The Game Census
CRUEL cover art

CRUEL

James Dornan · 2025-01-09

Steam

ActionIndie

Modes: Single player · Perspectives: First person

Releases: Jan 09, 2025 (PC (Microsoft Windows))

A fast run and gun horror shooter with roguelike elements

CRUEL is an Action, Indie game released in 2025, priced at $9.99, with an estimated 20,000 .. 50,000 owners and an Overwhelmingly Positive review sentiment (95% of 1876 reviews).

8
playing now
95%
positive of 1.9k reviews
Overwhelmingly Positive
steam's rating (official)
20,000–50,000
owners (SteamSpy est.)
platinum
deck/linux tier (ProtonDB)
Playable
Steam Deck (Valve)
SteamOS: Playable
$9.99
steam price (US)

8 players in-game as of 2026-10-16 04:00 UTC (census sample)

In the not so distant future, the world is on the brink of catastrophe after the release of a ground-breaking soft drink turns people into jibbering wretches. As one of the few left remaining to navigate the wastes left behind, you catch wind of a rumour of the addictive recipe concealed within the ruins of an abandoned hotel protected by a strange evil cult. As you embark on this mission, what mysteries will you discover in the quest for the ultimate power?(Storyline via IGDB)

Health check

Quietly active
  • · 8 players in-game at the last census sample.
  • · 79 reviews in the last 8 weeks (~10/week).
  • · Review velocity up 22% vs the prior 8 weeks.
  • · Current weekly pace is under 5% of the all-time peak week (405 reviews).
  • · Top 11% of 28,403 Action games in the census by review count.
Estimated sales: 38k–84k copies

Review-multiple estimate from 1,876 total reviews — how this is computed.

All-time low: $7.49 at Steam (2026-06-25)via IsThereAnyDeal

12-month high $9.99 · on sale 1 of 4 observed days (census price snapshots)

Review momentum

PositiveNegative
38938920252026Week of 2025-01-09: 389 positiveWeek of 2025-01-09: 16 negativeWeek of 2025-01-16: 124 positiveWeek of 2025-01-16: 13 negativeWeek of 2025-01-23: 80 positiveWeek of 2025-01-23: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-01-30: 50 positiveWeek of 2025-01-30: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-02-06: 30 positiveWeek of 2025-02-13: 22 positiveWeek of 2025-02-13: 4 negativeWeek of 2025-02-20: 27 positiveWeek of 2025-02-27: 17 positiveWeek of 2025-02-27: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-03-06: 23 positiveWeek of 2025-03-06: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-03-13: 13 positiveWeek of 2025-03-13: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-03-20: 13 positiveWeek of 2025-03-27: 16 positiveWeek of 2025-03-27: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-04-03: 6 positiveWeek of 2025-04-10: 15 positiveWeek of 2025-04-17: 15 positiveWeek of 2025-04-24: 10 positiveWeek of 2025-05-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2025-05-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-05-08: 15 positiveWeek of 2025-05-08: 3 negativeWeek of 2025-05-15: 20 positiveWeek of 2025-05-22: 24 positiveWeek of 2025-05-22: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-05-29: 26 positiveWeek of 2025-05-29: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-06-05: 15 positiveWeek of 2025-06-05: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-06-12: 13 positiveWeek of 2025-06-12: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-06-19: 14 positiveWeek of 2025-06-19: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-06-26: 19 positiveWeek of 2025-06-26: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-07-03: 9 positiveWeek of 2025-07-10: 11 positiveWeek of 2025-07-17: 12 positiveWeek of 2025-07-24: 14 positiveWeek of 2025-07-31: 8 positiveWeek of 2025-07-31: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-08-07: 14 positiveWeek of 2025-08-07: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-08-14: 12 positiveWeek of 2025-08-14: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-08-21: 5 positiveWeek of 2025-08-28: 14 positiveWeek of 2025-08-28: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-09-04: 16 positiveWeek of 2025-09-11: 26 positiveWeek of 2025-09-11: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-09-18: 22 positiveWeek of 2025-09-18: 3 negativeWeek of 2025-09-25: 10 positiveWeek of 2025-10-02: 15 positiveWeek of 2025-10-02: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-10-09: 21 positiveWeek of 2025-10-16: 16 positiveWeek of 2025-10-16: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-10-23: 22 positiveWeek of 2025-10-30: 13 positiveWeek of 2025-11-06: 11 positiveWeek of 2025-11-06: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-11-13: 16 positiveWeek of 2025-11-20: 41 positiveWeek of 2025-11-20: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-11-27: 34 positiveWeek of 2025-11-27: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-12-04: 6 positiveWeek of 2025-12-04: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-12-11: 6 positiveWeek of 2025-12-11: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-12-18: 9 positiveWeek of 2025-12-18: 3 negativeWeek of 2025-12-25: 12 positiveWeek of 2026-01-01: 18 positiveWeek of 2026-01-08: 47 positiveWeek of 2026-01-08: 1 negativeWeek of 2026-01-15: 27 positiveWeek of 2026-01-15: 2 negativeWeek of 2026-01-22: 14 positiveWeek of 2026-01-22: 2 negativeWeek of 2026-01-29: 19 positiveWeek of 2026-02-05: 15 positiveWeek of 2026-02-05: 1 negativeWeek of 2026-02-12: 15 positiveWeek of 2026-02-12: 1 negativeWeek of 2026-02-19: 8 positiveWeek of 2026-02-26: 4 positiveWeek of 2026-03-05: 13 positiveWeek of 2026-03-05: 1 negativeWeek of 2026-03-12: 14 positiveWeek of 2026-03-19: 6 positiveWeek of 2026-03-26: 6 positiveWeek of 2026-04-02: 11 positiveWeek of 2026-04-02: 1 negativeWeek of 2026-04-09: 9 positiveWeek of 2026-04-16: 3 positiveWeek of 2026-04-23: 10 positiveWeek of 2026-04-30: 6 positiveWeek of 2026-04-30: 2 negativeWeek of 2026-05-07: 7 positiveWeek of 2026-05-14: 5 positiveWeek of 2026-05-21: 5 positiveWeek of 2026-05-28: 8 positiveWeek of 2026-05-28: 1 negativeWeek of 2026-06-04: 7 positiveWeek of 2026-06-11: 7 positiveWeek of 2026-06-18: 4 positiveWeek of 2026-06-18: 1 negativeWeek of 2026-06-25: 18 positiveWeek of 2026-06-25: 2 negativeWeek of 2026-07-02: 20 positiveWeek of 2026-07-02: 2 negativeWeek of 2026-07-09: 12 positiveWeek of 2026-07-16: 8 positiveWeek of 2026-07-16: 1 negativeWeek of 2026-07-23: 5 positiveWeek of 2026-07-30: 10 positiveWeek of 2026-07-30: 1 negativeWeek of 2026-08-06: 10 positiveWeek of 2026-08-13: 7 positiveWeek of 2026-08-13: 1 negativeWeek of 2026-08-20: 2 positiveWeek of 2026-08-27: 1 positive
Weekly review counts (Steam review histogram). Positive above the line, negative below.

Players online

2422026-09-16 14:00 — 8 players2026-09-17 22:00 — 11 players2026-09-19 05:00 — 13 players2026-09-20 13:00 — 12 players2026-09-21 21:00 — 18 players2026-09-23 04:00 — 10 players2026-09-24 12:00 — 2 players2026-09-25 19:00 — 19 players2026-09-27 03:00 — 8 players2026-09-28 10:00 — 7 players2026-09-29 18:00 — 8 players2026-10-01 01:00 — 13 players2026-10-02 09:00 — 10 players2026-10-03 16:00 — 20 players2026-10-05 00:00 — 24 players2026-10-06 08:00 — 6 players2026-10-07 15:00 — 21 players2026-10-08 23:00 — 16 players2026-10-10 06:00 — 8 players2026-10-11 14:00 — 17 players2026-10-12 22:00 — 22 players2026-10-14 05:00 — 9 players2026-10-15 13:00 — 10 players2026-10-16 04:00 — 8 players
Concurrent players, hourly average, last 30 days (census samples).
6311Jan 2025Aug 2026Jan 2025 — avg 63 · peak 180Feb 2025 — avg 23 · peak 68Mar 2025 — avg 15 · peak 36Apr 2025 — avg 11 · peak 24May 2025 — avg 26 · peak 90Jun 2025 — avg 19 · peak 57Jul 2025 — avg 11 · peak 27Aug 2025 — avg 14 · peak 42Sep 2025 — avg 23 · peak 71Oct 2025 — avg 23 · peak 58Nov 2025 — avg 17 · peak 42Dec 2025 — avg 17 · peak 41Jan 2026 — avg 30 · peak 104Feb 2026 — avg 20 · peak 45Mar 2026 — avg 15 · peak 37Apr 2026 — avg 13 · peak 30May 2026 — avg 13 · peak 29Jun 2026 — avg 13 · peak 33Jul 2026 — avg 14 · peak 31Aug 2026 — avg 11 · peak 30
Monthly average players (source: steamcharts.com) — history via steamcharts.com; live census sampling since Aug 2026.

Price history

$9.99$7.492025-01-092026-07-092025-01-09 — best price $9.992026-03-12 — best price $8.992026-03-19 — best price $9.992026-06-25 — best price $7.492026-07-09 — best price $9.99
Lowest recorded price across tracked stores, per day (census snapshots).

Completion

22
achievements tracked
19.6%
earned "Gambling is bad"
3.7%
median achievement earned by

Global achievement rates from Steam.

Details

WindowsFull controller supportSingle-playerFull controller supportSteam CloudFamily Sharing

Console footprint

PlatformPlayers trackedCompletionTrophies/achievements
Steam (Steam)2753%22

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

Player tags

FPSGoreIndieActionHorrorShooterViolentRogue-likePerma DeathFirst-Person

Census log

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

Players also track

Don't Knock TwiceDARQ: Complete EditionGentleMoon 2RICORebel Galaxy OutlawThe Watson-Scott TestApsulov: End of Gods

Similarity via IGDB.

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