Review Information

• Time Played: 27 hours
• Where I played the game: Steam
• How I got the game: The game is free to add to your game library on Steam.
• What version of the game I played: I started playing the game with older versions, and I played it more after the 0.7 update

Review Overview: Save People! By Fighting Them!

HoloCure – Save the Fans! (I am going to write Holocure from now on) is a fun survival-based game. I have seen many people say the game is like Vampire Survivors. I have never played Vampire Survivors before, so I assume people are right when they say that.

The stages can drag on a bit long. But the game is fun to play, and I don’t mind. Even though I am not the biggest Hololive fan, I greatly enjoy the game.

What Works

• Game is very fun
• Unlocking different things
• There are a lot of very accurate Hololive references and lore for fans to appreciate.

What Doesn’t

• I think each stage could be a bit shorter
• Unlocking everything takes a significant amount of time.
• The game may be odd if you know nothing about Hololive and its steamers.

Boring Tech Stuff

My Computer Setup

• CPU: Intel Core i7-14700KF
• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080
• RAM: CORSAIR VENGEANCE RGB, DDR5, 560 Mhz, 64GB
• OS: Windows 11 23H2
• Drive Type: 2TB M.2 NVMe SSD
• Main Display: LG 32″ UltraGear 4K UHD Gaming Monitor, 3840×2160, 144Hz,
• Game Controller used: Horipad for Steam

How the Game Ran on My Computer

The game runs great on my current computer. I use Borderless Windows, as I do for almost every game. The game has great controller support, and I had no issues.

Any Issues I Experienced

I had no issues with my current setup.

But I was testing this game on an older Windows laptop computer I used to have. I started to get slowdowns during certain parts of the game. The game slowing down may be an issue if you have a weaker or older computer.

You can adjust settings to help with this quite a bit, though, so the game developer already knows about this issue.

What is Hololive?

This section is required before I get into any gameplay. You will be confused if you know nothing about what Holive is. I am not going into much detail as there are other places for that. But at least a brief explanation of what Hololive is in order.

Hololive is a group of streamers and media content creators. They mostly stream on YouTube. These are real people who act as characters on streams. However, their identities are (mostly) hidden. Some Hololive members were content creators before joining Hololive.

These streamers mostly play games but do other stuff like singing and whatnot. The main goal is to entertain fans and be funny.

Hololive started in Japan, and the oldest members mostly speak Japanese. However, there are members in the English and Indonesian divisions. There used to be a Chinese Hololive branch, but it was closed due to controversy. If you are curious, look it up.

Most streamers are female, but there is a male branch called HoloStars. It seems overall, fans of Hololive don’t like or respect the male streamers as much. They have fewer subscribers and viewers overall. To be fair, I don’t watch them much either.

There are many Hololive members. A lot. More than I can even remember. The game has many Hololive members, but not all of them.

Each character in the game is based on how the actual streamers act and often has references to things that happened on streams or their personality.  Most of the streamers in the game are still streaming (but not everyone).

The enemies in the game are based on the mascots that the streamers use to represent their fans. The items are based on things from streams or references to Hololive.

When in doubt, check the wiki. It explains everything very well.

The good news is that even if you don’t know much or anything about Holoive, you can still enjoy the game. However, you won’t understand any references made in items and character skills. But play long enough, and you will see what the characters do.

Or be me and study the wiki like you will write a report on the game.

Gameplay review: The Game Seems Simple at First

How Holocure Works

You first pick a character and a level. Each level in standard gameplay lasts about 20 minutes or so.

You move your character around, and they automatically attack. Waves of enemies will chase you and attempt to bump into you.

You will upgrade your character skills and get items as you level up. The basics of the game are easy to understand, even though the game has extra layers of complexity.

My Thoughts on the Controls

I only play this game with a controller. I can’t describe the mouse and keyboard controls.

Not needing to spam a button to attack is nice. Holocure made me apperaite how nice the autoattack is.

You move around and aim with the joysticks. The game is about positioning yourself more than attacking and using many buttons.

Everything works fine, and I have no complaints.

Difficulty and Balance

The first stages are not too hard. But they become more challenging as you progress. Stages 1, 2, and 3 also have a hard variant. The hard description is very accurate. Expect to try these stages multiple times.

The game is challenging enough that I have to give it some focus and try to win. The game felt as hard as early as stage 2 for me.

Overall, the game can sometimes be hard, and sometimes it is not.

It depends on the stage, how many upgrades you have, the items you unlocked, and the character you are playing and their upgrades.

The game has multiple ways to make it harder if you still do not feel challenged enough.

A favorite item of mine Halu makes it, so I almost always lose. Level this item up enough times, and enemies become hordes that hit very hard. Being an idiot, I still take it to see what happens.

Things can go from OK to bad in this game extremely fast.

Expect the game to feel easier as you unlock things. The unlocks in this game remind me of Rogue Legacy. In both games, you unlock things between runs, making the game slightly easier overall.

The Upgrades in the Game Are Nice

You buy upgrades with coins you earn in stages. You also use coins to unlock characters as well.

You can make future runs easier by upgrading things like attack and health. You can also unlock the ability to hold, reroll, and remove upgrades. There is a strategy for modifying the next skill or item you get. These upgrades make doing that easier.

I also like games that have long-term upgrades. It gives you something to do and makes you feel strong over time. Since Holocure is designed to be played many times with many characters, expect to earn many coins.

Unlocking Characters Takes a Lot of Time

You unlock characters by random chance. The system is like the gachapon systems some mobile games have. If you want a specific character, you might have to spend a lot of coins to get them.

I hope you enjoy this game, as you must play it a lot to unlock all the characters. It takes even more time to upgrade them. Even if you want to upgrade a specific character fully, you still need to spend a lot of coins to upgrade them, as the chance is random.

Overall, I don’t mind this system. People who don’t want to play the game often or want to play as a single specific character might be slightly annoyed.

The Characters Are Fun to Play

My Hololive knowledge is not as deep as some people. So, I don’t understand everything related to each character in the game. But even then, I had fun seeing how the characters are different.

You won’t get bored from playing the same character too much unless you want to. There are many to pick

Each character or Hololive streamer in the game has a unique play style. The characters’ skills are related to something about the streamer. Even if I don’t understand why, it is fun to see what each character can do.

Stages Feel Too Long

The levels are fun. It is interesting to see how you grow stronger as you play the game and end feeling god-like near the end.

But each stage takes at minimum 20 minutes to beat. I don’t hate this as I like playing the game. However, there are many characters to play, and the stages start to feel the same. The 20 minutes you spend in each level starts to feel long.

I don’t think the levels need to be a lot shorter. I feel a change to 15 minutes would be nice. The developer would need to remove some waves of enemies and condense some things.

The Extra Stuff

Holocure has an extra area in the game called Holo House. You can do many additional things in this spot in the game.

Most of these little tasks help in the game somehow. You can also buy and build things like in a mini Animal Crossing game or something.

I don’t find any of these tasks interesting. But having the option to do stuff is nice. You can ignore all of this if you don’t care.

Graphics & Visual Style

Holocure has a modern “retro” game look. The game looks like the most futuristic Gameboy Advance game I ever saw.

Nothing looks bad, and the skills and effects are fun to watch.

As I have already mentioned, the characters in the game are based on the Hololive streamers. The alternative outfits look like the extra outfits Hololive streamers wear. They change clothing a lot more than I do.

People like Hololive because (most of them) look cute or anime-like. How they look in the game is nice. They look more pixelated than usual, but it still looks good.

Most of the enemies in the game are characters that represent streamer fans. I did not know most of these before. It was fun to learn the fan names. Some are very creative.

The stages themselves are nice enough. They are simple locations, but they fit the game’s theme.

Sound & Music

The most obvious thing to note immediately is the game’s music. The songs used for the stages are versions of songs made by Hololive members.

I love these more video-game-style instrumental versions of their songs. I listen to them when at work and exercising. I particularly like the music on the first hard stage.

The sounds seem nice enough and fit the game’s theme well.

Is Holocure Worth Playing?

Holocure is a free game, and the developer does not want payment. Not even donations.

Holocure is a game to try.

Unless you hate Hololive or anything anime-related, I don’t feel you have much to lose from trying the game. It is a simple single-player game that does not require much time to determine if you enjoy playing it.

Final Thoughts & Recommendation: A Fun Game Based on Streamers

Holocure manages to take the big streaming roster of Hololive and turn them into characters in a video game and do it well. The only thing I dislike about this game is the time it takes to do everything possible.

Best Suited For

• People who are fans of Hololive streamers
• People who want games that can be played in short bursts
• You like Vampire Survivors

Maybe Skip If You

• You don’t like Hololive at all
• You hate anything anime related at all
• Not interested in this type of game

Will I Play Holocure After the Review?

Yes.

I like seeing the different characters and often play the game while doing other things. I often play this game while watching Hololive Streamers. The game has me interested in learning more about them.