Dasher the reindeer has found a side gig in 20 Minutes Till Dawn, a neat survive ’em up that’s like Vampire Survivors but with guns you have to aim. She’s been added as a human woman in a festive coat who intermittently turns into an invulnerable deer that can charge about the screen, plunging into enemies that would normally kill you in a heartbeat. She might be a little overpowered, but hey, it’s Christmas.
Playing as Dasher actually lets you lean into a more Vampires Survivors-like playstyle, because deer damage is tied to summon damage. That makes her suited towards upgrades that give you more summons, because other upgrades let you enhance all of your minions’ damage and abilities. On my run just now I wound up with a very slow-reloading shotgun and a very damaging armada that included spinning death scythes, a ghost, a magic mirror and an additional deer.
Deer rampages occur whenever you kill 25 enemies, so towards the end of a run when your whole screen is constantly drenched in ghouls you only have to spend a few seconds at a time in vulnerable human form. Maybe get in while the dashing’s hot, because I sense a post-Christmas nerf might be on the way.
The update also adds some new summons and reworks some old ones, with new spears and more powerful ghosts and scythes. Full patch notes are here.
20 Minutes Till Dawn isn’t as vibrant or varied as Vampire Survivors, but it captures a lot of the same appeal. If you’re Alice O, that means filling your screen with enough bullets, lightning blasts and firewaves to tank your framerate.
It’s currently 25% off on Steam, which means you can grab it for a mere £4/$4/€4.