It’s been an extremely busy week for games, some of which may even be too big for Steam Deck. Between Borderlands 4 and Silent Hill F (which I played early for our review), I’ve been extremely busy… and yet the new indie game Megabonk has quickly stolen my heart.
Created by new indie developer Vedinad, Megabonk is a Vampire Survivors clone in full 3D, and it’s the perfect pick-up-and-play game for Valve’s Steam Deck. Just like when Mario jumped from his side-scrolling adventures to 3D platforming in the 90s, this new release takes the flatscreen Vampire Survivors gameplay into a rapid arena game with platforming, skateboarding skeletons and more.
At its core, Megabonk is the exact same as Vampire Survivors. You start in a field with a simple attack as you fight off hordes of monsters, get XP, level up and find items to add powerful new attacks and abilities in a ten-minute time limit. However, there’s a massive extra degree of freedom here with the full 3D environment offering new ways to escape with countless secrets – such as Minibosses – to find in every map.
Just like Vampire Survivors, the addictive nature of the roguelike format instantly sinks in as you unlock powerful new items, upgrades, maps and brand-new characters with each run. All of this is rendered in a magnificently retro 3D aesthetic as well which looks great on the Steam Deck’s 800p screen.
What’s most surprising about Megabonk is just how well it runs, especially as some 2D Vampire Survivors clones can actually run quite poorly on the Steam Deck. Despite its obviously more intensive visuals, the insane hordes of late-game waves runs so well that it feels flawless on a base LCD model of Valve’s handheld. Even when the screen is filled with a “swarm” and you have countless weapons firing off at the same time, it plays so solidly that it’s a perfect fit for the machine.
When everything is kicking off, the game is just pure chaos in the best way possible. As a skateboarding skeleton with an absurd amount of speed and jump upgrades, I can jump across the map like an undead spring, throwing boomerang bananas at the oncoming hordes before they even know they’re there. I thought Vampire Survivors had that power fantasy on lock, but this game has managed to scale the peak and find a whole new mountain.
Megabonk is just pure fun, and I’ve barely scratched the surface. With just a few characters unlocked, I know that I’ll be spending just as much – if not more – than Vampire Survivors. Maybe it’s because it makes me feel like a kid again, witnessing my favourite games jump from 2D to 3D in a way that feels completely different, but also exactly the same.
Even outside of a sale, Megabonk is cheap at just £8.50 or your regional equivalent. However, until October 2, the game is available for just £7.22, and it’s absolutely worth it.
