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ASCII Survivors header art

ASCII Survivors

Everything is ASCII. A survivor-like roguelite where every monster, bullet, and explosion is made of text on a CRT screen. 8 characters, 16 weapons, 6 enchantments, 4 game modes. See how long your terminal holds.

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Release
May 1, 2026
93 days ago
Steam Reviews
6 user reviews6 reviews100.0%

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Media

6 items

About the Game

A Survivor-Like Roguelite, Rendered in Pure ASCII

Every monster, bullet, and explosion is ASCII text on a CRT screen. Glow, barrel distortion, particle effects layered on top — and it still plays like a survivor-like should.

Weapons fire automatically and enemies come from every direction. You keep moving, keep picking upgrades, and by mid-run you can barely tell what's killing what.

What's in the Game

- 8 characters with different starting weapons and passives
- 16 weapons across 6 attack patterns — nova rings, whirlwinds, spark chains, screen-wide beams, etc.
- 4 game modes — Normal (10 min / 20 waves), Endless, Trial (daily seed), Pact (stackable handicaps)
- 6 enchantments (fire, ice, poison, lightning, leech, curse) that stack on any weapon
- 15 passive skills to shape your build
- 3 maps with unique enemies, elite variants, and multi-phase bosses
- Meta Shop for permanent upgrades between runs
- 35 achievements

Why ASCII?

I just wanted chaos in pure ASCII. Text characters, post-processing, and a lot of particle effects. Looks like a terminal? Into the bullet storm.

Accessibility

Adjustable difficulty (Standard / Hard / Insane), independent Master / BGM / SFX volumes, keyboard-only or controller-only play.
Photosensitivity: CRT, glow, barrel warp, vignette, and glitch effects each toggle individually. A "Reduce Flashing" option softens rapid color flicker on hit and enemy windup.