Smol Survivors

Really nice survivors game. Cute art & good music.

Charming and addictive. Animations and controls are silky smooth, sprites are full of personality, weapons are unique, and most importantly, slaying large swaths of enemies is satisfying. When starting out (at the time of writing), there's no indication that character upgrades are possible other than the currency you collect on runs. There's nowhere to spend your money! Turns out you have to visit the quest board in the overworld, and rescue the various survivors (this is also how you unlock other playable characters). After a while, you'll come across a shopkeeper who will then make upgrades available to you once rescued. Once I understood this, I really began to enjoy the experience. Overall, this is a welcome addition to my ever-growing collection of survivor-type games.