Varius Reviews
Inspired by classic games, Varius reimagines core gameplay concepts for a new experience, spreading the retro feeling and difficulty throughout 3 unique game modes.
App ID | 816830 |
App Type | GAME |
Developers | Fish Tank Studio |
Publishers | Fish Tank Studio |
Categories | Single-player, Steam Achievements, Steam Cloud, Full controller support |
Genres | Casual, Indie |
Release Date | 1 Jun, 2018 |
Platforms | Windows |
Supported Languages | English |

20 Total Reviews
18 Positive Reviews
2 Negative Reviews
Mostly Positive Score
Varius has garnered a total of 20 reviews, with 18 positive reviews and 2 negative reviews, resulting in a ‘Mostly Positive’ overall score.
Reviews Chart
Chart above illustrates the trend of feedback for Varius over time, showcasing the dynamic changes in player opinions as new updates and features have been introduced. This visual representation helps to understand the game's reception and how it has evolved.
Recent Steam Reviews
This section displays the 10 most recent Steam reviews for the game, showcasing a mix of player experiences and sentiments. Each review summary includes the total playtime along with the number of thumbs-up and thumbs-down reactions, clearly indicating the community's feedback
Playtime:
44 minutes
ACTUALLY THE DARK SOULS OF Pong !
Anyways, nice chill, but challenging game. I use it to play in between que times for other games. Also the current price of 1,59 is really worth it 👌
👍 : 2 |
😃 : 0
Positive
Playtime:
19 minutes
This game is a neat combination of brick breaker and simon. At first glance it seems easy, but seconds in it gets tougher and tougher at a rapid pace. Great game to fill some small amount of times , or to obsess over high scores.
At the current version (1.01), there's a few improvements that are needed to add some clarity and some simple color blind friendliness but from what I understand, the dev is already working on that.
👍 : 2 |
😃 : 0
Positive
Playtime:
203 minutes
[b] Varius [/b] combines PONG and Simon Says, which is actually a very challenging and fun experience. You have to switch the color of the paddle to the color of the ball in order to hit it. I love the gameplay, but the content is limited to 3 modes that do not offer a lot of variety. There are plenty of achievements if that is something that you want to grind. Unfortunately, there are no leaderboards or PvP so that hurts the replay value. The game has relatively good settings for the price such as keyboard rebind, on/off vibration and volume settings. The controller is preset and the colors correspond to buttons on Xbox controller, makes it easier. I would really like to see something like an arcade mode with difficulty progression. The shatter mode is too difficult for a beginner so it feels like I am stuck in the same place. Overall a good concept, just needs more content.
[h1] Pros: [/h1]
+ challenging gameplay
+ many achievements to grind, 3 different modes
+ decent settings considering the price
+ colors correspond to buttons on Xbox controller
[h1] Cons: [/h1]
- no leaderboards
- no PvP
- could use more content and power-ups
- soundtrack is kinda meh
[b] Overall Thoughts: 6/10 [/b]
Very fun PONG game with a twist. I like the gameplay a lot but it could use leaderboards, PvP and a "story" mode.
[code]Review By: http://store.steampowered.com/curator/31294838-Hidden-Gem-Discovery/ [/code]
👍 : 2 |
😃 : 0
Positive
Playtime:
16 minutes
No "campaign/story mode".
It's three mini-games:
A time based one which increases difficulty the longer it goes (with no blocks)
A 'Simon Says' style one (with no blocks)
A random block layout (with only one life)
And there's no mouse controls (though that may be a challenge considering the color swapping).
👍 : 0 |
😃 : 0
Negative
Playtime:
98 minutes
BIASED - my pals made this
But it's actually very good, and a really good price. A fun amalgamation of popular 80s games with beautiful art.
Worth, would reccomend.
👍 : 3 |
😃 : 0
Positive
Playtime:
44 minutes
This game offers three modes of gameplay, very challenging modes, and a high replay value for a very low asking price!
Check out my "First Play on Launch Day!" first impressions gameplay and review right HERE:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Np_LhevmQk&feature=youtu.be
I gave this game a 90% score and it earns a high recommend from myself. It is definitely a nice little 'diamond in the rough" and is nicely priced!
👍 : 5 |
😃 : 0
Positive
Playtime:
814 minutes
The game is good. There's no story mode. I know the developer of it and he's really cool. He can operate a toaster when lives are on the line. He's good at games.
👍 : 0 |
😃 : 0
Positive
Playtime:
21 minutes
So far, Varius is an excellent game for 2 bucks.
I do wish there were online leaderboards to compare your scores with other people, and I do wish there was multiplayer. The main idea of Varius, essentially Pong on steroids, is pretty neat. Using the buttons on the controller to change the color of the bouncer to match the projectile actively makes you think as you play. Shatter is pretty tough and reaction based, while Survive gets you used to the control scheme, and Sequence is basically simon says. I'm a huge fan of Sequence!
The music itself was pretty good, I enjoyed the spacey-electronic music playing in the background. There wasn't a real banger that stood out to me amongst it, but all in all it fits the game and doesn't get in the way.
I appreciate the large amount of achievements, some of them very difficult to get, it certainly helps with wanting to come back to the game. There are a couple of things that did bother me, however.
1. The shattering sound effect for the purple projectile breaking the bouncer seems extremely out of place to me. It sounds like a bitcrushed version of real glass shattering, instead of something like the projectile bouncing which is clean and very much gives the projectile a 'bouncy' feel.
2. The menu after you finish a level. When you receive achievements, the menu doesn't have a different feel to it, if that makes sense. I was very confused why my controller stopped working after I finished the first level, and thats when I realized that the achievements were being shown in tiny text at the top of the menu, with a Continue button instead of a Retry button. I would try to make it more clear that it is a separate menu before you can press the Retry or Quit button.
These are minor things compared to the overall product, the game itself is fun, it's quick to get back into another round, it's just too bad that there are only 3 game modes to play.
If I had to give it a score, 7/10.
👍 : 3 |
😃 : 0
Positive
Playtime:
90 minutes
This game is really good for the price! You get three modes that are well thought out. The game gets progessively harder as you go making it enjoyable to see how far you can get. I think an addition of a leaderboard would be a lot of fun on a competative standpoint.
I think the overall game was nicely thought out with the menu, graphics and music.
If you like pong and/or simon says I would definitely recommend giving it a try,
👍 : 3 |
😃 : 0
Positive
Playtime:
324 minutes
Love the additional complexity of the color matching. Makes it a challenge while being a still being a simple concept for a casual gamer. The shatter game mode is really fun and addictive and I'm looking forward playing around more in the sequence mode.
👍 : 4 |
😃 : 0
Positive