Developer: Flanne
Steam Deck Compatibility?: Verified
Rrp: £4.29 (Steam)
This is the third game I’ve played that’s similar to Vampire Survivors and I’ve been trying to think of a good genre name that isn’t the equivalent of Doom-clone. Sadly, I wasn’t able to think of one but I have a friend who has, he calls them ‘Bullet Heavens’, and I’ve got to admit it’s a good name so I’m going to run with it (and hopefully spread the term).
To be more than a mere clone you’re game needs to have something different, a unique draw. In this game its that you can aim your weapon and shoot at will. I know that in a way that makes this a bullet hell but I would argue that it would only be a bullet hell if you go for a build that facilitates that.
There several characters to play as (once you’ve unlocked them) each with their own special abilities. Once you’ve selected your character you then select the weapon they’ll be using, do you want a slow to reload but powerful shotgun or the weaker dual smg’s that fire at a much faster rate? Perhaps you’d rather have the grenade launcher? So much to consider.
Just like with Vampire Survivors you have to collect the experience that your slain enemies drop. Doing this will increase your level and allow you to select one of five upgrades. This is where this game and Vampire Survivors differ, the upgrades in this game do more than merely add a percent chance or increase the damage area. These will cause a burning effect, freeze the enemy, cast a curse and many other things. There are upgrades that will simply decrease your weapons reload time and increase the rate of fire too, of course. However, my favourite upgrades are the summons. You can have several out at once and they all attack independently of you in different manners. From the scythe that spins around you to the ghost that shoots at your enemies. Getting certain upgrades will unlock a ‘synergy’ which means that their effect will compliment each other.
At the end of each run you’ll gain a… currency. I wish I could give it a name but for the life of me I can’t find one. What I can tell you though is that this currency is how you unlock (most) of the other character and weapons. You also can spend them on Runes which grant passive bonuses.
This game is so much fun, I installed it on my Steam Deck so I could keep playing while in bed (as well as a few other places). If you liked Vampire Survivors or Boneraise minions (or other bullet heavens) I really think you could do much worse!
