HoloParade

About

HoloParade is a single player strategy game. It was developed by Roboqlo and was released on November 30, 2023. It received positive reviews from players.

"HoloParade" is a single-player strategy game where you collect, nurture, and watch hololive VTubers and mascot characters in a 2D tower defense setting. The game offers depth and strategy, with stages that require specific character development and formations tailored to enemies. It takes about 4 hours to beat, but subsequent high-difficulty stages will demand more precise character usage. This game is published under CCMC Corp's Indie game brand "holIndie."

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

83%

Audience ScoreBased on 781 reviews

gameplay33 positive mentions

grinding87 negative mentions

The game is a fun and charming tower defense experience, especially for fans of Hololive.
The developers are responsive to feedback and have made significant improvements since launch.
The gacha system allows players to choose between two units, making it less frustrating than traditional gacha mechanics.

The game can be grindy, with difficulty spikes that may frustrate players, especially if they lack the right units.
The user interface is cluttered and can be confusing, making it hard to navigate and manage teams.
The music and sound design are repetitive and could use improvement to enhance the overall experience.

gameplay
132 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
60%
15%
The gameplay of Holoparade is reminiscent of Battle Cats, featuring gacha mechanics and a straightforward tower defense style, but it suffers from repetitiveness and a lack of depth, leading to a grindy experience. While some players appreciate the fan service and mechanics, many find the combat simplistic and the overall gameplay tedious, with significant balance issues and limited strategic variety. Overall, it may appeal to dedicated fans of the genre, but it struggles to maintain long-term engagement.
- “For a simple fan game, I really like the detail to each enemy and playing around the mechanics.”
- “Chill but fun gameplay.”
- “The art is nice, the gameplay is quite fun and has loads of different possible strategies with the big roster as well as synergies, skills, instruments, and a bunch more modifiers.”
- “The gameplay is bland and boring.”
- “The combat is very simplistic and repetitive once you get the hang of it, and there just isn't enough depth in either the team-building, the combat system, or the gameplay levels themselves to provide that type of long-lasting replayability.”
- “The gameplay is tedious, the system is tedious and its overall just a mediocre experience.”
grinding
89 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
2%
98%
The game is generally considered quite grindy, requiring significant effort to farm coins and level up characters, especially as players progress through the stages. While many find the gameplay fun and engaging, the repetitive nature of grinding can lead to tedium, particularly for those not deeply invested in the Hololive franchise. Suggestions for improvement include reducing the grind and implementing features like auto-repeat for farming to enhance the overall experience.
- “The gameplay is tedious, the system is tedious and it's overall just a mediocre experience.”
- “It makes the game feel like a chore if I need to start farming repetitive content to get stronger within an hour of starting.”
- “I've tried grinding to level up what I have but it's become clear that I would have to spend several hours grinding the same levels just to have a chance.”
music
58 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
62%
24%
The music in the game has received largely negative feedback, with many players criticizing the repetitive and poorly looping tracks that fail to enhance the gameplay experience. While some find the music catchy, the limited variety and short loops lead to frustration, prompting recommendations to turn off the in-game music in favor of personal playlists. Overall, the soundtrack is seen as a significant drawback, detracting from an otherwise enjoyable game.
- “10/10 sounds (the music is addictive, not gonna lie)”
- “The Hololive art and references are cute, the music is catchy... but that's about where the positives end.”
- “Music is good, graphics are very easy on the eye and the gameplay is enjoyable.”
- “The OST is a huge downer since there's only 1 song that plays during stages, and it doesn't set the mood properly when the difficulty ramps up.”
- “In the very first level, the music track (which in this game seems to be all royalty-free BGM) has a very annoying and very noticeable looping point with nearly a second of silence before it restarts - and the track isn't that long.”
- “The music needs work because one of the main songs used for the stages has an awful cut before it loops and the song itself is short as well, so you will hear the audio cut multiple times when playing any stage that uses the song.”
story
44 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
7%
86%
7%
The story aspect of the game is criticized for its lack of depth and engaging narrative, with many players feeling that it becomes repetitive and grindy after a short time. While players appreciate the rewards from story missions that help improve their units, they express frustration over the reliance on a gacha system for character acquisition and the steep difficulty curve that hampers enjoyment. Overall, the story is seen as a vehicle for gameplay rather than a compelling narrative experience.
- “Having recently cleared the first 4 story parades (and 3 tours), I can confidently say this game embodies the heart and spirit of Hololive; even if there are some quirks that might be head-scratching.”
- “The rewards from the story missions and the tours are enough to pull your units up a few ranks each time.”
- “You get a lot of tickets going through the story, and any stage you do relevant to your progress will net you a chance to drop more.”
- “Seemingly no story, no achievements, repetitive annoying music, very few Hololive talents are actually in the game. Rushia seems to have been deliberately excluded; you get units from gacha, so if you want to use your oshi, chances are you're out of luck even if they are in the game.”
- “I've beaten the 'main story' (and saw the end credits), and I regret wasting time on this.”
- “Just a tiny number of 'story' rewards, and an abysmally tiny chance to get one random gacha use per stage, which in 95% of the cases won't give you an actual character.”
monetization
25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
12%
76%
12%
Holoparade features a gacha system reminiscent of mobile games but notably lacks predatory microtransactions, which has been positively received by players. However, the game's design leads to a grind for resources, creating frustration as players reach a point where ticket acquisition slows significantly. While the absence of in-game purchases is appreciated, some reviewers express concern that the game may be setting the stage for future monetization.
- “Holoparade is a Battle Cats-like game with the same gacha mechanics, but without predatory microtransactions.”
- “It is your idol/comedian game from Hololive, thumbs up for no microtransactions.”
- “There's also a gacha system, but as far as I can tell, there's no microtransactions, so you can grind out more tickets to pull in-game and it comes complete with a pity system.”
- “This means you will 100% reach a point where the game practically stops giving you tickets and forces you to grind out levels in the hope it randomly gives you one, just like a mobile game would, except this isn't a mobile game and there's no monetization, so who knows why it's designed like this.”
- “The gacha system feels designed like one in a mobile game, one intended to annoy players into paying money for rolls (or skipping problematic levels), but without any actual monetization system in place it just ends up feeling bad for everyone.”
- “For Cover to go the route of paid games, this isn't a very nice strong entry when Kay Yu of Holocure will remain free and has more passion in his project than this, which I feel Cover wanted to go into monetization.”
graphics
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
50%
21%
The game's graphics are characterized by a charming art style and cute character designs, which many players appreciate. However, the overall presentation is inconsistent and lacks polish, with issues such as typos and poorly explained mechanics detracting from the visual experience. While the graphics are easy on the eyes, they are considered somewhat simplistic and in need of a more cohesive implementation.
- “The strongest point of this game is the art style; all the characters are extremely cute.”
- “Music is good, graphics are very easy on the eye, and the gameplay is enjoyable.”
- “Some of the artwork and animation has charm to it, but the presentation overall is inconsistent.”
- “The game does have some charm in regards to its visuals, and I can tell it's not a cash-in; it really just needs a better implemented system, that's all.”
- “Can't recommend right now, not polished enough, a lot of typos, weird graphical settings, a lot of mechanics not explained, the balancing is really bad (I got to summon a UR only one time), the mini-game feels like it was made in a rush before release.”
humor
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is highlighted by its amusing characters, particularly the "Funny Battle Cat," and the entertaining voice lines of the Hololive girls, which fans find especially hilarious during livestreams. Overall, the comedic elements resonate well with fans, enhancing the gaming experience.
- “The battle cat features funny characters that add a unique charm to the game.”
- “Fans of Hololive will probably find the voice lines chosen to be very funny.”
- “The voice acting of the Hololive girls is hilarious; if you watch their livestreams every day, you'll definitely appreciate it.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
25%
25%
The atmosphere in the game is characterized by a lighthearted yet chaotic environment, reminiscent of Miko's chat, where playful bullying and taunting create a unique dynamic. It offers a cheerful escape for Hololive fans, allowing them to immerse themselves in the vibrant world of VTubers and momentarily forget the outside world's pressures.
- “In conclusion: if you have a few bucks and you are a Hololive fan, you can spend some hours here to keep yourself in the happy atmosphere of VTubers and away from the suffocating dark world outside your room.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
25%
50%
Players express a desire for better optimization, particularly for the Steam Deck, highlighting performance issues and a slow ticket earning rate that complicates the process of obtaining characters. The current system, which requires 20 pulls for a guaranteed character, is seen as tedious, especially with the potential for duplicates.
- “Fix the performance and improve the ticket earning rate; it takes 20 pulls for a guaranteed holomem, which is quite a long road to get everyone when duplication is possible.”
- “Fix the performance, and improve ticket earning rate. It takes 20 pulls for a guaranteed holomem, which is quite a long road to get everyone when it's possible for duplication to appear.”
- “I am enjoying this game so far, but I hope this gets optimized on Steam Deck.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users generally find the game's replayability lacking due to its simplistic and repetitive combat mechanics, as well as insufficient depth in team-building and gameplay levels. As a result, many feel there is little incentive to revisit the game after the initial playthrough.
- “The combat is very simplistic and repetitive once you get the hang of it, and there just isn't enough depth in either the team-building, the combat system, or the gameplay levels themselves to provide that type of long-lasting replayability.”
- “- no replayability - at least not at the moment.”
- “The combat is very simplistic and repetitive once you get the hang of it, and there just isn't enough depth in either the team-building, the combat system, or the gameplay levels themselves to provide that type of long-lasting replayability.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the game to be incredibly wholesome, evoking positive emotions and a sense of warmth throughout the experience.
- “Absolutely wholesome game.”
- “This game made me feel a deep connection with the characters, and I found myself genuinely caring about their journeys.”
- “The emotional depth of the story left me in tears; it was a beautiful experience that resonated with my own life.”