More Bullets, More Bots, More Problems
The “survivor-like” and “roguelike” genres have taken off lately, with Vampire Survivors kickstarting the trend that has now flooded storefronts.
Greedland joins the fray with a top-down shooter spin that blends bullet hell chaos with sci-fi mech fantasy. Developed by VA Games, Greedland comes with a satisfying crunch, even if its repetitive grind might leave some players wishing for deeper pockets of innovation.
A Familiar Battlefield
If you’ve spent any time with Vampire Survivors, Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor, or Soulstone Survivors, Greedland will feel instantly familiar. The premise is simple: drop onto a hostile alien planet, blast through swarms of insectoid enemies, collect loot, and upgrade your arsenal to become an unstoppable walking turret.
What Greedland has done is combine two of the most popular themes in gaming over the last year or two. One of which of course is the rogue-like elements that have that perfectly addictive kind of gameplay of playing through until the end of a mission/turn/round and then upgrading and rinse and repeat.
The other iconic theme that it incorporates is the idea of hurtling towards a planet in a drop pod and cutting through waves upon waves of insect-like creatures. The “cool” factor around drop pods started in gaming with the ODST’s in Halo, and has then been used to incredibly popular effect by Helldivers 2. There are also other games like the recent Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 that is full of overwhelming and chaotic alien based combat.
But Greedland differentiates itself through direct player control and twin-stick shooter mechanics rather than purely passive auto-attack systems. Movement feels snappy, and aiming is tight, giving each run a sense of agency beyond simply weaving between enemies.
Firepower For Days
What Greedland does best is gunplay. Its arsenal of miniguns, missile pods, flamethrowers, and orbital strikes delivers hefty audiovisual punch. Combined with upgrades that buff damage, expand your AoE attacks, or even add elemental effects, runs can become wild light shows of sci-fi destruction. Enemy variety ranges from small cannon fodder bugs to towering bosses with chunky health bars and punishing attacks.
However, progression feels uneven. Early upgrades are satisfying, but the mid-to-late game grind can start to drag, but for players who love this kind of video game that won’t be an issue. While the dopamine drip of unlocking weapons and passive abilities keeps you invested for a while, the lack of game-changing upgrades or meta-progression systems makes extended play feel repetitive, especially compared to genre leaders like Vampire Survivors.
One way it is far better than other games of its type on the market is the extensiveness of locations in a psuedo-campaign. There are multiple cosmetic options and different areas to explore. Acting more like a looter-shooter, it is a lot more satisfying to end a mission rather than playing till death.
Visuals and Performance
Presentation is clean, if fairly unspectacular. Environments consist of rocky alien plains and insect nests, rendered in a crisp low-poly style with solid performance on console. The enemy designs, while generic, are clear and readable amidst the bullet chaos. Each alien being fairly generic isn’t a bad thing, it means each different type is instantly recognizable. Explosions, projectile trails, and ability effects are flashy enough to keep your eyes entertained without descending into clutter.
However, Greedlands is far from feature-complete. In fact, the game feels like a foundation awaiting layers of strategic depth. The repetitive mission loop, limited environments, and absence of strong progression incentives could deter players looking for long-term engagement rather than quick bursts of action.
A Bullet-Hell Blast
For fans of twin-stick shooters who crave endless hordes to mow down with oversized mech weaponry, Greedland scratches an itch. It combines the bite-sized adrenaline of survivor-likes with direct combat control, offering moments of genuine bullet hell bliss. However, it lacks the roguelike complexity and meta-upgrades needed to truly hook genre veterans for the long haul.
If you’re itching for a new top-down shooter to test your dodging reflexes, Greedland is worth a shot. Just don’t expect it to redefine the genre or hold your attention for dozens of hours.
Important Links
Quell the Xbox Hordes in Greedland – https://www.thexboxhub.com/quell-the-xbox-hordes-in-greedland/
Buy Greedland on Xbox – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/greedland/9pm922bmxbw0
