I have not played a game in this genre (survivorslike? bullet hell survivor? whatever you want to call it) before, but I picked this one up because I know the creator and because it's all the rage on Cohost. I'm very glad I did. It's a tremendously elegant mix of goofy fun, careful strategy, and that magical build-crafting sweet spot where many different randomly-available options combine to provide both variety and a sense of overwhelming power once you hit your groove.

The first time I made it past 10k points, I spent all of day ten doing nothing but screaming as I scampered away from the crush of Big Worms I had recklessly purchased. The first time I got a score on the top 20 leaderboards (#10 in Hose with 45670 points at time of writing) I felt unstoppable. After only a couple days of play, I have my preferred weapons, my favorite snakes to farm, and challenges I'd like to set myself if the time comes. I don't know what more I could ask from an inexpensive little game.

OIL IS LIFE. LIFE IS MONEY. MONEY IS DEATH.

Reviewed on Sep 23, 2023


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