Roguelite Enemy Hell/Bullet Heaven/Survivor catch-all

Gavinmad

Gavinmad

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bolok said:
Someone should start a thread for those. I've gotten quite hooked on the dumb things.
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Ok then. Gonna kick it off with a list and brief description of what I've played.

Vampire Survivors - The one that kicked it off, quickly getting overshadowed by some of its newer competition but it's not bad. Has it's own thread. vampire survivors

Soulstone Survivors - Listing this one second since it has its own discussion thread. Soulstone Survivors


Brotato - Simple but solid base for a game here and already a couple decent mods put together for it. Just has character and item unlocks, no standard meta progression yet.

Nomad Survival - VS not quite clone, went into EA and hit full release while VS was still in EA. Nothing wrong with it, but I'd recommend a lot of others in the genre before I'd recommend this one.

Don't Shit On My #!$@& Roof - Pretty basic but very funny premise, not very well balanced yet. Definitely need to be a big fan of the genre.

20 Minutes til Dawn - Haven't given this one as long as it probably deserves, the color palette/overall aesthetic of the game gives me anxiety.

Void Scrappers - Fun little Asteroids/Gradius style which makes it pretty unique in the current genre boom, highly recommend

Rogue Genesia - Fairly complex with a simplistic art style, feature creep might end up drowning this one but for now highly recommend

Boneraiser Minions - Somewhat atypical entry to the genre, you control a necromancer with a little warband of different types of zombies, the different necromancer types change up the gameplay a little but but not dramatically.

Tiny Rogues - definitely roguelite but closer to a bullet hell than survivor. You crawl through 10 floors of a dungeon. Haven't sank much time in it yet but it seems pretty fun so far.

Spirit Hunters: Infinite Horde - Lot of potential here, very deep meta progression but the inability to control your facing independently from your moving in a game with so many directional attacks infuriates me

Bounty of One - Light on features but interesting in spite of it. Each character has a single unique weapon and you get a bunch of random upgrades in each play session, biggest problem is builds sorta end up the same if you're lucky enough to get the right drops.

Spellbook Demonslayers - Tried the demo on this twice, didn't hook me either time. Whole thing feels extremely unoriginal even in a genre full of samey games.

Deadly Days - Zombie loot blaster that actually predates Vampire Survivors blowing up the genre, I had a lot of fun with this one.


That's it for now, I'm sure I've missed plenty.
 
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bolok

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Ran across a vid of the other day, looks interesting enough to put on my list, but I haven't gotten a chance to check it out yet.
 
Chris

Chris

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Keep seeing these pop up on mobile bit tend to be unpolished or ad filled, any good ones?

There's no reason to need a PC to play a game like this.
 
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Mist

Mist

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Gavinmad said:
Ok then. Gonna kick it off with a list and brief description of what I've played.

Vampire Survivors - The one that kicked it off, quickly getting overshadowed by some of its newer competition but it's not bad. Has it's own thread. vampire survivors

Soulstone Survivors - Listing this one second since it has its own discussion thread. Soulstone Survivors


Brotato - Simple but solid base for a game here and already a couple decent mods put together for it. Just has character and item unlocks, no standard meta progression yet.

Nomad Survival - VS not quite clone, went into EA and hit full release while VS was still in EA. Nothing wrong with it, but I'd recommend a lot of others in the genre before I'd recommend this one.

Don't Shit On My #!$@& Roof - Pretty basic but very funny premise, not very well balanced yet. Definitely need to be a big fan of the genre.

20 Minutes til Dawn - Haven't given this one as long as it probably deserves, the color palette/overall aesthetic of the game gives me anxiety.

Void Scrappers - Fun little Asteroids/Gradius style which makes it pretty unique in the current genre boom, highly recommend

Rogue Genesia - Fairly complex with a simplistic art style, feature creep might end up drowning this one but for now highly recommend

Boneraiser Minions - Somewhat atypical entry to the genre, you control a necromancer with a little warband of different types of zombies, the different necromancer types change up the gameplay a little but but not dramatically.

Tiny Rogues - definitely roguelite but closer to a bullet hell than survivor. You crawl through 10 floors of a dungeon. Haven't sank much time in it yet but it seems pretty fun so far.

Spirit Hunters: Infinite Horde - Lot of potential here, very deep meta progression but the inability to control your facing independently from your moving in a game with so many directional attacks infuriates me

Bounty of One - Light on features but interesting in spite of it. Each character has a single unique weapon and you get a bunch of random upgrades in each play session, biggest problem is builds sorta end up the same if you're lucky enough to get the right drops.

Spellbook Demonslayers - Tried the demo on this twice, didn't hook me either time. Whole thing feels extremely unoriginal even in a genre full of samey games.

Deadly Days - Zombie loot blaster that actually predates Vampire Survivors blowing up the genre, I had a lot of fun with this one.


That's it for now, I'm sure I've missed plenty.
Click to expand...
If I'm only going to play one of these, which one is the best?
 
B

bolok

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If soulstone wasn't oddly expensive I'd probably say that one, but you'll probably have to try a couple to find one that grabs you if any do. Soulstone does have the prologue thing which is free and there are a few demos for some of them as well. Thankfully most of them are < $5.
 
Gavinmad

Gavinmad

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Mist said:
If I'm only going to play one of these, which one is the best?
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The Abyss, Special Edition. Half the point of these games is that they're so cheap it's no big deal if one or two doesn't click with you.

Soulstone Survivors will probably end up being regarded as the platinum standard of the genre boom. Nice graphics and fairly ambitious plans gameplay wise. It's also the only one outside the 3-5 dollar window. Don't spend much time in the Prologue (Demo) if you like it, some stuff will carry over but there's a fair amount of gameplay-related meta progression in the full game that you won't get credit for.

Most bang for your buck from the cheaper side of things would be either Rogue Genesia or Brotato.
 
Fogel

Fogel

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In the beginning I was kinda meh on brotato due to not having the meta progression but then one issue you can run into with some of these games is the balance can get out of wack and you become so powerful that there is almost no challenge or the gameplay becomes stale. One example is Rogue Genesia, once you get some meta bonuses you end up getting so much exp that you can pick almost any card and end up having most of them by the end of the run, which means no real build diversity or style. Brotato gets its replay-ability by having so many different classes and weapons. I did enjoy both but I think Rogue needs some balance tweaks before I pick it up again.
 
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Gavinmad

Gavinmad

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Genesia has some challenge runs that I've failed to beat multiple times, and it has an adjustable difficulty slider so you can still be challenged without having to actually disable your prog.
 
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Warr

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Mist said:
If I'm only going to play one of these, which one is the best?
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Vampire Survivors is probably the pick as it is most complete with meta progression. Also the developer used to program slot machines so you know you are getting your sweet sweet dopamine hits from a professional.

I will say it will get old eventually but for $5? GOTY

I've played Brotato as well, it was also well done in terms of build variety.
 
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Caliane

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Brotato is the one that I see get the most universal praise. haven't tried that one myself.

vamp survivors is the first and complete. many of the others are EA partial.


we should mention the actual original. Magic survival on mobile is the actual progenitor.
play.google.com

Magic Survival - Apps on Google Play

Hack and Slash you can enjoy with one-hand control
play.google.com play.google.com

vamp survivors actually brought significant improvements to the design however. controls on pc, xp dropping from kills, as well as chests/bosses.
 
Angerz

Angerz

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I've only Played Vamp Survivors, Brotato and Rogue Genesia

I would pretty easily recommend any of them, probably in the listed order. The only real negative I would give any of them is Rogue Genesia sucked the shit out of my Steam Deck battery when I last played it a few months ago, but maybe it has had some optimization since then.
 
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Gavinmad

Gavinmad

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Warr said:
Army of Ruin

Preview here:
Click to expand...
Thought I'd maybe played a demo of this one but I guess I just watched it a bit on YT. I like that they attached 'elements' to weapons and trinkets so that collaborations are more flexible.
 
Brikker

Brikker

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I play this genre a lot as it is perfect for us without a lot of gaming time these days (or prolonged game sessions).

This is what I have:

20 Minutes till Dawn - Not bad but the black/white art isn't very nice. Also it was easy to find a couple builds that just trivialized the game. Decent overall, though. It has manual aiming/shooting as well.

Army of Ruin - Graphically nice and they seem to be developing at a decent speed. The difficulty is a bit high (easy to get overwhelmed/die), the progression is definitely slow, and the pace of the game is slower than others, despite recent updates speeding it up. I'd skip it until it sees more development.

Boneraiser Minions - Some won't like the very pixelated graphics but this one is a lot of fun. I love minion classes in games so this being entirely based off minions made it a win for me. They have added a ton recently and there are like 6+ classes I haven't even tried yet. Also seems like they increased the difficulty.

Bounty of One - I haven't played this a ton yet, maybe 10 games or so. The meta progression seems pretty slow. You only shoot when you're standing still (at least with the initial character). This is one where you get just the weapon of your class/character, and level up upgrades increase stats. Not super interesting.

Brotato - This is a fun game but I don't actually put it in the same genre category as others. As has been said, no meta progression in this. To me, meta progression is a defining feature of this genre. Definitely a fun game overall, though.

Her Name Was Fire - This is a new one and pretty bare bones at the moment. Twin-stick shooter style. I've only played it a couple times but it's pretty fun. Need more development.

Mobmania - I have this one but have not given it very much time. It has a crap ton of characters, seemingly a lot of build possibilities. However, no meta progression. Unlocks are just cosmetics? I'll give it another shot or two but I wrote it off the first time due to lack of progression outside cosmetics.

Nomad Survival - I played this a bunch initially and unlocked all characters. However, I quickly realized there was a class/build that could be used to farm without fear and the game got boring.

Nova Drift - Bit of a different one. Space shooter with manual shooting. I like this one just to change it up.

Rogue: Genesia - Been said more or less. Great one for the genre. I've recently started it again with all the updates/new unlocks.

Runic - Super bare bones right now and also easy to "break" the game quickly with builds. Has a chaining mechanic in builds where killing/on hit procs more attacks. Could be pretty good if they keep developing.

Soulstone Survivors - Another top one for the genre. I will say, this one isn't actually super compelling to me. I don't know if it's the movement, maps, weapons, or what. I like it but others in the genre hook me a lot more. These guys are making an aRPG with the same engine.

Spellbook Demonslayers - I actually like this one a decent bit. Nothing revolutionary but has an expansive meta progression and a lot of characters/weapons.

Spirit Hunters: Infinite Horde - I've played this one enough to almost max out the meta progression. Also have all the achievements. It's got cartoony graphics and the lack of directed aiming can be annoying but I found the best weapons don't need to be aimed anyway. They're developing steadily, recently added a lot of weapon evolves and the hardest difficulty mode.

Tiny Rogues - I will say I like this game but it's not the same genre. Fun game though.

Vampire Survivors - The PC original. Had an expac recently that I picked up for like $2 or whatever. Currently trying it now. Still a solid buy if you like the genre.

Void Scrappers - I have only played this once or twice. It seemed pretty shallow with upgrades and what not but has potential.
 
Gavinmad

Gavinmad

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Brikker said:
I play this genre a lot as it is perfect for us without a lot of gaming time these days (or prolonged game sessions).

This is what I have:

20 Minutes till Dawn - Not bad but the black/white art isn't very nice. Also it was easy to find a couple builds that just trivialized the game. Decent overall, though. It has manual aiming/shooting as well.

Army of Ruin - Graphically nice and they seem to be developing at a decent speed. The difficulty is a bit high (easy to get overwhelmed/die), the progression is definitely slow, and the pace of the game is slower than others, despite recent updates speeding it up. I'd skip it until it sees more development.

Boneraiser Minions - Some won't like the very pixelated graphics but this one is a lot of fun. I love minion classes in games so this being entirely based off minions made it a win for me. They have added a ton recently and there are like 6+ classes I haven't even tried yet. Also seems like they increased the difficulty.

Bounty of One - I haven't played this a ton yet, maybe 10 games or so. The meta progression seems pretty slow. You only shoot when you're standing still (at least with the initial character). This is one where you get just the weapon of your class/character, and level up upgrades increase stats. Not super interesting.

Brotato - This is a fun game but I don't actually put it in the same genre category as others. As has been said, no meta progression in this. To me, meta progression is a defining feature of this genre. Definitely a fun game overall, though.

Her Name Was Fire - This is a new one and pretty bare bones at the moment. Twin-stick shooter style. I've only played it a couple times but it's pretty fun. Need more development.

Mobmania - I have this one but have not given it very much time. It has a crap ton of characters, seemingly a lot of build possibilities. However, no meta progression. Unlocks are just cosmetics? I'll give it another shot or two but I wrote it off the first time due to lack of progression outside cosmetics.

Nomad Survival - I played this a bunch initially and unlocked all characters. However, I quickly realized there was a class/build that could be used to farm without fear and the game got boring.

Nova Drift - Bit of a different one. Space shooter with manual shooting. I like this one just to change it up.

Rogue: Genesia - Been said more or less. Great one for the genre. I've recently started it again with all the updates/new unlocks.

Runic - Super bare bones right now and also easy to "break" the game quickly with builds. Has a chaining mechanic in builds where killing/on hit procs more attacks. Could be pretty good if they keep developing.

Soulstone Survivors - Another top one for the genre. I will say, this one isn't actually super compelling to me. I don't know if it's the movement, maps, weapons, or what. I like it but others in the genre hook me a lot more. These guys are making an aRPG with the same engine.

Spellbook Demonslayers - I actually like this one a decent bit. Nothing revolutionary but has an expansive meta progression and a lot of characters/weapons.

Spirit Hunters: Infinite Horde - I've played this one enough to almost max out the meta progression. Also have all the achievements. It's got cartoony graphics and the lack of directed aiming can be annoying but I found the best weapons don't need to be aimed anyway. They're developing steadily, recently added a lot of weapon evolves and the hardest difficulty mode.

Tiny Rogues - I will say I like this game but it's not the same genre. Fun game though.

Vampire Survivors - The PC original. Had an expac recently that I picked up for like $2 or whatever. Currently trying it now. Still a solid buy if you like the genre.

Void Scrappers - I have only played this once or twice. It seemed pretty shallow with upgrades and what not but has potential.
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Tiny Rogues is an outlier but I wanted to mention it because it's a blast but I didn't want to give it a separate thread.

Deeper review on Bounty of One after spending more time on it: A common issue with these games is that characters tend to end up rather samey once you get your build going and that's extra true with this one. All the characters except one generally just want whatever the highest mathematical dps option you're offered is out of damage/attack speed/crit/crit damage. The one odd character out instead builds for just cooldown reduction and damage instead.

It's theoretically possible to make builds based on unique powers you get offered from mini-boss chests but unless you get started on that path very early on you probably can't switch. They have a good foundation for a game, they just need to do some work to make it more interesting imo.
 
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Gavinmad

Gavinmad

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Little more in-depth on Spirit Hunters: Infinite Horde

Impressively deep meta progression so far. Multiple in game currencies and some nodes are gated by killing a certain number of a certain monster type so you have to play all the maps on every difficulty rather than just exclusively farming some optimal spot. Lack of second stick aiming remains my biggest pet peeve (contrary to what Brikker said the two best/most reliable abilities are front fired), but you get used to it. Biggest problem the game has at the moment is hero balance, one of the two starter heroes has multiple healing abilities and they make him far and away the best character, and also the only one that can reliably tackle the highest difficulty. There's a hero with a huge defense bonus that can sort of manage it by being tough enough to stay alive on just the healing the stages give you but stage healing is very unpredictable.

Lot of potential though.
 
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