Part 2 (May 2024) · #2 of 13 in that tierWatch the moment (1:00:08)
Deflector
- Developed by
- Arrowfist Games
- Published by
- SuperGG.com
$19.99
Deflector is a top down action rogue-lite set in a deadly microcosm. Dive deep into hostile worlds teeming with viruses. Strike down increasingly challenging enemies with your weapons and their own deflected projectiles. Live, die, grow stronger and become powerful enough to reach the Source!
Consensus
C70.7/100
Steam players87% positiveVery Positive354 reviews
Metacritic ↗Users: 4.1/10
VG Insights estimate ↗≈10.7K copies · ≈$131K gross
What creators say
What players say
A top-down action roguelite by Arrowfist Games in which you play a bioengineered 'Bioshell' inside a microscopic viral world and turn enemy projectiles (and your own) back on enemies by deflecting them.
Deflector is well liked but niche: Steam shows 87% positive (Very Positive) from roughly 355 reviews, and the few critics who covered it were positive (Keengamer 8/10, Nine Over Ten 9/10, NaviGames 9/10, GameGrin 90). Praise centres on the deflect mechanic, build variety, the soundtrack and the Hades-like visual polish. The recurring complaints are a thin story, a fairly conventional roguelite loop and a lot of systems to track. It launched in Early Access on Jan 27, 2022 and hit 1.0 on Mar 24, 2023, with Switch and Xbox ports from Sept 2023 (PS4 listed on Metacritic). Its audience is small (estimated 20k-50k owners, about $113k gross), so there is little large-scale community discussion beyond Steam.
Players love
- The deflect mechanic turns bullet-hell defence into offence: bouncing projectiles back at enemies, sometimes for huge damage, feels satisfying and skill-based
- Real build variety from a free-form upgrade/mutation system where skills combine (for example clones, duplicated deflected shots, ground rupture)
- Multiple Bioshell characters with different weapons and deflect behaviour, from the starting boomerang-wielding Eradicator to ranged and melee options
- Strong soundtrack, praised by reviewers and Steam players
- Polished stylised visuals, compared favourably to Hades in early coverage
- Fast runs and non-linear path choices (combat, shops, rest areas) keep the pace brisk
- Runs well, including on Steam Deck, with full controller support and plenty of achievements
Common complaints
- Story is barebones: a cool premise in the intro with little elaboration afterwards
- Core roguelite structure is seen as conventional; critics say it does not reinvent the genre beyond deflection and setting
- Some players call it a clunky Hades-like without enough of its own hook
- Too many systems and modifiers to keep track of for some newcomers
- Environment variety was criticised in early access and choosing locations had little gameplay impact
- Only the starting character is available at first, so the early hours limit playstyle choice
- Metacritic user reviewers (only 7 ratings) cite repetitiveness and limited enemy variety
Can feel tedious
- Gradual unlock of Bioshells and mutations requires repeated runs before the game opens up
- Keeping track of numerous upgrades, modifiers and interactions is tiring for some players
- Story and objectives give little incentive to push on for players not hooked by the combat
- Runs can feel repetitive with limited enemy variety (Metacritic user ratings, small sample)
What's unique
- Deflection as the core verb: you can reflect enemy projectiles and your own weapon shots back for damage
- Microscopic viral setting where you play as a prototype cure, with 'Apex Virus' bosses ending each world
- Pitched by the developer as Diablo meets bullet hell, blending ARPG build crafting with bullet-hell patterns
- Free-form skill combination system in which upgrades stack into unexpected effects
- Hub with research modules and DNA/mutation progression that persists between runs
Players want
- Flesh out the narrative and world beyond the opening (raised by early access and 1.0 reviewers and Steam players)
- Make location choices matter more to gameplay, not only to level progression
- Add more visual and environmental variety across worlds
- Give clearer objectives and clearer explanation of the many systems and modifiers
- Unlock additional Bioshells faster or more clearly so early runs have more variety
Summarised from Steam reviews and community discussion.
Steam tags
Rogue-liteHack and SlashRPGDifficultBullet HellAction RoguelikeSingleplayerTop-DownNonlinearStylized
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Tier list Part 2 (2024)
Deflector is a straightforward top-down action bullet-hell roguelike whose twist is a deflect button that differs per character and only works on red (and yellow) bullets. He finds the core gameplay very fun, clear and readable, but feels its late-run pacing suffers from multiple waves in large levels and that it lacks content and unique events. He hesitated between high B and low A and placed it at the top of B, saying an update could easily push it to A.
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