‘Soul Survivors’ by Stingbot Games, while looking like a clone of popular roguelite ‘Vampire Survivors’ is actually uniquely designed and just as addictive. In early access, this review will cover what is present at the time.

Currently, Soul Survivors has no real narrative. With access to only 2 of the 6 ‘Coming Soon’ characters, you can loosely create your own story that you are an adventurer purging the world of the filth that inhabits the different lands. It would have been nice to see even a most rudimentary story or a singular cutscene attached just to add that little extra push to an objective.

Speaking of objectives, the main objective is to slash your way through hordes upon hordes of enemies and bosses as they increase in strength and difficulty. At times, these flood the screen in immense numbers. Each of the two available characters started with very different basic move sets and styles which was fabulous to see as each was incredibly fun to use. While the Bogatyr slashes away with a sword, the Necromancer has a mace that swings depending on the direction you are moving.

Each has a very distinct play style so it was refreshing to swap between the two. As you fight through enemies the characters leave behind their soul flames, which can be collected for experience. Purple souls are worth even more experience and with each level you are able to add additional skills to your character from a selection of 3 choices, making your adventurer stronger as you progress.

Controlling your character is as simple as WASD. No other controls are really utilised due to the automatic shooting system. You walk around the screen avoiding damage while your skills self-deploy then return to cool down. Your objective is to collect the remaining souls and level up to earn new and better skills. With only two maps, one locked till you defeat the first map’s boss, I was frothing for more content. The gameplay is as simple as it is addictive. I found myself falling into the trap of thinking “just one more playthrough” everytime I died, eventually ending up in hours-long play sessions.

It was great to see that also each character has a talent tree included. You can use the gold collected in each run to buy talents that buff your character before you even enter the next run. For example, the Bogatyr, you can buff his base speed, damage, or damage taken in the first tier of talents. The further you progress more branches of the tree become available for purchase for a greater amount of money.

The graphic design is pixelated art reminiscent of any retro classic. Each character though is brimming with life and charisma as they scuttle around on quite muted backgrounds. While the backgrounds are a bit lacklustre the gameplay is so quick you don’t have time to really notice them anyway.

The boss designs too are fabulous and intriguing to look at with each definitely making it known they are not there to muck around when they enter the field of view. The audio tracks are also simplistically generic and retro but not too repetitive that it gets irritating so it complements the overall design as a whole.

I can not wait to try the other characters and the other two locked maps when Soul Survivors finally hits full release. The time I did get to spend with this title was addictive, challenging, and satisfying and I could not wait to play another round after succumbing to my demise. I can not wait to see what the devs do with the final polished product as right now I can’t get enough of what’s on offer.

Written by: Stacey