The Game Census
Black Future '88 cover art

Black Future '88

SUPERSCARYSNAKES · Good Shepherd Entertainment · 2019-11-21

SteamGOGAmazon

ActionAdventure

Modes: Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative, Split screen · Perspectives: Side view

Releases: Apr 24, 2020 (Nintendo Switch), Nov 21, 2019 (PC (Microsoft Windows))

Black Future ’88 is a Synth-Punk roguelike 2D action Shooter. Vertically climb an always evolving procedural tower to reach the top and kill its insane owner…before your heart explodes. Shoot, slash, dash and upgrade yourself to survive the endless waves of Homicidal AI, Traps & Colossal Wardens.

Black Future '88 is an Action and Adventure game released in 2019, priced at $19.99, with an estimated 100,000 to 200,000 owners and a Mostly Positive review sentiment (72% of 751 reviews).

0
playing now
72%
positive of 751 reviews
Mostly Positive
steam's rating (official)
100,000–200,000
owners (SteamSpy est.)
90/100
critic score (1 outlets, IGDB)
60/100
IGDB user rating (4 ratings)
platinum
deck/linux tier (ProtonDB)
Verified
Steam Deck (Valve)
SteamOS: Playable
$19.99
steam price (US)

0 players in-game as of 2026-10-14 15:00 UTC (census sample)

Black Future '88 is a roguelike video game developed by SUPERSCARYSNAKES and published by Good Shepherd Entertainment. The game was released on November 21, 2019, for Windows and Nintendo Switch. Set in an alternate version of 1988, the game follows survivors of a nuclear apocalypse climbing to the top of a tower to before their hearts explode.

Health check

Quiet
  • · 0 players in-game at the last census sample.
  • · 5 reviews in the last 8 weeks (~1/week).
  • · Review velocity down 55% vs the prior 8 weeks.
  • · Current weekly pace is under 5% of the all-time peak week (157 reviews).
  • · Top 17% of 27,841 Action games in the census by review count.

Health tier since 2026-08-31

Estimated sales: 19k–45k copies

Review-multiple estimate from 751 total reviews — how this is computed.

Current store prices

GOG$1.99-90%
Steam$1.99-90%
GOG$1.99-90%
GameBillet$3.45-83%
Gamesplanet$3.49-83%
IndieGala$3.49-83%

Deal snapshots via CheapShark, refreshed daily.

All-time low: $1.49 at Fanatical (2023-11-20) · bundled 3×via IsThereAnyDeal

12-month high $19.99 · on sale 126 of 158 observed days · $0.50 above the all-time low (census price snapshots)

Review momentum

PositiveNegative
13913920192026Week of 2019-11-01: 139 positiveWeek of 2019-11-01: 18 negativeWeek of 2019-12-01: 39 positiveWeek of 2019-12-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2020-01-01: 8 positiveWeek of 2020-01-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2020-02-01: 17 positiveWeek of 2020-02-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2020-03-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2020-03-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2020-04-01: 8 positiveWeek of 2020-04-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2020-05-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2020-05-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2020-06-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2020-06-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2020-07-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2020-07-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2020-08-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2020-09-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2020-10-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2020-10-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2020-11-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2020-11-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2020-12-01: 6 positiveWeek of 2021-01-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2021-01-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2021-02-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2021-02-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2021-03-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2021-03-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2021-05-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2021-05-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2021-06-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2021-06-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2021-07-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2021-07-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2021-08-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2021-08-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2021-09-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2021-09-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2021-10-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2021-10-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2021-11-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2021-11-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2021-12-01: 6 positiveWeek of 2021-12-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2022-01-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2022-01-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2022-02-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2022-03-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2022-05-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2022-06-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2022-06-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2022-07-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2022-08-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2022-08-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2022-10-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2022-11-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2022-11-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2022-12-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2023-01-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2023-01-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2023-02-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2023-02-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2023-03-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2023-03-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-04-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2023-05-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-06-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2023-07-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-08-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2023-08-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2023-09-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2023-09-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-10-01: 6 positiveWeek of 2023-10-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2023-11-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2023-11-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2023-12-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2024-01-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2024-02-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2024-02-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2024-03-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2024-04-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2024-04-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2024-05-01: 5 positiveWeek of 2024-06-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2024-07-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2024-07-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2024-08-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2024-09-01: 6 positiveWeek of 2024-09-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2024-10-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2024-11-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2024-12-01: 5 positiveWeek of 2024-12-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2025-01-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2025-01-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-02-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2025-03-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-04-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2025-05-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2025-06-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2025-09-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-11-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-12-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2026-03-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2026-07-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2026-08-01: 1 negative
Weekly review counts (Steam review histogram). Positive above the line, negative below.

Players online

202026-09-15 16:00 — 0 players2026-09-17 01:00 — 2 players2026-09-18 08:00 — 1 players2026-09-19 16:00 — 0 players2026-09-20 23:00 — 0 players2026-09-22 07:00 — 0 players2026-09-23 14:00 — 1 players2026-09-24 22:00 — 0 players2026-09-26 05:00 — 1 players2026-09-27 13:00 — 0 players2026-09-28 20:00 — 0 players2026-09-30 04:00 — 2 players2026-10-01 11:00 — 1 players2026-10-02 19:00 — 0 players2026-10-04 03:00 — 0 players2026-10-05 11:00 — 1 players2026-10-06 18:00 — 0 players2026-10-08 02:00 — 0 players2026-10-09 09:00 — 0 players2026-10-10 17:00 — 0 players2026-10-12 00:00 — 0 players2026-10-13 08:00 — 0 players2026-10-14 15:00 — 0 players
Concurrent players, hourly average, last 30 days (census samples).

Price history

$19.99$1.592019-11-212026-10-152019-11-21 — best price $17.992020-01-20 — best price $18.132020-03-29 — best price $12.872020-06-19 — best price $10.192020-08-20 — best price $17.882020-10-04 — best price $14.692020-11-15 — best price $19.992021-01-09 — best price $19.992021-02-27 — best price $16.882021-04-19 — best price $9.992021-06-07 — best price $16.882021-08-13 — best price $6.662021-10-07 — best price $19.992021-11-26 — best price $7.002022-02-03 — best price $19.992022-04-09 — best price $19.992022-05-31 — best price $19.992022-08-13 — best price $1.652022-11-11 — best price $3.992023-02-07 — best price $2.492023-05-04 — best price $3.312023-07-24 — best price $3.442023-11-16 — best price $17.882024-02-08 — best price $2.592024-04-10 — best price $1.992024-06-17 — best price $19.992024-08-17 — best price $15.082024-10-24 — best price $3.992025-01-01 — best price $19.992025-03-03 — best price $1.592025-05-28 — best price $19.992025-08-22 — best price $17.882025-10-28 — best price $1.992026-01-19 — best price $1.592026-04-19 — best price $14.692026-07-22 — best price $19.992026-08-25 — best price $1.992026-09-19 — best price $1.592026-10-14 — best price $1.992026-10-15 — best price $1.99
Lowest recorded price across tracked stores, per day (census snapshots).

Attention

1202026-06-01 — 2 pageviews2026-06-05 — 8 pageviews2026-06-09 — 3 pageviews2026-06-13 — 2 pageviews2026-06-17 — 1 pageviews2026-06-21 — 2 pageviews2026-06-25 — 12 pageviews2026-06-29 — 3 pageviews2026-07-03 — 1 pageviews2026-07-07 — 3 pageviews2026-07-11 — 5 pageviews2026-07-15 — 3 pageviews2026-07-19 — 3 pageviews2026-07-23 — 5 pageviews2026-07-27 — 1 pageviews2026-07-31 — 7 pageviews2026-08-04 — 3 pageviews2026-08-08 — 2 pageviews2026-08-12 — 6 pageviews2026-08-16 — 3 pageviews2026-08-20 — 5 pageviews2026-08-24 — 5 pageviews2026-08-28 — 2 pageviews2026-09-01 — 3 pageviews2026-09-05 — 4 pageviews2026-09-09 — 11 pageviews2026-09-13 — 5 pageviews2026-09-17 — 7 pageviews2026-09-21 — 2 pageviews2026-09-25 — 6 pageviews2026-09-29 — 4 pageviews2026-10-03 — 2 pageviews2026-10-07 — 3 pageviews2026-10-11 — 4 pageviews
Daily Wikipedia pageviews (attention proxy, census-recorded).

Completion

29
achievements tracked
82%
earned "DEAD IN '88"
8.8%
median achievement earned by

Global achievement rates from Steam.

Details

WindowsFull controller supportSingle-playerMulti-playerCo-opShared/Split Screen Co-opShared/Split ScreenSteam AchievementsFull controller supportRemote Play TogetherFamily Sharing1 DLC

4 supported languages: English, French, German, Russian

Post-launch support: 1 DLC released, first 2019-11-21 (Steam store data)

Console footprint

PlatformPlayers trackedCompletionTrophies/achievements
Steam (Steam)2,6481%29
Switch (Nintendo)170%0
Switch (Nintendo)10%0

Players tracked by Exophase (achievement/trophy trackers) — a sample of the player base, not total sales.

Player tags

1980sCo-opIndieActionAdventureCyberpunkDifficultPlatformerRogue-likeRogue-lite

Census log

Computed from census-recorded observations only — dates are observation dates.

Players also track

Star Control®: OriginsImmortal: UnchainedPLANET ALPHARebel Galaxy OutlawApsulov: End of GodsTorchlight IIIWolfenstein: Youngblood

Similarity via IGDB.

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