I'm obsessed with playing games in the horde survival genre, or "bullet heaven" genre as some like to call it. From game to game, there's always some new twist on the basic formula, from fundamental differences to smaller mechanical ones. HoloCure: Save the Fans! is one of the best games you can play without paying as much as a cent, it's completely free and also one of my favorite games in the genre.

Half-embarassingly, I know many of the playable characters here by name, stemming from a past love for VTubers. Each idol from the Hololive idol group playable in this game has their own main attack and exclusive upgrades, making them all distinct and fun to use. There's also a whole dollhouse mode on the side, letting you decorate your house, farm crops, and even fish.

Achievement hunting broke my heart, however, as after over 50 hours of grinding I was met with the final achievement requiring me to grind for another 80 or so. This is frankly cruel and unfair, and I hope to see it changed or removed in the future. A full letter-grade was retracted just for that.

Keeping that in mind, I still highly urge you to check the game out, whether you're a VTuber fan or not. If you're for some reason on the fence about giving the genre a shot, this is a fantastic starting-point.

I went into the Vtuber rabbit hole back in 2019 and of course it was Hololive that introduced me to the world of Vtubing. So when a fan-made game of Hololive based on Vampire Survivors (i haven't play it and i might soon) called Holocure released i was really shocked and hype to try it out. It was fun, chaotic and addicting more than anything else.

Two things that made me appreciate this game every time i play it, the first one is that it has a gacha system for the characters but it won't cost you any payment instead the characters are unlocked by collecting coins in the game and then spending them a thousand at a time on an in-game gacha mechanic. Yu, the developer is keen to emphasise that the gacha is purely in-game currency and does not involve any sort of monetisation, you just need to play the game a few times to unlock the additional characters.

Second and this might be the best thing about Holocure is that you don't need to know anything whatsoever about Hololive to appreciate it. If you have never explored VTuber culture at all, the game’s intro sequence provides a brief bit of context, and from there the playable characters can all simply be seen as cute girls with unique abilities. At the other end of the spectrum, however, if you are deeply immersed into VTuber culture and Hololive culture specifically then the game is absolutely rammed full of references and in-jokes that will continually delight your experience.

Vampire Survivors, but free and the characters distinct. A later update added Holo House, a game mode I don't much care for.

Thanks to the fact that unlike in Vampire Survivors who start out with a predefined loadout you can randomly chance on as a character, in Holocure, each character has their own weapon which you can invest in and each weapon operates differently. You have Mumei and her homing feathers when they hit a target. You have Kronii who uses her clock swords to stab at the nearest enemy (and another one to stab at a random enemy).

The game falls apart at high level play, because the game is much easier when you ditch all the other weapon slots to limit rng and just invest in your starter weapon, plus a few combos which provide you heals or enemy slowdown.

Some combos are actively detrimental versus their base weapons too.

Then again, for the price of free, the game is incredibly polished. You won't lose anything but your time if you play this game.

This is a vampire survivors clone with characters based on the Hololive company vtubers. I have no interest in Hololive though but I think the game is pretty good.

The biggest strength of the game is a solid roster of characters that each have their unique abilities and are very varied, yet all of them are fun to play and feel viable. I'm legitimately surprised at such an expensive and qualitative roster, it's impressive. The design is also quite cool and the pixel art is nice to look at.

The roster gives you a good amount of content to explore and grind. There are few stages so far though but the game is still in development after all.

The lack of features such as time acceleration is painful though. Each ruin is at least 20min and this can be quite tedious. There's also only one special stage for now (for an average of 5min runs).

The game has relatively few balancing issues and is very fun to play. The enemies and maps are diversified and great. While mostly a copy of VS, its twists make it a good game that I enjoyed.

Holocure: Save the Fans! plunges players into the enchanting world of VTubers, where kawaii desu desu vibes and over-the-top expressions reign supreme. This game is an unabashed celebration of the quirky and endearing culture surrounding virtual YouTubers, offering a unique experience for fans of the phenomenon. With characters embodying various anime tropes like onii-chan, tsundere, and yandere, Holocure serves up a delightful dose of Japanese pop culture.

The gameplay, while not groundbreaking, captures the essence of the VTuber universe. The developers did a commendable job incorporating elements that resonate with fans, from the tsundere interactions to the ever-present onii-chan references. The soundtrack, featuring a blend of catchy J-pop tunes and inspirational lyrics, adds a fitting backdrop to the VTuber spectacle. However, the game's narrow focus on VTuber culture may limit its appeal to those outside the fanbase.

While Holocure: Save the Fans! is undoubtedly a niche experience, it successfully caters to the fervent VTuber enthusiasts who appreciate the playful charm of virtual personalities. Its limited scope and niche appeal might hinder broader success, but for fans deeply entrenched in VTuber culture, it provides a heartwarming journey into the world of kawaii dreams. Score: 7/10.

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It Good Game : D

I don't like to compare games across franchises in my revfiews, but it's hard to review games in this fledgling genre without some comparison. I don't know where the "Bullet Heaven" style games got their true start, but it's inarguable that Vampire Survivors is what popularized them. From there, HoloCure refines the formula into something truly spectacular. Each character has a unique weapon, skills, and special/ultimate ability: this makes choice of character much more impactful than in Vampire Survivors, which often feels more like an aesthetic choice after a certain point. And with so many characters to choose from, HoloCure is a great place for experimentation. Also, the level one stage theme is way too catchy! Admittedly I don't know much about Hololive but this game is worth playing for the gameplay alone.

Vampire Survivors ran so Holocure could sprint.

This game's got a lot going on, a massive roster of characters that all have their unique set of weapons and skills that all correspond with the respective vTuber's personality, meaning each character approaches the game slightly differently. For example Mumei likes having lots of small enemies on screen to both trigger her Civilization buff and to kill them to activate Bloodlust. Sana, meanwhile, who I mostly played as focuses on having big objects orbit around her to make a barrier, and if you're ever in danger you can use your Super to become BEEG and escape. There are also many unique enemies, from the Gold/Silver YAGOO to the midbosses that add an extra challenge as you figure out how to tackle them.

There are also changes to the core system from Vampire Survivors, most notably a reduction from 30 minutes to 20 minutes, killing a lot of Vampire's downtime and making for a better paced game. The other is options that use the mouse to aim, which are most character's signature weapons. There is one that I'm not a super huge fan of, which is the in-game gacha unlock system where you spend the coins from playing to hope you get all the characters from the group you want and, if you got a duplicate, that character is enhanced. That randomness makes it tricky if I wanted to try and get all the girls (I got all but 1) or enhance my main.

There's one more feature, Holo House, where you partake in minigames to cook buffs that can help you in the main mode and get you money. It's alright for what it is, but is a nice break from the action if you so choose to use it.

If you liked Vampire Survivors you'll love Holocure, and if you didn't like that game, maybe this one has something that fixes the issues of Vampire Survivors. But even if you don't know much about vTubers, there are good times here. Best of all, Holocure comes at the low low price of absolutely free!