Geometry Survivor

When you hear the name Geometry Survivor and see the simple throwback visuals, the first name that probably pops into your head is Geometry Wars. But what if I were to tell you that Geometry Survivor isn’t a dual-stick shooter? In fact, let me go one step further and mention that there isn’t even a button for shooting. This is a game about surviving, which means weaving and dodging your way through the enemy ships in an attempt to stay alive for twenty minutes. It’s basically Vampire Survivor in the style of Geometry Wars, which is either a good or bad thing depending on who you ask. Find out where I land on that debate in this review of Geometry Survivor by Brain Seal.

Can you survive a dual-stick shooter for twenty minutes without the use of the right stick? That’s the question Geometry Survivor asks. It’s a throwback Robotron-inspired action game that looks like a shooter, but with the caveat that the player isn’t the one doing the shooting. Instead what you do is take control of a multi-sided ship as it attempts to avoid coming in contact with the differently-shaped enemies, all while picking up money and experience points along the way.

Now, when I say that it’s not a dual-stick shooter, that doesn’t mean that there’s no shooting. The truth is, our multi-sided ship has a lot of firepower, though not at first. Each session starts with a simple gun that auto-aims and takes out an enemy one at a time. This will be enough for the first minute or two, but you’re going to need to upgrade the shot and add new weapons to your craft if you hope to survive for all twenty minutes.

That’s the trick behind Geometry Survivor. As you dodge enemies and pick up experience points, you’ll level up and be given a choice between several different weapons, upgrades or modifications. For example, you can select a flame burst that you can whip around in 360 degrees, an independent drone that will shoot missiles at enemies, a black hole that will suck everything into the vast reaches of space and even little blades that spin around our multi-sided hero.

What’s cool about the leveling up system is that you can equip six or seven of these different weapons and mods (depending on the ship), and then spend the rest of the game upgrading them, making them stronger and cool down faster. You’ll go from a vulnerable ship only shooting at one enemy at a time to an overpowered killing machine firing a half dozen different kinds of ammo. And you’re going to need all that firepower, because the longer the session goes on, the more enemies are going to show up and try to ruin your run. Believe me, even with all of the weapons, this game can still be tough to finish.

And again, I cannot stress this enough, you don’t have any direct control over these weapons. Sure, there are some you can manipulate based on the direction your ship is looking, but pretty much everything in this game is on a timer. What you’ll need to do is constantly be on the run, using the different weapons when they show up to briefly gain the upper-hand and get to safety. The game is going to throw everything it has at you, so a lot of the strategy comes down to knowing when to push back and knowing when to run.

As I mentioned before, you are not only picking up experience points, but also money. The goal is to earn enough cash to buy permanent upgrades, such as a speed boost or more lives. There are also upgrades that will give you more gold after each round and attract the money and experience points from a greater distance. On top of that, there are also other multi-sided ships you can buy, all of which have different pros and cons. There’s a good one for those starting out that will double the amount of money you earn from each session, though it takes twice as long to level up. It’s a trade-off that will help you quickly unlock a bunch of the upgrades.

Once you settle into the rhythm of dodging enemies, earning money and buying upgrades, you’ll start to see the limitations of Geometry Survivor. Every twenty-minute session plays out exactly the same, even if the weapons you can select are randomized each time. You’ll see the same enemies with the same attacks and the same patterns on the same background, no matter if it’s your first time or five-hundredth. The initial challenge of earning enough money to unlock the permanent upgrades will only keep you invested for so long, and then you’ll begin to tire of the game’s more repetitive elements.

The problem is that it only took an hour or two before I had enough upgrades and knowledge to survive for the full twenty minutes. And once you’re able to do it once, every subsequent session is a breeze. For me, there just wasn’t enough of a hook to keep playing after the first few wins. Sure, I could earn more money to unlock all of the ships and permanent upgrades, but what’s the point?

Some of this could have been fixed with different modes or levels. I like the Geometry Wars style, but all it seems to do is limit the variety. Vampire Survivor was able to do a lot with a little by offering different stages and challenges, yet the action is always the same in this knock-off. I suppose you could argue that it’s unrealistic to expect that kind of variety in a five-dollar game, but again, that’s how much Vampire Survivor costs, and there’s a lot more to that game.

Even with the lack of variety, Geometry Survivor is a lot of fun for at least a couple hours. The look is nostalgic and upgrade path is a lot of fun, so you probably won’t feel cheated if you buy this for five-dollars. However, once you start to notice how repetitive the grind is, the illusion will be broken and this unique action game will lose a lot of its charm. Perhaps the sequel will be more evolved.