Life and all the things that come with it can be hard. It can be draining. Sometimes, it can just be a lot. For many of us, finding enjoyment in life’s simple pleasures is what keeps us going.
A perfectly toasted grilled cheese sandwich. Waking up and realizing you have another two hours to sleep. Getting into a warm bed on a cold night. Or how about discovering a cozy new bullet heaven game to spend some time with on a colder-than-average October day?
Let me introduce you to BoomScroll, a hand-drawn bullet heaven clearly inspired by games like Ball x Pit, Vampire Survivors, and, for us old heads, Space Invaders.
The hook with BoomScroll is that you’re constantly pushing the action up the screen. In Ball x Pit, enemies advance toward you. BoomScroll flips that concept around. As soon as you start moving, the enemies begin to retreat up the screen.
It’s an interesting twist that, at times, makes you feel like you’re stuck on one of those moving walkways at an airport. No matter how fast you move, everything ahead of you seems determined to stay just out of reach.
I spent a fair amount of time with the demo available on Steam, and anyone familiar with the genre or the aforementioned titles should feel right at home. As you play, you’ll unlock new weapons, level up your character, collect loot, recruit additional characters, and see just how far you can make it.
I’ll admit, I watched a few clips on the Steam page and immediately thought, yeah, this is my kind of jam. You know those shmup videos where everything is popping off, and you just know you have to play that game?
No? You’re not understanding me?
Screw it. Just watch the video below.
You see that shit? THAT is what I’m chasing.
Unfortunately, my experience so far hasn’t looked quite so glorious. Maybe that’s part of the hook.
When you first start the game, a brief tutorial introduces the basic mechanics. One of the messages says something along the lines of “Kills = Speed.” In other words, kill stuff, pick up the pace, and maybe you’ll eventually reach the glorious shmuptopia showcased in the video. My skills haven’t quite taken me to such lofty heights.
I’ve been playing the demo on my Odin 3 via DroidDeck, where I’ve been getting a steady 120 FPS as I pull those upgrade and distill levers. Those pesky bosses do their best to put an end to my “just one more run” mentality, but I can’t help but smile at the glow of this CRT-styled, top-down roguelike.
This is all part of my preparation for the inevitable Odin 3 review, which should be live very soon. As if I needed another excuse to keep playing on AYN’s flagship handheld, along comes BoomScroll.
BoomScroll is currently scheduled for release in January 2027, which is the perfect time to crawl under the warm covers with your trusty handheld. In the meantime, the free demo is available on Steam.
| Infinite Vertical Progression | Ascend through an endless, vertically scrolling world as the pace increases throughout each run. |
| Speed-Based Rewards | Higher speeds offer greater rewards, which encourage players to balance risk against potential gains. |
| 16 Playable Characters | Choose from 16 characters, each with unique weapons and abilities. |
| Weapons & Upgrades | Discover new weapons, collect loot, and level up to improve your chances of survival. |
| Character Recruitment | Recruit additional characters as you progress through the game. |
| Hand-Drawn Artwork | Original hand-drawn visuals created entirely by solo developer Toiu. |
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| Steam | Official BoomScroll store page, game description, screenshots, features, and release information. |
| Steam Demo | Official free demo, available content, gameplay features, and PC requirements. |
| itch.io | Developer’s official project page with a browser-playable version, game details, and development information. |
| Games Press | October 22, 2026 announcement with developer details, gameplay features, inspirations, and planned release window. |
| Image Credit | BoomScroll promotional artwork and game assets by developer Toiu. |