Nova Drift

One of my favourite little gems I have in my library. Whenever I feel bored, I boot up the game and enjoy the DOPAMINE FLOODING MY SYSTEM AS I WRECK HUNDREDS OF ENE- oh... I died.

Remember how tank.io was fun but kinda hurt your eyes to look at for awhile? This is tank.io but with the stacking upgrade depth of a proper roguelike game, and seriously gameplay changing perks of an ARPG. Excellent game, too bad there's no space whale. Probably the *perfect* Steam Deck game.

This game is quite fun, just a typical roguelike but in space with unique bosses and enemies, just have some fun trying to break the game

This is the ideal game for the "what do i want to play" contemplation phase. Start it, have fun, instantly. The builds you come across can be really enjoyable, and with the daily challenges and variables, this game always fresh. It is a great game for the steam deck.

it's a great game!! i just wish there was a smaller draft gamemode, at 35 upgrades the process is quite long and without being able to save or edit presets quickly it becomes tedious.

Thoroughly unremarkable, albeit visually pleasing. Nova Drift is a game derived from Asteroids with its velocity based movement and wrap-around. The game's artstyle is more reminiscent of Geometry Dash with the simple vector-like spaceships and simple procedural animations. Looks good. Has the advantage that visual clarity is easy to achieve. Game does none of that however. It's another typical roguelite game in the sense that game-design takes the backseat to the developer having had fun while developing it. Color palettes used entirely at random. Constantly losing track of where my ship is. Projectiles having the same color as mine. My own "constructs" having the same color as enemies. Way too many particles and bloom to make out what is going on. It's your run-of-the-mill stuff. Roguelite elements are again a big "but why?" element. Constantly being interrupted by some menu that doesn't control seamlessly at all compared to the actual gameplay breaks the pace. First time I tried the game I completed a run in 22 minutes (i.e. killing the final boss). I did practically nothing that would warrant a victory: I just clicked on upgrades that would do the work "for me" and ooga booga'd my way through. I fail to see how this constitutes a good challenge to anyone. Sound design is nice, albeit a bit minimal, Missing some punchier sounds for explosions. UI looks good enough, even if the use of space is suboptimal for almost every window I have seen (take a look at the screenshots on the storefront to see what I mean). Just a completely unremarkable game in every way. Not designed well. Typical roguelite clumsiness. Looks pretty and sounds alright.

It took me a few tries to get into it. The first few times it just seemed like too many choices, and it wasn't clear what applied to what- give it a chance if you're not understanding the 'overwhelmingly-positive' rating at first. Once it catches... it's a hoot. It does not control with the traditional twin stick mechanics, and ultimately that is for the best, for this game. Trust. But at first, I was like... why are you making this harder than it has to be? There is a purpose. I prefer the mouse for controls- another piece that takes a little getting used to, as it feels different from other games that 'look like it.' But, now I'm quite addicted :)

Perfect game to play 2 or 3 runs of, get your space explosion fix, and put down again until your next hit of the good stuff. S tier. 4.5 of the 5 voices in my head concur.

The game has overwhelmingly positive reviews, so the problem is clearly with me and not the game, but I didn't enjoy it. I found the controls unintuitive and frustrating (with a controller and even worse with keyboard and mouse). I found the game graphically/artistically illegible: I couldn't differentiate helpful pickups from enemies from enemy projectiles. The gameplay seems *very* similar to Vampire Survivors, and I simply think the art direction, music, and gameplay loop are better in Vampire Survivors.

I love these old-school space shooters, and this is a great homage to the old greats, while injecting fresh DNA into the formula, progression, roguelike elements, etc.

This game is cocaine. If you're hesitating pressing the buy button, don't.

good game to have its always fun to come back to and do a few runs when im bored

Super fun. A little more content would go down well but honestly it's worth it regardless

I liked the game. It'd be nice if you didn't start over every time, and the growth was slower (I'm upgrading every 2 seconds it seems...) It'd be nice if there were a map and different upgrades were specific to different areas with a save checkpoint at the beginning of each sector. But hey, it's a lil fun game that'll keep you entertained for a lil while.

great game the controls are a bit unorthodox but that allows for wonderfully unique gameplay once you get used to it.

Asteroids / Space War format spin-thrust-fire-defense space shooter. Post Geometry Wars, post-Roguelike/Roguelite, post-whatever. Very refined, fun play, MANY different builds.

Lovely asteroids games. 150 hours and i keep playing, devs keeps adding. Very Good. 9/10 worth the price.

I bought this game nearly 4 years ago and to this day I'm shocked it's still receiving content updates past it's 1.0 release. I've played on and off since then, and it's always been a joy to come back to and get a few quick and chaotic runs going. I have most if not all of the gear unlocks and yet I feel I've hardly even scratched the surface of what the game has to offer, as evidenced by my playtime. So many distinct weapons, play styles, and combinations. I can already see so much replayability in this game. And the absurd part is it's only 18 USD, feels like there hasn't even been a price hike since the 4 years I got the game. This is a passion project, through and through.

This game is like watching a star's life cycle in fast forward. You come up with a build, and you watch as it coalesces in front of you. Sometimes it fizzles out, sometimes it ends with a bang, but inevitably it all happens in under an hour. It's great. The game almost encourages those thoughts that go "well, what if i..." that keep you playing it regularly. I feel like an overlooked part of this game is the way the movement works. I never had qualms with it, but now that I've sunk more time into it I genuinely can't see this game working with any other movement scheme. The simple fact that, at the start of the game, you cannot shoot in one direction and move the other adds another layer to an already deep game. Not only does it make movement an active, if subconscious decision you make, it also makes movement something you can invest into with upgrades, incorporating movement into the build system. Maybe you don't mind slower movement, if it meant you were tankier. Maybe that health penalty is worth making things easier to dodge. Maybe if you killed things faster, an uncontrollable thrust would be okay. Also, the movement lets you Drift in Novas. It's probably the most optimal thing you can do most of the time, actually.

Looks and plays very well. Variation in weapons is pretty decent. Have not run into any technical issues. Situational readability can be challenging in some intense moments.

Nova Drift is a wonderful shooter, reminiscent of Asteroids and Galaga, but with powerups that allow every run to have a different build. * Let your minions run rampage with all your shields and weapons while you just dodge. * Fill the screen with homing missiles that spawn more homing missiles * Become a blazing comet, burning yourself and everything around you * Jedi your way through the enemies, bouncing their projectiles back at them with your sword There are so many viable builds that it's possible to have hours of fun with just the base game. But then you layer on the other modes, like endless, the new daily challenge, chaos mods, etc... I generally play a few runs a week, and have for the past two years, and I still love this game.

Absolutely goated game, and one of the best roguelikes ever made!

This game is in my humble opinion is a greatly polished game that I can certainly say is worth the price. You are being presented with a wonderfully optimized title that can and will exceed your expectations and keep you entertained for hours. There are many different playstyles that you could choose in this game. I would like to add that I appreciate how this game receives fairly frequent updates. Enjoy!

Best arcade-style rougelike I've ever played. The looks, the sounds, the way it feels to play. Perfection across the board.

This game really reminded me of that old atari game "asteroids" , but with a nice rogue-like twist to it. There are hundreds , if not thousands of builds to try, and even though some perform better than others, the game is very well balanced ( we can't do the OP leviathan build anymore though :( ) . This is one of my favourite game of all time, and it's still getting updated , big thumbs up to the dev BY THE WAY THE WHALE IS A LIE I'VE NEVER SEEN ONE

It's basically modernized Asteroids as a rougelike, with tons of fun and unique playstyles, 10/10, would recommend

The most visually stunning and satisfying little spaceship game I've ever played.

great rougelike based on asteroids a lot of fun with a lot of builds/unlockables.

i got this game on a bundle, it's pretty fun. its a mix of bullet hell, survivors, and astroids (the classic arcade game)

great game its funs when your build works out but it can be annoying when you keep dying early before your build gets going specialy if your using leviatan

great game at first it seems pretty easy but the main goal of the game is to 100% rather than just beat it but its not a horrible grind like other games would be

Great game, fun and beautiful. Mouse controls feel great after some practice. Lots of perks, weapons, ship types. Granted, I didn't play the game all that much, but I have been following it for quite some time, seen a few rework updates. Updates are not frequent, but they are of good quality and the game is still being updated. Great soundtrack as well.

I love games in this genre of games. Nova Drift is a wonderful game with so many builds to choose from. The options are so plentiful, yet not overwhelming. It beckons the player to think "what build do I want to go for next and try?" Additionally, the game is incredibly well built. The landscape is scenic and well fitting for the game while not distracting or taking away from the game play. Furthermore, the game has very few bugs - and the ones I've encountered can be fixed easily. The wide variety of game modes from practice to anihilation and endless, as well as wild metamorphesis all add different levels of difficulty and complexity to the game. Yes, the game has a decent learning curve, but I beleive the game is well designed to allow new players to get their bearings before the game really takes off. The replay value in the game is anything but lacking. I haven't found an aspect the game leaves more to be desired. Without the recent addition of Daily Challenges, the game already felt extremely well fleshed out, with many hours of replayability. Now with the addition of the Daily Challenges, the game will never leave players bored. The Daily Challenges were a dream for many, including me, and it honestly takes an already fantastic game to one that really merits it to a hall of fame position. This game seriously itches so many feelings of satisfaction that I rarely see other games achieve. If you enjoy this genre of video games, I'd say this game is worth every penny (or your smallest denomination of currency)!

if you ever wanted to play Asteroids with progression and level up mechanics, look no further. Nova Drift is one of the most polished, and compelling roguelikes that has ever been released. With an incredibly diverse array of ship styles, weapon augments, and game-altering upgrades, this game will have you playing "one more run" frequently. While I have not yet played it on the steam deck, I believe it to be an ideal companion to that hardware as well, and a must -have in any steam collection. This labor of love has been spearheaded by a single developer who has slowly but surely created a masterpiece. Frequent (and good) sales make it a no brainer.

Easy to pick up. Fun to play. Love upgrading character. However... some needed upgrades: 1) It would be nice to build your deck of upgrades. Get credits to buy cards 2) The cards aren't clear: What they do, how rare they are, or the upgrade path they make/block. Needs to be way easier to understand. Still don't understand it after playing it for some long 3) Would be nice to be able to call the next wave early It could be much better with a few basic features, but still recommended! I enjoyed it.

i can see myself easily putting ahundred hours more into this game before ever getting tired of it, legitimately one of the best indie games I've ever played. still gotta get all the achievements to ..

Such an amazing fun game, and the developer has a wonderful sense of humor. All around, worth the 18$, and an absolute steal on sale.

A really solid, arcadey rouge-like. The customization is interesting to experiment with and makes different builds feel and play very differently from each other while still keeping that crunchy game feel that makes it so satisfying. It’s the spiritual successor to asteroids.

Lots of fun looking forward to playing more. Lots of replayability Good build variety

The develper is a genius. I already loved the game but the whale update note hooked me in for another couple of hours.

This actually turned out to be a fun game, even the more you play it because it unlocks further playstyles that I enjoy experimenting with.

Phenomenal game with really cool build variety and potential to discover. If you're like me you'll want to change the aim style in controls to directional.

It is very good. The physics feel just right and there is a lot of replayability.

I really love the artstyle in this game! And or course, the gameplay. The combat feels great, and unlocking ships / weapons / mods is a nice system Beet game in it's genre that I've played

fun for the first couple of hours, gameplay changes slightly because of new weapons and unlocks.... so instead of shooting the same enemies/boss from long range you can get a build that changes your weapons to instead explode at the same enemies and bosses.

I usually ragequit after a few bs deaths in a row, but that's just a genre expectation, and it's quality is high enough that I keep coming back. It's like a better Raiden X, with a little too much bullethell cluster for strategy sometimes, but still manages to look cool, have adrenal oontz music, and be fun the entire time. Lots to unlock, combinations to try. If you find it at a reasonable price and you want something that hits those buttons, it's good for 20 minutes at a time max play.

It's a little gem, whenever you're bored or don't know what to do booting this game up for a play is always worth the time.

god i love space you can shoot people in it also the swords. those are cool too. play now

Certainly worth the cost. Simple graphics, yet beautiful game. A lot of variety for different runs. A draft mode to skip the slow build up and immediately jump into action. My only criticism is, that the upgrades could be a lot more fun. Most of the lvl 1 weapon upgrades are always worth a pick. However, higher level upgrades have big downsides. They don't feel worth it, unless you have a very specific build or weapon. In fact, most level 1 upgrades seem stronger than lvl 2-3 upgrades. And some Super Mods have such huge downsides, they can ruin a very good run. Is this for balance? Is such strict balancing really necessary in a single player game? The only exception to this is the rocket salvo weapon. It works well with almost any upgrade. Combine it with the cloak ship and the game is easy, because the enemies don't know where to shoot. I love this combination, but this does not seem balanced at all. Why not make all weapons equally fun?

It's a good game with lots of upgrades and enemies, and I enjoyed it for a while. But then I realised that this is kind of just a sci-fi version of Diep-.io. That doesn't mean it takes anything special away, or that it's a sorta copy, but it doesn't really expand upon it much. The game itself has a rigid upgrade system, with limited options. If you liked a particular play-style, there's not really a lot of variety of "classes" that significantly change how that play-style is done.There are a lot of different build that you can do, but there isn't that feeling that you're locked into that build only, which isn't necessarily bad, but feels lacklustre. For example, if you choose a build that incentivizes you to ram into the enemies, you will still have the options to build into other paths. And also, the super mods are just Odd? I haven't figured our how to fully utilise them, but I have yet to encounter them a lot at all. Overall, it's a decent game if you enjoy the genre, with a missing features like maybe synergies between modification or more upgrade diversity.