From Vampire Survivors to WARRIORS: Abyss – The Best ‘Bullet Heaven’ Games on Steam

Vampire Survivors

• Release Date — October 20, 2022
• Developer — poncle
• Publisher — poncle
• Steam User Score — 98% (Overwhelmingly Positive)
• Review Aggregate Score — 86% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — Android, iOS, PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

Were it not for Vampire Survivors and its incredible level of success, there’s a strong possibility that many of the other games on this list wouldn’t exist. Thankfully, Vampire Survivors is very real, and it’s still head and shoulders above the rest of its contemporaries as the absolute best game in the bullet heaven genre along with being the game responsible for its creation. A lot has been said about Vampire Survivors; about how the lead developer at poncle took inspiration from his time working on casino slot machines to nail down the title’s addictive gameplay loop, or how few games come close to the excellent crossovers the series offers with franchises like Among Us, Contra, or Castlevania. But nothing you can say about the game truly captures how special it is to see in action.

Ultimately, playing Vampire Survivors offers an exhilarating dopamine loop that few other games can provide, and that it costs less than a cup of coffee makes it one of gaming’s best value propositions.

Soulstone Survivors

• Release Date — November 7, 2022
• Developer — Game Smithing Limited
• Publisher — Game Smithing Limited
• Steam User Score — 91% (Very Positive)
• Review Aggregate Score — N/A
• Platforms — PC (Early Access)

Any time a new game inadvertently births a new genre or subgenre, it’s only natural to see games inspired by its success start to arrive in its wake. But while the first “Soulslikes” attempting to cash in on Dark Souls‘ runaway success largely failed to capture what made FromSoft’s action RPG so great (e.g., the original Lords of the Fallen from 2014), Soulstone Survivors is one of the first games to try and replicate the “bullet heaven” gameplay of Vampire Survivors, and it actually does a commendable job. One of the main things Soulstone Survivors has going for it is its strong pull into RPG mechanics, classes, and skill types, and its World of Warcraft-style visuals are a nice aesthetic upgrade from Vampire Survivors‘ pixel art. Soulstone Survivors is among the first “survivor-likes”, and it’s still among the best as well.

20 Minutes Til Dawn

• Release Date — June 8, 2023
• Developer — flanne
• Publisher — Erabit, flanne
• Steam User Score — 91% (Very Positive)
• Review Aggregate Score — 78% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — Android, iOS, PC

One of the first true competitors to try and snatch Vampire Survivors‘ crown for bullet heaven supremacy was flanne’s 20 Minutes Til Dawn. Part of what makes 20 Minutes Til Dawn so special is its muted visuals, which call to mind something that might have originally been released on the Game Boy Color, and its pulsing soundtrack that perfectly suits the intense on-screen action. While Vampire Survivors and similar games tend to stick to enemy types and settings that are well-tread territory, 20 Minutes Til Dawn also distinguishes itself from the competition by focusing on eldritch horrors for its enemy hordes, placing it as the only Lovecraftian bullet heaven game that I’m aware of. 20 Minutes Til Dawn plays great, looks even better and nails the sense of meaningful meta-progression that the best roguelikes do.

Brotato

• Release Date — June 23, 2023
• Developer — Blobfish
• Publisher — Blobfish
• Steam User Score — 96% (Overwhelmingly Positive)
• Review Aggregate Score — 76% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — Android, iOS, PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

To underestimate Brotato simply for its cartoonish visuals and admittedly lackluster presentation in comparison to other bullet heaven games would be a grave mistake, as it’s hands-down one of the best games in the subgenre. As one of several different mutated potato-like beings, you head into a small arena (seriously — this game’s spaces are a fraction of the size of levels in other bullet heaven games) and take on wave after wave of increasingly deadly enemies. Of course, you’re not alone, and a steady stream of mutations and equipment upgrades in between each wave is all that stands between your potato’s survival and its mashing. Like The Binding of Isaac before it, Brotato is impressive for how much variety it offers to players in its builds and strategy, ensuring that no two playthroughs are ever the same unless you engineer it that way.,

Death Must Die

• Release Date — November 14, 2023
• Developer — Realm Archive
• Publisher — Realm Archive
• Steam User Score — 92% (Very Positive)
• Review Aggregate Score — N/A
• Platforms — PC (Early Access)

Despite it still technically being in early access, there are many other bullet heaven games in 1.0 that struggle to have the kind of content variety and depth that Death Must Die has. Unlike previous bullet heaven games that shepherd players down specific upgrade paths based on their character and gear selections, Death Must Die introduces some new wrinkles to how progression works through the introduction of Hades-like gods that grant boons and a fully-fleshed-out gear system. Together with its strong writing, excellent visuals, and satisfying gameplay loop, Death Must Die is already one of the better games in the genre well before hitting its full release, with each character feeling surprisingly different and incentivizing experimentation until you find the right fit for your playstyle.

Picayune Dreams

• Release Date — December 4, 2023
• Developer — Stepford, Andyland, milkypossum
• Publisher — 2 Left Thumbs
• Steam User Score — 98% (Overwhelmingly Positive)
• Review Aggregate Score — N/A
• Platforms — PC

To say that there’s no other bullet heaven game quite like Picayune Dreams is an understatement. This late 2023 entry into the burgeoning subgenre takes some fascinating liberties with its presentation and visuals to immediately distance itself from contemporaries, all while offering up some of the most satisfying gameplay this side of Vampire Survivors. Notably, Picayune clearly embraces the bullet heaven subgenre’s “reverse bullet hell” origins by adhering closely to the shmup school of design, where routing and positioning are just as crucial to survival as the amount of damage you can put out. Aside from all that, though, it’s worth mentioning that PicayuneDreams is bursting with personality and atmosphere, and its soundtrack is an all-timer that makes it difficult to put down, even when a run isn’t going your way.

Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor

• Release Date — February 14, 2024
• Developer — Funday Games
• Publisher — Ghost Ship Publishing
• Steam User Score — 86% (Very Positive)
• Review Aggregate Score — N/A
• Platforms — PC (Early Access)

As someone who loves Deep Rock Galactic, a bullet heaven “survivor-like” set in that universe was like a dream come true, so it should come as no surprise that I have well over 100 hours logged in Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor. Like the best bullet heaven games do, Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor adds its own unique wrinkle to the genre through the introduction of a surprisingly deep digging and resource collection meta-game, where most of the players’ most meaningful meta-progression is tied to doing as much digging during missions as you do laying waste to hordes of bloodthirsty bugs. But therein lies Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor‘s greatest strength, as you’re bound to almost always gain some meaningful sense of progression no matter how successful you are in a run, making the next one even more satisfying.

Nordic Ashes: Survivors of Ragnarok

• Release Date — April 26, 2024
• Developer — Noxfall Studios
• Publisher — Noxfall Studios
• Steam User Score — 89% (Very Positive)
• Review Aggregate Score — 79% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — PC

Much like Vampire Survivors, Nordic Ashes fully understands the dopamine rush of eliminating a few hundred on-screen enemies at once. While it might look a bit cartoonish, don’t let the visuals of Nordic Ashes fool you into thinking its anything other than a top-tier bullet heaven game, as it’s arguably one of the best newer entries in the genre, and it arrived into 1.0 in a very feature-rich state. What Nordic Ashes understands about the bullet heaven genre is the importance of meaningful upgrades that provide players with a definitive power curve, and few games in the subgenre can stand toe-to-toe withit when it comes to how great its within-run progression feels. Throw in a compelling Norse mythology-inspired setting and you have a certified modern classic on your hands.

Hive Jump 2: Survivors

• Release Date — September 10, 2024
• Developer — Graphite Lab, Joystick, Sonamu Games
• Publisher — Midwest Games
• Steam User Score — 88% (Very Positive)
• Review Aggregate Score — 76% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — PC

The first Hive Jump was a decent enough side-scrolling run n’ gun roguelike that dabbled in Metroidvania elements before we got the best Metroidvania roguelike ever (Dead Cells), but it largely failed to land with most players for a variety of reasons. So for the sequel, developer Graphite Lab went back to the drawing board, gathering the assistance of two other teams to reenvision Hive Jump as a top-down bullet heaven action roguelike. The result is Hive Jump 2, and it was clearly the right move for the franchise as it’s better than Hive Jump by a country mile and one of the better games in the bullet heaven genre. Hive Jump 2 wisely retains the appealing retro-inspired visuals and aesthetic of the first game while changing up its gameplay to something that feels like a more natural fit than a “Roguevania”, and its bargain price only sweetens the deal.

Voids Vigil

• Release Date — September 16, 2024
• Developer — caiys
• Publisher — caiysware
• Steam User Score — 97% (Very Positive)
• Review Aggregate Score — N/A
• Platforms — PC (Early Access)

After already wowing players with their excellent first bullet heaven game, Boneraiser Minions, solo developer caiys struck gold a second time with the phenomenal Voids Vigil. Like BoneraiserMinions, Void Vigil utilizes a retro pixel art style with a vibrant color palette that jumps off the screen, only it swaps its predecessor’s gothic, RPG-style setting and enemies for something decidedly more cyberpunk. Outside those visual differences, though, Voids Vigil is every bit as compelling an action roguelike bullet heaven game as Boneraiser Minions, perhaps even more so. It offers up a substantial challenge, especially before players begin to unlock some of the more meaningful meta upgrades that become available, but it’s an uphill climb worth making to see how rewarding the game gets once you progress along its power curve.

Halls of Torment

• Release Date — September 24, 2024
• Developer — Chasing Carrots
• Publisher — Chasing Carrots
• Steam User Score — 95% (Overwhelmingly Positive)
• Review Aggregate Score — 88% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — Android, iOS, PC

In my review for Halls of Torment, I noted that the game is what you’d get if you crossed Vampire Survivors with either of the first two games in Blizzard’s Diablo series, and that description still seems to hold true among most players in the wake of its release and widespread acclaim. Like Death Must Die, Halls of Torment features a handful of distinct classes that each feel different and rewarding to play, offering up plenty of variety in each run just when you think you might have seen everything. The existence of certain puzzles within each level that players have to tackle in stages also adds a unique layer to the game’s progression systems, making it so that you never really feel like a level is truly complete until you uncover all its secrets.

Entropy Survivors

• Release Date — December 4, 2024
• Developer — Moving Pieces Interactive
• Publisher — First Break Labs
• Steam User Score — 82% (Very Positive)
• Review Aggregate Score — N/A
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S

At first glance, there might not be much to separate Entropy Survivors from every other game on this list. But those who have had a chance to play the game already know that Entropy Survivors‘ use of what amounts to two controllable protagonists gives it a unique flow in the bullet heaven genre. In addition to a larger, more powerful mech, Entropy Survivors puts players in control of a smaller, fast-shooting frog that rides on its back. Mixing and matching the disparate power-ups available to each protagonist allows for some interesting combinations and builds for players to experiment with, each of which has their pros and cons toward dealing with the game’s many, many enemies. While it may be a bit slower-paced than some of the other games on this list, few bullet heaven titles do meta progression and build variety like Entropy Survivors.

Eden Survivors

• Release Date — December 10, 2024
• Developer — Aeternum Game Studios
• Publisher — Aeternum Game Studios
• Steam User Score — 88% (Very Positive)
• Review Aggregate Score — N/A
• Platforms — PC (Early Access)

It should come as no surprise that Eden Survivors is as good as it is given the title’s developer. Coming from Aeterna Noctis developer Aeternum Game Studios, Eden Survivors offers up a few new twists on the bullet heaven subgenre of action roguelikes. Not only do you get to control one of a variety of different mechs, but the game’s perspective switches from the traditional top-down one to something more isometric, and its core gameplay loop tests the player to balance their offense and defense by constantly monitoring their power output. In Eden Survivors, the more powerful the player gets, the more resources it pulls from their generator that’s also used to power their shields. Through this interesting risk/reward dynamic, Eden Survivors requires you to make spur-of-the-moment micro-decisions that can impact an entire run, offering up a bit more strategy than what you’d normally see in the genre.

Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel

• Release Date — January 21, 2025
• Developer — Games Farm, ARTillery
• Publisher — Grindstone
• Steam User Score — 82% (Very Positive)
• Review Aggregate Score — N/A
• Platforms — PC (Early Access)

Like Greek mythology, Norse mythology is such a great setting and backdrop for games that it should come as no surprise to see not one, but two bullet heaven games based on Norse mythology. Unlike Nordic Ashes, Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel is more grim and realistic with its visuals and presentation. This ultimately leads to the game feeling a bit more serious, even if both titles are rock-solid bullet heaven games. Another interesting wrinkle separating Jotunnslayer from Nordic Ashes is the way it handles meta-progression, with a surprisingly large set of skill trees for each character type that continually offers up meaningful rewards, even for incomplete runs. It may be one of the newer games on this list, but Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel is already taking up plenty of my time in the bullet heaven genre simply for how fun it is to play.

WARRIORS: Abyss

• Release Date — February 12, 2025
• Developer — Koei Tecmo
• Publisher — Koei Tecmo
• Steam User Score — 74% (Mostly Positive)
• Review Aggregate Score — N/A
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S

Koei Tecmo’s WARRIORS: Abyss is pretty much exactly what its Steam Page suggests — a bullet heaven action roguelike set in the Dynasty Warriors universe. To say that Mousu games are a perfect fit for the bullet heaven genre is an understatement, so it should come as no surprise to see that WARRIORS: Abyss is already generating plenty of buzz following its surprise announcement and shadow drop yesterday. While there are some confusing choices related to the game’s monetization (it’s already a $30 game, so charging players for in-game unlock currency feels a bit…off), WARRIORS: Abyss is practically a dream come true for anyone who loves Dynasty Warriors, Hades, Vampire Survivors, or any combination thereof. Plus, with literally hundreds of characters and upgrades to unlock, WARRIORS: Abyss is giving players plenty of bang for their buck in terms of potential playtime.