There are plenty of Vampire Survivors-style "Bullet heaven" games in the sea, but it's hard to care about the ones that don't have co-op. If you don't at least bring the same features to the table as the game you're inspired by, what's the point? Well, Survivor Mercs from Wandering Wizard is already out in Steam Early Access, and it's coming soon to consoles as well. Having tried the single-player demo on Steam, I'm excited for it.
Features:
- Play the Genetic Lottery! Clone a variety of Commanders, each with their individual quirks. Commanders are generated with three random traits, offering many unique combinations for each run.
- Active Twin-Stick Gameplay Not your regular auto-shooter, but a more intense "skill-based" gameplay with an active dash ability and actively controlled weapons
- Bosses Built to Break You Encounter unique mini-bosses and final bosses on every map, each with their own deadly mechanics, attack patterns, and personalities. Push your squad to adapt or perish.
- Squad-Building Galore Assemble a squad of diverse mercenaries, each with their own abilities, weapons, and behavior. Explore individual skill trees and synergies to unleash devastation on your enemies.
- Loot, loot… and more loot! Navigate procedurally generated maps, and capture objectives to call in reinforcements, collect valuable loot, or find epic powerups. But beware, the clock is ticking. Each minute wasted on the battlefield is punished with more and stronger enemies.
- Extraction or Confrontation Choose between calling for a tactical retreat and extracting with all your valuable loot or facing a formidable final boss for even greater rewards.
- Build up your Bunker HQ Invest your loot to hire new mercenaries, purchase gear, unlock upgrades, and enhance your commander clones with new traits.
- Couch Co-op Players can tackle operations together with couch co-op, where one player controls the Commander and up to 3 additional players can control the Mercs in the squad.
- Additional Features: Full controller and keyboard/mouse support and Steam-Deck verified for portable gaming.
The Steam version of Survivor Mercs supports 4-player local co-op. Xbox and PlayStation versions are due later in the summer, at the same time the Steam version reaches version 1.0.
Survivor Mercs currently costs $7.99 on Steam. There's a free demo, so give it a try!