The survivor-like genre has really blown up over the last few years and while I’m a huge fan of it, it can be overwhelming the amount of games using the formula. Funguys Swarm is another entry into the genre but might be one of the best made ones yet.
Not attempting to totally reinvent the wheel here, Funguys Swarm does give us some nice additions that feel rather massive in the grand scheme of this type of game. Instead of just endless menus before your level Funguys gives us a base between runs. Here we have access to every time of skill tree we have to upgrade, our curses, our different cards which level up and have stats, as well as seeing every character we’ve unlocked as well as stats. Its a nice little addition that feels big since most other games like this don’t bother.
The real meat and potatoes though is the gameplay. Characters don’t have specific weapons to start with instead being given the choice of a few. Its nothing massive but a typical long range, swing attack, charged hit mallet, etc. You can have your character auto aim or you can choose the direction of the attacks yourself giving the game a more twin stick shooter type vibe to it.
The base of the game though remains similar. All modes here are timed before you move to a boss area. Inbetween that time though you’re tasked with simply surviving an endless swarm of enemies. Different objectives pop up on the map giving anything from XP, to cards with passive or offensive skills, currency, health, or power ups. Objectives will appear too with their own mini goal that could be defeating enemies or standing in the area within a certain time limit.
Cards here act as the way to give your guy new powers and weapons with the additions of curses here. Curses will give you a boost in one or two areas while drastically hurting you elsewhere. Raise your overall curse level and while the game will change some elements of it, you’ll be rewarded greatly.
Similar though to most these games, the game relies on you wanting to replay things ALOT. There are 5 maps here each having 3 difficulties. Skill trees make you feel more powerful overall but I found all my skill trees completely leveled up before I finished all 15 runs I could do. Replaying levels was fun but I wished there was an endgame type tree where I could just overall boost some skill stats or something instead of just banking up an insane amount of in game currencies.
Overall the game is visually bright and appealing, plays perfectly, and is a lot fun for those into these games. Its one of the best I’ve played yet and I can only hope we see more of it down the line.
Score :
4.5 / 5
Review code provided courtesy of Stairway Games
