Reaper Survivors

Genre: Arcade

Players: 1

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Review:

Reaper Survivors is an Arcade-style game released on Nintendo Switch in 2024. In this game, players take the role of a Grim Reaper-style character fending off attacks from various monster enemies. If the name doesn’t give it away, this game is very much trying to copy the success of the highly-popular Vampire Survivors, including gameplay that similarly has players automatically attacking nearby enemies.

The presentation isn’t doing this game any favors, with some generic-looking cartoony 2D characters and backgrounds, backed by some generic-sounding instrumental music. Also, don’t expect the massive hordes of enemies found in Vampire Survivors – this game’s enemy count is degrees of magnitude less.

Sadly, the gameplay isn’t impressive either. This game has random elements, with players getting their choice of a random new weapon every level, but there are no weapon pickups during each level, and it hardly feels like you’re powering up when new weapons can completely replace the old ones instead of adding to them. Adding to the feelings of powerlessness is the game’s fairly small enclosed levels, a far cry from the massive and often infinite levels of Vampire Survivors.

This game does do something different than Vampire Survivors by adding special attacks you can activate when you like by spending in-game currency, but this doesn’t feel like it’s adding much to the game, and certainly not enough to make up for everything that’s lost from Vampire Survivors – the interesting weapon types, the feeling of power as you gradually grow stronger during a run, the tons of hidden secrets…

Okay, so I’m comparing Reaper Survivors to Vampire Survivors a lot, but that’s kinda’ what you get when you try to copy a popular game – you’re welcoming comparison. And possibly the vinal nail in this game’s coffin is its $5 price tag – the exact same price of Vampire Survivors. At that price, why would you ever get this game when you could be playing one that’s very much like this but far superior? Trust me, just play Vampire Survivors instead.

tl;dr – Reaper Survivors is an Arcade-style game where players fight as a Grim Reaper fending off enemies with gameplay designed to be similar to Vampire Survivors, but it’s simply nowhere near as well-designed or enjoyable, and why would you ever get this when you can have the far superior game this is copying at the same price? My suggestion: don’t.

Grade: D

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This game has been nominated for one or more of eShopperReviews 2024 Game Awards:

Runner-Up: Laziest Copycat

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