▲ Recommended
2 hrs
This is quite an interesting take on the Vampire Survivor-like/Bullet Heaven genre. To preface this review, I'm a pretty big fan of VS-like games and action roguelikes. Right off the bat, I will say this plays quite like an idle game more than an action game. The main focus of Novivors is to manage characters, accrue currency/experience/equipment, build them up, and progress. This game has a number of progression mechanics and unlocks, a lot of which comes with a good amount of customization. Each class has a big tech tree, and each piece of equipment or ability can be customized further with stat boosts. There's a lot to figure out, fine tune, and boost up. What it does, it does very well.
It is important to note that going into this game, you're not going to really be engaged in individual runs. In fact, the runs can be entirely automated if you feel like it. There are settings (the "A", "S", and "M" buttons you see on the UI when you're in a run) where you can either choose: Manual for movement control of a character and picking every choice of level ups and loot pick ups, Semi-Manual for picking every choice but letting the characters automatically play and move, or Automatic for having the computer move the character and randomly pick for you. Each run will play out pretty similar, where your character(s) will attack waves of enemies. Every 30 seconds or so a mini-boss will spawn, and every 30 seconds independent of that will cause an "event" which seems to just be random stat buffs or debuffs on the player for a limited time. Sure, you could affect the run a little bit by helping the character to dodge projectiles that the AI might not have and continue the run a tiny bit longer than it would have (you can change between the automated settings in real time). But, the main focus of this game is really the building of characters and the progression. It is not about the combat or doing really interesting things in individual runs. This plays more like an idle progression game versus an Action Roguelike or Action RPG.
I'm someone who has and still can enjoy idle progression games from time-to-time. They're not always my thing, and I much prefer action games. I also really enjoy the meta-progression aspect of roguelites and VS-likes, and this game really focuses on the meta-progression beyond anything else. It does it well, even if there are quite a lot of systems to learn and not really a great way to really comprehend some of the nuances of them. I'm only a couple of hours deep, and I've been able to make progress with unlocking a second class and world in that time. I can also be pretty bad at really understanding and properly engaging with RPG progression mechanics. Luckily, you can generally make progress (at least I have so far) by employing the "pick the biggest numbers and best equipment/abilities you have" principle. While I do wish things were explained a little better, the game and its mechanics are generally engaging and interesting to utilize. The progression, which this game has put its focus on, is satisfying and deep.
This is not a perfect game, for sure. Like I said, you need to be more in the mood for progression gameplay over individual run-to-run action gameplay. There are some quality of life issues and little glitches that do impede things a bit. For one, I've had the skill tree menu pop up in the middle of a run I'm playing to signify that the character has skill points I can allocate. But, the game doesn't pause and it forces you to mash out of the screen to get back to playing if you have it on Manual (which I do most of the time). Sometimes I've moused over something to gain more information during a level-up in a run, and clicking it doesn't make the information pop-up go away and it can obscure the screen. I have to violently shake my mouse across the screen to get it to go away. One of the bigger potential issues is that it's hard to differentiate anything going on in the run. So, when a mini boss appears, it can be sometimes pretty difficult to pick out which monster is the mini boss with a variety of different fodder enemies and a lot happening on the screen. Finally, just speaking out about my preference, I do wish there was some more engaging things happening in the runs. I was pretty excited to see an event countdown when I first started playing, but quickly figured out it was just rolling different stat buffs and/or debuffs for a limited time. There is zero exploration in the runs, as far as I can tell. But, I also understand that really isn't the focus of this particular title.
In the end, I do like this game. It has addictive progression mechanics and provides a good amount of dopamine for those who like this kind of thing. I caution people who have played more action-based VS-likes, see the titles of "action" and "action RPG", and think that there's a lot of that in this game. There really isn't. This is more Vampire Survivors Idle/Simulator than Vampire Survivors, if that makes sense. But, if that sounds intriguing to you or you cherish RPG building mechanics, then this is quite a good game and worth the price. Definitely give the demo a try to see if it's something that's in your wheelhouse before purchasing.
It is important to note that going into this game, you're not going to really be engaged in individual runs. In fact, the runs can be entirely automated if you feel like it. There are settings (the "A", "S", and "M" buttons you see on the UI when you're in a run) where you can either choose: Manual for movement control of a character and picking every choice of level ups and loot pick ups, Semi-Manual for picking every choice but letting the characters automatically play and move, or Automatic for having the computer move the character and randomly pick for you. Each run will play out pretty similar, where your character(s) will attack waves of enemies. Every 30 seconds or so a mini-boss will spawn, and every 30 seconds independent of that will cause an "event" which seems to just be random stat buffs or debuffs on the player for a limited time. Sure, you could affect the run a little bit by helping the character to dodge projectiles that the AI might not have and continue the run a tiny bit longer than it would have (you can change between the automated settings in real time). But, the main focus of this game is really the building of characters and the progression. It is not about the combat or doing really interesting things in individual runs. This plays more like an idle progression game versus an Action Roguelike or Action RPG.
I'm someone who has and still can enjoy idle progression games from time-to-time. They're not always my thing, and I much prefer action games. I also really enjoy the meta-progression aspect of roguelites and VS-likes, and this game really focuses on the meta-progression beyond anything else. It does it well, even if there are quite a lot of systems to learn and not really a great way to really comprehend some of the nuances of them. I'm only a couple of hours deep, and I've been able to make progress with unlocking a second class and world in that time. I can also be pretty bad at really understanding and properly engaging with RPG progression mechanics. Luckily, you can generally make progress (at least I have so far) by employing the "pick the biggest numbers and best equipment/abilities you have" principle. While I do wish things were explained a little better, the game and its mechanics are generally engaging and interesting to utilize. The progression, which this game has put its focus on, is satisfying and deep.
This is not a perfect game, for sure. Like I said, you need to be more in the mood for progression gameplay over individual run-to-run action gameplay. There are some quality of life issues and little glitches that do impede things a bit. For one, I've had the skill tree menu pop up in the middle of a run I'm playing to signify that the character has skill points I can allocate. But, the game doesn't pause and it forces you to mash out of the screen to get back to playing if you have it on Manual (which I do most of the time). Sometimes I've moused over something to gain more information during a level-up in a run, and clicking it doesn't make the information pop-up go away and it can obscure the screen. I have to violently shake my mouse across the screen to get it to go away. One of the bigger potential issues is that it's hard to differentiate anything going on in the run. So, when a mini boss appears, it can be sometimes pretty difficult to pick out which monster is the mini boss with a variety of different fodder enemies and a lot happening on the screen. Finally, just speaking out about my preference, I do wish there was some more engaging things happening in the runs. I was pretty excited to see an event countdown when I first started playing, but quickly figured out it was just rolling different stat buffs and/or debuffs for a limited time. There is zero exploration in the runs, as far as I can tell. But, I also understand that really isn't the focus of this particular title.
In the end, I do like this game. It has addictive progression mechanics and provides a good amount of dopamine for those who like this kind of thing. I caution people who have played more action-based VS-likes, see the titles of "action" and "action RPG", and think that there's a lot of that in this game. There really isn't. This is more Vampire Survivors Idle/Simulator than Vampire Survivors, if that makes sense. But, if that sounds intriguing to you or you cherish RPG building mechanics, then this is quite a good game and worth the price. Definitely give the demo a try to see if it's something that's in your wheelhouse before purchasing.
20 found helpful
Steam ↗
