Grind Survivors Review

After spending over thirty hours recently in the world of Crimson Desert, I was wondering what it would take to drag me away from that experience. Grind Survivors from developer Pushka Entertainment and publisher Assemble Entertainment has done just that. Taking inspiration from other bullet-heaven roguelite adventures out there, this one will keep you going on runs for hours on end. The game is available on Xbox Series X|S now, and it is one I haven’t been able to put down since I started my review.

A Satisfying Gameplay Loop

Grind Survivors follows a simple premise, like most of the other roguelite bullet shooters out there. Drop into the level, survive the hordes, collect gems and choose your power-up progression path and survive till the timer expires. Here, though, you need to be constantly moving as enemies will swarm towards you at a fast pace. Positioning is the key to success, ultimately, but so is the weaponry you decide to take into the run and the power-ups you choose.

You can decide to autofire, which was my personal preference, or to shoot towards enemies manually. Throughout runs, you’ll have mini-bosses and a final boss, and weapons will be dropped and can be collected. After each run, you can filter through these weapons and recycle them, use them or even fuse several weapons to make stronger versions. Weapons are ranked from common to legendary, and you need to sacrifice five weapons to fuse into the next tier up. This system nudges you to keep replaying to strive for better guns, and before you know it, you’re rocking a pair of powerful SMGs or a hefty shotgun that packs a punch.

Investing in the skill tree will also provide buffs to your character to go into that next run ever so slightly stronger than the last one. You can also select a limited number of runes to jump in with; these are unlockable as you play. Runes grant you certain perks, such as a larger explosion radius, more health bars and more.

Visuals & Audio

Grind Survivors is one of the best-looking titles in the genre for sure. Instead of leaning into the usual pixel-art visuals this type of experience brings, the developers have a beautiful comic-book style. Whilst the biomes are designed in such a way that it looks like you’re fighting in the depths of hell, it does set the tone and atmosphere. Everything throughout the presentation is clean, colourful, and crisp. The real joy is seeing the hordes of enemies coming at you on screen, and the combination of your powers and gunfire showering the screen.

The variance of enemies is lacking, and I feel that there could be more done here. With only a handful of levels as well, it isn’t long before the visual appearance becomes a bit repetitive. Gameplay loop saves it for me personally, but other players out there may tire quickly. Audio performance is decent, weapons genuinely sound punchy and stronger as you increase damage and stats. Hearing the thud of bullets hitting enemies is deeply satisfying as the gems drop in their place.

Final Thoughts

Grind Survivors is a fantastic entry to the bullet-heaven roguelite catalogue. If games like Vampire Survivors are your jam, then you’ll have a blinding time with this one. Not only is it addictively moreish, but it’s also well-optimised for consoles, super-polished, and looks stunning on a 4k screen. I’ve piled well over 40 hours into this one so far, and I’m still ticking off achievements. For a very reasonable £12.49 on the Xbox store, you’ll get your money’s worth for sure. If you fancy a copy for yourself, then you can purchase a copy HERE.