Survive the swarm, build your mage, then slay the crypt boss.

How survivor games work

Survivor games, sometimes called horde-survivors or bullet-heaven, flipped the arcade shooter on its head. Instead of aiming and firing, you move and everything else happens automatically. All of the skill goes into where you stand: kiting the crowd into a line, running around the edge of the swarm, and drifting over gems without getting cornered. The fun comes from the upgrade choices, because every run assembles a different build.

In Crypt Survivors, each kill drops a gem. Collect enough gems and the game pauses to offer three upgrades: faster fire, stronger bolts, extra bolts per shot, piercing bolts, orbiting blades, a periodic nova blast, faster movement, a bigger gem magnet, or an extra heart. Early on, fire rate and twin bolts make the biggest difference. Orbiting blades are the best defence against fast bats, and the nova is a lifesaver when the crowd closes in.

Movement beats damage. Keep the swarm behind you, steer toward open space rather than the nearest gem, and never retreat into a corner. When a ring of bats appears around you, go through the thinnest part of the ring early. Each stage ends in a boss: the Bone Colossus stomps out rings of bone and summons skeletons, and the Crypt Lord teleports, fires skull fans and calls ghosts when hurt. Rare hearts drop from tougher enemies, and your upgrades carry from stage one into stage two.