"I can't pry myself from the computer": New roguelike hailed as "a mix of Vampire Survivors and Risk of Rain 2," and I'm starting to see why it has 4,000 "Very Positive" Steam reviews after just one week

(Image credit: vedinad)

I find myself curiously enamored by Megabonk. An absolutely chaotic roguelike best-described as '3D Vampire Survivors', it's a bonkers experience from start to finish, and despite it being very, very weird, I'm being pulled back to do another run over and over again.

I'm not the only one. Megabonk's peak concurrent player count has topped 36,000 players (thanks, SteamDB), which is extremely good for a self-published indie with cryptic mechanics and PS1-style graphics. FPS GOAT Shroud says it might be his GOTY, and it's sitting just under 'Overwhelmingly Positive' status on Steam, with 94% positive reviews across almost 4,000 ratings in under a week, one of which sums things up nicely: "I can't pry myself from the computer."

"This game is like if Vampire Survivors was Risk of Rain 2" reads another of those reviews, which after a few hours with Megabonk I can certainly agree with. In relatively contained levels, you wander around killing bigger and bigger groups of enemies with weapons and stats that you power up with each level. Your stats can be further enhanced by interacting with the items strewn across the rest of the map, and you'll have to contend with bringing down towering bosses before time runs out.

So far, the scope is limited, but I'm starting to figure things out. Also, for all my cautious scepticism, I was having enough fun that I didn't even realize I'd poured four hours into Megabonk within 24 hours of buying it. There's something about being a skateboard-riding skeleton flinging bones at hordes of incoming goblins while careening down a ramp that's just compelling no matter what, and now that it's already done so well, I wouldn't be surprised if some longer-term support is forthcoming too.

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I'm GamesRadar's Managing Editor for news, shaping the news strategy across the team. I started my journalistic career while getting my degree in English Literature at the University of Warwick, where I also worked as Games Editor on the student newspaper, The Boar. Since then, I've run the news sections at PCGamesN and Kotaku UK, and also regularly contributed to PC Gamer. As you might be able to tell, PC is my platform of choice, so you can regularly find me playing League of Legends or Steam's latest indie hit.

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