Info about Deep Among the Swarm:

Official game description:
A challenging survival RTS roguelite about surviving against thousands of enemies. Start each run with the hopes of going as deep as you can. Customize your army with different weapons, armour and upgrades. When you inevitably fail, use the knowledge gained to make your next attempts stronger through meta progression upgrades.
**Hold your ground**
Once you start fueling your drill, a massive swarm of monsters will attack you. Setup defensive barricades and choke points to survive.
**Expand your Base**
Clear out and expand into as much of the darkness as you can. The more resources you control, the more powerful you can become. Your goal is to collect as much Radium to fuel your drill as you can. The more you collect, the deeper you can go.
**Customize your units and buildings**
After every level, all units and buildings can be customized with different weapons, armour and upgrades. The better you do in each mission, the more currency you have to craft new equipment.
**Meta Progression**
Defeat is inevitable, but after each loss unlock powerful meta progression to become stronger. The further down you go, the more meta progression you will get, and the more powerful you can become!
**Drill ever deeper into the unknown!**
As you descend you will face increasingly more powerful enemies. Do you have what it takes to survive what lurks below?
**Thousands of units**
The unrelenting assault of the swarm is upon you. Can you survive long enough?

Release date: Sep 25, 2024

Categories: Roguelite, Real-time Strategy, Tower Defense, Base Building, Survival, Unit Management, Meta-Progression, Procedural Generation


- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price:
  - Community fair range: $6.00 - $10.00
  - Reasoning: The reviews consistently frame the game as a low-cost indie purchase with strong value. The explicit £6 reference is roughly $8 USD, while the coffee comparison and repeated 'fair price'/'worth it' comments suggest the community sees the fair base-game price as a modest single-digit amount rather than a premium price. This supports an estimated fair range of about $6-$10 USD.
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: 17.0h
  - Story completion: N/A
  - Session length: 0.3h
  - Endgame: N/A
  - Reasoning: The first quote directly supports a game completion time of about 17 hours and mentions post-completion challenge mode without giving an endgame duration. The second quote directly supports a short session length of roughly 10 to 15 minutes, represented as about 0.25 hours. The third quote shows that completion time can vary widely for some players, so confidence is moderate. No review provides a clear story completion time or a numeric endgame duration, so those metrics are null.
- Time-to-fun:
  - Summary: The core loop is often described as immediately addictive, but many reports show enjoyment fading into repetition or a slog once players get stuck or hit progression walls.
  - Stance: Fun then drops
  - Anchor: N/A
  - Time to anchor: N/A
  - Friction: Painful user interface and information overload; Insufficient tutorial or instructions for upgrading the army; Steep difficulty ramp and unclear progression walls; Randomized part and loot rolls with no guaranteed progress; Long, repetitive runs with no mid-game save; Slow or inadequate meta progression
  - Unlock drivers: Permanent meta progression and rogue-lite rewards such as epic and legendary loot; A thorough tutorial that makes the game accessible to first-time players; Post-loss meta progression that lets players go deeper or run faster next time
  - Conditions: Tolerance for randomized part rolls and uneven map difficulty; Ability to learn upgrade systems without external help; Choosing easy mode accepts slower meta progression rather than less grind; Early meta bonuses are optional on earlier difficulties but not enough for deeper progress; Runs can take hours and cannot be saved mid-game, so session availability matters; Repetition can set in after a few maps or when progress stalls
- Player Archetypes:
  - Quick-Session Roguelite Defender (buy)
    - Motivation: Enjoying compact tactical defense runs with satisfying roguelite rewards and steady meta unlocks.
    - Playstyle: Plays short base-defense runs, positions troops to defend or purge areas, and chases loot and meta upgrades between attempts.
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: N/A
    - Reference games: N/A
  - Meta-Progression Unlock Seeker (sale)
    - Motivation: Feeling persistent account-level progress and meaningful unlocks carry across repeated runs.
    - Playstyle: Repeatedly grinds runs for knowledge, blueprints, gear, and structures, evaluating whether the meta layer rewards the time invested.
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: sale
    - Labels: N/A
    - Reference games: N/A
  - Overwhelmed RTS Newcomer (sale)
    - Motivation: Learning an intimidating real-time strategy and base-defense game through a forgiving tutorial and manageable pacing.
    - Playstyle: Follows tutorial guidance, slowly learns to manage squads, base building, and exploration without being overloaded.
    - Experience: newcomer
    - Purchase stance: sale
    - Labels: first-time noob
    - Reference games: N/A
  - Classic RTS Tactics Purist (sale)
    - Motivation: Experiencing tight tactical RTS and base-defense design and per-run unit and building development rather than meta grinding.
    - Playstyle: Micromanages defenses and squads, evaluates unit balance and AI, and prefers in-run tactical decisions over persistent progression.
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: sale
    - Labels: N/A
    - Reference games: They Are Billions


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:
- Overall fantastic and fun game (weight 0.72): Many reviewers simply describe the game as fantastic, super fun, and a blast to play. It is praised as an excellent indie game with great potential and solid mechanics.
- Addictive and satisfying gameplay loop (weight 0.66): Reviewers repeatedly praise the core loop of expanding, defending, and upgrading as highly addictive and satisfying. The loop keeps players engaged for many hours across runs, balancing resource gathering with defense.
- Deep RTS and roguelite hybrid (weight 0.6): The game successfully blends classic RTS mechanics with roguelike progression, tower defense, and survival elements into a unique and deep experience. Fans of old-style RTS and roguelites find it particularly appealing.
- Pleasing pixel art and sound (weight 0.46): The pixel graphics and art style are widely praised as appealing and fitting the game, with the music and sound design also receiving positive mentions. The classic art style and grungy vibe contribute to the overall enjoyable experience.
- Innovative genre mix (weight 0.36): The combination of RTS, roguelike, tower defense, and survival elements is seen as original and well-executed. It scratches a specific niche and offers a fresh experience.
- Strong base building and tower defense (weight 0.35): Base building and tower defense elements are frequently highlighted as enjoyable and well-implemented, especially defending against swarms of enemies. Securing resource areas and setting up defenses feels rewarding and strategic.
- Engaging strategic depth and decisions (weight 0.35): Reviewers appreciate the meaningful decisions around expansion, defense, and tech, as well as the tactical depth from random level layouts and branching tunnels. The game rewards systematic play and offers a surprising amount of strategic variety.
- Accessible with helpful tutorials (weight 0.31): The game is easy to learn thanks to a thorough tutorial and intuitive mechanics, making it accessible even for first-time RTS players. The ability to pause and arrange defenses further lowers the barrier for non-hardcore players.
- Satisfying meta progression (weight 0.3): Meta progression, including persistent upgrades and resources carried between runs, feels rewarding and adds long-term motivation. Players enjoy starting stronger each run and unlocking new possibilities.
- Enjoyable crafting system (weight 0.29): The crafting system, with item rarities and stat rolls, adds an enjoyable layer of customization and strategy. Crafting gear for troops and improving structures feels meaningful and fun.
- Simple yet deep mechanics (weight 0.27): The game is easy to understand but offers surprising depth, with simple mechanics that are well-balanced and clean. This combination makes it engaging and accessible without being overly complex.
- Fun fast-paced and action-oriented (weight 0.26): Reviewers describe the gameplay as fast, frantic, and action-packed, especially in later stages. The aggressive spin on tower defense keeps players on their toes and provides an exciting challenge.
- Highly replayable with varied runs (weight 0.24): Randomized elements, multiple builds, and roguelite progression ensure each run feels different and keeps players coming back. The game offers high replayability and long-term engagement.
- Hidden gem and underrated (weight 0.23): Several reviewers consider the game a hidden gem or criminally underrated, praising its quality and originality. It deserves more attention and is a solid addition to the genre.
- Great audio and visual atmosphere (weight 0.22): The music, sound design, and overall vibe contribute to an enjoyable atmosphere that enhances the experience. The classic RTS-inspired visuals and grungy music are particularly appreciated.
- Challenging and rewarding (weight 0.19): The game becomes difficult and frantic later on, which reviewers find excellent and rewarding. It rewards good builds and systematic play while punishing risky actions.
- Respectful of player time (weight 0.19): The game is not over-managed and respects the player's time, allowing for enjoyable short sessions and easy pick-up-and-play. It provides a lot of playtime without becoming tedious.

Common complaints:
- Excessive grinding and repetition (weight 0.39): The game is criticized for being way too grindy, with runs taking 30-60 minutes and becoming repetitive quickly. Long levels and heavy grinding make the game feel oppressive and chore-like.
- Confusing crafting and upgrade UI (weight 0.39): Multiple players find the crafting and upgrade interfaces confusing, hideous, and irrational, which undermines the core game. The UI for upgrading between levels is described as supremely convoluted and lacking clear explanation.
- Unfriendly and painful user interface (weight 0.35): The overall user interface is frequently criticized as unfriendly, awful, and painful to use. Players note that while some room for improvement exists, the design actively detracts from the experience.
- Meta progression doesn't keep up (weight 0.32): Meta progression fails to match the steep difficulty ramp, with players feeling that permanent upgrades are too slow and grindy. Even with many unlocks, progress stalls and requires near-perfect runs.
- No save functionality (weight 0.29): The inability to save the game is a major complaint, described as a killer feature omission. Players cannot save during missions, forcing them to abandon runs or leave the game running, and there is no save/restore feature.
- Bad controls ruin fun (weight 0.28): Controls are described as awful and taking all the fun out of the game. Players struggle with micromanagement and lack of simple functions like copying or auto-attack.
- Weak roguelike elements (weight 0.27): The roguelike elements are considered weak, lacking the addictive combo elements and variety typical of the genre. There is little content beyond simple stat upgrades, and runs do not feel distinct.
- Unclear progression and difficulty (weight 0.25): It is unclear how to make progress without searching external sources, and there is a significant difficulty jump at tier 2. The difficulty curve is steep and spikes at new biomes, with few players reaching later areas.
- Poor tutorial and onboarding (weight 0.24): There is not a very good tutorial, and players cannot do much without proper instructions on upgrading the army. The forge and upgrading process lack clarity, making it frustrating to learn.
- Repetitive maps and objectives (weight 0.24): Map generation is limited and terribly repetitive despite procedural generation. Every normal level uses the same objective, and boss levels play out the same, with only two map types.
- Limited building options (weight 0.22): Building is limited to placing mines and energy plants on their respective tiles, aside from body factories. Construction must be done from the core instead of a global build panel, causing micromanagement.
- Long runs to reach difficulty (weight 0.2): Runs take 30-60 minutes to become harder than dead easy, and the game can feel like a chore. A single run easily takes several hours, making long sessions impossible.
- Progress lost after level (weight 0.2): All construction is lost after collecting resources and clearing a level, and the next floor begins with the same grinding. Losing forces players to start over from the top, and crafted equipment resets each run.
- Too many upgrade options (weight 0.19): Players find there are too many upgrade options, leading to information overload. It is hard to understand which upgrades are equipped or how the purchasing system works.
- Too easy with unlocks (weight 0.19): Once you have plenty of unlocks, the game becomes too easy, with massed defenses defeating anything. Challenge difficulty increases only slowly, reducing the sense of accomplishment.
- Lack of updates and content (weight 0.19): Players wish there were more updates and are unsure if the game is still actively developed. The game lacks additional prestige progression and zones, and the core gameplay loop is narrow.
- Invincible enemies bug (weight 0.17): A critical bug causes invincible, invisible enemies to teleport to the HQ and instantly kill it, making the game unplayable. It is unclear whether this enemy behavior is a bug or intended.
- Resource management annoyance (weight 0.16): Resources fill so fast that constant pausing is needed to queue research and energy spreaders, which is annoying. The resource economy feels shallow and lacks depth.
- Spawn rates too low (weight 0.1): Spawn rates are way down, and swarms could be larger and more frequent. This makes the game feel less intense and engaging.

Gameplay feedback:
- Meta progression system (weight 0.8): Players earn permanent upgrades through repeated runs, making each attempt a bit stronger or faster. This progression is noticeable early and includes base stats, blueprints, and abilities that carry between runs.
- Genre-blending gameplay (weight 0.66): The game combines roguelike, RTS, and tower defense mechanics into a unique hybrid. Players manage real-time strategy elements while defending with towers across procedurally generated runs.
- Time pressure and scaling difficulty (weight 0.54): A persistent timer or swarm meter increases enemy strength over time, discouraging slow play. Staying too long in a level makes enemies more numerous and powerful, eventually leading to death.
- Roguelite run structure (weight 0.51): Each run is a series of missions with increasing difficulty, featuring random elements and permadeath. Progression and upgrades are reset or partially carried over between runs.
- In-run upgrades and crafting (weight 0.48): During runs, players choose upgrades and craft items using collected resources. These upgrades are temporary and reset after the run, adding variety to each attempt.
- RTS elements and micro (weight 0.44): The game includes real-time strategy mechanics such as unit micro, base building, and resource management. Players control infantry and vehicles, positioning troops to defend or attack.
- Unit customization and equipment (weight 0.42): Players can customize units and buildings with different weapons, armor, and support items. Equipment can be swapped, affecting stats and cost without changing visuals.
- Digging and drilling progression (weight 0.38): Progress is measured by digging deeper, requiring fuel collection and drill upgrades. Players must balance looting for resources with the escalating difficulty of deeper levels.
- Base building and expansion (weight 0.37): Players construct and expand bases, network structures across terrain, and defend resource farms. Building placement and supply depots are key to maintaining power and defenses.
- Between-run progression systems (weight 0.37): Between runs, players spend resources like Knowledge and parts to unlock permanent upgrades and expand the crafting pool. Blueprints and abilities persist and affect future runs.
- Tower defense core (weight 0.36): Central to the experience is tower defense, where players build and position towers to fend off waves of enemies. This is often mixed with survival and base defense elements.
- Crafting and item RNG (weight 0.3): Crafting involves randomized choices for equipment and attachments, with rarities and varying stats. Players spend resources to roll items, adding a gambling-like element to progression.
- Tutorial and difficulty options (weight 0.27): A thorough tutorial is available to introduce mechanics. Multiple difficulty settings and an easy mode with slower meta progression exist, with higher difficulties unlockable.
- Pause and plan gameplay (weight 0.26): The game can be paused at any time to place defenses, manage crises, and make strategic decisions. This allows for a more deliberate pace despite the real-time action.
- Drill defense objective (weight 0.26): Players must defend a core drill against enemies while gathering fuel to power it. The drill must be activated to descend to the next level, often triggering heavy enemy attacks.
- Procedural map generation (weight 0.24): Maps are randomly generated, including resource node placement, ensuring each run feels different. There are multiple map types with branching tunnels and open caverns.
- Enemy swarm and hordes (weight 0.24): The game features large swarms of enemies that grow stronger over time and can overwhelm defenses. Specific enemy types like burrowers require specialized detection and tactics.
- Visual and technical aspects (weight 0.19): The game features a low-poly art style with a top-down perspective. Some controls can be rebound, and it has typical RTS UI elements.
- Boss levels and tiers (weight 0.19): Missions culminate in boss levels that gate access to higher tiers of units and structures. There are multiple boss levels, and difficulty scales with tiers.
- Fast-paced gameplay (weight 0.15): The game can be played as a fast-paced RTS survival experience, with quick missions and short journeys. Losing time results in facing stronger enemies toward the end of the run.

Performance notes:
- Excellent optimization praised (weight 0.12): Players report the game runs smoothly even with large numbers of enemies on screen. Performance remains stable with recommended specs.

Recommendations:
- Strong value for money (weight 0.39): Many reviewers consider the game worth its price, with several calling it a steal or well worth buying. Cluster 1 and related clusters consistently highlight good value across price points.
- Generally recommended by players (weight 0.28): Multiple clusters contain straightforward recommendations to try or buy the game. The overall sentiment leans positive despite some dissent.
- Some players do not recommend (weight 0.23): A minority of clusters express clear negative recommendations, advising against purchase or suggesting players avoid the game. These views are less frequent but present.
- Recommended for genre fans (weight 0.21): Reviewers recommend the game specifically to fans of tower defense, old-style RTS, resource management, and roguelites. Comparisons to They Are Billions, Glory to Goo, and Mindustry are cited.
- Time investment warning (weight 0.11): One reviewer cautions against the game for anyone unwilling to invest 50-100+ hours. Another notes it suits players seeking 6-10 hours if they tolerate RNG losses and slow metaprogression.
- Check crafting system first (weight 0.06): A reviewer suggests watching a video explaining the upgrade and crafting system before playing. This implies the system may be confusing or non-obvious to new players.
- Supports ambitious indie developer (weight 0.06): One cluster frames the purchase as worthwhile for supporting an indie developer with ambition. This reflects appreciation for the project's scope rather than purely gameplay-focused praise.
- Mixed low rating reported (weight 0.05): A single cluster mentions a 2/10 rating, indicating at least one player had a strongly negative experience. This is an isolated data point amid mostly positive or mixed feedback.

Other player notes:
- Frequent comparisons to They Are Billions (weight 0.39): Reviewers repeatedly describe the game as a simpler, faster, or diet version of They Are Billions, while also noting it avoids the long monotonous loop. One calls it a solid alternate take on Infested Planet.
- Active development and updates (weight 0.34): The game receives regular updates, has improved since early access, and is slowly getting better over time. The developer is responsive and active in a small Discord community.
- Budget-friendly pricing praised (weight 0.32): Many reviewers highlight the low price and excellent value, noting the game offers far more entertainment hours per dollar than most titles. The care put into development is seen as making it underpriced.
- Simple graphics and RTS style (weight 0.18): The game uses pixel art and simple graphics in an indie RTS format. One reviewer finds the game itself very simple.
- Fills a unique niche (weight 0.16): The game is described as filling a niche that few titles occupy and being very innovative. Reviewers believe it deserves more attention.
- Short session-friendly roguelike structure (weight 0.15): The campaign is short and roguelike, perfect for 10-15 minute sessions. One reviewer suggests branching drill-site selection between levels similar to FTL.
- Other roguelike comparisons (weight 0.15): The game is compared to Creeper World 3 as a roguelike version, favorably to Void War, and to Mindustry as less complicated.
- Content-rich for the price (weight 0.12): Reviewers note a large amount of content for the price and accurate description of the core loop. The game offers many hours of entertainment.
- Compared to classic RTS and tower defense (weight 0.11): Reviewers compare it to Red Alert and Age of Empires 2 for the experience of inching an army forward while building bases and turrets, with a stronger emphasis on towers.
- Missing co-op and modding support (weight 0.1): Reviewers express a desire for modding support and cooperative multiplayer, with one stating they would have bought the game multiple times if co-op existed.
- Compared to Infested Planet and others (weight 0.1): Reviewers compare the game to Infested Planet, Mindustry, and Lumencraft, with one calling it a solid alternate take on Infested Planet.
- Early access status noted (weight 0.1): One reviewer mentions the game is in early access, and another notes it has been out for nearly three weeks.
- Positive reception on Steam Deck (weight 0.06): One reviewer reports the game works wonderfully on Steam Deck, indicating good compatibility with the handheld platform.
- Lacks Chinese localization (weight 0.06): A reviewer notes the absence of Chinese localization, which may limit accessibility for Chinese-speaking players.
- Frustration points reached in 6-10 hours (weight 0.06): A reviewer notes it takes approximately 6-10 hours to reach frustrating points, indicating a difficulty spike or pacing issue.
- Achievement stats show low completion (weight 0.06): Achievement stats indicate only 4% of players have reached the lava biome, suggesting the game becomes challenging or players lose interest.
- Willingness to pay for DLC (weight 0.06): One reviewer states they would pay for DLC, showing strong engagement and satisfaction with the base game.
- Long development process compared (weight 0.05): One reviewer compares the long development process to Manor Lords, suggesting similar ongoing development timelines.

Emotions:
- Frustration (weight 0.2): Players are frustrated by enemies that instantly kill the HQ, unclear progression, and loss of all constructed defenses after level completion. The UI is cumbersome, saves are missing, and RNG-heavy runs often waste invested time.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.11): Players enjoy the fun indie strategy gameplay, the engaging core loop of base building and tower defense, and the satisfying progression of upgrading units and defenses. The mix of roguelite RTS and tower defense elements keeps them engaged.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.09): Satisfaction comes from the meta progression feel, the expand-consolidate-push loop, and the game's value for money. Upgrading and min-maxing units and towers provides a rewarding experience with high replayability.
- Disappointment (weight 0.09): Disappointment arises from the shallow resource economy, weak roguelike elements, and lack of meaningful meta progression. The game becomes repetitive and too easy after unlocks, with upgrades feeling lackluster and the experience turning into a slog.
- Excitement (weight 0.05): Excitement is driven by the frantic later gameplay, the thrill of being overrun and restarting stronger, and the addicting core loop. Players are excited about new content updates and the game's potential.
- Annoyance (weight 0.04): Annoyance stems from constant pausing to queue research, clunky controls, and excessive micromanagement. Crafted equipment resets each run, upgrades must be reconfigured, and there is no mid-mission saving.
- Fun (weight 0.04): Fun comes from the tower defense and cave exploration gameplay, customizing soldiers, and the run-based loop of descending levels and fighting swarms. The early hours are particularly enjoyable despite grind and RNG.
- Love (weight 0.03): Players love the roguelite basebuilding RTS gameplay, the deep and rewarding combination of roguelike, RTS, and tower defense, and the game's respect for their time. The pre-release demo sparked a strong attachment.
- Boredom (weight 0.02): Boredom sets in because runs take 30-60 minutes before becoming challenging, and the gameplay loop becomes repetitive after a few maps. Enemies only scale in numbers and stats, leading to monotony.
- Addiction (weight 0.02): Addiction is fueled by the compelling tower defense loop early on and the desire to return for another run. The core gameplay is very addicting and keeps players coming back.
- Mild frustration (weight 0.02): Mild frustration is caused by the confusing upgrade UI and the need to spend a lot of time in the shop rolling dice. The upgrading interface could be friendlier and clearer.
- Appreciation (weight 0.02): Appreciation is expressed for the active developer engaging with the community and adding features like patrol and explore modes. Pleasant pixel graphics also contribute to positive feelings.
- Relief (weight 0.02): Relief comes from a rebalancing update that made frustrating parts less so, and from discovering that other players also find the crafting screen confusing. A thorough tutorial also made the game more accessible.
- Engagement (weight 0.01): Engagement is driven by the tower defense with survival elements and persistent progression, requiring clear strategic decisions between expansion, defense, and technology. The need for strategic planning keeps players invested.
- Surprise (weight 0.01): Surprise is expressed that the game receives so little attention despite being so good. Players are taken aback by its quality relative to its visibility.
- Confusion (weight 0.01): Confusion arises from needing to search Steam discussions to understand the swarm meter and from convoluted upgrade and crafting menus. These elements are not clearly explained in-game.
- Admiration (weight 0.01): Admiration is felt because the game fills a specific genre niche and is amazing, deserving more attention. Players respect its unique place in the market.
- Impressed (weight 0.01): Players are impressed by the surprising depth of the tower defense RTS and the successful combination of roguelike, RTS, and tower defense into one cohesive game. The depth exceeds expectations.
- Anticipation (weight 0.01): Anticipation is high for future updates and where the game will go in the future. Players are looking forward to more content and improvements.
- Interest (weight 0.01): Interest is sparked by the concept of descending a mine and fighting enemies, and by the many tactics enabled by upgrades during runs. The game's premise and strategic possibilities draw players in.}