Space Gladiators

About

Space Gladiators is a pixelated, action-packed game where you fight to escape the alien prison of Tartarus. Choose your gladiator, engage in brutal combat, and utilize a variety of weapons and abilities to survive. With procedurally generated levels and permadeath, each playthrough offers a new challenge in this homage to classic arcade games.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

91%

Audience ScoreBased on 296 reviews

graphics20 positive mentions

replayability3 negative mentions

The game features fluid combat and movement, reminiscent of titles like Hollow Knight and Binding of Isaac, making it enjoyable and engaging.
There is a wide variety of characters, items, and unlocks, allowing for diverse gameplay experiences and strategies.
Despite some bugs and rough edges, many players find the game addictive and rewarding, with a high skill ceiling that encourages improvement.

The game suffers from various bugs, including issues with enemy behavior and item drops, which can disrupt gameplay.
Some players find the early game items to be uninteresting and lacking in variety, leading to repetitive experiences.
The difficulty can be steep, with some bosses and enemy patterns feeling unfair or overly punishing, which may deter new players.

graphics
36 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
36%
8%
The graphics of the game are characterized by a unique and hand-drawn art style that some players find appealing, while others consider it a turnoff. Many reviews highlight the fluid movement and combat, as well as the interesting visuals that blend humor and gore effectively. Overall, the graphics are praised for their originality and charm, contributing positively to the gameplay experience.
- “Blobfish clearly put a lot of work into the art style and the game has a pretty diverse item pool especially once you start getting unlocks going.”
- “This game offers really fluid movement and combat with a very unique hand-drawn art style.”
- “The art style is extremely original with an almost hand-drawn feel to it.”
- “The art style is also a turnoff for me; I'm sure some people like it, but it's just not my thing.”
- “Honestly, no complaints, other than the art style sometimes making it difficult to understand what's going on.”
- “It's basically a Hollow Knight roguelite with the art style of Isaac, I guess.”
gameplay
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
50%
10%
The gameplay is fast-paced and mechanics-driven, drawing comparisons to titles like Hollow Knight and Dead Cells, with intuitive controls that are easy to learn but challenging to master. Players appreciate the short tutorial, variety of characters and items, and the addictive, polished gameplay loop that encourages replayability. While the soundtrack and sound effects may be average, the overall experience is enhanced by fluid gameplay and community engagement from the developers.
- “The mechanics are just fun, and there are a lot of characters and items to make it different from run to run.”
- “It just gets into its fun gameplay quickly, which is something I appreciate after dealing with loading menus and tutorials everywhere in other roguelikes I've been playing (this game's tutorial is short and sweet).”
- “This game is amazing and underrated; if you enjoy the gameplay of Hollow Knight and the difficulty, item synergy, gameplay loop, and replay value of Binding of Isaac, you will love this game.”
- “The gameplay is very mechanics-driven with fluid controls that are easy to understand but hard to master.”
- “All mechanics are explained very clearly via tooltips, which makes sense because items will also have randomized stats and effects in addition to their default effects.”
- “The gameplay is very similar to that of Dead Cells with a fun and humorous art style more akin to Castle Crashers.”
humor
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is widely praised for its charm and creativity, featuring quirky elements like a "poop" item and amusing character designs. Players appreciate the comedic aspects of gameplay, including funny boss encounters and a lighthearted art style reminiscent of titles like Castle Crashers. Overall, the humor is considered a standout feature, contributing significantly to the game's appeal.
- “The game also has a good sense of humor.”
- “Such a funny game and amazing that was created by one person!”
- “The best is probably the first zone boss, a huge buff mutant arms dude, smashes the ground and rocks fall down and makes funny grunts.”
music
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
63%
25%
13%
The music in the game has received positive feedback for its groovy and engaging soundtrack, effectively setting the mood and enhancing the gameplay experience. While some reviewers noted that the sound effects and music could be considered average, the overall variety and quality of the music were praised, with many expressing excitement for future releases from the development team. A few suggestions for improvement included a desire for more musical variety and level design.
- “Love the graphics, music is awesome and can't wait for the next releases from this team.”
- “The music does a very good job at setting the mood and overall there isn't all that much I can really say negative about the game.”
- “The music slaps and there's lots of variety in the game for something just released on early access.”
- “Could use some more music and level design variety.”
- “Sound effects and music might be a bit average but nothing smooth gameplay won't mitigate.”
replayability
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
38%
38%
The game offers medium replayability, enhanced by distinct characters that promote varied play styles and a compelling gameplay loop reminiscent of titles like Hollow Knight and The Binding of Isaac. With its early access status, players are optimistic about future updates further increasing replay value. Overall, the game is considered underrated and has garnered a positive reception, suggesting a solid foundation for replayability.
- “This game is amazing and underrated even at 97% positive at the time of writing this; if you enjoy the gameplay of Hollow Knight and the difficulty, item synergy, gameplay loop, and replay value of Binding of Isaac, you will love this game.”
- “There's already so much replay value, and with the game only in early access, I'm beyond excited for future updates.”
- “You can probably expect medium replayability for this type of game.”
- “The existing characters feel very different from one another and encourage different play styles, which adds to replay value.”
- “There's already so much replay value and with the game only in early access, I'm beyond excited for future updates.”
story
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
17%
50%
The reviews indicate a lack of clarity regarding the story, with some users questioning its existence despite praising the graphics and gameplay. Overall, the narrative aspect appears to be minimal or non-existent.
- “No story.”
- “No story.”
- “No story.”
monetization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players express frustration with the monetization strategy, noting that later bosses are overly reliant on annoying ads and spawn mechanics, which detracts from the gameplay experience. The high stats of these bosses force players to create builds focused on healing, leading to a perception of unfairness and imbalance in the game's design.
- “Later bosses rely too much on annoying ads (little enemy spawns), and their stats are so large you learn that you have to make a build with a ton of healing in some way.”
- “Why are we fighting this overpowered, cheating character with ads as the last boss in a jungle setting?”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Players express that the grinding in the game is excessively time-consuming, suggesting that it requires an unrealistic amount of effort akin to having a second life to fully engage with it.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”