Ninety-three hours. Every achievement unlocked. Then the 1.0 launch hits and the save file reads empty.

Their original review, logged at 93.5 hours of playtime, captured the moment of horror: “The game is so awesome that I spent 90 hours having fun getting all the Achievements and now, when the game is published, everything I’ve done is gone!!!! I’m angry.”

Hours later, they edited it to a thumbs-up. “Everything I’d worked on was back in the way it was.” The panic was premature. The goodwill, genuine.

Bolt Blaster Games’ co-op survivors-like launched its full build today on Steam and PlayStation 5, and the early returns are striking. As of April 29, the game sits at 7,716 concurrent players on Steam, charting on both New Releases and Steam’s Featured spotlight. The review tally stands at 4,672, with 90% positive — 4,219 green thumbs against 453 red ones. The press release cites over 13,000 reviews accumulated during Early Access, suggesting the current figure reflects a filtered or reset count following the 1.0 build. And the whole thing costs $7.79, a 40% launch discount from $12.99.

What Makes It Click

The Spell Brigade is a survivors-like — the subgenre pioneered by Vampire Survivors where auto-attacking characters weave through bullet-hell hordes while vacuuming up XP orbs. Bolt Blaster’s hook is co-op, and reviewers consistently cite it as the game’s defining strength.

Up to four players team as wizards, sharing an XP pool while blasting through waves of dark creatures. Friendly fire is always on — your squadmates can and will vaporize you — but the death mechanics turn that chaos into a feature. Revive tokens let players literally blast each other back into action.

The spell system feeds the mayhem. Dozens of spells can be upgraded and infused with elemental damage like fire, lightning, plasma, ice, and poison, then combined into hybrid effects like Frostbite (fire plus ice) or Flux (lightning plus acid). Console Creatures’ review noted that enemies “slow down, explode, squash into pieces” when combos land properly. The 1.0 update brought the roster to 15 playable wizards, including the newly added Knelly and her signature Bell March spell. The game ships with 114 Steam Achievements, each tied to a specific unlock — a generous breadcrumb trail for completionists.

Random mid-run objectives — lighting torches in sequence, closing portals, sacrificing enemies within designated zones — break up the auto-attack rhythm. Console Creatures called the variety “actually quite enjoyable” and noted the objectives “never felt repetitive or boring.”

The Grind Problem

Not everything connects. TheSixthAxis gave the game a 7/10 and identified the progression economy as its weakest link. “Even a successful run will rarely net you enough for more than one upgrade or a character, and it’s just so damn slow,” the reviewer wrote. Where Vampire Survivors hands out unlocks like candy, The Spell Brigade’s gold-based progression demands noticeably more time for fewer rewards.

Movement speed in the early game drew similar criticism, especially for solo players. Both reviews agreed on one point: the experience is dramatically better with friends. Without them, it’s a slower, tougher sell.

Why Steam Featured It

The business case writes itself. A million-copy indie with a 90% approval rating dropping its full build at 40% off is exactly the kind of value proposition Steam’s curation was designed to surface. The 1.0 update adds a new Ascension system that lets players reset their wizard rank in exchange for upgraded badges, while optional difficulty modifiers reward those seeking tougher challenges with faster rank gains. Completing the Ascension track unlocks secret outfits that alter each wizard’s starting spell, opening new build possibilities. New enemy types include resource-stealing thieves and elite mini-boss variants, alongside a fresh boss encounter and a full original soundtrack from Austin Wintory and Dallas Crane.

Crossplay between PS5, PC, and Steam Deck broadened the multiplayer pool on day one. For a genre largely confined to PC, the simultaneous console debut is a notable expansion. A cosmetic DLC — the Disciples of Sol’phish Skin Pack at $4.99 — launched alongside. Early Access players also received an exclusive skin for each wizard as a thank-you from the developers, a small gesture that reinforces the community-first approach.

Another player review, 71 hours deep, captured the appeal in raw terms: “Very fun! Multiplayer works! ‘Ha ha ha, magic go bbrrr!’ I like the part when the xp goes inside me!”

At $7.79, that energy is a bargain.

Sources