/1
Vibe Check 1/1

Metacritic Scores

 - +

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

Critic

8.6 Converted 10 Point Score
64 Number of Critic Reviews

User

8.5 User Review Average
1033 Number of User Reviews

Average

8.6 Direct Average
8.5 "Fuck The Man" Combined Mean

Call of Duty 2 Tag Cloud

 - +

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

Release Tags

MacWindows PCXbox 360Released

Sorting Categories

Extremely DifferentRanked

Genre and Control Style Tags

First Person ShooterStory Rich

Aesthetic Tags

3DRealisticSerious

Setting / Story Tags

HistoricalMilitaryWWII

Control Styles

Controller

Game Mode Tags

Unknownn/a

Features and Extras

Soundtrack

Dev/Publisher

ActivisionInfinity Ward

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

Extras, Etc.

  • NSFW: No
  • Demo Available: No
  • DLC Available: No
  • Soundtrack Available: YouTube Retail (CD)

Marketing Blurb

 - +

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

"The sequel to 2003's Call of Duty, winner of over 80 Game of the Year awards, Call of Duty 2 offers more immense, more intense, more realistic battles than ever before"

"All-new, unprecedented enhancements from stunningly realistic graphics to seamless gameplay, thanks to the revolutionary COD2 engine"

"The dozens of Allied soldiers surrounding you are fully aware of the changing situations around them, and will let you know using an all-new, context-sensitive battle chatter system." etc etc

More info and fan reviews on steam

Run Times & Speedups

 - +

Average Run Time: n/a

Run Time Notes

?

Speed Settings

?

Thanks for visiting The Monstergirl Scale!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

- kemeo

"it's like 6 degrees of kevin bacon"

- vanniall

"I don't like seeing incomplete spreadsheets"

- genki