videogamescritic
← all games
The Anacrusis

The Anacrusis

Stray Bombay · released Dec 5, 2023

ActionIndie

Battle for survival against endless alien hordes with your friends! The Anacrusis is a first-person shooter that dynamically adjusts difficulty to you. Experience intense 1-4 player co-op action or play as the aliens and stop your friends in 1-8 player Versus mode. Full Steam Workshop support!

Steam page ↗OpenCritic ↗
51
VGC Score
·No trend datahigh confidence▼ −11 since launch

scored 62 at launch, has slipped to 51

anchored at patch: “Community Update” (1y ago)

62%
At launch
47%
Steam all-time
50%
Press
51%
Recent sentiment

Screenshots & trailers

Review sentiment over time

Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.

How this score was computed

The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.

ComponentPositiveQuality (0-100)Weight (pseudo-reviews)
Press reviews (OpenCritic)–5012
All-time Steam reviews47%50943
Metacritic user ratings––0
Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted)51%5382
Calibration prior (typical game)–7250

Scoring window: since the last significant patch (Jun 18, 2025) · 82 reviews sampled · 30 total reviews in window · weighted 10.2 up / 9.7 down · computed 3h ago · full methodology →

Press & Creators reviews (8)

Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.

  • 65
    Gaming ProfessorsGaming Professors
    trust 76Aug 21, 2022

    “The Anacrusis is yet another shooter, but it immediately stands out for its original setting. In terms of both gameplay and technical aspects, it feels very much like a clone of Left 4 Dead. So if you’re looking for something new and fresh, we definitely recommend the game, but it doesn’t offer anything groundbreaking in terms of gameplay. The Anacrusis is still in development, so it’s important to give the developers some time and wait to see what new special missions and maps they have in store for us. However, one thing is certain: if you want to play something familiar, albeit a little different, this game is perfect for you. We don’t recommend buying it at full price, though.”

    read full review ↗
  • 36
    GamesCreedGamesCreed
    trust 66Jan 26, 2022

    “The Anacrusis falls behind the heavyweights in the four-player, cooperative first-person shooter genre. Although this is an unfinished game, currently, the game offers almost nothing to motivate me in wanting to play this again.”

    read full review ↗
  • 40
    IGNIGN
    trust 61Dec 8, 2023

    “The Anacrusis is a co-op shooter with remarkably few surprises and surprisingly unremarkable gunplay.”

    read full review ↗
  • 60
    Screen RantScreen Rant
    trust 61Jan 17, 2022

    “To say that The Anacrusis is better with friends is an incredible understatement, as it’s less like a different experience and more like a completely different game. Everything just feels more cohesive with co-op. Teamwork and communication make objectives and combat more exciting, while death feels less like a chore. This is the type of game that is meant to be played one way and one way only, but when it’s that much better, there’s nothing really wrong with that, and The Anacrusis is well worth anyone's time if they can put together their own team to tackle it with.”

    read full review ↗
  • 50
    NerdburglarsNerdburglars
    trust 57Feb 4, 2022

    “For an early access game, we cant expect The Anacrusis to be perfect. The Jetsons themed retro-futuristic setting is brimming with potential, none of which is used effectively. The bland characters fit right in with the bland soundtrack and story. It feels as though the strength came from the theme and when it came to designing the rest of the game, everyone ran out of ideas. It's a swing and a miss, quite a shame when the potential was there but could not be realised.”

    read full review ↗
  • 50
    The LoadoutThe Loadout
    trust 53Jan 17, 2022

    “The Anacrusis’ Game Preview launch is plagued with performance issues. In its current form, it also lacks any kind of identity, punch, or vigour. It is one of the most lacklustre games of its genre right now and Stray Bombay has a lot to do to make this the refreshing co-op experience many expected it to be.”

    read full review ↗
  • –
    SpaziogamesSpaziogames
    trust 52Jan 30, 2022

    “The Anacrusis has a long road ahead to win the heart of co-op shooters' lovers.”

    read full review ↗
  • –
    God is a GeekGod is a Geek
    trust 49Jan 7, 2022

    “The Anacrusis looks to be everything I want from a spiritual successor to Left 4 Dead. The pick up and play nature is compelling from the drop, and the 70s sci-fi setting is so refreshing. The AI Driver really makes every session totally different, facing different combinations of aliens in different settings doesn’t get stale. I know the next few months of my life will be spent replaying the game over and over again with my partner, and I can’t wait.”

    read full review ↗

Patch history

  1. Update 66 -- The Stuff Update
    Oct 3, 2025
  2. Summer update #2
    Jul 9, 2025
  3. Community Update
    Jun 18, 2025significant · resets scoring window
  4. Community Update gets Ultra Violent
    Dec 9, 2024significant · resets scoring window
  5. Update 62 - Happy New Year!
    Jan 12, 2024
  6. Update 61 - A Very Festive Holiday Update
    Dec 22, 2023
  7. Update 60 - A Brute-al Update
    Dec 15, 2023
  8. Update 59 - There Are No Small Fixes, Only Small Bugs
    Dec 13, 2023
  9. Version 1.0!
    Dec 5, 2023significant · resets scoring window
  10. Update 57 - The Last Early Access Update
    Nov 28, 2023significant · resets scoring window
  11. Update 56 - Bring That Boom, Boom
    Nov 21, 2023
  12. 55 - Flasher’s Gonna Flash
    Nov 17, 2023
  13. Update 54 - Getting Free From Grabbers
    Nov 10, 2023
  14. Update 53 - Meet the New Brute
    Nov 3, 2023
  15. Update 52 - A Doozy of a Hotfix
    Oct 27, 2023
  16. Update 51 - This One's a Doozy
    Oct 25, 2023significant · resets scoring window
  17. Update 50 - Network Hotfix
    Sep 9, 2023
  18. Update 49 - We Hear You
    Sep 8, 2023significant · resets scoring window
  19. Update 48 - I See You
    Aug 23, 2023
  20. Update 47 - Let's All Go to the Lobby!
    Aug 15, 2023significant · resets scoring window
  21. Update 46 - Flasher's Delight
    Aug 11, 2023significant · resets scoring window
  22. Update 45 - Grabbers Gonna Grab, Grab, Grab, Grab, Grab
    Aug 2, 2023significant · resets scoring window
  23. Update 44: Master the Faster Blaster
    Jul 28, 2023
  24. Update 43 - A Hotfix to Allow Immediate Reconnects
    Jul 23, 2023
  25. Update 42: The Palindrome Update
    Jul 21, 2023
  26. Update 41: Choose Your Side!
    Jul 18, 2023significant · resets scoring window
  27. Update 40 - Pre-Game Lobby Matchmaking Arrives
    Jul 13, 2023
  28. Update 38
    Jul 2, 2023
  29. Update 37: Versus Adjustments and Tutorials
    Jun 30, 2023
  30. Update 36
    Jun 28, 2023
  31. Update 35: Welcome to the Summer of Versus!
    Jun 27, 2023significant · resets scoring window
  32. Update 34 is Live!
    Jun 10, 2023
  33. Update 33 - The Intenser Update Hotfix
    Mar 21, 2023
  34. Update 32 - The Intenser Update
    Mar 16, 2023significant · resets scoring window
  35. Update 31 - Son of a Son of a Gun Hotfix
    Feb 19, 2023
  36. Update 30 - Son of a Gun of an Update
    Feb 16, 2023
  37. Update 29 - Thanks for the Feedback!
    Jan 26, 2023
  38. Update 28 - Array Containment
    Jan 12, 2023
  39. Update 27 - Netcode and Chill
    Jan 10, 2023significant · resets scoring window
  40. Update 26 - Happy New Year!
    Jan 4, 2023

…and 26 earlier patch announcements.