Vampire Survivors spawned so, so many clones and remixed rivals and other moreish roguelikes that follow the same formula. But, the reason I’m always happy to learn of another competitor is that there’s always a twist. Vampire Survivors but… Lovecraftian. Vampire Survivors but… you’re a cursorblade. And the newest twist on the subgenre comes from a game that’s essentially Vampire Survivors but you’re an off-brand Clippy fighting monsters on your very own desktop.
Desktop Survivors 98 is the name of maybe the whackiest Survivors-like yet, though it still follows the subgenre’s main tropes. It’s chaotic. There are projectiles and little enemies flying about the screen. You’ll get random upgrades and screen-filling new abilities in between rounds. And the ‘dungeons’ are randomly generated, too.
But this time, the so-called dungeons are laid on top of your desktop. An off-brand Clippy will stare at you with goggly eyes at the bottom of your screen, alongside your health bar and other handy UI bits, while enemies, torches, barrels, and gems will begin to spawn on top of whatever apps or tabs you have open at the minute. I had tiny gems falling on top of the tab I’m literally using to write this very article, so in a sense, Desktop Dungeons 98 can even gamify your work life. Hurray. After each wave, you can then click on some doors that show up to move one spot on a map full of tiles, which is where the “dungeon-crawling” comes in.
Dungeon Survivors 98 is due to come out sometime in 2025, but there’s currently a free demo available on Steam if you’re at all interesting in another really cool take on an endlessly exciting formula.
For more, check out the other upcoming indie games of 2025 and beyond.