Karate Survivor is Vampire Survivors with karate, obviously—and you can try it for free now

GamesRoguelikeKarate Survivor is Vampire Survivors with karate, obviously—and you can try it for free nowWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Alawar)

The cast of Karate Survivor.

I’ve been keeping a close eye on the growing genre of Vampire Survivors-alikes. (Auto shooters? Bullet heavens? Let me know when we settle on a name for these.) Games likeDeep Rock Galactic: Survivor,Death Must Die,Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, and many more have stretched the core formula in all sorts of interesting and strange directions, and it’s been fascinating to see. But I think I may have found the weirdest take yet.

Karate Survivorcombines the Vampire Survivors format with the feel of an ’80s martial arts B movie. Instead of weapons or spells, you unlock new martial arts moves during the run, slotting them into your queue at the bottom of the screen—every few seconds your character unleashes them all in sequence, perhaps throwing out a gut punch into a crescent kick into a low trip into an uppercut. With an endless horde of punks and street toughs descending on you, the trick is to find the most effective string you can, and make the most out of every strike.

Like Jackie Chan himself, your hero is also a master of improvised weaponry. The first level takes place in a sprawling supermarket and, once you unlock the right abilities, a huge amount of the products and displays are interactive. You can smack enemies with a broom, hurl plates and glasses, kick pallets of boxes into people, and slam fridge doors right into faces. You can even swing a swordfish round like a… well, some sort of bladed implement.

Even things that can’t be used directly as weapons can benefit you in other ways. Kick over an ATM or destroy a giant pinata and money will spill out—we like that, because cash is essentially XP here. You can roll over counters and tables to create space between you and the hostile crowd, and flagpoles can be used to propel yourself into otherwise inaccessible areas.

So far, I’m enjoying the extra strategy all these elements add to the formula. Positioning is key—both when throwing out your martial arts moves and when lining up the perfect improvised weapon attack. Herding a big group of foes into a conga line and then crashing a crate of bottled waters right through their ranks is particularly satisfying.

(Image credit: Alawar)

The hero of Karate Survivor fighting off a huge crowd of thugs in a supermarket.

But it is a bit of a double-edged sword, because that manoeuvring can be very tricky and punishing. Your attacks strike out in fixed directions around you—most just in the direction you’re facing, but some up or down—with a very short range, and given that even slightly touching an enemy damages you, using them effectively is really challenging. Once you get a full bar of six, it can get a bit overwhelming, as you try and remember the direction and range of each one and shift around accordingly during the combo.

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

And certainly Karate Survivor’s creative twists and thick ’80s vibes are strong enough to make me intrigued to see more. The full release isn’t far off—it’s due later this month, though there isn’t an exact date yet. In the meantime, you candownload the free demo on the game’s Steam page—so why not try throwing out a few roundhouse kicks of your own and see what you think?

More about roguelikeHyper Light Breaker will cost $30 and for a limited time come with a free copy of DrifterThis bizarre roguelike has a new take on the Vampire Survivors formula: letting you build your own custom weapons out of brains, eyeballs, and chimpanzee spinesLatestThe Last of Us season 2 trailer is a brief look at a story you should probably just play yourself in AprilSee more latest►

More about roguelike

Hyper Light Breaker will cost $30 and for a limited time come with a free copy of DrifterThis bizarre roguelike has a new take on the Vampire Survivors formula: letting you build your own custom weapons out of brains, eyeballs, and chimpanzee spines

Hyper Light Breaker player characters standing in a row with yellow cloud and dark background behind

Hyper Light Breaker will cost $30 and for a limited time come with a free copy of Drifter

A series of large explosions in Bio Prototype.

This bizarre roguelike has a new take on the Vampire Survivors formula: letting you build your own custom weapons out of brains, eyeballs, and chimpanzee spines

LatestThe Last of Us season 2 trailer is a brief look at a story you should probably just play yourself in AprilSee more latest►

Latest

The Last of Us season 2 trailer is a brief look at a story you should probably just play yourself in April

the last of us season 2 trailer

The Last of Us season 2 trailer is a brief look at a story you should probably just play yourself in April

See more latest►

Most Popular

The Witcher 3’s now 2-year-old bonus quest is our first taste of the ‘vibe’ CD Projekt is going for in The Witcher 4

2024 was the year updates for old games beat out all the new ones for me

Train like you game with this adventure-inspired workout

‘It’s simply impossible to make a difficulty level that’s just right for all players’: How Final Fantasy 14’s lead battle designer has been playing a precarious balancing game for Dawntrail’s dungeons and raids

Please join me in getting super excited for all the cool looking survival games coming in 2025 (and beyond)

Competitive shooters are at a crucial crossroads in 2025: ‘sweaty’ teamplay vs. casual fun

Call of Duty’s $28 Squid Game skins are the perfect crossover for our capitalist dystopia, and Activision knows exactly what it’s doing

These are the 14 biggest upcoming RPGs of 2025—get ready for another amazing year for the genre

Five new Steam games you probably missed (January 6, 2025)

I’ve seen enough: No more forcing singleplayer studios to make mediocre live service games

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

A bunch of the best Steam Deck accessories on a blue background.

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here review

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

4Ikea Utespelare desk review

Ikea Utespelare desk review

5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals#

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals