Bite-sized Review:
Geometry Survivor

By Chris Picone, 25 February 2024

In a time where survivors-likes are a dime a dozen, I really feel Brain Seal have not done themselves any favours by going with a title like "Geometry Survivor".  That name reeks of "clone," which this title definitely is not.  Rather than being yet another survivors-like, this one really feels like an arcade shooter with some survivors-like elements.   

Aesthetics

Geometry Survivors is stunning.  I love anything with that vector art style and I love the neon.  And while somewhat minimalistic, the whole game - even the UI - is polished to perfection and the special effects are really splashy and fun.  

Gameplay

As expected, you zip around the map shooting hordes of shape-themed baddies.  There's an excellent range of enemies, all with their own attack patterns. The little triangles fly directly at you while the purple ones bounce randomly around the screen (which also means they often interrupt your escape path when fleeing from the triangles). Some only move across the screen but in endless waves, others try to surround you, and some explode.  The devs have made the most of this by building in interesting spawn patterns at different time intervals in addition to waves of attacks.  All shooting is automated but the weapon types push the game toward a much higher level of interactivity than you would expect in a survivors-like.  All weapons are on timers but some shoot the closest enemy, some the furthest, some are melee, the slingshot needs aiming, mines drop behind you, and the black hole appear randomly on the screen. To be successful, you need to try to synergise these attacks - try to draw the enemy into your black hole, defending yourself with melee, then dropping mines while you flee and wait for your cooldowns before initiating another attack. There's a good range of weapons so no two runs play the same.  There are also other ships and permanent unlocks to work toward.

Verdict

Geometry Survivors is an addictive arcade shooter featuring glorious vector art, splashy special effects, excellent variety, and it's plenty replayable.  Fans of survivors-likes will probably enjoy this but arcade shooter fans will love it.

Links: 

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2489010/Geometry_Survivor/