Nova Drift

This is a great game! [i]Nova Drift[/i] is essentially [i]Asteroids[/i]—momentum based, single screen with wraparound—with waves of enemies, bosses, upgrade trees, and a techno-neon sheen. The game is laser-focused on a specific experience and does it extraordinarily well. Is it for you? Ask yourself these questions: [list] [*] Do you like your space games with conservation of momentum? Do you [i]dislike[/i] ones where the player is essentially a turret, stopping on a dime and turning any direction instantaneously? Were games like [i]Asteroids[/i], [i]Gravitar[/i], or [i]Subspace[/i] your jam back in the day? [*] Do you like build-crafting and upgrade trees? How about unlocking upgrades? [*] Does the [i]concept[/i] of a bullet hell game appeal to you, but all the ones you tried required a bit too much precision and memorization? [*] Do you dig games where you can achieve a [i]flow state[/i], where conscious thought fades and you just zone out, operating almost instinctually? [*] Do electronic music and pulsating lights help you enter such a state? [*] Did you ever hang out in arcades, chasing a high score? [/list] If you answered most of those in the affirmative, you’ll dig [i]Nova Drift[/i]. No technical issues to report, and really no nitpicks, either. If you are on the fence, why not give the demo a whirl?

One of my favourite little gems I have in my library. Whenever I feel bored, I boot up the game and enjoy the DOPAMINE FLOODING MY SYSTEM AS I WRECK HUNDREDS OF ENE- oh... I died.

Shoutouts to Aliensrock for getting me interested in this game back a few years ago. I bought it recently, and enjoyed every second of playing it.

I played this game before it had an ending for like 40 hours after I unlocked everything. I just wanted to try more builds. It's a perfect roguelike. builds are fun, every upgrade feels impactful, enemies are simple enough to learn and don't feel cheap, risk vs reward feels balanced, playing risky is so damn fun. it's like the only thing i use my steam deck for its a game i put in peoples hands without telling them anything and i have to ask for my steamdeck back hours later when they want just one more run and it's not even $20

Remember how tank.io was fun but kinda hurt your eyes to look at for awhile? This is tank.io but with the stacking upgrade depth of a proper roguelike game, and seriously gameplay changing perks of an ARPG. Excellent game, too bad there's no space whale. Probably the *perfect* Steam Deck game.

This is the ideal game for the "what do i want to play" contemplation phase. Start it, have fun, instantly. The builds you come across can be really enjoyable, and with the daily challenges and variables, this game always fresh. It is a great game for the steam deck.

it's a great game!! i just wish there was a smaller draft gamemode, at 35 upgrades the process is quite long and without being able to save or edit presets quickly it becomes tedious.

The game has overwhelmingly positive reviews, so the problem is clearly with me and not the game, but I didn't enjoy it. I found the controls unintuitive and frustrating (with a controller and even worse with keyboard and mouse). I found the game graphically/artistically illegible: I couldn't differentiate helpful pickups from enemies from enemy projectiles. The gameplay seems *very* similar to Vampire Survivors, and I simply think the art direction, music, and gameplay loop are better in Vampire Survivors.

Thoroughly unremarkable, albeit visually pleasing. Nova Drift is a game derived from Asteroids with its velocity based movement and wrap-around. The game's artstyle is more reminiscent of Geometry Dash with the simple vector-like spaceships and simple procedural animations. Looks good. Has the advantage that visual clarity is easy to achieve. Game does none of that however. It's another typical roguelite game in the sense that game-design takes the backseat to the developer having had fun while developing it. Color palettes used entirely at random. Constantly losing track of where my ship is. Projectiles having the same color as mine. My own "constructs" having the same color as enemies. Way too many particles and bloom to make out what is going on. It's your run-of-the-mill stuff. Roguelite elements are again a big "but why?" element. Constantly being interrupted by some menu that doesn't control seamlessly at all compared to the actual gameplay breaks the pace. First time I tried the game I completed a run in 22 minutes (i.e. killing the final boss). I did practically nothing that would warrant a victory: I just clicked on upgrades that would do the work "for me" and ooga booga'd my way through. I fail to see how this constitutes a good challenge to anyone. Sound design is nice, albeit a bit minimal, Missing some punchier sounds for explosions. UI looks good enough, even if the use of space is suboptimal for almost every window I have seen (take a look at the screenshots on the storefront to see what I mean). Just a completely unremarkable game in every way. Not designed well. Typical roguelite clumsiness. Looks pretty and sounds alright.

It took me a few tries to get into it. First few times it just seemed overwhelming- give it a chance if you're not getting the overwhelmingly-positive rating at first. Once it catches... it's a hoot. It does not control with the traditional twin stick mechanics, and ultimately that is for the best, for this game. Trust. But at first, I was like... why are you making this harder than it has to be. There is a purpose. I prefer the mouse for controls- another piece that takes a little getting used to, as it feels different from other games that 'look like it.' But, now I'm quite addicted :)

Perfect game to play 2 or 3 runs of, get your space explosion fix, and put down again until your next hit of the good stuff. S tier. 4.5 of the 5 voices in my head concur.

Looks and plays very well. Variation in weapons is pretty decent. Have not run into any technical issues. Situational readability can be challenging in some intense moments.

Nova Drift is a wonderful shooter, reminiscent of Asteroids and Galaga, but with powerups that allow every run to have a different build. * Let your minions run rampage with all your shields and weapons while you just dodge. * Fill the screen with homing missiles that spawn more homing missiles * Become a blazing comet, burning yourself and everything around you * Jedi your way through the enemies, bouncing their projectiles back at them with your sword There are so many viable builds that it's possible to have hours of fun with just the base game. But then you layer on the other modes, like endless, the new daily challenge, chaos mods, etc... I generally play a few runs a week, and have for the past two years, and I still love this game.

Absolutely goated game, and one of the best roguelikes ever made!

This game is in my humble opinion is a greatly polished game that I can certainly say is worth the price. You are being presented with a wonderfully optimized title that can and will exceed your expectations and keep you entertained for hours. There are many different playstyles that you could choose in this game. I would like to add that I appreciate how this game receives fairly frequent updates. Enjoy!

Best arcade-style rougelike I've ever played. The looks, the sounds, the way it feels to play. Perfection across the board.

This game really reminded me of that old atari game "asteroids" , but with a nice rogue-like twist to it. There are hundreds , if not thousands of builds to try, and even though some perform better than others, the game is very well balanced ( we can't do the OP leviathan build anymore though :( ) . This is one of my favourite game of all time, and it's still getting updated , big thumbs up to the dev BY THE WAY THE WHALE IS A LIE I'VE NEVER SEEN ONE

It's basically modernized Asteroids as a rougelike, with tons of fun and unique playstyles, 10/10, would recommend

The most visually stunning and satisfying little spaceship game I've ever played.

great rougelike based on asteroids a lot of fun with a lot of builds/unlockables.

i got this game on a bundle, it's pretty fun. its a mix of bullet hell, survivors, and astroids (the classic arcade game)

great game its funs when your build works out but it can be annoying when you keep dying early before your build gets going specialy if your using leviatan

great game at first it seems pretty easy but the main goal of the game is to 100% rather than just beat it but its not a horrible grind like other games would be

Great game, fun and beautiful. Mouse controls feel great after some practice. Lots of perks, weapons, ship types. Granted, I didn't play the game all that much, but I have been following it for quite some time, seen a few rework updates. Updates are not frequent, but they are of good quality and the game is still being updated. Great soundtrack as well.

I love games in this genre of games. Nova Drift is a wonderful game with so many builds to choose from. The options are so plentiful, yet not overwhelming. It beckons the player to think "what build do I want to go for next and try?" Additionally, the game is incredibly well built. The landscape is scenic and well fitting for the game while not distracting or taking away from the game play. Furthermore, the game has very few bugs - and the ones I've encountered can be fixed easily. The wide variety of game modes from practice to anihilation and endless, as well as wild metamorphesis all add different levels of difficulty and complexity to the game. Yes, the game has a decent learning curve, but I beleive the game is well designed to allow new players to get their bearings before the game really takes off. The replay value in the game is anything but lacking. I haven't found an aspect the game leaves more to be desired. Without the recent addition of Daily Challenges, the game already felt extremely well fleshed out, with many hours of replayability. Now with the addition of the Daily Challenges, the game will never leave players bored. The Daily Challenges were a dream for many, including me, and it honestly takes an already fantastic game to one that really merits it to a hall of fame position. This game seriously itches so many feelings of satisfaction that I rarely see other games achieve. If you enjoy this genre of video games, I'd say this game is worth every penny (or your smallest denomination of currency)!

if you ever wanted to play Asteroids with progression and level up mechanics, look no further. Nova Drift is one of the most polished, and compelling roguelikes that has ever been released. With an incredibly diverse array of ship styles, weapon augments, and game-altering upgrades, this game will have you playing "one more run" frequently. While I have not yet played it on the steam deck, I believe it to be an ideal companion to that hardware as well, and a must -have in any steam collection. This labor of love has been spearheaded by a single developer who has slowly but surely created a masterpiece. Frequent (and good) sales make it a no brainer.

Easy to pick up. Fun to play. Love upgrading character. However... some needed upgrades: 1) It would be nice to build your deck of upgrades. Get credits to buy cards 2) The cards aren't clear: What they do, how rare they are, or the upgrade path they make/block. Needs to be way easier to understand. Still don't understand it after playing it for some long 3) Would be nice to be able to call the next wave early It could be much better with a few basic features, but still recommended! I enjoyed it.

i can see myself easily putting ahundred hours more into this game before ever getting tired of it, legitimately one of the best indie games I've ever played. still gotta get all the achievements to ..

Such an amazing fun game, and the developer has a wonderful sense of humor. All around, worth the 18$, and an absolute steal on sale.

A really solid, arcadey rouge-like. The customization is interesting to experiment with and makes different builds feel and play very differently from each other while still keeping that crunchy game feel that makes it so satisfying. It’s the spiritual successor to asteroids.

Lots of fun looking forward to playing more. Lots of replayability Good build variety

The develper is a genius. I already loved the game but the whale update note hooked me in for another couple of hours.

This actually turned out to be a fun game, even the more you play it because it unlocks further playstyles that I enjoy experimenting with.

Phenomenal game with really cool build variety and potential to discover. If you're like me you'll want to change the aim style in controls to directional.

It is very good. The physics feel just right and there is a lot of replayability.

I really love the artstyle in this game! And or course, the gameplay. The combat feels great, and unlocking ships / weapons / mods is a nice system Beet game in it's genre that I've played

If you love retro style space invaders-esque games mixed with rogue like elements that add near infinite replayability, this is a great game. The Dev is highly active in the community and is set on making a quality product. Highly, highly recommended.

Nova Drift is Asteroids on Ster... oids. Roguelite gameplay, ridiculous combo potential, fantastic to look at, and laden with one-more-go vibes. Now with Space Whales.

Read the (latest at the time) 1.2 patch notes Whale story If you're the type of person who cares about the creator of a game, and their morals and ideals that'll give you a very good light into what type of person they are (in a good way)

Excellent game with sweet art, engrossing combinations to try and get as far as you can. If you like roguelikes and space games this one is a no brainer :)

I really enjoy the different builds available for an "asteroids" style roguelike, and the aesthetic is nice, with a good replayability imo. Banger soundtrack too.

Pretty neat asteroids-esque game where you stack upgrades to scale your ability (e.g. taking shield upgrades on the shield which burns to boost the size and damage and then popping that on your projectiles, taking upgrades to increase projectiles, and then screen wrap it all). There's quite a few which is nice. That's about it though.

Great on steam deck. Lots of progression and interesting skill tree exploration.

This has been my go-to game on the Steam Deck lately. Is it fair to say I find it a relaxing game to play? The atmosphere and music makes it so easy to pick up, do a round or 2, then put it back down when you're done.

fun for the first couple of hours, gameplay changes slightly because of new weapons and unlocks.... so instead of shooting the same enemies/boss from long range you can get a build that changes your weapons to instead explode at the same enemies and bosses.

There is only stealth, and constructs. All else is folly. Or just look up overpowered builds online.

This game is addicting, with endless replayability. There's many different ways to customize your strategy, and it eases you into them at a steady pace because it expands as you play more. You play around, get the hang of it, and earn exp. That exp unlocks more options to expand on what you learned in the previous run through, and so on. You don't have to be a master at the game to feel good and have a great time. The enemies have different strategies and weak points as well, so you never get bored with the steady presentation of new challenges. You can adjust the difficulty to your liking in a variety of ways, from how easy or hard it is to acquire upgrades, to the frequency and difficulty of bosses, enemies, and asteroids. The controls can be either simple or complex- also to your liking. You can automate certain processes, like the deploying of drones, or you can do it manually, either to add extra challenge or layer of strategy to your play. I was about to start a new run when it occurred to me that I had never reviewed it- I had to fix that immediately.

This has been my chill out game for a while now. Something I can just grab on steamdeck and zone into. Playing with builds is really fun, the progression always feels perfect, and the visuals and music are really yummy. Strong recommend as being exactly what it claims to be, if you're in the mood for some single screen kablooies then this will definitely fit the bill.

god i love space you can shoot people in it also the swords. those are cool too. play now

Certainly worth the cost. Simple graphics, yet beautiful game. A lot of variety for different runs. A draft mode to skip the slow build up and immediately jump into action. My only criticism is, that the upgrades could be a lot more fun. Most of the lvl 1 weapon upgrades are always worth a pick. However, higher level upgrades have big downsides. They don't feel worth it, unless you have a very specific build or weapon. In fact, most level 1 upgrades seem stronger than lvl 2-3 upgrades. And some Super Mods have such huge downsides, they can ruin a very good run. Is this for balance? Is such strict balancing really necessary in a single player game? The only exception to this is the rocket salvo weapon. It works well with almost any upgrade. Combine it with the cloak ship and the game is easy, because the enemies don't know where to shoot. I love this combination, but this does not seem balanced at all. Why not make all weapons equally fun?