Survived By

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Survived By is a multiplayer role playing shooter game. It was developed by Human Head Studios and was released on December 5, 2018. It received neutral reviews from players.

Survived By is an MMO bullet hell roguelite from Digital Extremes.

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57%

Audience ScoreBased on 709 reviews

gameplay34 positive mentions

story7 negative mentions

The game has a unique blend of bullet hell and MMO elements, providing an engaging gameplay experience.
The art style and graphics are appealing, making the game visually enjoyable.
The permadeath mechanic adds a layer of strategy and encourages players to adapt and improve with each character.

The servers are unstable, leading to frequent disconnections and lost progress.
The crafting system is tedious, requiring long wait times and limiting players to crafting one item at a time.
Microtransactions are prevalent, with many features locked behind paywalls, which detracts from the overall experience.

gameplay
106 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
60%
8%
The gameplay in "Survived By" is a mixed bag, with many players praising its fast-paced action and engaging mechanics reminiscent of titles like "Realm of the Mad God." However, criticisms arise regarding its repetitive nature, tedious crafting system, and excessive microtransactions that detract from the overall experience. While the permadeath mechanic adds a layer of risk and strategy, the lack of variety and clarity in gameplay systems leaves some players feeling frustrated and underwhelmed.
- “The fast-paced action and strategic combat mechanics create an adrenaline rush that keeps me coming back for more.”
- “Permadeath is a neat mechanic that adds a lot of risk vs reward to the gameplay, and the fact that certain traits carry over from one character in your bloodline to the next helps soften the blow whenever you do get killed.”
- “Survived by is an enjoyable blend of rogue legacy and realm of the mad god with pixel-perfect presentation and a criminally addictive gameplay leveling and loot loop.”
- “The gameplay loop is kind of underwhelming; you're shooting a projectile every 1.2 seconds and killing enemies in 2 hits while getting very little experience and no item drops, since those are reserved entirely for the dungeons.”
- “Game mechanics and character progression are tedious and require too much grinding to get anywhere.”
- “The whole game just feels really boring and lacks a sense of progress. You're not finding new gear every few minutes, and you don't gain new abilities or a different attack when you level up, so the gameplay starts to feel very stale quickly.”
story
62 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
8%
81%
11%
The game's story is criticized for being vague and poorly integrated, with many players feeling that quests lack depth and clarity, often leading to confusion and aimless wandering. While some appreciate the potential for an engaging narrative, the quest system is described as repetitive and frustrating, with limited tracking and progress indicators. Overall, the lack of a compelling storyline and coherent quest structure detracts from the gaming experience.
- “I really want to rate this game good, but I just got done beating the level 20-25 dungeon, and I beat the boss, and a wall of text pops up on my screen, adding story to the game, and while I am reading it I die!?”
- “Interestingly, this way of open world, I like how missions are trying to connect you with the game world, either by building or others.”
- “It kind of reminds me of Realm of the Mad God but with better graphics and with a story and no spam and constant advertising.”
- “This game has no story; the quests just simply ask you to kill mobs. You can only track one quest, and you can't see the progress in the tracker. You need to open the menu while the battle is in real time, so you will die if you want to open the menu.”
- “While the concept is okay, great style, has crafting, an auction house, all the things you want in a game, it still has one major flaw that makes the game boring real quick and leaves you with a confused feeling: no decent quest system!”
- “As for a main storyline or something of the sort, it doesn't seem to have one. It doesn't even have quests you can gain from NPCs; there are side quests, but the extent of them is kill an enemy, they drop a scroll with an objective to go kill a mini-boss. You go to it, kill the mini-boss, boom, quest over, here's an underwhelming amount of silver.”
monetization
55 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
7%
71%
22%
The monetization in the game has been widely criticized for being overly aggressive, with numerous microtransactions that significantly impact gameplay and progression. Many players feel that the system prioritizes profit over player experience, leading to a perception of the game as a "cash grab." While some acknowledge the necessity of monetization in free-to-play models, there is a strong desire for a shift towards more cosmetic options that do not affect core gameplay.
- “I would much prefer if the monetization was purely cosmetic items and didn't affect core gameplay.”
- “I personally enjoy this game, but the microtransactions and the gameplay itself is holding this game back currently.”
- “I know free-to-play games have to have some sort of monetization, but 'Survived By' has too much monetization affecting gameplay.”
- “This game is plagued by microtransactions.”
- “Unfortunately, the monetization is out of control.”
- “The monetization this game has currently is abysmal and is trying to nickel and dime you for everything including new classes even though the game is in early access.”
grinding
35 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The reviews highlight that the game features a significant amount of grinding, which many players find tedious and repetitive, particularly in crafting and character progression. While some appreciate the engaging mechanics and visuals, the overall sentiment leans towards frustration with the grind-heavy nature, lack of gameplay variety, and the influence of microtransactions on progression. Players often feel that the grinding detracts from the enjoyment, making the experience feel more like a chore than a rewarding challenge.
- “Game mechanics and character progression is tedious and requires too much grinding to get anywhere.”
- “The game's crafting mechanics is tedious and points towards microtransactions at higher tiers to get things done in a reasonable amount of time.”
- “Grindy gameplay with little variety, exclusive microtransaction currency that impacts gameplay.”
graphics
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
41%
9%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the beautiful art style and well-designed enemies, while others criticize the inconsistency in quality and performance issues. Some players appreciate the retro aesthetic and variety, noting that it enhances the gameplay experience, but others feel that the graphics can be repetitive or lack detail. Overall, the visuals are generally regarded as good to excellent, contributing positively to the game's appeal despite some technical shortcomings.
- “Overall, it has amazing graphics.”
- “The art style of the game is beautiful!”
- “Great graphics, quality, and playability, and an overall amazing game.”
- “The art style looks kind of bad; they try to make objects detailed while everything is so small, which results in everything just looking like a mess. Apart from that, it also runs badly, though I'm not sure if that's due to my bad specs or bad optimization.”
- “The gear is stupid; the weapon artwork past level 4 (by the way, only tier 4 weapons look good) all others are standard grey metallic weapons, and the only change is their shape and a few dots.”
- “It's just a giant glitch with pretty graphics; if you think NES is pretty graphics.”
stability
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is a significant concern, with numerous users reporting persistent bugs, glitches, and server issues that detract from the overall experience. While some players find the mechanics enjoyable, the instability—such as game freezes and buggy interactions—has led to frustration, particularly in an early access context where such problems are expected but seem excessive. Overall, many feel that without substantial fixes, the game's potential may be compromised.
- “Doors and damaging terrain can be buggy and insta-kill you.”
- “While it is a very good game mechanics-wise, it is far too buggy to be enjoyable.”
- “This game is full of glitches and server problems.”
music
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
12%
38%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews; while some players appreciate the great soundtrack reminiscent of classic 1990s RPGs and enjoy the varied music that changes with different areas, others find it too monotone and express a desire for darker themes. Overall, the sound design is praised for its beauty and captivating quality, contributing positively to the gaming experience.
- “It has a great soundtrack and everyone in the game is dancing to it.”
- “The music is really great in this game; it reminds me of classic 1990's RPG games. I personally would be more into darker Castlevania-style music with the game, but that is just me.”
- “It has beautiful graphics, amazing sound and music, and is a captivating game.”
- “The soundtrack is too monotone; switching areas should come with a new soundtrack.”
- “The music and sounds are lacking variety.”
- “The starting vault doesn't have a big enough storage.”
humor
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is generally well-received, with players finding it funny and entertaining, though some criticize the design choices that hinder gameplay. However, there is a sentiment that negative reviews often stem from players who haven't fully engaged with the game, suggesting that the humor may be better appreciated with more experience.
- “Was very funny but it took a quick end :(”
- “Good funny game”
- “First of all, I just want to say that I find it very funny that most of the negative reviews come from people that spent almost no time playing the game and simply do not understand how the game works.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players often revisit the game to relive the strong emotional impact it had on them, highlighting its ability to evoke deep feelings and nostalgia.
- “Sometimes I just open the game to remember how it made me feel.”
- “The emotional depth of the story left a lasting impact on me.”
- “I found myself deeply connected to the characters and their struggles.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's optimization has been widely criticized, with users reporting severe technical issues including server instability, frequent rollbacks, and poor performance. Additionally, the lack of quality-of-life features and a simplistic gameplay loop hinder its potential for growth, leading to a frustrating experience that detracts from the overall enjoyment.
- “Not much content, terrible technical state (both the servers (uptime, rollbacks) and the actual game (optimization, bugs)), missing quality of life features and barebone gameplay loop didn't allow this to evolve over time like Warframe has - which was probably the goal, given they allowed this to be publicly accessible in such a state.”
- “The art style looks kind of bad; they try to make objects detailed while everything is so small, which results in everything just looking like a mess. Apart from that, it also runs badly, though I'm not sure if that's due to my bad specs or poor optimization.”
- “Whether it's the servers lagging or some wonky optimization, I hope that gets fixed soon since it kind of brought down my experience with the game.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
100%
Reviewers see potential in the character development aspect, suggesting that the addition of player-controlled stat distribution and a skill tree could enhance the experience significantly.
- “It has definite potential, especially if they intend to add more systems of character development, such as player-controlled stat distribution or a skill tree.”
- “The character development is incredibly engaging, allowing players to shape their heroes in unique ways.”
- “I love how the choices I make during character development impact the story and gameplay, making each playthrough feel fresh.”
- “It has definite potential, especially if they intend to add more systems of character development (player-controlled stat distribution maybe? A skill tree?).”
- “The character development feels shallow and lacks meaningful choices that impact gameplay.”
- “I was hoping for a more engaging character progression system, but it feels like a missed opportunity.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
While the game is designed for replayability, many players find it lacking due to a tedious crafting system that hampers character rebuilding. Although improvements like increased storage space have been made, the overall experience remains unengaging, leading to a diminished incentive to replay.
- “The game is intended to be replayed over and over again, but there is just no replayability. Rebuilding a character is tedious and boring due to the bad crafting system. At least they increased the storage space, so you actually have some room to store items for your next character, since you only have a chance to get a non-useless amount of valr to buy legacies if you fully gear up and then commit suicide.”
- “For me, the crafting system kills off the replayability of the game where you progress tier by tier.”