If you already know you don't like 'Survivors'-type games, Entropy won't change your mind. That said, what the devs have made here is such a clean execution of the formula that puts more of a focus on the multiplayer aspect that really makes it stand out in what's quickly becoming a crowded genre. Here's some highlights:

- The game never lags, connecting to lobbies always works, players can drop in and drop out of runs (and it saves their build), really can't emphasize enough how well the multiplayer works
- Rewards are constant, the achievements are achievable and the devs even have a Hard Mode if you just can't get enough of the game
- Builds pair well with one another. So if you have a favorite and your friend have a favorite, you can expect to feel really powerful working together
- Some upgrades feel immediate and impactful while others feel like you're slowly tipping the odds in your favor, really smart game design

Bottom line is that if you're looking for a multiplayer 'Survivors' game, you can't go wrong here. If you're strictly playing alone, this game is going to feel lonely. Maybe pick this up on a sale and try *hopping* into an open multiplayer lobby. That is a frog pun.

Before I say anything else, I think this game has a lot of heart. Nice job dev and keep it up. I'll play your next one. It does a lot of things that a decent rail shooter should do and if you're here reading this review that's probably what you want to know. Is it good? No. Could I recommend this to literally anyone that isn't desperate to play a new rail shooter? Also no. But again, you're only here if you ARE that person.

What it does well:
- Dev understands rail shooters, the game does move in 'scenes'. Camera moves, locks, enemies pile in, you shoot them, camera moves, locks, enemies. You get it. It's not like Darkside Chronicles where the camera is whipping you around like crazy.
- The game has a reload animation so you can't cheese reloads. So more thought went into making a modern rail shooter here than House remake.
- The game has bosses and they're totally fine. There's even a cute little QTE mechanic where you have to shoot directions in sequence to dodge. This isn't overused. Reminds me of turning the wheel in Deadstorm Pirates.
- An actually decent amount of enemy variety. You don't just kill those eye dudes the entire game. I was pleasantly surprised to see new enemy types on each stage
- The game has plug and play lightgun support that works fine. You can even disable the reticle. WOw

Rough bits:
- I suspect the dev tuned the game's difficulty timing around playing with a mouse. On a mouse the game feels very easy, but on a lightgun, the game feels nearly impossible at points. There's a boss that asks you to make a skill shot over and over again or you die instantly. You'd be forgiven for putting the gun down and just using the mouse on this part. The game has liberal checkpoints which feels like the dev throwing up their hands and saying "is this part too hard? Too easy? I don't know anymore. Have a checkpoint."
- There appears to be one sub-weapon and it's not very useful. Reloading it takes forever and by the last stage, I just stopped finding ammo for it. You're almost better not even using it
- There are two endings but determining it is literally the last input you make, so there's really only one route through the game (which is again, standard rail shooter length)

Hell Clock is basically a proto-sequel to Diablo 3 that evolved the ARPG genre in a dramatically different direction. Like, okay. By the end of Diablo 3's run, that game kind of found its flow as the low impact frictionless ARPG where you jumped in, blew stuff to gibs on whatever Torment your bootleg DIY build landed you in, only coming up for air just to empty your bags and do it all over again. It was just fun.

Hell Clock asks a question. What was so wrong with that? As it turns out, nothing. This game proves there's plenty of untapped potential in this style of ARPG. I hope the studio makes another one with multiplayer and more classes.

Absolum is open and shut case proof that no genre is ever dead. It's just waiting for the right devs with the right ideas to make it shine again. A playable dwarf helps too.

It Takes a War is basically a humble little art exhibit wrapped in a video game that you 'play' as your modality for experiencing the question the dev is asking. That question is quite simply "Are they really still your friend, or are they just a pretty good sniper?". It's a valid question in 2025. Steam is 20+ years old now. Virtually everyone on this platform has people on their friends list that have done nothing that warrants being removed, but something stops you from taking that last step. There's no shame in that trepidation. It feels too final. It Takes a War asks you to grapple with letting go by choice rather than by force.

It Takes a War also asks some slightly less profound questions. Questions like "Did you know your toxic CS teammate also experiences bouts of profound ennui?" and like yeah, sure. I guess. They did call me the gay f-word when I missed my AWP shot as they spectated me while dead. But I guess it's important to remember that there's a guy behind the glock. It also dares to ask the question "Is your Steam Friends List really a list of your friends, man?". Ya got me, I don't remember who PAPICHULO is and at this point, I'm too afraid to ask.

All that to say is that It Takes a War is meant to be provocative, and over it's 45 minute runtime, it does absolutely achieve that. Even people posting negative reviews seem to have "experienced" the art in one capacity or another. Sometimes art makes you mad because it scratches at a scab you'd prefer not to think about. One totally valid critique is that this game does totally pull tricks from those dime-a-dozen horror games that sneakily use your mic, webcam and even your real friends list. I personally don't care about any of that, but I totally get why some folks might feel that's overly invasive even if it does this to help deliver its message (again, art exhibits pull tricks like this, but you're often warned well in advance that you're going to be 'involved' in the art yourself). Steam really should totally have a warning on games that do this ('This game contains 4th wall breaking elements' or something), because I don't actually think this is the dev's responsibility to spoil their own parlor trick.

This is a great little game that based on the name alone might invite some unfair criticism. This game is a Starfox style game that you have to beat 4 times to see literally everything the game has to offer. There are modes that very loosely introduce the concept of "Rogue" elements into these playthroughs, but this game isn't like Starfox meets Megabonk/Vampire Survivors/BallxPit. This is a really nice to look at albeit very easy game that can be 100%'d in an afternoon.

This game has one glaring major issue that I'm kind of surprised the devs never changed after launch. The game has a parry mechanic where you can spam barrel rolling non-stop and effectively block almost all enemy fire. There's no cooldown on this ability, it doesn't break your combo, it doesn't even slow your rate of fire. If there's any meaningful downside to using it (besides a finger cramp because I'm too stupid/lazy to set up autofire for it), I got every achievement in the game without ever encountering it.

That very big criticism aside, I think Rogue Flight is good. Truant Pixel has ... something. Between this and Runner (maybe the best Rail-Shooter to be released in the past 10+ years... coming soon to steam absolutely play it if you have a VR headset, it's so genuinely good), they clearly understand what makes all type of Rail Shooters fun to the point where I think they're poised to make an incredible Light Gun Rail Shooter. I really hope they get the opportunity to do that, and no one like talks them out of doing that because only me and like 10 other people will buy it.

superfan of the series. geniunely dont understand how the profoundly unskilled unserious devs got to bamboozle sega into making not one but two of these games. do not buy this at any price.

This game is awesome and if you already know you like rail shooters, this game is an incredibly easy pickup. It's a no brainer. That's a zombie pun.

Other quick points:
- Full real support of Sinden and Gun4IR. Like plug and play, no fuss no muss.
- The Arcade mode is 4 stages at the time of this writing, clocking in at about a 30 minute play time.