RoguedexPart 1 (Sep 2023) · #3 of 5 in that tierWatch the moment (0:11:57)
Blazing Beaks
- Developed by
- Applava
- Published by
- Applava
$14.99
Roguelite - where too much greediness can be fatal. A colorful world with armed birds blazing their way through piles of mutants, monsters and creepy creatures. Lots of mysteries to unravel, secrets to discover and levels to explore.
Consensus
C67.2/100
Steam players83.5% positiveVery Positive2,628 reviews
Metacritic ↗80/100Users: 7.4/10
OpenCritic ↗81/100
VG Insights estimate ↗≈31.5K copies · ≈$297K gross
What creators say
Ranked Apr 2023 · #38 of 42 in that tierWatch the moment (2:03:54)
What players say
A pixel-art twin-stick roguelite where armed birds fight through randomized rooms, hauling back cursed artifacts that carry debuffs, with solo, local co-op and local PvP tournament modes.
Blazing Beaks is well liked but a niche, under-the-radar title: Steam sits at Very Positive (about 83.5% of roughly 2,600 reviews), and critics on Switch landed around 80-81. Reviewers and players praise the charm, art, music, tight controls and the risk/reward artifact loop, and it shines in local co-op. The main complaints are a lack of meaningful meta-progression, heavy RNG (weapons and artifacts), uneven balance, and a sense that runs get samey; many negative reviews come from players expecting Nuclear Throne or Enter the Gungeon depth. Several recent Steam reviewers describe the game as effectively left dead on PC, though a mod/Workshop scene exists and a dev Discord community is still described as alive. Steam owner estimates are low (under 20k by SteamSpy; about 13 concurrent players), and revenue estimates are modest (around $265k gross / $78k net per a Boxleiter-style calculator).
Players love
- Charming, clean pixel-art style with distinct, readable characters and enemies
- Risk/reward artifact system: treasures carry debuffs (for example cannot shoot while moving) and you must survive to a shop to cash them in for a big power spike
- Music repeatedly called out as some of the best in the genre
- Tight, responsive twin-stick controls and a satisfying 'nuclear throne-like' feel
- Fun local co-op for two players in story mode plus a four-player local tournament mode with five sub-modes
- Eight birds with distinct stats and quirks (chicken accuracy that drops when moving, platypus extra loot, penguin cloning)
- High replay value through randomized rooms, items and secrets, and a looping endgame that can go on indefinitely; Steam Workshop character mods
- Good value and varied enemy behaviors; bosses need specific strategies
Common complaints
- Little or no sense of meta-progression: unlocks mostly dilute the item pool and nothing builds toward a long-term goal
- Heavy RNG: weapons are scarce and random, artifacts cannot be planned around, and some runs reach the first boss with no artifacts
- Balance is uneven: some guns and artifacts are strictly worse, many items are plain HP ups, and a couple of birds (Blue Bird, Chicken) outclass others (Duck, Seagull)
- Some enemies and rooms feel unfair (for example unclear charge-up attacks, hitboxes and momentum-based movement) while bosses can feel easier than regular rooms
- UI problems: some menus cannot be used with the mouse, gamepad aiming is called imprecise, and there are remote play/focus glitches and a launch failure report
- Levels are small and repetitive with one boss type per biome; runs feel samey after several hours
- Often viewed as a weaker clone of Nuclear Throne or Enter the Gungeon
- No online multiplayer; it is local only, and PC is Windows only
Can feel tedious
- Runs feel samey and repetitive after a few hours because of small levels and predictable enemies
- Forced RNG reliance: a good run can feel one in a million because of unfair environments
- Weak upgrade system, for example tiny percent bonuses per coin, and filler items like plain HP ups
- Steep learning curve and unforgiving difficulty; more frustrating than fun for some
- Solo play is seen by some as much less fun than co-op
- Frustration and rage moments: even fans say it can make you rage out, and players note the game depends on overcoming frustration
What's unique
- Cursed-artifact economy: you carry debuffs and must reach a shop to exchange them for permanent buffs, so greed can kill you
- Anthropomorphic bird cast with per-character positive and negative traits
- Campaign plus a four-player local arena tournament in the same package
- Looping endgame that can go on indefinitely
- Steam Workshop character mod support
Players want
- Add real meta-progression or goals (for example a relic checklist or a good ending for collecting everything)
- Make artifact drops more consistent, and rebalance weapons, artifacts and the weaker characters
- Add online play or better remote-play support
- Fix UI: full mouse support in menus and better gamepad aiming
- Give more control over builds or weapon upgrading rather than pure RNG
- Improve boss difficulty curve and late-game power scaling, and add more boss and level variety per biome
Summarised from Steam reviews and community discussion.
Steam tags
Pixel GraphicsAction RoguelikeTop-Down ShooterTwin Stick ShooterRogue-liteShooterAction-AdventureRogue-likeCharacter CustomizationBullet Hell
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Tier list Part 1 (2023)
Blazing Beaks is a top-down shooter roguelike where you play as birds with guns. Its hook is that enemies drop cursed items with only downsides, and you choose how many to carry to the shop, where they can be swapped for beneficial items. He loves the concept, art and sound design, but finds the actual game suffers from design and balance problems. He never feels powerful, dies often on first visits to new areas, and puts it in D while respecting it.
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