Glass Cannon is my next indie obsession, a chill turn-based shoot-em-up roguelike with wild weapon combos

I cannot stop myself clicking play on Glass Cannon, it's a properly great and unique shoot 'em up experience that twists the genre in a fun way that's too easy to get obsessed with. Note: personal purchase.

The game gives you a small arena with a set amount of enemies you need to destroy. The problem is, you only have a limited amount of shots before the enemies will come at you to potentially destroy you and it's game over. Thankfully, there's no urgency here, since it warps the genre into a turn-based strategic roguelike where you get to build up a deck of weapons and over-power them into some ridiculous builds.

After each round (if you survive) you get credits depending on kills and number of shots used. Or any little money orbs you also manage to shoot through and collect. You then use this to buy weapon mods that can have serious game-changing abilities, along with spinning a weapon wheel to either upgrade a current weapon or acquire another.

In a way, it reminds me of games like Balatro. Especially with the UI design, and how it takes a genre and refreshes it along with Nubby's Number Factory, for the sheer craziness of it along with the shop system.

The shop and upgrade system is where the game really shines. Each weapon you get has a certain amount of slots to build them up with modules. These module upgrades can be pretty awesome that add abilities to weapons like zapping other enemies near the bullet, increasing the size of the bullet, sending out spikes if you get hit, cloning itself and … you get the idea. My personal favourite weapon module is the Brawler, which spawns a brawler that jumps at enemies when the projectile is destroyed.

Some of these modules can even be stacked together, so you can really add up to some hilarious weapon builds.

What also makes it interesting, is that you cannot move unless moved by a weapon or another object. Add to that the different types of weapons like a grappling hook that hits enemies and moves you to the last position of it, a cutting disc that will slice through many enemies (and you if you're unlucky), a grenade that explodes, a rocket that will push you back as you fire but it moves slowly and more. There's a lot of ways you can mix and match things.

Really a challenge to get through it too, mostly due to the limited amount of shots you get on each round. Different types of enemies require more power and often multiple hits, along with certain enemies having special effects that can mess with you that you need to learn. It's all about the bouncing. Each weapon has a different amount of times they will bounce off of enemies and the walls, so you need to maximise what you do. In that way, it also ends up feeling a bit like playing shoot 'em up version of cue sports.

Thankfully, even when you don't manage to kill all the enemies, it's only game over if their combined hits to you reduce your HP to zero, otherwise you just automatically heal before the next round.

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The developer isn't quite finished with it, promising some new types of cannons for you to start with, along with other types of arenas, all of which I'm incredibly keen to see.

I really have been completely hooked by it. I cannot think of another game like this and I am surprised to see that it's being so overlooked because it's such a brilliant idea. Developer LisiSoft is really onto something special here and I think you absolutely have to make this your next game. This is all I'm going to be playing for a while. I need my next hit.

Out now with Native Linux support. It works perfectly on Desktop Linux (Kubuntu 25.04) and on Steam Deck too. There's no controller support, but the controls are so ridiculously simple that Steam Input makes it a non-issue for Steam Deck. A great one to take with you wherever you go and whatever device you're on.

Highlights:

Gameplay

• Clear all enemies in each round, get money and improve your arsenal.
• Buy new weapons each of which has a unique playstyle - some deal damage, some help you move around, some knock enemies away etc.
• Mod your weapons with mods that synergize in unique ways with each other.
• Enemies you fail to destroy will attack you and deal their health as damage.
• Each bullet has a limit on bounces. Make use of each shot wisely so you optimize damage dealt to the maximum number of enemies!

Features

• Randomly generated enemies and obstacles, making each run unique.
• 8 Enemy types with unique skills like the necromancer, spiker, leaper...
• 24 rounds of increasing difficulty and different challenges, including loops.
• 16 different weapons to choose from, each with its own playstyle.
• 120+ weapon mods and powerups to improve your run.