10 Games Like Vampire Survivors (Browser Picks)

high rise buildings during night time

Vampire Survivors created a genre nobody had a name for. “Bullet heaven” stuck — auto-firing weapons, escalating swarms, build-craft through random level-ups, runs that end in a satisfying explosion of overlapping projectiles. The browser caught up fast. These ten games like Vampire Survivors are free, browser-native, and faithful to the mechanics, not just the aesthetic. No “this is also a top-down shooter” filler.

Key takeaways

  • Bullet-heaven games share four mechanics: auto-attack, level-up draft choices, escalating wave density, and run-based progression.
  • Every game on this list runs in a browser with no install.
  • Most are mouse-and-keyboard or keyboard-only; touch controls work for some.
  • A few (Magic Survival, Brotato Web) predate Vampire Survivors or developed in parallel — the genre wasn’t invented by one game alone.

1. Brotato (browser ports / demo)

The closest mechanical sibling to Vampire Survivors with a different twist. Brotato is wave-based rather than time-based — you clear a 20-second wave, shop for items and weapons, then face the next wave. Up to six weapons at once, real character variety (each potato has a unique passive), and tight build-craft. The full game is paid on Steam but browser demos and trial builds exist. The shop step makes it more strategic than VS.

2. Magic Survival (web mirror)

The pre-Vampire Survivors mobile hit that arguably started the genre. You’re a mage in a black void; enemies swarm; you survive by combining magic schools that level up as you collect XP. The mobile version is free on Android. Browser-playable mirrors of older builds exist. Bare-bones presentation, deep mechanics — and a direct genre ancestor that most VS fans have never tried.

3. 20 Minutes Till Dawn (browser demo)

A bullet-heaven where you aim manually instead of auto-firing — closer to a twin-stick shooter with the same draft-card progression. Sixteen weapons, sixteen characters, runs that last exactly 20 minutes. The full game is paid on Steam; a browser demo gives you the core loop. The manual aim changes the strategy meaningfully versus VS.

4. Holocure (browser portals)

A free fan-game starring Hololive vtubers that became its own thing. Pure Vampire Survivors-style bullet heaven, but with the vtuber roster, fan-service callbacks, and a casino minigame. Originally Windows-only, with HTML5 web ports now hosted on multiple game portals. Free, generous, mechanically faithful. The casino is dangerously good.

5. Soulstone Survivors (browser demo)

A 3D take on the genre. You move through a small arena with twin-stick controls, auto-attack with abilities on cooldown, level up with skill draft choices. More action-RPG flavored than VS, with telegraphed boss attacks and dodge-able patterns. The browser demo on the dev’s page is generous. Full game paid on Steam.

6. Death Must Die (web demo)

An isometric bullet-heaven with active dodge mechanics and a god-pact progression system between runs. You choose one of several gods to back you per run, each with distinct skill draft pools. The browser demo is a complete short campaign. The genre’s most visually interesting recent entry.

7. Vampire Survivors (web browser via Poki)

Worth including for completeness: a browser-playable Vampire Survivors clone hosted on portal sites under various names (“Vampire Hunters,” “Pixel Survivors”) is, in several cases, a thinly disguised port of the source game or close enough to play identically. Quality varies; some are genuinely good and free, others are ad-stuffed garbage. Search and judge.

8. Boneraiser Minions (itch demo)

A pixel-art bullet-heaven where you raise a minion army between waves instead of upgrading personal weapons. The army accumulates, you control positioning, and the boss waves get genuinely difficult. The Itch demo is fully playable. Made by Daniel Linssen, who knows what he’s doing with this genre.

9. Slasher Vibes / Hyper Survivor (.io entries)

Several .io takes on the bullet-heaven format have appeared since 2023. Slasher Vibes and Hyper Survivor (under various names depending on the portal) deliver the genre’s loop in a thirty-second-load browser package. Less depth than the demos above, more accessibility. Good for quick runs.

10. Halls of Torment (web preview / demo)

A Diablo-styled bullet-heaven that leans into the 1990s ARPG aesthetic — pre-rendered sprites, isometric perspective, slower walking speed. The character classes and skill trees feel pulled from Diablo II in the best way. Full game paid on Steam; a free demo build is available through the dev’s portal. The most mood-distinct entry on this list.

What makes a good Vampire Survivors alternative?

Three things, in our experience:

  1. Auto-attack or near-auto-attack combat. The genre’s signature is “you build the build; the build does the fighting.” Games that demand twin-stick precision (like 20 Minutes Till Dawn) are adjacent rather than core.
  2. Meaningful level-up draft choices. The four-card pick is the genre’s defining decision moment. Games that just give you flat upgrades miss the build-craft tension.
  3. Escalating screen chaos. The catharsis of a fully-upgraded build erasing the screen is the genre’s payoff. Games that stay sparse don’t deliver it.

The picks above all hit at least two of three; the best (Brotato, Magic Survival, Holocure) hit all three.

The browser caveat

Vampire Survivors itself is paid on Steam, mobile, and Switch. There’s no official browser version as of 2026. The closest browser experience is Holocure (free, fan-made, web-ported) or one of the .io clones. For the deepest browser-playable VS experience, Holocure is the answer.

What about survival games more broadly?

Bullet-heaven is a survival sub-genre — short runs, escalating threat, character progression between runs. If you want a wider sweep of survival picks (including base-builders and longer-form runs), our best browser survival games list covers the broader space.

Frequently asked questions

Is Vampire Survivors playable in a browser?

Not officially. The game is sold on Steam, mobile, Switch, and Xbox. Holocure is the closest fully-browser-playable equivalent of the experience.

Are these games like Vampire Survivors free?

Holocure and Magic Survival are completely free. Brotato, 20 Minutes Till Dawn, Soulstone Survivors, Death Must Die, Boneraiser Minions, and Halls of Torment have free browser demos with paid full Steam versions. The .io entries are free.

Which bullet-heaven game has the most build variety?

Brotato has the broadest weapon variety per run (up to six simultaneous weapons). Holocure has the deepest character roster. Magic Survival has the most magic-school combinations.

Can I play these on mobile?

Holocure plays well on mobile. The .io clones are mobile-friendly. The demo builds for Brotato, 20 Minutes Till Dawn, and Soulstone Survivors generally don’t have polished touch controls; they want desktop.

What’s the easiest one to start with?

Holocure if you want to feel the genre’s full appeal for free in browser. Brotato’s demo if you want a more strategic shop-based variant. Magic Survival if you want to see where the genre actually came from.

Bottom line

Vampire Survivors didn’t invent the bullet-heaven genre — Magic Survival did — but it perfected the loop and triggered a wave of incredible follow-ups. Holocure is the most VS-faithful browser experience. Brotato’s demo is the deepest. Halls of Torment is the most atmospheric. And when you need a break from auto-attacking horde clears, the Chrome Dino game is one tab away — manual jump, single button, blissfully sparse.