I’ll immediately warn you that the article is largely subjective, but I will justify my position, so scroll on, and in the comments write why I’m wrong and how many cancellations on Twitter I deserve.
Potatoes (throughout the text I will use a bunch of potato epithets in relation to Brotato) belongs to the Arena-Shooter genre, as old as time. We have a top view, a wave counter, a weapons depot and crowds… No, no. CROWDS of opponents who will systematically repaint the landscape in crimson tones. I think those who are older now remember Crimsonland 2003, those a little younger are it, but released in 2014, and the very young ones imagined Vampire Survivors for themselves. I propose to continue to call the good old arena shooters nothing more than VSL. I think at the end of the previous sentence it is clear in honor of whom.
Gameplay
Although it seems that you can’t go far within the genre, the reality surprises and sometimes makes you laugh. What am I talking about? You see, many newly created VSL games introduce one or two new rules and boldly beat their chests, shouting about their exclusivity. Pureshka in this regard looks much more respectable than its competitors due to a competent advertising campaign and a whole bunch of interesting goodies. Let’s take a closer look at the second one.
Brotato differs from the father of the VSL genre (lol) by much smaller maps, a completely different building system and more diverse characters. You can play Bulba like Vampire Survivors, but you can also connect a mouse with auto-shooting or using LMB. You can also customize the game in detail for yourself, change sounds, maps and even set the health, speed and damage of enemies if the game seems too difficult to you.
VS in terms of the https://www.trsports.co.uk/ method of shooting the living and not very reminiscent of Crimsonland, for later waves or in case of unsuccessful build of some early raids. This means that you are constantly squeezed into a ring, forcing you to punch holes in it and maneuver in the thinnest tunnels among the carcasses of mobs. What about Brotato?? Here everything is much simpler, enemies appear in groups, have greater speed, which gives us more room for maneuver, allowing us to concentrate on destroying the most dangerous opponents or buffers. Yes, the mobs here are different and the visual style, which I will talk about below, plays into the hands of the readability of the environment.
Here we have tentacles restricting movement, tanks and flyers spitting from afar (it burns out on the bottom left)
It’s also worth mentioning that Brotato is much more dynamic than VS, 20 minutes till Dawn or Soulstone Survivors. We won’t mention the last two games further in the text, so let’s dot the I’s in advance. Soulstone Survivors could be the main highlight of the program, but, unfortunately, it does not work out its own ideas to the end. You add more elements to it, elemental reactions, cards with the same elements, there are examples of such mechanics (Let’s remember Genshin Impact, no matter how you feel about it, you should give it credit for its combat). 20MTD is generally a strange thing in my opinion. The main distinguishing feature of the VSL genre was the absence of a cursor, although hentai puzzles invented one-handed gameplay, everyone knows that. What does 20MTD do?? Adds a cursor. What’s the problem? It can be disabled in the settings and in later waves your character inexorably turns into an embrasure with a billion guns, completely eliminating the need to use the mouse. However, it is worth noting the extremely nice pixel art and beautiful female characters, this cannot be taken away from the game.
Let’s return to the dynamism of Kartokha. Due to the specific nature of the mob’s appearance, its speed and the incredible accuracy of the shooters, we are forced to constantly move around the map. But we won’t be able to just run in circles; some enemies put up walls or a scattering of targeted attacks, interfering with movement. We are also encouraged to move our loaves by trees that appear in different corners of the map and often contain a box with a free item.
Visual style
Simple cartoon graphics, as mentioned above, help us quickly assess the situation on the field and move to more advantageous places. All the items we bought before the wave are displayed on the character, which is always pleasing to the eye. Not as minced meat as in the well-known Isaac, of course, but also at a decent level. Also, such a simple picture does not strain the eyes, which VS cannot boast of. If only I had such a problem, then I’m sincerely glad that your little eyes didn’t suffer, haha.
So in the end?
You read the article and want to tell me: “Okay, we won’t touch 20MTD and SS, I convinced you, but what about VS? There were no specific theses against it, but the best VSL is Kartokha, as it is?". Yes, you’re right, I didn’t speak out against the founder of the genre in any way, but Brotato is the best arena shooter for me for a very simple reason – short sessions, high dynamism. This is all.
Accordingly, if you prefer long runs, measured gameplay and pixel art (and a setting a la Castlevania, of course), then Vampire Survivors is strictly recommended for you.
I hope I was able to explain and show you everything. Thank you for reading and I invite you to comment.
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