Developed by Singaporean solo developer aliasBlack, Glyphica: Typing Survival is a roguelite horde survival typing game that lets you mow down hordes of enemies in a minimalistic arena using your finger dexterity, your choice of weapons loadout, and sheer determination.
Developed by: aliasBLACK
Played on: Steam
Length: 30-45 minutes per set of trials
A review key was provided by Squeaky Wheel.
I was raised in the hallowed halls of typing video games. Growing up in a non-gaming household and in a competitive Chinese primary school, my only reprieve from the endless mundanity of early childhood education were the times I would spend playing typing games on my school’s computer. Rest assured if this game had released back then, I would have gotten absolutely nothing else done.
Glyphica: Typing Survival is proof that you don’t need a ton of bells and whistles to produce an addictive game, but you may need a hell of a good idea. The game is essentially a typing test meets action-roguelite, where you attack geometric drones with your typing skills. It contains all the usual roguelite mechanics, including a roster of weapons, augments, and loot to customise your build and attempt harder difficulties.
But unlike most roguelites on the market, Glyphica’s straightforward typing mechanic makes the game incredibly approachable, with a sizeable number of features in place to customise your version of hell — from Omen challenges that grant disadvantages, to a controller-friendly version that converts typing to quick-time sequences, and a growing catalog of supported languages to choose from.
Even in Early Access, Glyphica offers a sizeable amount of content with frequent updates from the developer. As of writing this review, the game currently offers three main weapons, five categories of augmentations, and more quality of life upgrades releasing down the line. There’s just enough features to experience a slightly different run each time, although I look forward to the addition of more weapons and boss types in the coming months.
For those gunning for a challenge, the game does begin to stutter at its higher difficulty stages, especially Omen II and above. During the boss fights, the screen becomes so cluttered with overlapping weapons and enemies that it becomes near impossible to read the words you’re meant to be typing. Even with the game’s built-in text opacity slider, I would still love to see some greater adjustments to the opacity of the game’s text VS weapons and enemies.
In my own playthrough, I also noticed a spike in difficulty once I hit the Omen II stage. While I was able to complete Omen I with minimal difficulty and no augmentations equipped, Omen II felt near impossible in the final stage, and any early augmentations I could afford felt less impactful than expected.
Despite a few hiccups, I’m already finding the game endlessly replayable and noncommittal at the same time. Each run lasts 10-20 minutes, which makes it perfect to pop in for a quick session throughout the day. I definitely foresee myself playing this often, especially with how often the developer rolls out updates.
I’m personally looking forward to the addition of the statistics and leaderboard feature, plus more casual game modes to appeal to the gamers who aren’t as obsessed with touch typing as I am.
Verdict: It’s The Soulslike of Touch Typing!
Glyphica: Typing Survival is proof that you don’t need a ton of bells and whistles to produce an addictive game, but you may need a hell of a good idea. This typing test meets action-roguelite is hugely addictive and endlessly replayable, with a sizeable number of features to customise your version of hell. There are still areas that demand more polish, but we look forward to seeing how it continues to improve in Early Access.
Wishlist Glyphica: Typing Survival on Steam, and top up your Steam Wallet on Codashop for bonus rewards.
