Entropy Survivors review

Although clearly influenced by Vampire Survivors, Entropy Survivors is far removed from being a cheap imitation or a lazy cash grab. It’s a fully featured spin-off title from the well-received Roguelike shooter Shoulders of Giants, and the higher entry price (£8.49) suggests it has had a modest budget and a long (or at least, standard) development cycle. It’s also one of the more polished examples around, powered by UE5. If you’ve ever wished that the likes of Vampire Survivors and Brotato had more to offer, you may find what you’re looking for here.

Getting the basics out of the way, you play as a frog in control of a mech suit, and battle against swarms of enemies while collecting perks and upgrades to incrementally improve and diversify your arsenal. Once you’ve survived 20 minutes the mission is classed as a success, and you’ll receive a bumper bounty of rewards. Unlike other auto-shooters, Entropy Survivors has a small hub populated by NPCs, dotted with several terminals dedicated to permanent upgrades and skill trees. You’ll also find the mission selection screens here. There are five worlds present (woodland, desert, snow, etc) and each has six increasingly challenging missions to beat, giving something to focus on and work towards rather than entering a single arena each time. Maps vary from narrow canyons to terrane with ‘funnels’ that enemies can be lured into.

Entropy Survivors review

Entropy Survivors is also co-op focused, offering 1-4 player support. You’re able to host games or search for active matches and jump in, and when choosing an upgrade each player has just a few seconds to decide. The focus here is on sticking together; stray too far and you’ll be instantly teleported back to the pack. There’s a bigger emphasis on healing and reviving one another too, rather than searching for health pick-ups. The game engine copes with the carnage admirably, even impressively, able to handle four players unleashing all manner of lavish attacks on countless enemies at once. The final minutes of a match can be very hectic. Matches end with a battle between the remaining players to see who is crowned MVP, so it definitely pays to have a trick up your sleeve for this final confrontation.

While battling waves of enemies – which alternate often, helping to keep things fresh – you’ll amass a vast assortment of resources, not just one or two types. There’s a staggering number of upgrades to pour a variety of resources into, including upgrading perks, improving individual weapons, refining the expanding pool of character classes, altering the probability of certain things dropping, and improving the usual things such as health and speed. If you plan to unlock everything, you’re likely looking at a triple figure playtime.

Entropy Survivors review

A pistol and a sword, mapped to RT and LT, are the starting weapons which can then be switched out for a spear, a shotgun, a rocket launcher and other more powerful (but slow to reload) weapons. Each character class has a cooldown ultimate ability too, and further proving that this isn’t something to be taken seriously, perks include bulldozers that scoop up XP tokens, giant shoes that stomp enemies, and bowling balls that can be slammed into crowds. Power-ups are even more comical, such as the ability to turn the screen into a pinball table, and push around a ball Katamari-style to roll-up enemies – including bosses. These two examples alone make for a fun time.

Borrowing a trick from Vampire Survivors, the sound effects are aurally pleasing, being heavily casino/slot machine influenced. Beat a boss and you’ll get 3-4 upgrades simultaneously, feeling akin to a big ‘payout’ – one that’s accompanied by a flashy treasure chest opening animation.

Entropy Survivors review

Like most genre standouts, Entropy Survivors is very easy to get into. The tutorial is based around manually aiming, twin-stick shooter style, but it can be turned into an auto-shooter via the options menu. Currency flows readily and there’s a huge list of challenges to beat, even calculating how long you’ve managed to survive in total. Even if you fail a mission halfway, you’ll be able to upgrade a couple of things – or may even unlock a new class. There is a bit of grinding to endure though, as surviving a full 20 minutes can be tricky, especially when multiple bosses appear. It wasn’t until a few hours in that I was able to start making good headway. Other flaws are mostly minor, such as smaller enemies becoming trapped under the mech’s feet, early matches slow to get going, and some maps having too many dead ends.

It still feels remarkably polished regardless of these faults, with evidence to suggest that it has been playtested heavily before release. It’s quite refreshing to play an auto-shooter that isn’t still in early access and lacks refinement. It definitely represents a step forward for the genre, and while it isn’t quite as compelling as Vampire Survivors, the light-hearted tone and the presence of playful mechanics make it one of the more entertaining auto-shooters out there. With pinball tables, summonable garbage trucks, XP gathering bulldozers and even more functional disarray, Entropy Survivors more than lives up to its name.

First Break Labs’ Entropy Survivors is out now on PS5, Xbox Series and PC. Published by Moving Pieces Interactive.

SCORE
8