Kuroinu 2 Redux
Kuroinu 2 Redux
Game
Game2025
Shard Squad
Developer The Root Studios
Form a squad of elemental creatures and face hordes of challenging enemies! Choose your Shards according to their synergies to gain new abilities, and equip relics that will make the winds blow in your favor! Survive through different environments and save your lands! From the Steam store page
151 reactions from 2 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky) · newest Oct 7, 2026 · last updated Oct 8, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
85
LovedLoved
115 positive · 21 negative
95% range 78–90%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 115 | 21 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 4 | 0 | 11 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
124 of 148 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
84% recommend · 118 yes, 23 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 141 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (559 of 653 positive).
Players describe Shard Squad as a cute creature-collecting bullet heaven game similar to Vampire Survivors. [1][2][3] Some reviewers note the game has a slow pace and grindy meta-progression. [4][5][6] A few players criticize the voice acting and misleading campaign length. [7]
Liked
Representative posts
- [19]
There are enough Vamp Survivors games on the market that there's really no excuse for the designers fumbling this hard on the core gameplay loop. They can say "we wanted to do this differently for x, y, z, reasons," but you also need to own the "and it's worse as a result" part of that decision. The fundamental issue is that your character has one ability and that's what you'll be improving on leveling up. You …
- [1]
Critters clash in this survivor-style horde battler, with a splash of familiar yet legally distinct characters. At first glance Shard Squad is a cute and cartoony take on the now tried and tested bullet heaven formula. So basically what we have at first glance is a roguelike version of Pokémon meets Vampire Survivors with more color and slightly wacky selection of garden variety enemies such as ducks, beetles and …
- [7]
The pitch for this game is misleading. The devs claim it's 20 hour campaign with animated cutscenes and voice acting. It's a 6 hour campaign with exactly 2 scenes and really, really awful (English) voice acting. I can't stress how bad the the voice acting is. The game would be better without it. They also say it's a creature collector. It's not. It's a Vampire Survivors clone with unlockable characters. That said, …
- [13]
The cutest game in the survivors genre! Absolutely loving it! While it may seem like yet another Vampire Survivors clone at a glance, it actually does quite a few things differently that may throw some people off: - The mobs are very tanky and they actually have surprisingly complex attack patterns in the later stages. Don't be fooled by the art style, this is NOT an easy game! You can't just turn your brain off and …
- [4]
SHARD SQUAD, is a creature collector bullet hell and heaven fusion that focuses far more on the bullet hell aspect. The game features a Teamfight Tactics-style trait mechanic that is fun to play with but doesn't change your builds that drastically. The lore is actually quite interesting, and each creature has their own life, and personality that you can find out but collecting lore notes. The game however, is very …
Summarised from 34 of the 157 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 13, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
84% of the 141 Steam reviewers we collected recommend Shard Squad. The complaint that keeps coming up: slow movement and sluggish gameplay. Deal-breaker or nitpick?
Reactions
60 of 151 · most liked firstI have mixed feelings with this game. The idea is great, but there is nothing exciting there besides the Pokemon-like twist. Gameplay is dull, on level ups you have to max damage on your main skill, otherwise you will get easily swarmed by enemies. It seems there is no space for creativity or crazy combos like in other similar games. You max damage up just to be able to kill next wave of enemies, and sometimes if there is no other choice, you should pick one or two points in hp regen and…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →There are enough Vamp Survivors games on the market that there's really no excuse for the designers fumbling this hard on the core gameplay loop. They can say "we wanted to do this differently for x, y, z, reasons," but you also need to own the "and it's worse as a result" part of that decision. The fundamental issue is that your character has one ability and that's what you'll be improving on leveling up. You aren't adding to your arsenal except for new squad unlocks which occur at…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Critters clash in this survivor-style horde battler, with a splash of familiar yet legally distinct characters. At first glance Shard Squad is a cute and cartoony take on the now tried and tested bullet heaven formula. So basically what we have at first glance is a roguelike version of Pokémon meets Vampire Survivors with more color and slightly wacky selection of garden variety enemies such as ducks, beetles and caterpillars trying to best you in a vicious game of tag.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's unfortunate that I can't recommend this game - It could be an awesome bullet heaven game, but in the current iteration I don't think so...still needs a lot of work. Pros: - Art style is great. - The shards (characters) are awesome designs. - Synergies that activate immediately based on the shards in your party are cool. Cons: - Permanent upgrades are horrible. Instead of general damage, you have to upgrade each elements damage. You get 1% crit per upgrade, while the crit item…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a pokemon-like bullet hell game, with lots of characters, levels, abilities and upgrades. When you first start the game you have two different modes to choose from. The first is Apprentice, which is a more relaxed experience with faster progression. The other is Explorer, which according to the game is the intended way, with balanced rewards and battles. I chose Apprentice, just so I wouldnt have to play this game forever. You have these cute animal creatures. They are essentially…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The pitch for this game is misleading. The devs claim it's 20 hour campaign with animated cutscenes and voice acting. It's a 6 hour campaign with exactly 2 scenes and really, really awful (English) voice acting. I can't stress how bad the the voice acting is. The game would be better without it. They also say it's a creature collector. It's not. It's a Vampire Survivors clone with unlockable characters. That said, it's a fun Vampire Survivors clone. The art is super cute, the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Review snapshot Reviewed on: 7 June 2026 Achievements available at time of review: 69 Quick completionist overview A great Bullet Heaven game in which you make a team of creatures to tackle each new stage. While grinding for resources for meta progression. Completion takes around 25h, the game has no missable achievements. Achievement overview Approximate time to 100%: Around 25 hours Estimated achievement difficulty: 3/10 Minimum number of playthroughs needed: It is a roguelite; you'll play…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Oh hey! We partnered up with Shard Squad in a bundle!🙌 Another awesome indie game that features a lot of cute elemental creatures!✨ Both games are discounted + you get another 15% if you get this bundle! 👌 store.steampowered.com/bundle/73543... #indiegame #gaming #steam
neutral · AI labelView post →This game is difficult on Hard mode but not because it's challenging, it's because the upgrades are ♥♥♥♥ and the game expects you to have a full upgrade tree to even attempt Hard mode and it requires insane grinding to unlock it, and even after unlocking it provides a very very very modest boost, the same as upgrades during the run. 2/3 of the characters are complete unplayable crap. Their mechanics don't scale (for example, poison, no matter how much and what you level up, it always deal 20…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Do you like creature collectors and survivor likes? And most importantly, do you like cute pixel art animal friends? Then I have definitely got the game for you: Shard Squad from @nuntiusgames.bsky.social! store.steampowered.com/app/3363560/... Check out my first look on YouTube! 💖
positive · AI labelView post →Very big no. Questionable choices in this game. Upgrades are pathetic - +0.1 move speed - are you serious? Enemies stop dropping exp if you don't kill the boss fast enough? Huh? Beyond the initial permanent upgrades there is 0 depth whatsoever. Honestly no idea how i got tricked to give money for this. Beware.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's not bad, the idea is really fun but I feel like the execution of the gameplay is done in a really boring way. It also feels like it's much more of a bullet hell than it is a bullet heaven. The further you get through the stages, the more projectiles you have to dodge and the more enemies with different abilities and movement patterns you have to move around. You play as a creature with a base ability, and once you reach max level you evolve and get an extra ability, and/or your base one…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Beautiful art, beautifully coded, this is a gem for the survivors enjoyers. A lot of great references from pop and underground culture, charismatic characters, well-written lore and addicting gameplay, I love it so much!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I adore the designs, but the gameplay is just not for me. Though I will say that I would've tolerated it more if I knew that I bought the whole game (there are some characters locked behind a paid dlc, and you will be reminded of it on the title screen every time)
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The cutest game in the survivors genre! Absolutely loving it! While it may seem like yet another Vampire Survivors clone at a glance, it actually does quite a few things differently that may throw some people off: - The mobs are very tanky and they actually have surprisingly complex attack patterns in the later stages. Don't be fooled by the art style, this is NOT an easy game! You can't just turn your brain off and sit still AFK while hordes of monsters explode around you like in other…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The gameplay itself iterates on the survivors-likes out there, and I have no real complaints there. The idea of using "shards" and building sets is interesting. The events that pop up killed the joy for me. They feel very generic, and were quite distracting from this games world. Why am I shooting basketballs or juggling a soccer ball? The speed flower collection felt a bit odd, but was at least closer to what the rest of the game is doing.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm really enjoying this game so far. 20 Minutes Till Dawn is one of my favorite games, and this game scratches the same itch for me. As its title implies, during the course of a run you don't only control a single character, but a whole squad of cute creatures that regularly spawn and help the player defeat incoming critters. Every once and a while a random challenge might occur that either forces or encourages the player to get out of their usual play pattern, for example by going out into…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Insultingly low meta upgrades, I.E. 1% dmg increase when you start out doing a massive 10-20 dmg. That 1% sure makes a tangible difference. Equally low in pickup radius and other areas. The characters are creative enough but its nothing really new. overall lackluster and completely skipable.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is similar to Vampire Survivors. Less flashy, but with a better art style. It has potential and is worth revisiting in the future, however it currently still feels like an Early Access game. The problem is the progression system in the game is somewhat underwhelming. The evolution system was a step in the right direction, however it still doesn't feel like enough without middle stage evolutions. The game needs more variety in events, rewards for events, stat level up options, slight…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →While there Is a lot of potential here, the level up options are mostly just flat stat increases which makes it kind of dull after a few runs.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Only just started it, but can tell this is going to be a great game. A lot of love and care have gone into this. Beat the first boss on my first try, but it did get close towards the end. Difficulty felt just about right.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Today's podcast we talk the best indies from the past week: 😈 Possessor(s) ⏱️ Rue Valley 🗡️ Gigasword 🐢 As I Began to Dream ♟️ Yes, My Queen 🐨 Shard Squad 🤖 Greedland and more! HEY LISTEN on your fav app or at bit.ly/IGApodcast #indiegames #indiegamearcade #gamingcommunity
neutral · AI labelView post →Do not be fooled by the game's "family friendly" presentation or the first level's overall design. Level 2 is where the pain begins, and level 3 escalates it to a point that made me just ragequit. I assumed this game would be a Bullet Heaven, whose purpose is to make me feel like a god. In truth, it's a Bullet Hell. Enemies that - even with metaprogression perks - nearly outrun you, come at you from strange angles, oscillate around you, shoot you with projectiles, rush at you, ... all at…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Checking out a new horde survival game: Shard Squad!! Thank you to the devs for supplying a steam key! www.twitch.tv/tenshio_luma
neutral · AI labelView post →I like the creatures, their abilities, and also the lore. The progression seems a little grindy to me. There's a lot of goals to attack, so that mitigates it at least. I enjoyed it more than I didn't, and that's all I ask from a game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →TLDR: Great game from a small but talented and passionate Brazilian team!! 🔥 > 8.5/10 < Indepth analysis: I am a big fan of this genre of games, especially if they are focused on multiplayer. I've played Vampire Survivors, Temtem, Spell Brigade and others and this one doesn't fall behind any of them. /Good Points: ✨ fun gameplay overall, with new stuff all the time. ✨ easy coop multiplayer via remote play ✨ great (and I mean really great) pixel art and music ✨ nice design for all…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →**Before reading this review, please keep in mind that this is MY opinion and shouldn't affect how other people view this game** I found this game through my boyfriend who recommended it to me, and from the moment I first saw it, I thought it looked adorable. I decided to give it a shot, even though I had never played a game such as this. And I must say, I don't regret it in the slightest. The game is pretty much a creature collector mixed in with a vampire survivoresque gameplay (which is the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Absolutely loving this game! It’s like Vampire Survivors meets Pokémon in the best way possible. Super cute pixel art, great music, and the gameplay is just pure fun. Every run feels different thanks to all the shard combos and relics you can find. It’s easy to jump in for a quick session, but there’s a ton of depth once you start experimenting with different builds. The co-op is a blast too, total chaos in the best way when you play with a friend. Really impressed with how polished it feels…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →SHARD SQUAD, is a creature collector bullet hell and heaven fusion that focuses far more on the bullet hell aspect. The game features a Teamfight Tactics-style trait mechanic that is fun to play with but doesn't change your builds that drastically. The lore is actually quite interesting, and each creature has their own life, and personality that you can find out but collecting lore notes. The game however, is very slow with characters feeling extremely sluggish. Be prepared to crawl around the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →6/10; Competent, but too many design shortcomings keep me from recommending.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Do you like adorable creatures? Do you like lots of unlocks and collectables? Do you like challenging progression that's still fun? Then Shard Squad is an absolute no brainer! The small 'squad' of devs are clearly dedicated not only to delivering an enjoyable experience fresh out of the box, but consistently releasing new content through DLC or even totally free updates (Prime Evolution was MASSIVE) to keep you coming back. Pros: Creative creature designs with a gorgeous pixel art style…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →✨ Prime Evolution is here! ✨ The biggest update in Shard Squad is now available! If you've been enjoying the game, we'd really appreciate it if you could leave us a Steam review. It helps us more than you can imagine! 💜 store.steampowered.com/app/3363560/...
neutral · AI labelView post →I absolutely adore this game. It has cute characters, a good variety of starting weapons, and challenging boss fights that lead to a full-on bullet hell in a bullet heaven game. What's not to love?
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Recently I bought this game Shard Squad on sale. It's kind of like Vampire Survivors crossed with Pokemon. It's actually pretty good. I heard about it from a Gym Leader Ed video. #shardsquad #videogames
positive · AI labelView post →I have no doubts that Shard Squad was one of the most awaited games this year for me. Since I played the demo at GAMESCOM LATAM, I have been in contact with the team, playing every release and trying to beat other players' scores! The full version was indeed an awesome surprise, full of new features and mechanics that make the game that was already fun... way more fun! Thanks to all The Root team for delivering such a great gameplay experience!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →You follow a team of five protectors, each corresponding to a unique element. There’s Sid, who attacks with a flamethrower; Dex, a frog with the water element and bubble bombs; and many others. There isn’t much difference between them aside from their attack and three traits. The fun part is that many more characters become available as you progress and beat stages; each of the five elements has four characters. Gameplay is similar to most other survivor games. After choosing a stage, which…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Shard Squad is a vibrant and fast-paced creature-collecting roguelite that blends bullet-hell chaos with squad-building strategy, creating an experience that feels familiar to fans of horde survival games yet distinct in tone and structure. Developed by The Root Studios and published by Nuntius Games and Vsoo Games, the game challenges you to assemble a team of elemental “Shards”—adorable yet surprisingly deadly little monsters—and guide them through a succession of increasingly hectic arenas.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game has no depth there are 100+ other games like this that are better in every way go play one of those instead.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The voice for the narrator was all it took for me.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is what it would be like if Vampire Survivors was made by The Pokemon Company. Bad. First run was a win without any real sense of urgency at any point. Enemies die easily, boss enemies die just as easily. Upgrades are generic and the information provided on the upgrade cards does a poor job at explaining exactly what they do for most of them ("Increases skill stats", Great! what stats? CD? Speed at which they move? Damage?) The shards system seemed to be kind of cool at first but…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I don't usually review a game THIS early but this is a very good game! For those that enjoy the likes of Vampire Survivors and Temtem: Swarm, this game has 20 pokemon-style creatures with unique skills. You control a Squad Leader and get support creatures to join your squad during each run, activating shared traits for secondary effects. For new players, I totally recommend Dex (although other starters are also good). Difficulty seems well-balanced, plenty of achievements and replayability, a…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →First #SteamNextFest demo video is up. Took a look at Shard Squad, a survivorlike/bullet-heaven style game with creature collecting #indiegames youtu.be/ZHsLlFmwwgk
neutral · AI labelView post →Hey! Our game Shard Squad will be part of the upcoming Steam Next Fest 🎉 It’s a roguelike where you recruit and control elemental creatures to build your ultimate squad 💎🔥🌊🌿 We’d love for you to check out our demo! store.steampowered.com/app/3363560/...
neutral · AI labelView post →Simple gameplay great sprite work.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I DID IT! I 69ED SHARD SQUAD AND GOT ALL THE ACHIEVEMENTS!
positive · AI labelView post →This is one of the more refreshing takes on the bullet heaven genre. If youre familiar with Vampire Survivor or other games in this genre, you'll know what youre getting into. However, Shard Squad stands out with a few nice mechanics. The game allows you to toggle the auto aim allowing for more precise and intentful attacks. Something I wish VS uses. For creature collecter fans, there's a nice spread of characters with unique attacks and assigned traits which allow for fun team comps if you…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Every little critter has so much personality and also hits like a truck no matter how you build the run, ive genuinely gotten invested in the lore and the pixel art is gorgeous. Peak game
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Shard Squad features cure characters and enemies, both with distinct attack pattern. Your squad acts as "weapons" compared to other games of the same genre. Different squad compositions unlock different buffs. The overall gameplay speed is moderate, giving you time to doge enemies, move tactically and express skill. On the negative side, the slower pace and lack of things to active do (other than move/dash) can make the game feel less exciting than similar games that give players more active…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very nice. I like that the characters and enemies have various attack patterns. However, the upgrades need serious adjustment. Upgrade that gives only 2% damage each feels too weak, you deal around 20–40 damage in the early stages, so 2% of 40 isn’t even 1. Yeah you deal around 200 at late stages but upgrades in games like these supposed to help you in the early game, not late game. Also, immunity for only 0.1 seconds after getting hit? What’s the point?
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pretty fun! Love the art and the kinda of TFT mechanics of getting benefits from pairing the right partners!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →To keep this simple its just a fun game, great graphic style, great sprites, i actually prefer this style these days over hyper realistic graphics, indie games are really carrying the industry especially these days and this game is an example of that, i couldn't name the last AAA game i played,,, because indies such as shard squad are just more entertaining (no social agenda) jus fun & thats exactly what i look for in my entertainment, big surprise huh, I own vampire survivors but didn't like…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Note: Consider this a neutral review, but I'm not going to hurt their score by giving it a thumbs down, it's not 'thumbs down' worthy—not entirely. Man, they really do just allow the genre "Creature collector" on just about anything, huh? The game is fun, but it's not a creature collector. You unlock characters, and use them as a substitute for weapons in the Garlic-like Genre. That isn't creature collecting. By this game's logic, Vampire survivors is a creature collector. It has monsters you…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's games like these that really make me wish there was a mixed option for reviews. Overall I'm having a positive with the game though, so I'll recommend it. I just can't help but wish for more from it. The game is quite fun, and provides a surprising challenge. The characters are cute and well designed, the music is fun, and I find the boss designs, particularly the final bosses of each stage, to be particularly inspired. The Khepri/Genie hybrid was my favorite: granting your character…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Super fun and addicting. It's like vampire survivors mixed with a bit of pokemon. Overall lots of fun.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Happy and fun with lots of replayability, I am playing non-stop
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I LOVED the look of this game, and had originally panned the demo they had on offer due to various reasons. Since its official release, and since it's so cheap; decided to see if they had improved on it. Well... not only did they improve upon it, having taken in the majority of my points from the demo; but far exceeded it. There's not only lore for each of the squad members you play as, but there's voice acting in the intro as well! There's clear ways to see how to unlock the others…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →one of the best survivors-like I've played in terms of visual design and graphics. Some characters feel a bit more undercooked than others. Overall it's pretty good. 7.5/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This might be the bullet heaven I needed to get me back into the genre. Lovely game with some of the cutest pixel art, the toughest bullet heaven levels and interesting ideas. Everything surrounding what I've seen seems to point out to some interesting builds; I may come back to this review as I play to update my thoughts.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →very cute and good game!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Going to check out the demo for Shard Squad today! The sprite work for the game was worked on by the same person who made Pixel Ric, @pixelnovak.bsky.social! twitch.tv/ricpendragon
neutral · AI labelView post →
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