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Deflector

88%Game Brain Score
gameplay, music
grinding, story
88% User Score Based on 400 reviews

Platforms

PCXboxXbox Series X|SPlaystation 4WindowsPlayStationNintendo SwitchXbox OneSteam Deck

About

Deflector is a high-octane bullet hell roguelite set in a deadly world. Upgrade your characters with the DNA you find, evolve them further during your runs and explore the farthest reaches of this microcosm… or die trying.

Deflector screenshot
Deflector screenshot
Deflector screenshot
Deflector screenshot
Deflector screenshot
Deflector screenshot
Deflector screenshot
Deflector screenshot
Deflector screenshot
Deflector screenshot
Deflector screenshot
+11

88%
Audience ScoreBased on 400 reviews
gameplay70 positive mentions
grinding26 negative mentions

  • The gameplay is fun, challenging, and addictive, with a unique deflection mechanic that adds depth to combat.
  • The art style is visually appealing, with vibrant colors and a minimalist design that enhances the overall experience.
  • There is a good variety of characters, each with unique playstyles, and the game offers a solid progression system with numerous upgrades.
  • The game can feel repetitive quickly due to limited enemy variety and similar level designs across runs.
  • Unlocking new characters and upgrades can be frustratingly grindy, with some challenges feeling overly punishing.
  • Boss fights can be tedious and lack variety, leading to a sense of artificial difficulty rather than engaging gameplay.
  • gameplay
    168 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay is characterized by its addictive and challenging mechanics, particularly the unique deflection system that adds depth to combat. While the core gameplay loop is polished and engaging, some players note a lack of variety in levels and upgrades, which can lead to a feeling of repetitiveness. Overall, the combination of hack-and-slash, bullet-hell, and roguelite elements creates a fast-paced and immersive experience, though some aspects may feel unbalanced or underdeveloped.

    • “The gameplay is fun, challenging, and addictive.”
    • “The mix of hack-and-slash, bullet-hell, and roguelite gameplay elements make for a unique and engaging experience.”
    • “The gameplay is addictive; the fluidity and frenzy in combat immerses you in a dizzying experience.”
    • “So with how limited the variation in levels/gameplay is with the same shell, the lame perm upgrades, the super specific unlikely-to-get shell progressions, and the excessive bullet-hell feel, there are better roguelikes out there.”
    • “The difficulty of the bosses is truly absurd, with you being showered in projectiles that you can't deflect, and you are perpetually being hit by stuff with zero warning and zero projection which to me is just not enjoyable.”
    • “It looks pretty and flashy, but the gameplay simply doesn't hold up for repeated play and the charm quickly wears off as frustration starts setting in from the questionable at best, downright stupid at worst decisions the development team has made up to the release of the game.”
  • music
    88 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game has received overwhelmingly positive feedback, with many players praising its high quality, fitting themes, and immersive nature that enhances the gameplay experience. The soundtrack features a mix of metalcore and varied styles, contributing significantly to the game's atmosphere and intensity during combat. However, there are some criticisms regarding specific tracks, with one player noting a particularly disliked piece that detracted from their enjoyment, though they could mute it and listen to other music instead.

    • “Plus, the game looks great: the aesthetic style is very cool, being part biopunk and part monster horror, and the soundtrack is full of metalcore bangers that wouldn't sound out of place on an After the Burial or Unearth album.”
    • “The music fits the levels flawlessly and only serves to enhance the gameplay; if you're normally someone that would turn it off, I'd recommend leaving it on for a few runs just to experience it and how it changes from area to area.”
    • “The music is fantastic and gives the game so much more personality.”
    • “The music in the robot zone was so bad that it made me want to uninstall, but I can just mute it and listen to Spotify, so that's okay.”
    • “Muting the soundtrack feels like neutering the game entirely.”
    • “-bad music”
  • graphics
    78 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's graphics are widely praised for their unique and stylish art direction, blending biopunk and monster horror aesthetics, complemented by an engaging soundtrack. While many appreciate the minimalist and visually appealing design, some note that the visuals can become cluttered and lack variety across different biomes. Overall, the graphics enhance the gameplay experience, though a few players feel that they occasionally overshadow gameplay clarity.

    • “Plus, the game looks great: the aesthetic style is very cool, being part biopunk and part monster horror, and the soundtrack is full of metalcore bangers that wouldn't sound out of place on an After the Burial or Unearth album.”
    • “The aesthetics speak for themselves - I love when an indie game does something different than just pixel art, plus the clearly stylized design helps with readability, which is always a plus in such a hectic game.”
    • “Graphics are stellar, no question there.”
    • “However, the visuals do grow stale quickly, as there isn’t much variety in each biome.”
    • “The visuals are clearly more important to the devs than the gameplay, and yet both visuals and audio seem like they were designed to annoy and obstruct—boring would be an improvement.”
    • “Lack of clear visuals on some bosses (it's 100% certain that you will die to bosses at least a couple of times - some attack patterns are almost too fast to react).”
  • grinding
    26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and often unfulfilling, with many upgrades feeling low-impact and not significantly altering gameplay. While some compare its grind to other titles like "Dead Cells" and "Hades," the consensus is that the current metaprogression system lacks meaningful rewards, making the experience feel more like a chore than an engaging challenge. Despite this, there is hope that future updates may improve the grind and overall enjoyment.

    • “None of it changes your playstyle and it feels like lateral progress. After grinding for 2 hours for currency, you'll unlock a single thing that barely does anything, but you're forced to buy one thing to unlock the ability to buy the next thing.”
    • “Metaprogression doesn't feel like it's worth grinding, and bosses are the same at the end of each stage.”
    • “Despite the two new game modes, the core gameplay loop remains the same and is just as tedious as it was before release.”
  • replayability
    20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game offers a mix of high replay value due to character unlocks and unique gameplay elements, making it fun and engaging for many players. However, some reviewers feel it lacks the addictive quality found in other roguelites, with limited item variation and a steep difficulty curve that may deter new players. Overall, while there is a wealth of content, the replayability may not be as compelling for everyone.

    • “Fun, replayable, and tons of unique gimmicks to use.”
    • “High replay value, especially because you need to unlock new characters.”
    • “There is a mountain of content for an early access title as far as characters and replayability goes to boot.”
    • “Replay value is pretty poor; granted there are 6 classes and the game simply plays great, so there is some replay value, but other than that, items don't really change the way you play the game, and again, you're not going to get any sort of real variations in different runs.”
    • “Maybe I'm just malding and I'm not all too good at the game, but it doesn't really feel all that friendly to new players, and I'm having a hard time understanding why they made the difficulty so high for unlocking essential characters that create the replay value this game direly needs to stay in my library.”
    • “There is a mountain of content for an early access title as far as characters and replayability goes, but it still feels lacking in terms of true replay value.”
  • story
    8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story is described as simple yet engaging, complemented by vibrant visuals and enjoyable combat. However, players feel that the quest progression is overly punishing, detracting from the overall experience and leaving a sense of something missing in the narrative.

    • “Not even 3 hours in and it's a glorious spell of colors, fantastic combat, and an amazing yet simple story, characters, and goals.”
    • “I must admit, I am a 'mechanics first' guy and still I felt something's missing in terms of the story.”
    • “The devs implemented these wack quests to get new characters, but the progression through these quests is so punishing that I cannot bring myself to set up a run just for it to fall apart in one section.”
  • character development
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Character development in the game is highlighted by its innovative character classes, which are intricately tied to the game's unique mechanics and overall design. Players appreciate the depth and variety in character options, making it a standout feature for fans of roguelikes and dungeon crawlers. The combination of engaging combat and strong character design contributes to a highly recommended experience.

    • “The deflection mindset is further baked into all aspects of the game, including character design -- and Deflector might have some of the most interesting character classes in recent memory.”
    • “Highly recommend to anyone who enjoys a good roguelike or dungeon crawler, smooth and satisfying combat, good visuals, fantastic soundtrack, great character design, unique mechanics, responsive devs, I can't wait to see what else this game has coming in the future.”
  • humor
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players find the game to be highly entertaining and humorous, highlighting its funny mechanics and engaging soundtrack. Overall, the humor contributes significantly to the game's appeal, making it a fun experience.

    • “The game is a lot of fun and has a great sense of humor.”
    • “Very fun game with hilarious moments and a catchy soundtrack.”
  • atmosphere
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's atmosphere is significantly enhanced by its effective soundtrack, which users consistently praise for complementing the overall experience.

    • “The soundtrack works great for the atmosphere of the game.”

Buy Deflector

3h Median play time
8h Average play time
2-20h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 6 analyzed playthroughs

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