Sodaman is a roguelike sci-fi bullet heaven game that bears some resemblance to hits like Vampire Survivors but comes with several unique twists that make it stand out significantly in the increasingly crowded genre. Most notably, players can manually aim, reload, shoot, and dodge, leading to a more action-oriented bullet heaven game with a greater degree of player agency than is typical in the genre. A vibrant sci-fi aesthetic and comedic narrative elements are also standout qualities in terms of visual themes and especially story delivery—an element many bullet heaven games forego altogether. Players collect sodas throughout their runs which yield potent, synergizing powerups of varying themes, leading to an incredible power curve as players grow capable of annihilating hordes of sci-fi enemies in an instant.
Game Rant sat down with the Sodaman team including game designer Arif Can Üçer, concept artist Utku Karan Saat, and pixel artist Asrın Sıla Şimşek to discuss every aspect of Sodaman. One interesting topic was regarding the games the team drew inspiration from, including many from outside the bullet heaven genre. With a diverse assortment of inspirations, it’s no wonder that Sodaman is shaping up to be a worthy competitor to its peers.
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Games Like Warframe Influenced Sodaman’s Elemental Upgrades
Sodaman‘s roguelike upgrades are divided by soda colors, each representing certain elements. For example, green sodas yield upgrades related to toxic damage, while red sodas typically feature bleed-inflicting weapons. Although elemental damage types are nothing new in gaming, Üçer pointed to some compelling examples who use these systems effectively:
We took inspiration from a lot of games that use systems like toxic and lightning. For example, Warframe uses a similar system, and Hades also incorporates these kinds of elements. Many games use elemental systems like fire, lightning, water, etc., so we didn’t overthink it too much. We just embraced these familiar elements because they’re common in a lot of games. Maybe it’s also about how these colors and soda themes fit within the world and how they complement the game’s art style.
Warframe and Sodaman have very little in common on the surface, but playing Sodaman with a build focused on green sodas evokes a similar feeling of slowly poisoning enemies to death that a toxin-built Saryn in Warframe provides. Players also don’t need to go all-in on Sodaman‘s elements: combining green and red upgrades leads to equally devastating damage over time-focused builds that can obliterate hordes of enemies in just a few ticks.
Sodaman’s Boss Fights Are Inspired by Enter the Gungeon
Owing to the increased player freedom with manual control of combat actions, Sodaman also looked to some of the tougher isometric games for boss design inspiration. That said, Sodaman doesn’t intend to be an overly punishing game. The team understands that people often play games like this to relax, or while multitasking, and they wished to lean toward a more casual difficulty level. Of course, there are optional difficulty tiers that seriously crank up the challenge level. Üçer singled out Enter the Gungeon as a particular influence on boss design:
We want the boss fights to feel similar to those in bullet hell games like Enter the Gungeon, but not as difficult as the bosses in those games. It’s like a lighter version of that experience. We understand that many players play these games while doing something else, like watching a video on a second screen, so we want the bosses to be a bit more challenging than the bosses in typical bullet hell games, but not as intense as those in Enter the Gungeon or similar games. It’s all about finding the right balance.
Thanks to its unique approach to gameplay and a solid lineup of inspirations, Sodaman is in great shape toward the beginning of its Early Acces launch. Major updates are in the works, with a recent one introducing an entirely new weapon upgrading system, and more will be coming soon. Fans looking to sink their teeth into a bullet heaven game with an emphasis on action and an accessible difficulty curve may find Sodaman right up their alley.
Bullet Hell
Action
Roguelike
- Released
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February 17, 2025
- Developer(s)
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Tape Corps
- Publisher(s)
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GameDev.ist