First off, Cavity Busters by SpaceMyFriend is a fast-paced bullet-hell speedrun game. It went live in March 2025 on Steam Early Access and already has a lively Discord of over 3,500 players who share tips and dev news. What hooked me was the slow-motion wall run—time it right when a boss fires a red laser, and you’ll cut precious seconds off your run. Plus, the devs roll out weekly fixes based on player feedback, so the game always feels smooth.
I hunted down every hidden spot and side challenge. SpaceMyFriend nailed the upgrade system: you’ll find 317 boosts, from speedy enamel shields to burst-fire tooth lasers, and you can swap between 10 characters, each with its own progress path. I marked all 22 secret dig sites across five areas and finished every side quest in about 40 hours. Early on, the shop icons were small and tooltips were thin, but an April patch cleaned up the menu, adding hover pop-ups and color-coded rarity tags.
Every day, I dive into the game’s roguelite stages—from the Gritty Gumlines to the Cavernous Canals. Each zone feels different: some areas are poisonous, others slow you down but drop better loot. The boomerang-tooth gun even does more damage when you bounce shots off walls, a fun nod to Enter the Gungeon. Built in Unity with cross-save on PC, Mac, and Linux, your progress moves with you—perfect if you switch machines mid-week.
The story grabs you in minutes. You play as Gummy the Soft, a rebel molar kicked out of The Great Gob’s crew. The game drops 18 quick, pun-filled chats like “plaque up” and “brush off.” In a recent dev livestream, they said they wrote over 5,000 words of banter, so the laughs keep coming even in the chaos.
Controls matter in a speed-run, and Cavity Busters nails them. Charging your boomerang feels tight with under 50 ms of lag, and the upgrade combos force real choices: do you pair corrosive “Decay” with a melee boost or risk “Entamaphobia” for more speed? It feels as layered as Binding of Isaac but more precise. The April patch even tweaked boss hitboxes by 5% for harder dodges.
Levels mix hand-made layouts with random traps—drills, acid sinks, flame jets—and about 12% of runs unlock special “Entamaphobia” doors. I logged 250 room designs, and this blend of the same core map with new traps keeps each run fresh.
Visually, the game pops. Candy-red gums stand out against neon-green lasers, giving clear sight in fast fights. The art feels like a tooth-punk comic, and everything runs at a smooth 60 FPS on modern PCs. Early frame-drops in the fungal zones were fixed in a performance update that boosted texture loading.
Audio is the unsung hero of this run-and-gun. The bass drop when you activate slow-mo rattles your speakers just enough to cue precision timing, and the tooth-throw SFX sync with controller rumble for tactile feedback. Composer NeonMolar crafted a 12-track synth-punk soundtrack reminiscent of Hotline Miami, escalating from pulsing basslines in early zones to frenetic lead synths during boss fights.
Character variety is robust: ten distinct tooth heroes span glass-cannon snipers, tank-like molars, and hybrid incisors with midrange burst attacks. Each hero’s stat curve tilts toward either speed, power, or utility, so your playstyle truly matters. For example, Bristle the Brute trades a slow attack animation for a regenerating enamel shield—ideal for tank builds that charge headlong into danger.
Difficulty spikes from diseases feel balanced and earned. Taking on “Entamaphobia,” which thrusts you into near-invisible rooms, grants a 25% experience boost—but only if you cleanse it with a rare “Fluoride Flask” item. Over 50 recorded runs, I managed just three successful cleanses, underscoring the high-risk, high-reward design.
Accessibility options shine: beginners can start with two extra hearts, toggle auto-purchase of basic upgrades, or skip the tutorial boss entirely. There are no pay-to-win locks, and Steam reviewers frequently praise these options for making the learning curve less punishing—especially welcome for players new to bullet-hell roguelites.
Replay value is off the charts. With 317 upgrades, 10 heroes, and secret bosses hidden behind environmental puzzles, my 100th run still surprises me. The built-in daily challenge mode posts your best times on a global leaderboard. Encouraging you to refine every tactic and synergy, much like Hades’ rotating daily gods.
Cavity Busters pushes roguelite boundaries, proving that small studios can innovate at scale. SpaceMyFriend’s four-person team combines fast iteration cycles with community-driven design, evidenced by weekly polls on Discord for new enemy types. They’ve delivered over 15 major updates since Early Access launched, showing a commitment rare even among larger indies.
If you crave masterful bullet-hell roguelites, dive into Cavity Busters today. Allocate at least five hours to learn movement quirks. Especially the wall-run slow-mo—and focus on elemental combo builds early on. Don’t rush through biomes; each zone teaches you vital tactics you’ll need for later boss gauntlets.
Master every upgrade synergy. For instance, combining the “Shatter” passive with the triple-tooth boomerang unlocks a cascading damage effect that melts mid-tier bosses. I recommend cultivating one core build per hero before branching out—you’ll see more consistent time savings that way.
Sharpen your skills by practicing in the game’s Arena Mode, which drops random boss rushes without room transitions. It’s the perfect way to isolate boss patterns and perfect your dodge timings. Join community tournaments on Discord every Friday to test your finesse against other top runners.
For fans of Cavity Busters’ frantic co-op and roguelite depth, check these out. The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, Enter the Gungeon, Dead Cells, Risk of Rain 2, and Hades. They all deliver equally addictive loops and replay value. Each combining bullet-hell intensity, procedural upgrades, and bespoke challenge scaling. Keeping every run feeling fresh and rewarding.
