The towering success of Vampire Survivors continues to shape a growing generation of roguelike auto-shooters, and the latest batch of contenders is among the coolest and, at least visually, most distinct.
Two slick Vampire Survivors-likes dropped just one day apart last week: Goobies on July 14 and Yet Another Zombie Survivors on July 13 (in Steam Early Access). Goobies is easier to recommend at first glance because it's cheaper at just $4.79, has a free demo, and isn't in Early Access, but both games have been received very well so far.
Goobies is a much cuter auto-shooter featuring zillions of creatures seemingly sculpted from soft clay. You pick a class, bounce around islands while defeating hordes and bosses, and draft new weapons as you level up. It's a gameplay formula that hasn't stopped winning, and the aesthetic here stands out from the crowd in a good way. Goobies is sitting comfortably at 179 very positive Steam reviews at the time of writing.
Yet Another Zombie Survivors is a much grittier, obviously self-aware spin on the genre featuring not Goobies, but good old-fashioned zombies. A key selling point here is a squad-building element not seen in many Vampire Survivors-likes. Build a small team of operatives and gadgets, all carefully leveled through a meaty-looking skill tree, and plop down your zombie-killing implements of choice. The art style is much more modern, sort of an arcade photorealism, and the zombie variants seem to be cut from the Left 4 Dead cloth. Classic.
There's an air of fandom and honesty to Yet Another Zombie Survivors that I find endearing. The small group of devs at – let me make sure I have this right – Awesome Games Studio have basically said they loved Vampire Survivors and wanted to make something like it. They're starting off in Early Access with plans to add more content, make changes in response to feedback, and iron things out in the next "six months to a year." It's also reviewing incredibly well so far, with 1,346 very positive posts already.
Just weeks ago, another roguelike to rival Vampire Survivors officially launched after racking up over 20,000 reviews.
Vampire Survivors creator admits his success was “lucky” amid a wave of cheap mobile knock-offs: “For everyone else, they have to stand out among the hundreds"
This roguelike city-builder casts you as a benevolent Lord of the Rings villain, and its Steam Next Fest demo accidentally consumed my entire evening
