Killsquad

After two years of early access, Killsquad is launching in a strong position to build on a solid, playable, and enjoyable foundation.

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"Killsquad is a fast-paced, co-op Hack and Slash game for up to 4 players with five hero classes to choose from. The game features short, action-packed contracts and a variety of weapons, skills, gears, and talismans to customize your character. However, it has lots of grinding and is known for its bugs."

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Reviews

74%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,247 reviews

story43 positive mentions

grinding68 negative mentions

The combat is fun and engaging, with a variety of characters that feel unique.
The game has a solid foundation and is enjoyable to play, especially with friends.
The developers are responsive and actively working on updates and improvements.

The game lacks content and can feel repetitive after a short time.
There are significant technical issues, including crashes and lag during gameplay.
The progression system is shallow, with little sense of permanent advancement.

story
475 mentions
9 % positive mentions
85 % neutral mentions
5 % negative mentions
The game's story is largely absent, with players noting a lack of narrative depth and lore, making it feel shallow and repetitive. Missions are structured as contracts with minimal context, and while there are some quests, they do not significantly enhance the gameplay experience. Overall, the focus is on gameplay mechanics rather than storytelling, leading to a grindy experience that may not appeal to those seeking a rich narrative.
- “The contract-based combat system ensures that the developers can easily add new content, maps, and bosses without worrying about story flow or lore.”
- “While there is no official story, there are little lore bits around if you are into that thing.”
- “The story is nothing to write home about, and the game is mission-based, not sandbox, but it's a good time killer if you're playing with friends!”
- “There's no story, there's nothing that fleshes out the world; it could be the Avatar planet, it could be Earth, it could be a hologram.”
- “The game is still pretty thin on the story/lore side of things, but that's usually not a deal breaker for ARPG players.”
gameplay
314 mentions
40 % positive mentions
55 % neutral mentions
5 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game is generally praised for its smooth mechanics, engaging combat, and fun character abilities, making it enjoyable, especially in co-op mode. However, many players find the repetitive mission structure and lack of meaningful progression to be drawbacks, leading to a sense of monotony over time. While the core gameplay loop is considered solid, there are calls for more content and variety to sustain long-term interest.
- “Nice mechanics, smooth and balanced gameplay.”
- “Very fun game with satisfying gameplay.”
- “The core gameplay loop is satisfying.”
- “The gameplay loop is weak in my opinion, and repeating missions ad nauseam feels like a chore - you can't expect this game to compete with the likes of other stellar co-op games like Left 4 Dead, Killing Floor, or Risk of Rain with content that feels like it will become stale after 30 or so hours.”
- “The gameplay is just boring.”
- “The core gameplay loop is too simple and lacks an open world or anything besides doing the same type of missions over and over again.”
graphics
138 mentions
57 % positive mentions
37 % neutral mentions
6 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the overall visual quality, character design, and smooth animations, often describing them as "great" or "amazing." However, some players report significant performance issues, such as frame rate drops and graphical glitches, particularly on lower settings, which detracts from the experience. While the aesthetic is generally well-received, there are concerns about the lack of polish and the dated feel of some environments, leading to a range of scores from 6/10 to 10/10.
- “This game is in general very fun, the graphics are great, the mechanics well thought out.”
- “The graphics are awesome, the team of this indie company are small but passionate, they do updates, blogs, YouTube videos on a regular basis, and they are firmly committed to this game.”
- “Graphics are gorgeous!”
- “The lighting is headache inducing, worse on lower graphical settings. The bugs are still run enders, and given how long some of the missions take, it's not fun throwing away Dota-level time investment.”
- “Graphics are 2007 era; it's an isometric 3rd person game where you walk down corridors that are not procedurally generated. The areas are so lackluster with no identity that you'd think it might be procedural generation.”
- “Even with rigs significantly higher than a GTX 660, we still had to drop our graphics to low/very low during gameplay because there were a lot of FPS drops for me and my friend.”
grinding
69 mentions
1 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
99 % negative mentions
The game's grinding mechanics are a mixed bag, with some players enjoying the repetitive nature and sense of progression, while others find it tedious and lacking in variety. Many reviews highlight the grind as a core aspect of the gameplay, often leading to repetitive missions and a slow progression system, which can detract from the overall experience. However, for those who appreciate grinding in RPGs, the game offers enjoyable co-op play and a satisfying loot system, albeit with some concerns about the lack of depth and meaningful upgrades.
- “Very fun game and not too grindy.”
- “The game is grindy, and while you can sort of enjoy using it as a vehicle to have fun with a friend, it's hard to ignore how repetitive and uninteresting play is.”
- “You will need to replay levels and do some grinding, but honestly, it has not been bad so far.”
- “The power level grinding is still quite a slog.”
optimization
43 mentions
16 % positive mentions
58 % neutral mentions
26 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has received overwhelmingly negative feedback, with users reporting severe performance issues such as memory leaks, high CPU usage, and frequent crashes after extended play sessions. Many players experience stuttering, frame drops, and unresponsive abilities, particularly during large fights, leading to a consensus that the game is currently in a poor state regarding optimization. While some acknowledge the developers' efforts and the game's potential, the overall sentiment is that significant improvements are necessary for a smoother experience.
- “I'm happy for what is in the game and hopefully they will listen to the community and implement some well-desired optimizations.”
- “Performance: everything set to epic, zero frame drops.”
- “It's in early access, and there are some optimization and bug issues as expected, but developers are passionate and working hard on the game.”
- “The game suffers from some very serious performance issues, namely a nasty memory leak and obscenely high CPU usage (mine was reaching 95% usage and almost 90°C / 194°F while playing this game).”
- “The game's optimization issues persist, causing frame drops and occasional unplayability.”
- “I know it just released in early access, but it needs optimization badly.”
stability
27 mentions
7 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
93 % negative mentions
The game's stability is a significant concern, with numerous players reporting persistent bugs, glitches, and connectivity issues that can disrupt gameplay and lead to mission failures. While some users have noted improvements following recent updates, many still experience freezing, frame rate drops, and problems with multiplayer functionality. Overall, the game remains quite buggy, particularly for an early access title, which detracts from the overall experience despite its enjoyable mechanics and potential.
- “This game is great for an early access game. It is fun and not buggy for the time I've played. The blend of Diablo-style play with awesome characters really makes me want to play more. This game will be successful, and I hope that it has a long life.”
- “Runs great, fluid and fun combat, linear but satisfying progression, easy to jump into, end-game/replayability, mouse/controller support, and cross-play. I'm excited for more future content!”
- “If it wasn't for the constant sound loop glitches, frame rate drops, and P2P connectivity which disconnects one of us more often than not, causing us to lose all loot we've obtained up to that point, I would've kept playing. I will play again once those issues are ironed out.”
- “Still as buggy as it was a year ago, to the point where missions are unplayably broken.”
- “The game is super buggy.”
music
22 mentions
32 % positive mentions
50 % neutral mentions
18 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players finding it satisfying while others feel it lacks variety and impact, particularly during combat. Many users express a desire for a more dynamic soundtrack, as the current music often drowns out important sound effects and fails to enhance the gameplay experience. Overall, while the music is not considered the worst, it is seen as an area needing improvement to match the game's potential.
- “The game is a hidden gem for me, really fun and challenging combat, missions feel like they are a good length and music is pretty satisfying.”
- “Music and sounds are good although the score could use some more variance.”
- “But I like a good soundtrack while fighting and doing missions.”
- “The sounds in the game need a major overhaul: guns sound weak, music drowns out monster sounds, etc.”
- “I just wish the game was half as exciting as the music they used in the preview videos on Steam.”
- “It is also worth noting as well that music and sound design is mostly pretty awful, there is this sort of white noise sound that pings to let you know enemies are coming which is very unnecessary.”
monetization
15 mentions
20 % positive mentions
33 % neutral mentions
47 % negative mentions
The game currently features no microtransactions, providing a solid and enjoyable experience reminiscent of traditional free-to-play titles without the financial pitfalls. While some speculate that future monetization could include cosmetic microtransactions, players appreciate the absence of such features at this stage, especially given the game's early access status. Overall, the lack of monetization is seen as a positive aspect, though there are concerns about long-term sustainability without it.
- “Not a single sight of microtransactions, even for cosmetics.”
- “Overall, this game is a solid experience, with tons of content, a genuinely fun and unique gameplay that is ridiculously addicting, and again, no microtransactions.”
- “One of the upsides is that it doesn't have microtransactions (yet).”
- “It's like those mobile games that you wish you could play, but can't bring yourself to dive into microtransactions.”
- “This game feels like it's going to be a free-to-play game with 'cosmetics only' microtransactions.”
- “This game very much feels like the bones for what logically would be the sort of cash grab, but of course as it stands at the moment this is purely speculation.”
replayability
14 mentions
29 % positive mentions
50 % neutral mentions
21 % negative mentions
The game's replayability is a mixed bag; while some players enjoy the fluid combat and material farming that encourages multiple playthroughs, others criticize the lack of randomly generated levels and content, leading to a feeling of stagnation after the initial experience. Many express a desire for additional content and character options to enhance replay value, particularly for those playing solo or with friends. Overall, the potential for high replayability exists, but it is hampered by current content limitations.
- “Great RPG game with high replayability.”
- “Very fun game, think Helldivers meets Diablo; great replayability, great fun.”
- “Controls for me were smooth, replay value was great; while the level system threw me a bit at first, I caught on relatively quickly and had a blast learning how the different characters worked!”
- “I wish there was more content to fill in the progression gaps and add replayability, because I'd keep playing it after I beat the final mission.”
- “Sadly, I bought this for myself and 3 friends and after a few days of playing, it has nothing new to experience or any replayability.”
- “But they had the nerve to charge $20 for a game that has some of the least amount of content and replayability I've ever seen.”
character development
9 mentions
33 % positive mentions
33 % neutral mentions
33 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is noted for its sleek and clean design, with unique characters that feature intriguing sci-fi backstories. While players appreciate the dynamic gameplay and character progression, some express a desire for deeper, long-term development and end-game content to enhance replayability. Overall, the character designs are a mixed bag, with some being well-received and others considered less impressive.
- “Great character design; each of the characters plays uniquely, with cool sci-fi backstories.”
- “I'm hoping they have end-game content that allows for continued character development and increased replayability.”
- “Far from my usual sort of game, as I like games with some depth and long-term character development, but this is one of the best examples of its type.”
- “Far from my usual sort of game as I like games with some depth and long-term character development, but this is one of the best examples of its type.”
- “It looks fine; it has some character development as you grow in power as you progress through the level.”
- “As for character designs, they are meh (i.e. space Jason, Cayde from Destiny, and weeb nun).”
humor
8 mentions
75 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
25 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is highlighted by its witty voice-acting and numerous pop culture references, which many players find entertaining. However, some users express frustration with gameplay mechanics that detract from the overall fun, particularly when facing setbacks like losing progress. Overall, while the game has comedic potential, player experiences with humor can vary significantly.
- “The voice acting is quite funny, with plenty of lines referencing pop culture and memes.”
- “Funny that the game is called Killsquad, but finding players is probably one of the things this game doesn't make simple at all.”
- “Very funny and easy to play.”
- “Playing a 30-minute mission, only to die at the last boss and losing all the benefits you painfully tried to grind is not funny.”
- “I played only a few minutes and it was not funny.”
emotional
3 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Players find the emotional experience of the game to be impactful, particularly praising the visceral feel of combat that delivers a satisfying sense of weight and impact with each hit. However, there are suggestions for improvement in the main menu navigation and background music to enhance the overall emotional vibe.
- “The feel of combat is very visceral; by that I mean every hit feels like it has weight and impact and hits all those good emotional checkmarks that make hack n slash games so satisfying to play.”