Vampire Survivors certainly isn’t short on build combinations, but new roguelike survival game Nimrods: Guncraft Survivor hopes to outgun, in a quite literal fashion, even the likes of Enter the Gungeon and Borderlands. Boasting near-limitless gun-building potential with combinations that “run into the trillions,” Nimrods is set to offer a Binding of Isaac level of weird and wonderful synergies. With a free demo out now ahead of Steam Next Fest, you can play a few rounds for yourself and get a feel for what it has to offer.
Nimrods: Guncraft Survivor is all about scavenging alien planets to develop increasingly ridiculous gun technology and build out all manner of powerful weapons to help you explore even further. It’s fundamentally a roguelike game in the bullet heaven survival mold made mainstream by Vampire Survivors, and while the default settings give you full manual control over aiming and firing, both aspects can be independently automated if you prefer something closer to the semi-automated nature of Poncle’s breakout hit.
When starting out a run, you’ll choose a base weapon to take – initially, you’ll just have a pistol, but as you progress you’ll unlock assault rifles, shotguns, SMGs, RPGs, and even more unique weapon types. Defeating enemies drops experience to gather, and each time you level, you’ll be able to pick up an airdrop with a choice of augments to slap onto your weapon, offering some mix of bonus stats and, in many cases, unique additional effects.
Each of its biomes features distinct enemies, boss encounters, special encounters (including NPCs to rescue and bring back to your base to help out), and unique upgrade resources. Between runs, you’ll head back to base and have the option to unlock new weapons, augments, and other equipment including powerful Nimrod abilities, and to upgrade existing gear to enable more powerful variants.
Even better, if you make a weapon that you really adore, it isn’t lost completely at the end of the run. You can bring it back and attach it to your drone companion, and it’ll use it on your future runs. The drone doesn’t start with the full build but instead upgrades its weapon alongside you in the same order you did on the run when you first constructed it.
The Nimrods: Guncraft Survivor demo is out now on Steam ahead of Steam Next Fest. You can head over to the store page to check it out, or to add the full game to your wishlist to keep track of its progress. The 1.0 version of Nimrods: Guncraft Survivor is set to launch in 2024.
We’ve also rounded up more of the best survival games challenging you against all odds, or you can check out the best free Steam games if you’re in the mood for more new experiences without a price tag.
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