In this article, we will focus on games similar to 20 Minutes Till Dawn. If you are a roguelite fan, there are a lot of games to choose from nowadays, and in the past few months, we have been extensively exploring this genre and playing different kinds of games.
Below is a list of some of the games we played and liked a lot because they are simply good depictions of this genre, and some of them are pretty similar to 20 Minutes Till Dawn in some way or another. So without further ado, let’s dive deep into this list.
Neon Sundown
Photo credits: Justin Heaslip
We start with an underdog – Neon Sundown is a arcade wave survival game with very vibrant atmosphere and overall a colorful vibe to it. This one looks simple enough; you control a ship and your only job is to survive waves that are coming to get you. When we compare it with 20 minutes till dawn we can see that in terms of the art style, there are differences as 20 minutes is more dark-gothic pixel art where as Neon Sundown is made in neon, shiny style. However, controls are the same, it’s twin-stick move and aim type of a game.
Furthermore, upgrades are a bit different as the game is a lot more “modular” and there are more options to choose from. Similarly to 20 Minutes Till Dawn, in Neon Sundown you can also progress by unlocking new ships and synergizing builds.
Nova Drift
Photo credits: Pixeljam
A slower and more methodical version of Neon Sundown is Nova Drift. You control a ship that you can upgrade, customize weapons, make builds and progress even after the final boss has been defeated. The real fun with this game is how many options there are with weapons; you can customize them by adding mutators, wild branch upgrades and a lot more things. The movement is a bit harder to control then 20 Minutes Till Dawn.
As we said, in Nova Drift you need to survive enemy waves, similarly to 20 Minutes Till Dawn. The game has overall a more “rustic” approach as the whole theme feels like a neon minimalism. If that’s your thing and you are looking for a game like 20 Minutes Till Dawn, give Nova Drift a try.
Children of Morta
Photo credits: 11-bit Studios
Now that we went through space oriented themes, take a look at this roguelite, RPG, story-driven thing called Children of Morta. The game is done in pixel art and a really good one we might add. Children of Morta is also a story-driven game like a family fantasy saga. It is a mixture of dungeon crawling and RPG.
The reason why we put this game on our list of games like 20 Minutes Till Dawn is because the basic premise is the same – fight until you die and upgrade as you go through the levels of the game. Also, the skill-based combat is something that is quiet similar in both games: you need to have good reflexes and timing in order to survive.
Juicy Realm
Photo credits: X.D. Network
Another roguelite, twin-stick shooter is Juicy Realm and that’s why it’s on our list of games like 20 Minutes Till Dawn. As you can see, the game overall atmosphere is quiet whimsical and cheerful, suitable for a more relaxed player profiles. Unlike 20 Minutes Till Dawn, Juicy realm features a silly mutant apocalypse story in which you need to survive in order to win.
The weapon choices are really vast in this one; guns, rifles, machine guns, swords, hammers, axes, rocket launchers, bubble guns, laser beams; you name it – Juicy Realm has it all. We highly recommend that you try this one!
Halls of Torment
Photo credits: Chasing Carrots
Halls of Torment took us by surprise because while we are used to this type of roguelite, we are not used to this type of art style and pacing. Halls of Torment has a very 90s vibe that resembles games like Planescape Torment and Diablo 2 with its dark aesthetics and that nostalgic RPG vibe. Nevertheless, it is very similar to other roguelites, but the emphasis is on a lot of playable characters and various different abilities. We expand on this game a bit more in our Halls of Torment Beginner’s Guide, but the short summary is that it is a game worth playing if you are a fan of roguelites because it has a completely different vibe than any other game of this genre.
Halls of Torment features a decent progression system with rogue-lite elements as the core gameplay. Moreover, a lot of characters are unlockable, just like in Vampire Survivors, and each of them has a unique ability. It isn’t an extremely vast game, because it has 6 stages or maps, but what separates it from the rest is that this type of 90s RPG-style isn’t really common these days, nor accessible. You can literally buy this game for a couple of dollars, and in a few hour,s you will start to get the hang of it. All in all, a pretty decent instance of this type of genre.
Brotato
Photo credits: Blobfish
Brotato is one of the best and most well-executed roguelites overall. It doesn’t really do anything special or have a unique gameplay, but it employs the roguelike elements very well, dare we say extremely well. It has a vast amount of characters to choose from, modifications that you get with each Brotato character, and weapons from Brotato as well as bonuses you get each run. Just like with Halls of Torment, we also made a Brotato Beginners guide in which we dive deeper into the core mechanics and explain every aspect of the game. It really isn’t that different from games like Vampire Survivors or other types of this genre, but if you start to play it, you will see what exactly we mean when we say that it’s very well executed.
Brotato has very rich content, and the builds feel very different from each other. For example, in one build, you can chop down trees and make turrets from the trees, and in another build, you can just use knives and get gold coins from killing your enemies, and in a third build, you can use purely machine guns and stay at range. These different playstyles are dependent on which character you choose, and there are a lot of characters, which means there are a lot of different unique builds and playstyles. All in all, it’s a very good game that we recommend any roguelike fanatic to play.
Vampire Survivors
Photo credits: Poncle
Vampire Survivors is one of the first games that really shook up the roguelite scene and brought this type of genre to a vast audience. Its success is felt even nowadays because a lot of games that are coming out at this moment are very inspired by Vampire Survivors or downright copied the whole principle. And while these new games are very good, Vampire Survivors still holds a significant player retention. The gameplay didn’t age like milk, but rather like fine wine.
It has a very good art style, a lot of maps that are added monthly, and vast amounts of achievements, abilities, and unlockable characters. All in all, it’s a pretty much 10 out of 10 game which literally defines the genre nowadays. All in all, it’s a game that you really need to try if you played 20 Minutes Till Dawn. It’s also very important to mention that it’s completely free on mobile, while the Steam version actually costs money. The reason that the developers did this is because they added extra maps and DLCs into the mobile version, which are “paid content”, but nevertheless, the base game is still completely free, extremely well optimized, and just overall a fun thing to play with on the go.