The Press is Talking — ODDCORE Launch Reception
A roundup of press coverage, reviews, and community response from ODDCORE's first weeks in Early Access.
ON THIS PAGE +
We launched ODDCORE into Early Access on January 7th hoping people would dig it. We were not prepared for how much people would dig it.
By the Numbers
- 96% Positive rating on Steam
- 412+ user reviews
- 9/10 aggregate score
- Steam Deck Verified
What the Press is Saying
Ars Technica
Kyle Orland, Senior Gaming Editor, wrote a feature titled “I can’t stop shooting Oddcore’s endless waves of weird little guys” — subtitled “Zippy action, fun upgrade system make for a great pick-up-and-play shooter.”
Some highlights:
“The game’s combination of frenetic, quick-moving action, semi-randomized scenarios, and well-balanced risk/reward upgrade system makes for a pick-up-and-play shooter that I find myself struggling not to pick up and play for a few more quick-hit sessions even as I write this.”
“The tight controls, forgiving aim system, and wide variety of weapon and gadget options make every firefight fast, frenetic, and fun.”
“In a few hours of play, I’ve already stumbled on so many secrets by pure accident that I can only imagine unlocking them all will be a real undertaking.”
He compared the game’s stripped-down approach favorably against sprawling shooters like BioShock and Halo, positioning ODDCORE as the antidote to bloat.
Kotaku — Indie of the Week
Zack Zwiezen featured ODDCORE as Indie of the Week on launch day, calling it “a damn fine indie shooter that will hopefully only get bigger and better as it makes its way through early access.”
He highlighted the “primo aesthetics,” recommended enabling the VHS filter for “cozy scanlines,” and called out the “shooting your own feet” heal mechanic as a standout design choice.
HorrorGeekLife
Sean Shuman previewed the demo during Steam Next Fest back in June 2025:
“What’s here in the demo is good, and I can only imagine that even more content will make an already strong base game even more enjoyable.”
He described the game as “addictive” despite not typically enjoying the roguelike genre — a pattern we’ve seen across a lot of the community feedback.
Steam Deck Coverage
BoilingSteam included ODDCORE in their roundup of new Steam Deck-verified titles, confirming full handheld compatibility out of the box.
What Players are Saying
Steam reviewers have been generous and specific, which is the best kind of feedback:
“Good God this game pulls you in. The time mechanic is VERY cool.”
“Adrenaline, horror, and fast combat, i love it”
“For 10 bucks honestly is a steal — super fun bullet hell shooter roguelike with backrooms/weirdcore vibes”
“One of the best fast-paced roguelikes ever created — layered, deep, shallow, quick, long and weird in the best ways with amazing flow-state”
What’s Next
We’re reading every review, every Discord message, every bug report. Early Access means this is a conversation, not a monologue. Your feedback directly shapes what we build next.
Thank you for playing. Thank you for talking about it. We’ll keep building.