20 Minutes Till Dawn Review
We are here to answer all your questions about the game from gameplay to graphics, and whether it is worth playing or not. If you want to find out more about characters or synergies, check out our articles!
- A lot of customization options
- Skill-based gameplay
- Character and sound designs are amazing
- Great roguelite experience
- Graphics can be too hard to understand
- Controller support doesn't work very well
Everything You Need to Know Before Playing 20MTD
Gameplay
Although the game has many similarities with Vampire Survivors,Vampire Survivors handled the gameplay differently. In 20 Minutes Till Dawn, the player has to aim on their own and cannot rely on shooting projectiles like they did in Vampire Survivors. You can also notice a subtle but noticeable difference in how your character shoots, making certain power-ups seem more valuable than their actual value. This is why it's also harder than Vampire Survivors, because you need to AIM.
The game offers many power-ups, a variety of characters, and multiple builds, which saves a lot of time for grinding and achievement hunting. Other things to note about the gameplay are that twin-stick shooters are notorious for having poor accuracy. There is no HP laying around, so you can't refill it unless you have specific upgrades.
Killing enemies will reward you with XP crystals. These crystals can be used to increase your level when the XP bar is full. You can choose an ability each time you level up. Every 4 abilities are sorted into a specific category and follow an upgrade path. There are some abilities that can cause lightning to hit enemies while you fire your weapon. Other abilities freeze and explode enemy, while more basic ones increase reload time, fire rate and projectile count.
Hits can cause you to lose one of your hearts (or health). If you lose all, you will lose the game. The amount of money you get is dependent on how long your survival time was, which enemies you killed, and what level you reached. These funds can be used to purchase permanent upgrades within the Runes section. They are divided into Sword and Shield columns. Each is broken down into three columns and four rows. For Sword and Shield, you can only equip one Rune per row.
Controller Support | Does 20 Minutes Till Dawn have controller support?
Yes, 20mtd has controller support. But, to be honest, playing with a mouse is recommended. You will miss many enemies if you use controllers to aim. So, 20MTD is best played with a keyboard and mouse. I use the WASD movement to move and aim. Right-click to use character-specific abilities and left-click for shooting.
Graphics
Personally, I love the style of the game. The pixel art and anime-like aesthetics are amazing but… Although it looks great from afar, the color scheme makes it difficult for you to see your characters. It is quite basic and monocolored and you don't know what upgrades you have chosen or clearly see your stats. Also, when a summoner focus character uses a character that is focused on summoning monsters, the screen fills up with almost identical colors to them, making it a confusing visual mess. To make it worse, the pickups are almost identical to the monsters. Flashing lights, extremely low contrast colors and very dark lighting make it impossible to play at times.
Sound Design
Bonus points are awarded for the soothing soundtrack. The music is catchy and suits the mood of this game. This is a good thing as it doesn't make you feel bad when it starts, again and again, every time you restart the game.
Is 20 Minutes Till Dawn Worth Playing?
Playing the game is like watching a snowball roll down a hill. It is slow-paced and doesn't seem to do much at first. After a few rounds, it picks up and becomes one of the favorite experiences in this genre of game. Each character is unique and has its own perks. You can choose your style and there are many weapons to help you do so. There are many pros and cons to each option, which makes it easier to make a decision. Each "upgrade" includes 3 additional sections, which are only available once you select the skill.
Overall, it gives you space for creativity and customization according to your gameplay style. If you like rogue-lite games, 20MTD is definitely worth a shot.