Twilight Survivors launched earlier this month and when I say it’s a hidden gem, it’s REALLY hidden.
The game dropped without fanfare, no discernable PR, no info or prerelease notes via journalist sites… nothing! The stealthiest of all ninja drops.
I can’t even dig up any info on the developers “DoriDori Studio”, all searches just end in thread of other people searching for more info. For now, the developers and their logo mascot's namesake and playable character (an armored, rolling tanky Durian) remain an enigma.
All this mystery and still the game is gathering momentum....rightly so!
While there are no shortage of Vampire survivors type clones out there, I genuinely think this one is the best I have played so far.
For anyone unaware, “survivor” games are genre of reverse bullet hell, survival, auto battler games in which the player takes control of a character that automatically uses its weapons and abilities on cooldown. You pretty much just control the direction your character moves and select upgrades as the game progresses. The whole time a never-ending horde of various creatures move toward you hellbent on your demise.
The first thing you notice about Twilight Survivors is the presentation, its so well polished. The launch screen explains everything as well as information on updates and a roadmap.
There are a variety of characters to select and more to unlock as you progress through the game. Each one has its own skill tree to invest in as well as a unique play style and abilities.
On top of the characters unique abilities there are also more abilities and weapons to be added during gameplay, either each time you level up or when you defeat an elite enemy. You level up by collecting crystals that drop from defeated enemies; there are also barrels randomly dotted about that can provide health, coins for character development, or temporary effects and abilities.
Each area has a time limit and a boss, times are usually between 10 and 15 minutes before the final boss arrives, so you can strategically plan and execute your upgrades. Each ability and weapon you collect can be further upgraded several times, in turn, by fully upgrading a certain combination of weapon and ability you can “evolve” the weapon into a super weapon that is super destructive.
The gameplay loop is incredibly compelling and it’s a real joy to play. The optimization is on point and there is no slow down to the action, even in hectic final moments of each stage.
The characters are all very different and I found myself utilizing different classes to counter specific boss abilities as the game went on. This organically levels a pool of the available characters giving you more agency over how you tackle subsequent stages. It really does hook you and feel incredibly replayable.
The look, feel and commitment to the games development really gives the impression of a decent sized studio and budget and yet the game is priced at only $2.99 on Steam and Nintendo eShop
Its addictive, fun, beautifully executed and you’d be remiss to sleep on this one. I can honestly say in a couple of busy months release wise, I have spent more time with this amazing indie game than the big studio blockbusters.