Considering that I’m both a huge fan of twin-stick shooters of all sorts, as well as the indie darling Vampire Survivors, you’d think a game that feels like it has married elements of both would be right up my alley. Indeed, Primal Survivors has many aspects that feel similar to Vampire Survivors and its ever-increasing number of clones, but critically leaves you in charge of aiming, in theory making you even more lethal.

Starting with the fundamentals, the game offers up a pretty wide array of heroes, weapons, power-ups, and modes, much of it requiring some investment to unlock. The good news is that, to some extent, this can help the experience feel fresh a little longer, though in practice I can’t say the overall feel of the runs changes all that radically on a general level once you’re in the thick of things. Your goal is simply to survive waves of a variety of enemies, collect the items they drop, and then level up in order to get presented with a pretty wide array of possible upgrades that will help you survive. Representing a number of elemental classes, forms, and uses in typical roguelike fashion, you won’t be able to exert that much specific control over the build you put together in a specific run, you’ll just need to make the most of the opportunities you’re given. 

The problem, at least for someone who plays far too many intense action games and shooters of all sorts, is that it trends towards being a bit too much on the dull side for my tastes overall. That isn’t to say that it doesn’t pose a challenge, but lacking the more pure dodge-em-up experience I’ve typically seen for these games, or the sheer volume and speed of your typical twin-stick shooter, you feel a bit too tanky. Considering that you’re able to make persistent upgrades that further juice up your skills it feels like the game isn’t making you work hard and grind a bit to get started, as is typical with roguelikes.

Now, if you don’t mind the relatively simple look of the game and normally think of all things roguelike as being too tough, this may be a great gateway title to help you refine your skills. It is by no means the most attractive or effective game of this type on the eShop, but I would consider it one of the most approachable as both a Vampire Survivors-alike and a twin-stick shooter. If you’re looking for some excitement, a more modest challenge, and you’ve got $5 laying around it could be a decent match.