Gunslugs
Gunslugs
Game
Game2016
Space Grunts
Developer Orangepixel
A turn-based game on a planet outpost - with no waiting between turns! Play it at the speed of an arcade game, or take your time and think about your next step.. no matter how fast you take your turn, it might be your last! From the Steam store page
89 reactions from 4 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Lemmy, Mastodon) · newest Oct 31, 2026 · last updated Nov 1, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
84
LovedLoved
52 positive · 10 negative
95% range 73–91%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 52 | 10 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| Lemmy * | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 1 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
53 of 63 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
84% recommend · 53 yes, 10 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 63 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (63 of 78 positive).
Players describe Space Grunts as a turn-based version of Nuclear Throne that is fun and addictive. [1][2][3] Many praise its fast-paced turn-based gameplay, balanced difficulty, and charming pixel art. [4][5][6] Some reviewers criticize the controls, monotony, and unfair mechanics. [7][8][9]
Liked
Representative posts
- [7]
Love the idea of this game since it reminds me of DoomRL, one of my favorite roguelikes. Could this be its better-looking cousin? Unfortunately my initial impression wasn't very good: - I find controls awkward. Initially I thought you could move with the arrow keys and shoot with the mouse, but you have to use either one or the other. - When playing with keyboard you have to change your facing before moving in that …
- [2]
Yeah, its true, this is essentially a turn-based version of Nuclear Throne. But wait, before you dismiss it, understand that it is really well done, and definately has earned its place in competing with NT. While I love Nuclear Throne, this title may actually get more of my time because IMhumbleO anytime you add turn-based mechanics, things get better. I said I would only boot it up to check it out, but four hours …
- [4]
I absolutely recommend this game to other players, I'm not even a big fan of rogue-likes, but after seeing the game-play trailer for this, I had to try it. So I've played 74 frustratingly fun minutes! I guess this is my early, early access review. I love the difficulty level, the balance is spot on. The randomly generated levels work perfectly, it's nice to see different layouts each time I play and the area sizes …
- [11]
Pros: +1: Sounds and animations. Howling monsters and thundering explosions make the dungeon crawling feels like a rock show. +1: Secrets and clues. Beware of special walls and containers. +2: Unforgiving combat. It takes me 45 hours to beat the game for the first time. I really enjoys to solve in-game problems one after another. Cons: -1: Annoying glitches. The mouse pointer moves to the center of the screen every …
- [1]
Bought it pre-release from the developers website. I just like rogue-likes (or -lites, or likelikes or whatever floats your boat), and this one is plain fun to play. Visually it reminds me of Nuclear Throne, only with turn-based movement and combat. You can move and shoot in the 4 cardinal directions, aiming costs nothing but as soon as you take a step everything else does as well. Deliberately without a skip turn …
Summarised from 34 of the 89 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
Space Grunts sits at 84% positive across 62 opinionated reactions from 4 sources. Fresh or rotten — where do you land?
Reactions
60 of 89 · most liked firstBought it pre-release from the developers website. I just like rogue-likes (or -lites, or likelikes or whatever floats your boat), and this one is plain fun to play. Visually it reminds me of Nuclear Throne, only with turn-based movement and combat. You can move and shoot in the 4 cardinal directions, aiming costs nothing but as soon as you take a step everything else does as well. Deliberately without a skip turn function, it changes smoothly between just going for it and taking another…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →10 GOG games for you to claim this Pride Month. Happy Pride Month! I got amazon prime trial for a month last week, along with amazon games. Here are some GOG titles that I do not want to claim for myself. Just comment the game name you want, and send me a DM with the game name again, and I will give you a code that you can enter [here](https://www.gog.com/redeem). I'll make sure to keep the list updated as they are claimed. And yes, these will remain in your library forever, even after my…
neutral · AI labelView post →Yeah, its true, this is essentially a turn-based version of Nuclear Throne. But wait, before you dismiss it, understand that it is really well done, and definately has earned its place in competing with NT. While I love Nuclear Throne, this title may actually get more of my time because IMhumbleO anytime you add turn-based mechanics, things get better. I said I would only boot it up to check it out, but four hours flew by - that rarely happens to me. Dissertation work was put on hold for this…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Love the idea of this game since it reminds me of DoomRL, one of my favorite roguelikes. Could this be its better-looking cousin? Unfortunately my initial impression wasn't very good: - I find controls awkward. Initially I thought you could move with the arrow keys and shoot with the mouse, but you have to use either one or the other. - When playing with keyboard you have to change your facing before moving in that direction. This has no gameplay purpose since turning on yourself is doesn't…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A very good idea, with medicore execution. When you play this game, you basically do this: move left - move right - move left - move right - hope an enemy jumped in front your barrel - shot - shot - shot - rinse and repeat. Very monotone. Basically, imagine a turn-based Nuclear Throne (literally, exactly that). - But with only 3 characters (a reskin with stat adjustments) - 3 types of weapons only (they upgrade though, but this only gives them more AoE or Damage) - A ton of imbalances -…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Chrono Shard is the new game in the Space Grunts saga! Fast Turn Based Roguelike gameplay in outer space.. with a dish of horror and a side of time-loop-madness! Wishlist it now on Steam: store.steampowered.com/app/3403540/... #indiegames #pixelart #TurnBasedThursday
neutral · AI labelView post →It's like a turn-based Nuclear Throne, but I think it looks better. Plenty of action, weapons and pickups to find.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pushed a new demo live for the new Space Grunts game #turnbased #screenshotsaturday #indiegames store.steampowered.com/app/3403540/... it's shaping up to be a pretty solid game already!
neutral · AI labelView post →The pretentious trailer doesn't live up to its promise. As far as I figured out, the gameplay loop is more or less the following: (1) Pray for good items/ammo (2) Learn the minimum number of hits needed to kill enemies with each weapon so that you don't waste ammo (3) Move back and forth until the enemy makes a stupid decision and walks into your line of fire, otherwise you walk into theirs and take extra damage (4) Pray that plants heal you to max instead of dealing insane damage (5) Die…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Finally back to work on the new Space Grunts game.. and then.. productivity just wasn't there :D no big issue, it happens in a creative job, here's how I dealt with it this last week: www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzC2... #gamedev #indiegamedev
neutral · AI labelView post →Prototyping a new #turnbased Space Grunts game. Trying to give the player the power to see what certain actions will do and how blowing up something can have a chain effect on other things near by in the room (shockwaves, more explosions, etc). Still early days!
neutral · AI labelView post →I absolutely recommend this game to other players, I'm not even a big fan of rogue-likes, but after seeing the game-play trailer for this, I had to try it. So I've played 74 frustratingly fun minutes! I guess this is my early, early access review. I love the difficulty level, the balance is spot on. The randomly generated levels work perfectly, it's nice to see different layouts each time I play and the area sizes feel just right. Not too big or small. The turn based game-play adds even…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →🚨 PC GAME GIVEAWAY! 🚨 Win Space Grunts 2! 🌌🔫 To enter: 1️⃣ Follow us 2️⃣ Like & RT 3️⃣ Tag your old-school gaming friends! 👾 ⏳ Ends Sun, SEP 13th. Good luck! #Giveaway #PCGaming #RetroGaming
neutral · AI labelView post →[GOG via Prime] *Space Grunts*, pixel-art turn-based RPG. > In the year 2476, an intergalactic distress signal leads your squad of Space Grunts to a remote moon base. As an elite "problem" solver, your mission is to investigate and neutralize the threat. > > Choose your Grunt type - Leader, Enforcer, or Tech Junky - each impacting your gear and strategy. You'll have to fight your way through an ever-changing labyrinth of aliens, robots, and drones. Your objective: descend to the lowest levels…
neutral · AI labelView post →Wrapping up my new game, Space Grunts: Chrono Shard, and preparing it for Next Fest! Let's talk about that and of course some unique business insights! - www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4co... #gamedev #indiegamedev
neutral · AI labelView post →Getting ready to release Space Grunts: Chrono Shard on PC, Switch ,Xbox and Playstation! Grab Demo on Steam right here: store.steampowered.com/app/3403540/... Fast paced turn-based game with a time-loop mechanic and crispy #pixelart artwork ! #TurnBasedThursday
neutral · AI labelView post →A fun roguelike game, I find it rather hard. The preview pictures gave me an impression of a rush game, but you got to play rather carefully and lure enemies in favorable positions. You can use props and environment to your advantage, and there is a reasonable number of item drops and upgrades to help you going. The music is pretty bearable and not at all what you would expect with such graphics. It is rather shallow but that is to be expected and though the graphics are meant this way, they…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Super excited to share the release of Space Grunts: Chrono Shard my fifth game soundtrack for @orangepixel.net it was a pleasure to compose the music for another of their very splendid games. DM me if u need music for your project 👾 fractures-music.bandcamp.com/album/space-... #gamedev #indiedev
neutral · AI labelView post →I love good old school pixel-art , but with some simple tricks we can copy the look of lights and shadows. My new game Space Grunts: Chrono Shard pulls out all the tricks I have to make the space ships and stations a more exciting environment. www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8--... #pixelart #gamedev
neutral · AI labelView post →Always loved how fire was both a hazard but also helpful at times to help you escape a "situation". So this simply HAD to return for the new Space Grunts game 😁 #indiegames #turnbased
neutral · AI labelView post →DISCLAIMER: This game is a work in progress and I plan on spending more time with it. I will update this review as needed. Forgettable name aside, Space Grunts is actually a pretty interesting game. It plays like a hybrid of a turn based roguelike/roguelite with the pace of an arcade game. The gameplay itself is pretty simple. When you move or shoot, enemies can do the same. There's no skip turn button, so you need to think a bit about how you're going to position your marine to deal with…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →20 minutes of fresh gameplay for Space Grunts: Chrono Shard which goes great with this weeks #TurnBasedThursday festival! check it here -> www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVzU... #indiegames #pixelart
neutral · AI labelView post →Watch a new gameplay video of Space Grunts 3, a grid-based roguelite action game with turn-based elements. Wishlist here: store.steampowered.com/app/3403540 #steam #indiegames #indiegame
neutral · AI labelView post →I'm not so into randomly generated games, but I love this one very much. Even if turn based it is dynamic. Even if permadeath there is not much loss feeling. Very nice balanced weapons and foes. Some neat upgrades, but still without the super power godly hero mode. Even if most of time I die at 5th level, it ist constant fun and no rage.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Yeah, great game lots of fun, like to play the daily and get as far as possible, played the game for hours now and still I haven't seen or found everything.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Orangepixel games front page on Epic Game Store (Android).. Space Grunts, Neoteria and Gunslugs! Go check em out if you STILL haven't played them. Classics and fun! #indiegames
neutral · AI labelView post →Good roguelite fun although I dislike how I can no longer see my top runs unless I manage to make it onto the top 15 of the global leaderboard (very unlikely).
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game is a tad more difficult than it looks like at first, but once you get into it it's a lot of fun! Itemization is great, plenty of consumable and weapons too. I find most rogue like games to be somewhat overwhelming at times, learning curve and all, but Space Grunts is a great balance for a casual strategy pew pew fun.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm very fond of the feeling and style of all OrangePixel games, and follow the developer's doings since I discovered Heroes of Loot. Unfortunately for me, his recent games tend to become a tad too difficult for me old cheezer. Space Grunts is a game changer. While it stays true to the OrangePixel look & feel, it empowers the player to dictate the pacing. You can play it as fast as a shooter. You can advance more carefully, "one step at a time", considering the options. Now even I am able to…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →[Epic via Prime] *Space Grunts: Chrono Shard*, pixel-art turn-based roguelike. Master time. Stop the Ooze. Outsmart a galactic infection in this high-speed, turn-based roguelike. Use your Chrono Shard to loop the timeline, leaving gear and upgrades for your future self. Craft your arsenal, evolve your skills into elite sub-classes, and turn every death into an advantage. Space Grunts: Chrono Shard is a high-octane blend of tactical depth and arcade energy. With the power of the Chrono Shard,…
neutral · AI labelView post →Overall = 3/10 A very lo-fi tactical shooter which is sometimes fun, but due to the unfair mechanics, poor UI and permanent death, is very frustrating. The simple mechanics and gameplay make it playable and the randomized levels and variety of enemies add to replay-ability, but it’s far too basic and ugly to recommend. There’s no story, there’s little variety in the gameplay, and there are games out there that do more than this much better and actually look decent. Some neat ideas, but most…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pros: +1: Sounds and animations. Howling monsters and thundering explosions make the dungeon crawling feels like a rock show. +1: Secrets and clues. Beware of special walls and containers. +2: Unforgiving combat. It takes me 45 hours to beat the game for the first time. I really enjoys to solve in-game problems one after another. Cons: -1: Annoying glitches. The mouse pointer moves to the center of the screen every time I start the game. I play the game by keyboard or…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Turn based Nuclear Throne. Great daily runs.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A very clever streamlined and easy to access rogue-like that get really hard to master very fast. I love the daily challenges and the high-scores even though I suck at it... Overall a great first TB game from Orange Pixel an me hoping for more like this!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Another one done! Game Releases in 2025: ✅ Sir Questionnaire on Atari VCS (Feb) ✅ Gauntlet of Power on Switch (March) ✅ Gauntlet of Power on VCS (April) ⏹️ Regulators on PC (May) ⏹️ Space Grunts 3 on PC (June/July) ⏹️ Gauntlet of Power on Android/iOS (Sept) #indiegamedev #libgdx #monogame
neutral · AI labelView post →Disappointing. Too many "quality of Life" features missing. Too many odd/frustrating design choices. Missed Opportunity.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Space Grunts is a rogue-like that plays a lot like Nuclear Throne, Dungeon Souls and Teleglitch except for one thing: Space Grunts is turn-based albeit fast paced. Check out my First Impressions and Space Grunt Gameplay here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0Brtr_GNXs
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A game design idea, that turned out as a bad idea, but in a different way makes it back into the game and actually gives the game something unique! A new update on the new Space Grunts game... also.. it now has an actual title -> www.youtube.com/watch?v=cY57... #indiegamedev #gamedev
neutral · AI labelView post →Working on a nice clean Inventory interface for Space Grunts 3. Normally it takes a bunch of iterations before the game is released, but I'm thinking this might actually survive and end up in the final game! (ask me again in a few months)
neutral · AI labelView post →Doesn't feel like it has a lot to offer in terms of replayability ... after one or two failed attempts I felt like I'd seen everything the game had to offer, and it wasn't very intriguing. There just doesn't feel like there's a lot of depth to the game... having only one character to control instead of a whole squad makes things proceed in a fairly simple matter: walk up to dude, empty your clip, hope you don't die in the process. Repeat. Repeat. Sometimes you pick up things to help. How you…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I love this game. Everytime I die I want to give it one more shot.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Space Grunts is like nothing out there in the world today. Sure it borrows concepts from numerous popular franchises and yes it's another roguelike but in actually, it isn't. Where other roguelike games on the market today delight in throwing insurmountable challenges at you in quick succession, inviting your demise to an ever closer outpost on your lifespan, Space Grunts challenges your mind by building unpredictable challenges as walls in your way. These walls can only be traversed through…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →What you are going to encounter: Health is very limited, doesn’t regenerate on its own and everything in this world is trying to kill you. This includes your weapons and your own stupidity while shooting bomb shells in close range of toxic barrels. In other words: fun incoming! Full [url=http://nerd-time.com/space-grunts-review/]Space Grunts Review on my blog :)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Between Time: Escape Room & Citizen Sleeper + 4 More - Steam Deck Tested | Jun 21. Kia ora Everyone! We tested all of this week's giveaways on the Steam Deck through Junk Store. Six games total between Epic and Prime Gaming and a proper mixed bag it was: Citizen Sleeper, Robobeat, Between Time: Escape Room, Space Grunts 2, Sugardew Island and Wargame Construction Set III (that last one's a DOS game, so Pro only). Between Time: Escape Room was the standout for me, turned a quick test into a…
neutral · AI labelView post →Thumbs down only because I feel ten dollars is quite a lot to ask for this game It's well polished with charming graphics and sound effects and gameplay is entertaining but it follows the trend of many other rogue-likes available on Steam which have no progression system what-so-ever quickly dropping this game in the pile with oldies like Berzerk, Donkey Kong and others that you can emulate for free nowadays.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →An absolute gem of a game. Super fast paced fun with high replay value. Full of surprises.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →great lunch break fun!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Space Grunts is a fun little rogueLITE (I'll explain later on why I won't dub it as a roguelike) with charming and unique pixel art and fast turn-based gameplay. It's a fun and addictive time killer and you can find yourself saying "one more run" very often. It's learning curve is very low, meaning anyone can jump in and have a good time, not having to worry too much if the item they are about to use will just straight up kill them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LYtnlRTbLA Space Grunts…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm a newcomer to rogue-likes/rogue-lites, introduced through The Binding of Isaac and Rogue Legacy. Both are really fun and I enjoy them immensely. However, they feature real-time combat. I prefer turn-based strategy. I'm also partial to sci-fi themed games. Space Grunts ticks all the right boxes: turn-based combat but still fast paced; well balanced; sci-fi theme; cool music, and last but not least, gorgeous colourful pixel art. For an early access game, it seems incredibly polished.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It remberers me strangly of SpaceHulk a boardgame from 1982?! It's a great game to play some levels every day. I love the visual style. Best played using a controller.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →After waiting and watching the progress on twitter I'm happy to finally have had a moment to sit down and enjoy this game. It's great! No troubles using my PS4 gamepad over bluetooth either! The mechanics are straight forward and it's just the right kind of replayable for me. I was already a fan of the Orangepixel style and it's amazing how it came together so well in a turn-based game format. Still juicy, love the action, love the ability to plan out your attack on a room. The balance of ammo…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →so far very well put together roguelike, damn fun to play too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpfuA052kyM
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I've really enjoyed this rougelike. Most of my playtime is on the Android version, but the Steam version (I played on Linux) is just as good. (I had a couple of issues with sound on 1.6.0, but that's all.) There's an extra element of resource management (with weapon ammunition at least) compared to what I'm used to with my limited rougelike experience, and it works pretty well; it encourages you to be consious about what you're using according to the situation. I have moments where I just run…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Quite a damn fine master piece gem of a game its like playing chess with aliens, and im not talking about xcom...
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Had been so intrigued by this little game after seeing it back in 2015 and it looked like an adictive little shooter\action\rpg\strategy game. i eventualy picked it up and must say im not disapointed. it plays exactly as i imagined and i love the graphics and art style. Also loved getting killed by a GrumpyCyberalien :P i see this game having alot of depth to it and cant wait to see how the game evolves :D
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is great! Perfect mix of roguelike and strategy. Still feels like a real time combat game with how fast each turn can be played out. Plus I love the art, humor and depth of the game's systems. Worth checking out and perfect distraction when you have some time to kill.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fun, solid strategy. Great for quick plays. Great clean pixel art and sound. Tons of replayability.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A non-biased quick look @ the game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uqrtz5LPzRc A very addictive roguelite rpg with a cool turn base style mechanic. The year 2476, Earth's space-federation has been building moon-bases across the galaxy. One of those moon-bases has been sending a distress signal. Space Grunts are a group of intergalactic "problem" solvers, sent to investigate.. You play one, out of a team, of Space Grunts, and your mission is simple: find your way into the moon-base, and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Bought this during early access on steam. Please see below video for my "initial" blind thoughts as I played through my first game. Too Long Didn't Watch: Strong first impression: enjoyable, pretty good variety for early access, will be playing more. https://youtu.be/pWHDPfCf7cQ
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →[GOG via Prime] *Space Grunts 2*, a pixel-art deck-building roguelike. > Get ready for endless space missions where no two runs are the same! Space Grunts 2 smashes roguelike exploration with tactical deck-building. > > Your adventure starts with a unique, procedurally generated level. As you explore, every item you grab - be it a weapon, a shield, or a gadget - becomes a card in your deck. You build your strategy on the fly, deciding what gear to keep and what to leave behind. > > When an…
neutral · AI labelView post →
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