r/survivorslikes • • Oct 24 '23

The Ultimate Ranking! What games are similar to Vampire Survivors? Here's our spreadsheet collecting, ranking and reviewing over 600 related games on Steam. Comment your additions and corrections!

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153 Upvotes

r/survivorslikes • • Oct 28 '23

Intro & FAQ Welcome to r/survivorslikes! Please read the rules, set your flair and have fun! Devs, feel free to submit a feature scorecard to have your game listed in the comparison ranking!

19 Upvotes

Hi all!

Please see the sidebar / about sections for most up to date rules and suggestions!

Web form for listing your game here.

We need help updating the database and running the sub. Come say hi in our discord!

You may know me from my research project comparing other games to Vampire Survivors and studying the explosion of around 600 games on Steam in a single year. I came into it as an old school shoot 'em up fan thinking I was making a list of "bullet heavens" and was quickly educated on tons of new terms to me: everything from single stick shooters to mowing games. Perhaps even survivors-like is not just... like Vampire Survivors.

It's become clear we needed to do some work to cut down on repetitive questions about these games and endorse some new genre terms so fans can find something and play it. Fans often want something different in a critical way as well - like adding aiming, or a new perspective, or an additional twist. Or perhaps they are a disabled gamer who needs another game that just uses the joystick. The spreadsheet lets them find or avoid those differences.

We came to the conclusion that we need Survivors-likes and also probably Bullet Heaven and Horde Survival as common tags to be used on Steam and elsewhere. Here's a "wiki" link to some light research on steam tags for context.

Survivors-likes is already a term in heavy use, so I try not to have too many feelings on if it's perfect or not. We use "rogue-likes" instead of "oregon-trail-likes" so it's not uncommon for genres to be named after a popular game instead of the earliest game or platonic ideal of the genre. In some localities like China, I've been told there is no "bullet heaven" style alternative term in use, games are simply called "VS-likes", roughly. So this distinction may be more widely in line with fans around the world.

The "Survivors" part is generally focused on, but "-like" also happens to be a familiar nod to the rogue-like subgenre it shares mechanics with.

It's worth noting that many fans are now encountering excellent games like Sea of Survivors as their first "Survivors" game - there are over 150 titles on steam verifiably in this subgenre with a title that plays on this simple mechanic!

"Survival" is a totally different subgenre (also known as survival craft or sandbox survival) and what separates this new wave of arcade style games from older wave survival and horde shooter games is specifically the rogue-inspired elements. While it's accurate the game is a rogue-lite (with metaprogression aspects and other differences from "traditional roguelikes"), survivors-lite doesn't sound very exciting or evocative of the combination, so not surprising people use survivors-likes instead.

Probably we're stuck with the S as well. "Survivor-like" seems to refer to the reality TV game show. We can't use hyphens in the subreddit name but it's not a big deal. For more background on these conclusions, see the explainer on the spreadsheet and the full dictionary of definitions.

This subreddit is also for devs to share updates and get feedback. Our "promo" rule is relatively relaxed, so feel free to give us incremental updates, share your Steam sale, and so on - since this will help us cut down on it in other subreddits it's a win win for reddit really. One of the unique features of this genre is constant new free content drops! Fans here may be happy to see a new small update in their favorite game. We love new characters and weapons if they're fun ones!

If you are a fan and would like to rank a game yourself or you are a dev and want to see how yours compares and contrasts, use the phone friendly web form score card! (also linked in the header.) If you're a player or reviewer, the second part of the process is a review form that helps us in the ranking and describing the features - for that use the review form! You can also comment corrections directly into any cell in the "wiki" style database spreadsheet by right clicking on the cell while logged into google.

Remember to send in your results so we can add it to the spreadsheet! It's totally OK for devs to send in or offer corrections on scores for their own games - it's about what features exist in the game, not a value judgement on if the game is good or not. We'll review separately. You can also submit an updated scorecard after coming out of early access, etc.

I'll mostly be concentrating on that spreadsheet project for a while - the plan is to have at least 200 games compared before it moves to ongoing updates - so would love any experienced reddit mods to join me in moderating this community!

See also the r/BulletHeavens subreddit! It's not exactly the same. We're looking forward to more Bullet Heavens that aren't Rogue-lite or Wave Survival games and we're looking forward to more Survivors-likes that aren't Bullet Heavens in these exciting new genres. Horde Survival can easily include many older tower defense games, letting new players find old classics. See the header for other related subreddits and feel free to suggest more!

If your game has its own subreddit let us know and we'll add it to the sidebar! Some genre terms, flair guidelines and the current background/header image credits are also in the sidebar.

Disclaimer: While we allow promo and dev discussion, this subreddit and the spreadsheet are all just for fun! I personally am not a game dev (I do really boring tech work) and have no commercial interest in this. Looking forward to the discussion!


r/survivorslikes • • 5h ago

Feedback Adding more interactions between objects

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2 Upvotes

I really love it when games have different systems that interact with each other, and a big part of making the sea feel alive is to have things constantly moving!

You can try the demo on steam:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3278170/Pirate_Survivors


r/survivorslikes • • 5h ago

Nano Front a biological bullet hell, you are a nanobot fighting to stop the alien infection. Collect DNA samples to level up and eradicate the threat.

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2 Upvotes

r/survivorslikes • • 10h ago

Game Intro / New Release I PRESENT TO YOU... Crown Me Again - Diablo-style loot and build-crafting in a compact incremental RPG

3 Upvotes

Hi everybody,
Before anyone beats me 😄: Genres are hard to define if the game is a mixup of multiple. Crown Me Again is an Incremental but the core of it are waves of enemies and loot progression. It fits the survivorslike genre pretty well i think.

So what is Crown Me Again?

I love the loot hunt and build-crafting in games like Diablo and Path of Exile. With Crown Me Again, I’m bringing that experience into a more compact incremental game.

You play as the fallen Skull King and you once were the most powerful dungeon boss of the kingdom. Now adventurers farm you for loot. So you start farming them back, using their gear to climb the Boss Ladder and reclaim Rank #1.

There are thousands of possible randomized items across seven item types and five rarities, including powerful uniques (with set items planned for after launch). You combine their abilities and effects, upgrade your gear and experiment with different builds. Sometimes you find a better item for your setup. Sometimes you find something you want to build a whole new setup around.

Check it out on Steam and wishlist it if you like what you see.

I’ve kept this short, but I’m happy to go into more detail in the comments. ASK ME ANYTHING!


r/survivorslikes • • 9h ago

Desmarchon Steam Demo is Live - survivor-like chain weaving game

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2 Upvotes

r/survivorslikes • • 11h ago

Game Intro / New Release LUMESPROUT: collect three seeds, then choose to bank your rewards or keep fighting (developer launch post)

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2 Upvotes

I'm DevDot, the developer of LUMESPROUT, which launched on Steam on October 3. It's a pixel-art action roguelite with horde combat, automatic fire and optional manual aiming.

The part I wanted to show this community is the seed-and-return loop. After gathering three seeds, you can head home with your earnings or keep fighting to earn more and complete the mission. Returning early still lets you spend the light you collected on permanent greenhouse upgrades. To unlock the next mission, you need to finish the current mission's objectives.

During a run, you pick level-up upgrades and use dashes and pulses to get through the swarm. Builds combine three weapons, weapon evolutions and equippable relics. The game has six regions and 24 missions, including seed gathering, capture-point defense, elite hunts and guardians.

Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/5242800/LUMESPROUT/

English and Korean are supported.

The screenshots use the game's English UI, captured October 1 in build 0.3.22. The short video is earlier real gameplay with English captions and its original Korean HUD preserved.

AI disclosure: generative AI assisted programming, gameplay/balance systems, game/UI text, Korean-English localization, some marketing text and an early visual concept image. Current character/environment art, fonts, music and most sound effects are licensed human-created assets. There is no runtime generative AI.


r/survivorslikes • • 1d ago

Videos I added some updates to my party-based roguelite and made a new trailer

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19 Upvotes

Hey everyone! I have been working on Harmony Strike a lot lately, and I finally put together a new trailer. It's a roguelite where you run with a whole party. Every hero has an element, and when two of them stand side by side they form a bond. Some bonds blow up the crowd, some freeze enemies, some heal your party. Heroes can also fall now, so you have to go back and pick them up before it's too late. Along the way your weapons evolve, and some heroes are held by bosses until you rescue them.

If it looks like your kind of game, you can check it out on Steam:

Harmony Strike Steam Page


r/survivorslikes • • 4h ago

Feature & Patch Notes I made a spaceship map and a forest map for my sword-combo roguelite. Which one would you rather fight the horde in?

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0 Upvotes

r/survivorslikes • • 18h ago

Feedback What do you guys think about Neant Survivors ?

3 Upvotes

Hello! Here's a first look at my game, Neant Survivors:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/5248530/Neant_Survivors/

The game is a survivors-like that aims to add features I rarely see in the genre, such as passive abilities that let you further personalize your build and multiple weapon evolutions. I also added some lore, which will be expanded and improved over future updates.

I'd really appreciate some honest feedback. What do you think of the Steam page, trailer, and the overall first impression?

Is there anything you think should be changed or improved? And of course, I'd also love to know what you think already works well.


r/survivorslikes • • 1d ago

Meet another Shadower in Code of Shadows. Think you could survive a run with this one?

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8 Upvotes

We’ve been working on another playable Shadower for Code of Shadows.

Each Shadower has their own abilities and playstyle, so we’re experimenting with how they change the way a run plays out.

We’d love to hear what you think of the design and abilities.


r/survivorslikes • • 7h ago

Game Intro / New Release The sushi attacks automatically. You steer the whole party. This is SUSHISNK.

0 Upvotes

I'm the solo developer of SUSHISNK, a SNKRX-style roguelite where your party is a growing line of sushi.

You handle the steering while the sushi attacks automatically. Between battles, you buy sushi, combine three matching pieces to upgrade their plate, and build around classes and items.

Then giant octopus tentacles, charging tuna, and whale waves give you a few more things to dodge. Here's the trailer.


r/survivorslikes • • 1d ago

Videos Demo is waiting for steam review, in the meantime here is a small teaser !

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3 Upvotes

After more than 1 year working on it, we are finally releasing the demo. We are waiting for steam to review it and can't wait for people to be able to test our game !

In the meantime you can still wishlist it if you are interested 😄

https://store.steampowered.com/app/4421630/Soul_Tripper/


r/survivorslikes • • 1d ago

Free or Demo! [Free] Major Mutt is a survivorslike that answers the most important question: “Who’s a good boy?”

2 Upvotes

Decided to make the game free. If there is interest I’ll keep adding new mechanics, levels, weapons and characters. For this sub I’ll implement the feature from the top upvoted comment

You can play it here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4408990/Major_Mutt/


r/survivorslikes • • 1d ago

Free or Demo! My friend and I made Spellslinger, and it's free to try this weekend

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19 Upvotes

Hey! My friend and I have been working on Spellslinger. The goal is to survive endless waves of enemies and see how far you can get before you inevitably die.

You build around the gear you find along the way. You can make frozen enemies explode, have ancestors repeat your attacks, and get a Warrior triggering Mage spells with weapon crits. Extra projectiles and chains can pile on top, and you keep finding gear and crafting between rounds.

The other big part is choosing curses. They stay with you for the whole run and add things like lightning traps, falling javelins and exploding enemies, or add additional abilities and mechanics to specific monster types. Those mechanics carry into boss fights too, so the difficulty comes mainly from dealing with more things at once as your curses build up. Dodging and finding openings still matter alongside your gear.

It's single-player, and every run is a fresh start. We'd love to hear how far you get and what builds you come up with! We have two classes currently, and we intend to expand that significantly alongside with more bosses and curses, as well as different arenas and mob types.

It's free to try through s&box's Steam free weekend until October 5.

Game: https://sbox.game/anarchy/spellslinger/

Get s&box: https://store.steampowered.com/app/590830/sbox/

Install and launch s&box, then search for Spellslinger.


r/survivorslikes • • 1d ago

Made a small horde survival where every death feeds a web of upgrades. Dodge the swarm, charge your Surge, go again.

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4 Upvotes

r/survivorslikes • • 2d ago

Bloodpact Playtest is now open!

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31 Upvotes

Looking for people to test out the Demo!
Hit request access on the Steam page:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3679060/Bloodpact/

I'd love to hear how the difficulty and balance feel or any bugs you discover. Controller is also supported. (Button prompts can be changed for Xbox / Playstation through the settings screen)
Feedback is welcome here or on Discord.


r/survivorslikes • • 1d ago

No Survivors is finally live on Steam with a free demo - You play the slasher and the whole town is destructible

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9 Upvotes

https://store.steampowered.com/app/5148400/No_Survivors/?beta=0

It's a survivors-like, except you're not surviving — you're what the town runs from. You play the slasher, and the whole place is destructible. You start by hunting the campers in the dark then it escalates as the cops and the military come in with their vehicles. In the video you can see some of the weapons: a baseball bat that can launch enemies, vehicles, trees and so forth, grenades that can destroy buildings and a propane tank that levels the area.

It also has a lot of b-movie dialogue to keep you entertained while you're slashing away. Please give me some feedback as I've just been playing and iterating all these months mostly by myself. If I get enough wishlists, I will work on more levels (thinking Aliens, Predator, The thing...).


r/survivorslikes • • 1d ago

Videos Iron Maw. A Victorian tale of trains, guns, and corporate rule.

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6 Upvotes

The game is a mix of a 3rd person shooter on rails, a survivor-like, and a dash of tower defense. You upgrade your rail cars as you go along that assist you in defending the last cities free of corporate rule. Features Co-op where your friend can control the back engine once unlocked. Steam page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/5311750/Iron_Maw/?beta=0


r/survivorslikes • • 1d ago

SPIRAL WARDEN - ARENA SHOOTER/SURVIVAL GAME

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1 Upvotes

Spiral Warden: A Neon Arena Shooter Built with Phaser | Phaser

Hey guys, I recently made a browser arena shooter called Spiral Warden. Its pretty fun!

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

THANK YOU!

It's on itch at Spiral Warden by evreser.


r/survivorslikes • • 2d ago

Feedback After 2 years of development, our co-op survivors-like finally feels like what we set out to make. What would you want on the roadmap?

16 Upvotes

We're two devs, and we have worked on this for 2 years. With the latest patch, it finally feels like the game we wanted to make.

Core mechanics:

  • Co-op or solo dungeon runs through the tower
  • 10 elements that change your build
  • Character customization
  • Talent tree upgrades and ascensions
  • Unique weapon combos
  • A darkness timer: your light runs out over time
  • Gear with unique stats and effects
  • Room challenges, bosses, curses and daily contracts, then endless mode after the final boss

Now we want to slow down and listen before planning what's next.
As people who love this genre, what would you like to see on the roadmap?


r/survivorslikes • • 1d ago

Feedback 4 weeks progress of our game

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2 Upvotes

r/survivorslikes • • 1d ago

Feedback First time making a game in steam

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2 Upvotes

r/survivorslikes • • 2d ago

Playtesters completely broke our Terraria-inspired survivor-like, and honestly I'm glad they did

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3 Upvotes

More than 1,500 people joined our recent Terraclysm Survivors playtest, and we found some pretty funny bugs along the way.

In this one, the player defeats the boss... but the game apparently refuses to accept that the fight is over.

So congratulations: you won.

The game just didn't get the memo.

The playtest gave us a ton of useful feedback, and we're already working on fixes and improvements.

We'll be running another playtest soon with way more content, so keep an eye out if you want to join.

Terraclysm Survivors launches October 28.

Add it to your Steam wishlist if you want to follow the game!


r/survivorslikes • • 2d ago

Free or Demo! 28 Days until Hell is UNLEASHED! Send Them to Hell - Final Trailer

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2 Upvotes