"A charming swarm that crashes before it burns out"
About
Funguys Swarm is an action roguelike where you play as a cartoon mushroom fighting back against the Fireking's army. In a typical bullet-heaven style, you survive waves of enemies, automatically attacking with weapons you collect and upgrade. Each run involves selecting a character with unique abilities, choosing from a pool of randomised power-ups, and attempting to survive until the end of the stage. Between runs, you can spend resources on permanent upgrades for your forest sanctuary.
Verdict
There is a wonderful, chaotic bullet heaven game inside Funguys Swarm. Its charming mushroom heroes and satisfying wave-clearing action are easy to like. Unfortunately, that good game is trapped in a technical mess. Frequent, run-ending crashes undermine any sense of progress, while the screen becomes so cluttered with your own spell effects that you can't see the attacks that kill you. What's left is a recommendation with a heavy asterisk: a great time, if the game lets you have it.
You'll like it if …
- +You enjoy the power fantasy and visual chaos of survivor-likes.
- +A cute, vibrant art style is more appealing to you than grimdark themes.
- +You're looking for a simple loop you can jump into for a quick session.
You'll dislike it if …
- −Losing a 20-minute run to a game crash is a dealbreaker.
- −You need combat where every enemy attack is clearly telegraphed.
- −The idea of a game becoming trivial after you've unlocked everything sounds boring.
Breakdown
- +The core loop of mowing down hordes is chaotic and satisfying.
- +A good variety of characters helps keep runs feeling distinct from one another.
- −Enemy attack telegraphs are frequently and completely obscured by the player's own ability effects.
- −Balance feels inconsistent, with some runs hinging on luck and some weapons feeling noticeably weaker than others.
- +The range of characters and skills offers solid build variety for the first dozen hours.
- −Weapon variety is limited, pushing builds toward the same few powerful spells.
- −The challenge evaporates in the late game once permanent upgrades are maxed out.
- −Unlocking all content can feel like a grind.
- +Character designs and snippets of writing have a charming, humorous tone.
- +The lighthearted aesthetic is a welcome change of pace for the genre.
- +A vibrant, poppy art style gives the game a strong visual identity.
- +The funky, upbeat soundtrack is consistently praised.
- −Excessive visual effects create so much screen clutter that they harm gameplay.
- −Some players report noticeable lagging and performance drops during intense moments.
- −Frequent, fatal crashes are a major issue, often wiping out a run's progress.
- −Specific stages, like Chapter 2 and the Eggloseum, appear particularly prone to crashes and freezes.
- −Bugs can get you stuck in upgrade menus, forcing a restart.
- −Many of these stability problems have reportedly persisted since its early access period.
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