The long-awaited update and Steam release of HoloCure, a fan game based on the wildly-popular Hololive fandom, is finally here! Read on to see if its gameplay and its faithfulness to the source are worth your time in our review!
HoloCure Review and Score Explanation
HoloCure Score Explanation
| Overall | HoloCure is perhaps the most anticipated fan work for Hololive this year, and it certainly does not disappoint. Its Steam release offers the same addictive gameplay as before, but with a massive cast of newcomers to play as, more weapons and items to experiment with, and an entirely new mode in the Holohouse to delve into. |
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| Story | Well, it has a premise at least. It's rather basic, too, with how it all boils down to a special group of people to save others in peril. But it does the job well enough to not be a major downside for the game. |
| Gameplay | HoloCure's gameplay is basically Vampire Survivors, but with much more color and personality. It has the same gameplay loop but offers far better build variety thanks in part to its unique characters and their distinct abilities. It’s honestly a better Vampire Survivors than Vampire Survivors. |
| Visuals | Cute sprites, colorful visual effects, and a boatload of weapons and item drops to fill your screen; the HoloCure experience is a radiant joy that anybody could immerse themselves in. However, it does have a proclivity for getting too congested in the later parts of a round. |
| Audio | God. The music is so good. They're remixes of popular Hololive songs, but the remixing style has a way of implanting itself into your brain differently from what the original songs do. It just hits different. On top of that, the sound effects offer just the perfect amount of punchiness that doesn't at all feel out of place for a wholesome action game. |
| Value for Money | For a game this fun and addicting to be free of charge is, quite frankly, miraculous. It's also completely absent from microtransactions! As a game that players can invest potentially dozens of hours into, HoloCure is sure to satisfy anybody with the right interests. |
HoloCure Review: The Perfect Pastime Made From Pure Passion
The game that took Steam charts by storm, at one point placing 17th on the most played games is none other than a humble, love letter to the fandom, fan-made game. It is also one of the best Vampire Survivor clones on the market. It has colorful characters, adorable visuals, and banger music, all placed front and center on a backdrop of gameplay that can be as challenging as you want.
HoloCure is undoubtedly an obvious pick for anybody who loves or is interested in the Hololive fandom, and enthusiasts of the Vampire Survivors formula. Even if you don’t love either of these niches, it’s still a great game to play. The combination of all its strengths culminates in an addictive experience that will hook players into investing dozens of hours grinding.
HoloCure Full Game Review
Pros of HoloCure
| Things HoloCure Got Right |
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 It’s More Than Just A Shooter The Audio Is Addictive Rest Well at the Holohouse |
It's More Than Just A Shooter
If you've ever played Vampire Survivors, then HoloCure's gameplay will be familiar. However, for those who haven't tried the 2021 dopamine-inducing hit by poncle, it's basically a top-down shooter where you must defend against increasingly stronger enemies (read: fans) that come in huge waves. To do so, you must earn experience by defeating (read: saving) them and collecting weapons to use and items to power you up.
HoloCure sets its gameplay experience apart from other Vampire Survivors clones with its immense build variety. Every character has a distinct preference for how they want to be played, varying wildly from each other. For example, Fubuki Shirakami scales off of speed and thus prefers weapons and items that work best when moving, such as the Legendary Sausage (yes, that's a weapon) and the Stolen Piggy Bank (yes, that's an item). Meanwhile, Anya Melfissa's Slumber skill makes her great for players with broken fingers on their left hand, as she prefers not to move at all. To compliment her playstyle, she dramatically benefits from weapons that deal heavy damage at close range, such as the BL Fujoshi (BL is short for Boy's Love. And yes, that's a weapon), and items that increase her pickup range, such as the Knightly Milk (finally, a normal-sounding item? Think again).
On the other hand, you can also use builds that address a character's inherent weaknesses, such as giving Kureiji Ollie survival items such as a Chicken Feather (because phoenixes are chickens in Hololive) due to her preference for staying near death.
With HoloCure now having a total of 38 playable characters, you can imagine just how many build varieties there are.
The Audio Is Addictive
The audio slaps, as kids these days would say. HoloCure offers addictive beats to get your heart pumping at just the right tempo, with each stage having its own theme to bob your head to. It's not an exaggeration to say you could just idle on the main menu while doing something else to listen to the satisfying and energetic BGM.
Seriously. Give it a listen, and you'll see why the music fits so well with a fast-paced isometric shooter with HoloCure's personality.
On top of that, the sound effects are made to match perfectly to what the game is; a wholesome reverse bullet hell game that doesn't need a sweaty palm to play. It offers just the right amount of punchiness for you to feel your attacks and skills making a dent, but toned down just enough not to go into the realm of hectic action games, such as Devil May Cry or Punishing Gray Raven.
Get Some Rest at the Holohouse.
HoloCure offers more than just fast-paced fan-whacking action. The Steam release introduced this new Holohouse feature, a game mode that allows players to rest from all the RNG-filled, hectic grind. There, players can decorate a simple house according to their tastes (I made a gaming cave for Kaela), grow crops, fish for ingredients, and cook a few dishes. There's even a way to make passive income by hiring fans to simp generate coins.
But, in reality, the Holohouse isn't just a place to unwind. In my First Impressions of the release, I thought that it would allow us to "relax from the tedious grinding for a change." I was partly correct. That's because the Holohouse is a cozy experience… but only if you want it to be. Hiding behind the relaxed atmosphere created by the tranquil woods, the clean farmland, and the lake's sparkling waters is another form of grind that eager, and possibly masochistic players (such as I) can partake in; fishing.
Yes, you heard that right. Fishing in this game is also a grind. The goal? To catch "Shining" fish. The punchline? You'll need to fish hundreds of times just to afford the increasingly more expensive fishing rods before you can finally afford the Golden Fishing Rod, which has the highest chance of catching golden fish. Thankfully, fishing in HoloCure is more than just the same old dull experience of waiting for a bite and pressing a button. Instead, has a rhythm game built into it, making it quite a joy to play.
Once in a while, there will be other Hololive talents who visit your home. They mostly just roam around to check on the place and sometimes even get stuck in the area where you, uhh, keep your fans in. Currently, interaction with the other talents is very limited, mostly with them just showing you an emoji. However, they sometimes go fishing by themselves, saving you a few seconds of waiting for a bite.
Although fairly barebones at the moment, traveling to the lower-leftmost part of the map will reveal a Pekora Casino under construction. Whether or not it will feature some good ole’ casino games to play (and probably grind) is still up in the air.
Cons of HoloCure
| Things That HoloCure Can Improve |
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The Screen Can Get Congested |
The Screen Can Get Congested
With all the colorful visuals the game has, it's no surprise that it can get out of hand after a certain point. In HoloCure, it reaches that point when you start getting more than just a couple of weapons. Since all of them manifest as well-made, colorful visual effects, congestion is all but guaranteed.
While it's not much of an issue for some characters, it may be a striking problem for others. For example, one of Kaela Kovalskia's skills sometimes forces defeated enemies to drop mineral deposits she can farm. Even with a low drop rate, it should be evident that there will be far more than several of them on the screen at any given moment during the game's later stages, when enemies spawn in groups of dozens. Even with the light rays that indicate where those deposits are, locating them quickly under all the enemies and other sources of light in the game, particularly from your own weapons, still pose a challenge.
Fortunately, the game does present a method to alleviate the problem: If you have difficulty identifying things on the screen, it will help to know that you can adjust your attacks' opacity in the options. There's also a switch to toggle special effects entirely.
HoloCure Is A True Passion Project
A Love Letter To The Fandom
The Hololive fandom is full of talented people. This fact can easily be seen from the various fan-made works made by the community, from the fantastic fighting game Idol Showdown, developed by Besto Game Team, to the jaw-droppingly-gripping animation project " Myth's Bad Ending," made by Mazumaro.
Now, truth be told, I'm not one of those fans who knows everything about Hololive. I'm more of an Aogiri High School and Nijisanji kind of person. However, I follow a handful of them regularly, such as Tokino Sora, Ninomae Ina'nis, and Kaela Kovalskia (sleep-deprived gang represent). I'm also a massive fan of Mori Calliope’s and Hoshimachi Suisei's songs. But regardless of where I allocate most of my stream-watching period, even I was aware of how popular HoloCure was. After all, even non-Hololive, independent vtubers were playing it. And after I tried it out myself, it was plain to see why.
HoloCure is an insanely fun and addictive game. It's easy to get lost in grinding for achievements and upgrades. Ina and Sora being available pre-Steam release certainly didn't help me manage my time better. I found myself sinking an unholy amount of hours into the previous version of the game, trying to raise their G.Rank (basically, the rank increases your stats based on how many times you've pulled them from the game's free gacha).
(Un)fortunately, now that the Steam version has finally released, I again found myself in this (un)healthy grind to invest as much as possible into another one of my favorite vtubers, Kaela Kovalskia. It certainly doesn't help that the newest version also added the Holohouse mode, which is just about as addicting as its primary battle mode.
The game is just that good, even for someone who's only partly into the fandom.
Your Favorite Vtubers, Faithfully Recreated
Fans of a series have this unique, almost supernatural, sense of feeling whether a game (or any work, really) is made out of passion for the franchise or was done to capitalize on a trend. Judging by the many minute details in the game, the overwhelming support it has received from its fans, even the Hololive talents themselves, HoloCure is definitely the former.
Each character is so meticulously designed following their streamer's personality, it's mind-boggling to think it was made by just a handful of people. Their skills, the items, the weapons, the achievement names and even the methods to earn them are all intimate references to each character's personality and history.
A great example of this would be the Get Some Help achievement and the Completionist's Grass decoration, both of which reference Kaela Kovalskia's penchant for spending an ungodly amount of time in the games she likes. The former requires players to acquire every single achievement in the game, and when they finally get the achievement, they are rewarded with some inspiring words from the game, telling them to "go outside." The latter is a grassy room decoration so that certain endurance gamers can “touch grass,” even from the comfort of their rooms.
Even more of these references can be seen from other features in the game, small or otherwise, ranging from Amelia Watson's pet dog Bubba (she can pet it in-game) to Anya Melfissa's gameplay preference of just staying in place, to Oozora Subaru's Lightning Sausage, to even teasingly appropriate name choices, such as Kureiji Ollie's "Simp of All Time" skill.
HoloCure is a passion project made by a passionate team for the fandom they love. That's clear to anybody who has tried the game. And that's also why the game plays great.
HoloCure Overview & Premise
The world is in the midst of a virtual idol boom and people worldwide are becoming engrossed in watching the new trends of influencers. These Vtubers
came to be loved by many.
But one day, an evil force emerged, taking advantage of the fans and their love. It brainwashed them, turning these otherwise innocent admirers into mindless pawns who act only on their desires. With nobody else to save these unfortunate fans, it's up to the Vtubers themselves to help them return to their senses.
HoloCure is a passion project made by a small team of developers. The game was initially released on June 24, 2022 on itch.io, and has since then become a smash hit among Hololive fans and talents alike. Now, with a Steam release, using Steam’s marketing and charts, it will be able to reach a wider audience than ever.
Who Should Play HoloCure?
HoloCure is Recommended if You Enjoy:
• Vampire Survivors
• Magic Survival
• Hololive
Anybody who enjoys the Vampire Survivors format would want to try HoloCure. Shoot-em up roguelike enthusiasts, in general, should also try the game out. It's a beautiful experience worth the many hours of enjoyment and frustration. Of course, any Hololive fan would love the game regardless of their preferred genre.
Is HoloCure Worth It?
You'll Be Paying In Sleep Loss, But Yes.
Not all free-to-play games are worth playing, even when there's a complete absence of microtransactions inside them. After all, there's nothing more valuable than one's time. However, HoloCure is definitely worth this most important resource. It's an enjoyable and engaging experience that perfectly balances challenge and accessibility.
How HoloCure Matches Up to Recently-Released Games
| Games That Came Out Recently | Why Get HoloCure? | Why Get the Other Game? |
|---|---|---|
 Baldur’s Gate 3 |
HoloCure is a game meant to be played in either short bursts or on long gaming marathons. But for a casual player, the game excels in the former, offering brief 20-minute sessions of pure joy that anybody could dip in and out on their lunch breaks. | RPG enthusiasts would regret not getting Baldur's Gate 3. There are far too many good things to discuss that it deserves its own review (and it has one, so you should go read it). But since HoloCure is free anyway, you won't lose anything by getting both. |
 Atlas Fallen |
HoloCure features a cast of playable characters that exude colorful personalities despite its almost complete lack of in-game dialogues. It's also a game where you can invest short periods of your time at any given point without feeling like you’d only made little progress. | If you want a more traditional action RPG experience, Atlas Fallen is a good pick. Though it certainly lacks a lot of aspects desirable for a story-driven RPG, it does have a great combat system and a fun co-op mode. |
 Remnant 2 |
If you're more into casual games, then HoloCure is a fine first choice. Not only is it fun for dozens of hours on end, but it's also light on the wallet. Like, really light. Weightless, even. Because it’s free. | Imagine Dark Souls, but with guns. That's what it boils down to. But that might also be a compelling enough reason to get Remnant 2, an amazing game with an engaging gameplay loop and much replayability. But since HoloCure is free, why not just grab both? |
How HoloCure Matches Up to Similar Games
| Games Similar to HoloCure | Why Get HoloCure? | Why Get the Other Game? |
|---|---|---|
 Vampire Survivors |
In my opinion, HoloCure's main charm lies in its personality. In Vampire Survivors, every enemy is just a mob that exists to die. However, in HoloCure, those "enemies" represents us, the fans. And the characters are the talents people stay up for long periods of time just to watch and chat with. None of the characters are faceless nobodies. HoloCure is everything that makes Vampire Survivors great and more. Also, the game is free! | Vampire Survivors is a pure dopamine hit, unchained by its need to be accurate to any specific fandom. Those who are also not into HoloCure's cute anime aesthetics would also prefer this game. |
 Magic Survival |
Offering incredible variety in builds and character choices, HoloCure distinguishes itself from other Vampire Survivors clones for its replayability. There are theoretically hundreds of builds or optimizations you can use for each character, especially if you're open to experimentation. | Magic Survival is available for mobile. That means you can experience the exciting action of a reverse bullet hell game anywhere, at any time. All you need is a phone, a few minutes to play, and you're all set. |
 20 Minutes Till Dawn |
The liveliness of a round in HoloCure is unmatched, with its colorful visual effects, upbeat music, and cute sprites to exemplify the experience. On top of that, HoloCure offers a far more hectic pace, with ultra-dense crowds of enemies coming at you non-stop, along with various bullet hell-like sections. | 20 Minutes Till Dawn has a dark, gritty atmosphere that makes you aware of the game’s "survival" aspect. If these kinds of games are your cup of tea, then 20 Minutes Till Dawn is definitely up your alley. |
HoloCure Trailer
HoloCure Product Information
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| Title | HOLOCURE |
|---|---|
| Release Date | August 17, 2023 |
| Developer | KayAnimate |
| Publisher | KayAnimate |
| Supported Platforms | PC |
| Genre | Action |
| Number of Players | 1 |
| ESRB Rating | N/A |
| Official Website | HoloCure Website |
