Info about HoloCure - Save the Fans!:

Official game description:
Welcome to HOLOCURE!  
This is a free, unofficial fangame featuring the vtuber talents of Hololive and its surrounding community, with gameplay heavily inspired by Vampire Survivors and Magic Survival. Collect powerful weapons and items and experiment with all kinds of character builds to create the ultimate character! Will you be able to save the endless waves of fans, and reach the top rankings?

Release date: 16 Aug, 2023

Categories: Horde Shooter, Roguelike, Character Progression, Crafting, Mini-game Collection, Life Simulation, Single-player, Bullet-hell


- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics: No data
- Time-to-fun: No data
- Player Archetypes: No data


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Broad Appeal (Fans & Newcomers) (weight 0.97): The game is widely enjoyable for both dedicated fans of Hololive/VTubers and newcomers alike. While fans appreciate the numerous references and inside jokes, the core gameplay and charming presentation ensure a fun experience for everyone.
- Exceptional Free-to-Play Quality (weight 0.9): Players consistently praise the game's exceptional quality, especially considering it's a free, fan-made title with no microtransactions. The dedication and passion of the developers are frequently highlighted as a key factor in its high polish and extensive content.
- Highly Addictive & Engaging (weight 0.8): The game is highly addictive and engaging, leading players to spend many hours playing without realizing how much time has passed. Its compelling gameplay loop and constant progression make it an excellent 'time killer' with high replayability.
- Engaging HoloHouse & Mini-Games (weight 0.26): The 'HoloHouse' mode and its various mini-games (like fishing, farming, and casino) are a significant highlight. They provide a relaxing alternative to the main action, offer additional progression, and are often described as addictive enough to be standalone games.
- Diverse & Unique Characters (weight 0.2): The game features a vast and ever-growing roster of unique characters, each with distinct weapons, skills, and playstyles. This diversity encourages experimentation and offers significant replay value, as every character feels fresh.
- Genre-Defining 'Survivors-like' (weight 0.2): Many reviewers consider this game superior to or on par with Vampire Survivors, often citing its expanded mechanics, unique characters, and overall polish. It's frequently lauded as the best in the 'survivor-like' or 'bullet heaven' genre.
- Charming Pixel Art & Aesthetic (weight 0.13): The game's charming pixel art style, cute character designs, and overall aesthetic are consistently praised. This visual appeal, combined with a relaxing atmosphere in certain modes, contributes to a cozy and enjoyable experience.
- Satisfying Progression & Builds (weight 0.08): The game offers a satisfying progression system with various upgrade options, weapon combinations, and difficulty settings. This depth allows for diverse builds and strategies, ensuring that both casual and hardcore players find a rewarding experience.
- Consistent & Substantial Updates (weight 0.07): The developers are highly committed to the game, providing continuous and substantial updates that add new characters, maps, modes, and features. This ongoing support keeps the game fresh and encourages players to return.
- Rich References & Weapon Combos (weight 0.06): The game is packed with clever references, easter eggs, and inside jokes that delight fans of the source material. Additionally, the wide variety of weapons and their unique fusion combinations (collabs) add significant depth and replayability to the combat.
- Accessible & Flexible Difficulty (weight 0.04): The game is highly accessible, with easy-to-understand controls and adjustable difficulty. It caters to a wide range of players, from those seeking a casual 30-minute session to those looking for a deeper, more challenging experience.

Common complaints:
- Excessive grind and repetition (weight 0.14): Many players find the game excessively grindy, especially for completionists aiming for 100% or specific achievements like maxing all characters. This grind is exacerbated by repetitive gameplay, slow progression, and a lack of features like fast-forwarding, leading to tedium and a significant time investment.
- Over-reliance on RNG (weight 0.1): The game heavily relies on Random Number Generation (RNG) for various mechanics, including item drops, ability selection, and minigames like fishing and casino activities. This often leads to frustrating, luck-based outcomes and a feeling of gambling, with some achievements tied to these unpredictable systems.
- Frustrating mini-games (weight 0.07): The 'Tower of Suffering' and other 'Jump King'-style mini-games are widely disliked. Players find them extremely difficult, frustrating, and out of place with the core gameplay, especially when achievements are tied to their completion, leading to significant player dissatisfaction.
- Character imbalance issues (weight 0.03): There is a significant imbalance among characters, with some feeling overpowered and others severely underpowered or useless. This lack of balance makes certain characters difficult or unenjoyable to play, limiting player choice and overall experience.
- Frequent crashes and save issues (weight 0.02): Multiple players reported critical technical issues including frequent game crashes and complete save data wipes. These bugs severely disrupt gameplay and can lead to loss of progress, indicating instability in the game's performance.
- Unbalanced difficulty spike (weight 0.02): The difficulty spike in Hard Stage 4 is a major concern, with players finding it disproportionately challenging and sometimes impossible for certain characters. This stage's design, including enemy spam and one-shot mechanics, feels unbalanced and hinders progression.
- Repetitive and tiring music (weight 0.02): The game's music is often described as monotonous, repetitive, and even headache-inducing during longer play sessions. The lack of variety and options to change tracks contributes to player fatigue and a less engaging audio experience.
- Desire for more content (weight 0.02): Players expressed a strong desire for more content, specifically additional playable characters (including specific unplayable ones), new maps, and more general items rather than character-specific ones. This indicates a hunger for expanded gameplay options.
- Missing localization and resolution (weight 0.02): The game lacks localization options for several languages, including Korean, Chinese, and Russian. Additionally, there's a reported absence of a 1280x800 screen resolution option, limiting accessibility for some players.
- Unfavorable Vampire Survivors comparison (weight 0.01): Some players compare the game unfavorably to Vampire Survivors, noting it feels less addictive, less exhilarating, or too similar without offering significant improvements. There's also a wish for a mobile version, similar to Vampire Survivors.
- Requires Hololive lore knowledge (weight 0.01): The game heavily relies on knowledge of Hololive lore and in-jokes, making it potentially confusing or less enjoyable for players unfamiliar with the fandom. Unlocking certain content, like collaboration weapons, requires specific external knowledge.

Gameplay feedback:
- Vampire Survivors-like gameplay (weight 0.15): The game's core gameplay is heavily inspired by Vampire Survivors, featuring a reverse bullet hell or bullet heaven style where players automatically attack hordes of enemies. It's often described as a 'Survivors-like' game, but with unique twists.
- Diverse character roster (weight 0.1): The game boasts a large and diverse roster of playable characters, each with unique weapons, skills, and abilities. This variety ensures different playstyles and strategic depth, making each character feel distinct.
- Relaxing sim elements (weight 0.09): The game includes a variety of relaxing simulation elements, such as farming, fishing, mining, and house decoration. These activities provide a break from the main combat and offer additional ways to progress and customize.
- Challenging Jump King mini-game (weight 0.09): A notable mini-game, 'Tower of Suffering,' is a challenging platformer inspired by Jump King. It offers a distinct gameplay experience outside the main mode, often described as rage-inducing but rewarding.
- Rich Hololive integration (weight 0.08): The game is deeply rooted in Hololive lore, featuring numerous VTuber characters, their unique abilities, and countless in-jokes and references. While appealing to fans, it's also designed to be enjoyable for those unfamiliar with Hololive.
- Fair in-game gacha system (weight 0.08): Characters and some upgrades are acquired through a gacha system, but importantly, it uses only in-game currency. This allows players to unlock content without real-world transactions, making it a player-friendly gacha implementation.
- Engaging casino mini-games (weight 0.07): The game features a fully functional casino with various gambling mini-games like blackjack, slots, and roulette. This provides another avenue for players to earn in-game currency and engage in different activities.
- Easy to learn, hard to master (weight 0.06): The game is praised for its accessibility, being easy to pick up and understand for newcomers. However, it also offers depth and challenges, making it difficult to master and providing long-term replayability.
- Varied stages and game modes (weight 0.03): The game offers multiple stages and game modes, including standard survival, endless, and timed challenges. The level design and difficulty progression ensure a varied and increasingly complex experience.
- Robust leveling and upgrade system (weight 0.03): Core progression involves defeating enemies to gain experience, level up, and choose from a selection of active and passive skills or items. This system allows for continuous character development and strategic build choices.
- Overwhelming enemy hordes (weight 0.02): Gameplay involves constantly being swarmed by hordes of enemies from all directions. Players must manage their damage output and movement to avoid being overwhelmed by the relentless pursuit of foes.
- Abundant achievements (weight 0.02): The game includes a substantial number of achievements, both in-game and on platforms like Steam. These achievements provide additional goals and challenges for players to pursue, extending playtime.
- Addictive core gameplay loop (weight 0.02): The game features a compelling core loop where players select a character, enter a stage, defeat monsters for XP, level up, choose and fuse items, and strive to survive for a set duration. This loop is highly addictive and drives player engagement.
- Extensive extra features (weight 0.02): Beyond the main gameplay, the game offers numerous extra features and side content that provide bonuses and enhance the overall experience. These additions contribute to the game's depth and replayability.
- Lack of narrative depth (weight 0.02): The game lacks a traditional story and can feel like an idle game with mindless content once everything is unlocked. While enjoyable, the long-term reward after full completion primarily involves watching numbers increase without significant gameplay impact.

Performance notes:
- Excellent Performance & Optimization (weight 0.04): Many players report that the game is well-optimized and runs smoothly across various hardware, including older PCs and the Steam Deck. Performance is generally stable, with high frame rates.
- Variable Low-End Performance (weight 0.02): While generally well-optimized, some players report that the game might not run well on very old or low-end PCs, especially when specific demanding skills are used or during intense combat scenarios.
- FPS Lock & Performance Drops (weight 0.02): The game is locked at 60 FPS, and its animations are tied to the frame rate. This can lead to noticeable slowdowns and massive FPS drops, especially when many enemies are on screen, impacting gameplay.
- Technical Errors & Crashes (weight 0.01): Players have encountered specific technical errors, such as 'index out of bounds' and 'argument is not a method' errors, leading to crashes. However, the game reportedly handles crashes gracefully without data loss.
- Small Game Size (weight 0.01): The game has a remarkably small installation size, which is appreciated by players.
- CPU Optimization Needed (weight 0): Further optimization of CPU usage is needed to improve overall performance, especially during demanding gameplay moments.
- Steam Deck UI Improvements (weight 0): To improve Steam Deck verification, adding controller icons in menus and an in-game keyboard for text input would be beneficial.

Recommendations:
- Highly Recommended Game (weight 0.21): The game receives overwhelming recommendations from players, with many rating it 10/10. Players are strongly encouraged to try it, often highlighting its quality and replayability.
- Great for Survivor-like Fans (weight 0.06): Players who enjoy 'Vampire Survivors' or similar bullet-heaven/roguelike games are strongly encouraged to try this title. It's often seen as a high-quality, free alternative or a worthy addition to the genre.
- Exceptional Value for Free (weight 0.02): Despite being a free-to-play game, many players feel its quality and content warrant a price. Some even express a desire to pay for it or donate to the developers, highlighting its exceptional value.
- Addictive Time Killer (weight 0.02): The game is highly addictive and an excellent time sink. Players find it perfect for casual play, stress relief, or simply passing a lot of time due to its engaging nature.
- Challenging 100% Completion (weight 0.01): Players warn that achieving 100% completion can be extremely challenging and potentially frustrating. It's advised not to focus on it unless one is highly dedicated to optimization.
- Support Developers Recommended (weight 0.01): Players strongly advocate for supporting the development team, often suggesting donations or expressing a wish to pay for the game, indicating high satisfaction and a desire for continued updates.
- Gameplay Learning Tips (weight 0.01): New players are advised to start with basic characters to grasp the mechanics. It's also suggested to learn the game through personal experience rather than relying on tutorials.

Other player notes:
- Accessible to non-Hololive fans (weight 0.11): Many players, including those unfamiliar with or even disliking Hololive/VTubers, found the game highly enjoyable. While knowledge of the source material enhances the experience, it is not a prerequisite for fun.
- Engaging with future content (weight 0.09): Players are highly engaged and look forward to continuous updates, especially new characters and content. The game offers significant replayability and unlockables, encouraging long playtimes and completionist goals.
- Free-to-play with high value (weight 0.08): The game is completely free with no microtransactions, which is highly appreciated by players. Many feel the game's quality warrants a price and express a desire to support the developers, hoping for future paid original content.
- Vampire Survivors-like gameplay (weight 0.02): The game is a well-received 'Vampire Survivors'-like title. Its appeal extends to fans of the genre and the Hololive community, offering a unique twist on the formula.
- Community language patches (weight 0.01): Players have created unofficial language patches (Korean, Chinese) to address the lack of official localization, indicating a strong desire for broader language support.
- Fan-made with passion (weight 0.01): The game is clearly a passion project made by fans for fans, filled with love and humor. It is seen as an improvement on the original 'Vampire Survivors' formula due to its fan-oriented approach.
- Good for background play (weight 0.01): The game is easy to run in the background and can be a significant time sink. However, the soundtrack may become repetitive during extended play sessions.
- Significant growth and popularity (weight 0.01): The game has a history of growth, starting on itch.io before its Steam release, and has achieved significant popularity, even ranking high on Steam's most played list.
- Pixel art style (weight 0.01): The game features a pixel art style with good elaboration of locations and character sprites, though some find the animations basic.
- Unique, meme-filled aesthetic (weight 0.01): The game's aesthetic might initially seem unusual, featuring some grotesque characters and numerous memes, which contributes to its unique charm.
- Solo developer, Game Maker (weight 0.01): The game is a passion project developed primarily by one person using Game Maker, which might pose challenges for future open-source initiatives.
- Anime girls, no explicit content (weight 0.01): The game features anime girls and 'hot women' but does not contain explicit content, clarifying its mature but not pornographic nature.

Emotions:
- Satisfaction (weight 0.34): Players express satisfaction due to the game's high overall quality, extensive content, and engaging gameplay mechanics. The game's value as a free-to-play title, coupled with its replayability and continuous updates, significantly contributes to this positive sentiment. Specific features like character variety, balanced gameplay, and the absence of microtransactions also enhance player contentment.
- Excitement (weight 0.09): Excitement stems from the game's high quality, addictive nature, and rich content, particularly for a free title. Players are thrilled by engaging gameplay, the inclusion of favorite characters, and the anticipation of future updates and new features. The game's unique twists, challenging elements, and the presence of gambling mechanics also contribute to a sense of exhilaration.
- Joy (weight 0.09): Joy is primarily caused by the game's surprising fun factor, addictive gameplay, and overall entertainment value. Players find delight in the unique characters, cute pixel art, and the abundance of jokes and easter eggs. The game's free nature, replayability, and the evident dedication of the developers further enhance this feeling of happiness.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.07): Enjoyment is driven by the game's fun and addicting nature, engaging gameplay loops, and extensive content. Players appreciate the variety of characters and builds, the game's charm, and its suitability for casual play or passing time. The absence of microtransactions and the overall positive experience contribute to sustained enjoyment.
- Surprise (weight 0.06): Players are surprised by the game's unexpected high quality and depth, especially given its free-to-play nature. The extensive amount of content, unique gameplay elements, and the game's addictiveness, often exceeding expectations, contribute to this emotion. Many are also surprised by how much they enjoy the game despite not being familiar with or initially disliking the source material.
- Appreciation (weight 0.05): Appreciation is directed towards the developers for their immense effort, passion, and dedication in creating a high-quality, bug-free, and continuously updated free game. Players value the thoughtful character skill design, the game's art style, and the faithful portrayal of the source material. The generosity of providing such a rich experience without monetization is a significant cause for gratitude.
- Frustration (weight 0.04): Frustration arises from excessive randomness, extreme difficulty in certain challenges like the 'Tower of Suffering,' and technical issues such as crashes or poor performance. Players also express annoyance with grindy gameplay, character balance issues, and specific UI/UX flaws. The difficulty of achieving 100% completion and certain mini-games also contribute to this negative emotion.
- Admiration (weight 0.04): Admiration is felt for the developers' exceptional effort, passion, and attention to detail in creating a high-quality, well-designed, and balanced game. Players are impressed by the game's art, sound, music, and unique character designs, especially considering it's a free fan-made project. The game's superiority within its genre and its multilayered design also inspire admiration.
- Disappointment (weight 0.02): Disappointment stems from the absence of desired features, such as specific achievements or language support, and perceived lack of originality or content compared to similar games. Players also express dissatisfaction with unplayable characters, rigged gambling mechanics, and technical issues like save data wipes or performance problems. The exclusion of certain characters or the design of specific mini-games can also lead to this feeling.
- Addiction (weight 0.02): Addiction is a strong emotion caused by the game's highly engaging and immersive gameplay loop, which makes it difficult for players to stop playing. The game's ability to consume time, coupled with its engaging gambling mechanics and roguelike elements, leads to extended play sessions and a feeling of being 'sucked in'.
- Amazement (weight 0.02): Amazement is primarily caused by the game's exceptionally high quality, polish, and extensive content, especially considering it is a free fan-made game with no microtransactions. Players are astonished by how quickly time passes while playing and the sheer volume of features available without cost. The game's creativity and innovation also contribute to this sense of wonder.
- Amusement (weight 0.01): Amusement is derived from the game's clever references, puns, and humorous gameplay elements, including its chaotic nature and quirky design choices. Players find humor in the self-deprecating jokes about fandom, the 'degen' nature of the game, and the humorous warnings about its addictiveness. The unique pairing of VTubers with bullet hell gameplay also contributes to this feeling.
- Engagement (weight 0.01): Engagement is driven by the game's ability to combat boredom and keep players engrossed for extended periods. The extensive content, addictive gameplay loop, and engaging side activities like fishing and gambling contribute to long-term player involvement. The individuality of characters and varied difficulty also enhance player immersion.
- Desire (weight 0.01): Desire is expressed for more character content, additional characters, and specific features like mobile versions or controller support. Players also wish for the ability to financially support the developers, highlighting a strong appreciation for the free game. The lack of certain language options also fuels a desire for broader accessibility.
- Anticipation (weight 0.01): Anticipation is primarily driven by the expectation of upcoming content, new characters, and future updates. Players look forward to continuous development and the potential for new features and progression unlocks, indicating a strong interest in the game's ongoing evolution.
- Enthusiasm (weight 0.01): Enthusiasm stems from the game's overall high quality, rich content, and strong appeal to fans, particularly given its free nature. Players express a willingness to purchase the game if it were paid, highlighting its exceptional value. The continuous updates and the game's connection to the Hololive IP also contribute to this strong positive feeling.
- Relaxation (weight 0.01): Relaxation is experienced due to the game's flexible, non-demanding, and casual gameplay style. Players find the game's mindless or calming aspects, graphics, and atmosphere conducive to unwinding. The game's ability to provide a surprisingly relaxing experience contributes to this sentiment.
- Love (weight 0.01): Love for the game is rooted in its overall high quality, unique elements, and emotional connection it fosters. Players appreciate the game's fun, addicting, and creative nature, as well as the evident attention to detail in its creation. The gameplay, music, and design all contribute to this deep affection.
- Delight (weight 0.01): Delight is caused by the game's charming art style, cute character designs, and clever fan service. Players find joy in the game's aesthetic, the ability to interact with elements like petting a dog, and the discovery of fun easter eggs and engaging mini-games.
- Hope (weight 0.01): Hope is expressed for potential future updates, new characters, and broader recognition for the game. Players wish for more people to try the game, for it to receive awards, and for continued development, including fixes and additional content like new music or language support.}