Scoring genre clarity...

These Are Them capsule

These Are Them

Protect the hearts known as 'these' from the approaching corruption of monsters known as 'them' with the last remaining survivors in this twisted dark fantasy realm.

$0.99
Shoot 'Em UpTower DefensePvE
OugenSoftSep 3, 2025

These Are Them scores 72/100 — better than 44% of Shoot 'Em Up capsules (n=814).

$0.99 · Released Sep 3, 2025 · By OugenSoft

Explore:Shoot 'Em Up capsulesTower Defense capsulesPvE capsulesSteam page optimisationCapsule design best practices

Quick text summary

These Are Them scored 72/100 on Steam Analyzer — Good for a Shoot 'Em Up capsule. Top priority fix: [genre_clarity] Add a subtle visual cue representing the core mechanic—such as a stylized heart or corruption motif—to immediately communicate the protect-vs-corruption theme at all sizes.

Capsule scores by dimension

  • Genre Clarity: 7/10 — Dark fantasy action with character roster. The capsule effectively communicates a dark fantasy tone through gothic character designs, twisted expressions, and an ominous color palette of blacks and deep reds. At full size, the character variety and 'Them' vs protagonist framing suggests strategic choice-based gameplay, though at TINY size the individual character details collapse into silhouettes and the core mechanic (protecting hearts from corruption) is not immediately visually apparent.
  • Title Readability: 8/10 — Clear white text with decorative underlines. The title 'These Are Them' uses clean white serif lettering with horizontal line accents above and below, providing strong contrast against the dark background. The text remains readable at SMALL size due to generous spacing and weight, though at TINY size the stacked layout and decorative lines begin to blur slightly into a cohesive mark rather than discrete words.
  • Contrast & Color: 8/10 — Strong dark tones with strategic pops. The composition leverages deep blacks and charcoal backgrounds with character skin tones, red accents, and the bright white title creating clear value separation. Character silhouettes read distinctly even at reduced sizes, and the purple magical effect on the far right adds visual punctuation without muddying the overall hierarchy.
  • Uniqueness & Polish: 6/10 — Competent character art, generic layout. The individual character illustrations show decent craft and personality—grotesque smiling faces, varied expressions, and recognizable silhouettes—but the overall capsule arrangement follows a standard roster reveal pattern common to many indie and action titles. The concept of protecting 'hearts' from 'them' is communicated through framing rather than through a distinctive visual hook or unique art direction that sets it apart from comparable dark fantasy games.
  • Brand Consistency: 7/10 — Distinctive character designs, coherent tone. The twisted, grinning character faces establish a recognizable visual identity and likely align with in-game assets based on typical indie game pipelines. The consistent use of grotesque expressions, warm skin tones against black, and gothic serif typography creates internal cohesion, though without knowing the full game visual language, the identity feels somewhat archetypal rather than iconic.
  • Composition: 7/10 — Balanced roster layout with clear focal point. The title anchors the top center with strong hierarchy, while character faces are arranged in a loose semicircle below, creating depth and visual interest without feeling scattered. The composition holds together at SMALL size with clear character groupings, though at TINY size the lower characters risk becoming indistinct due to the small scale and dark background, and the far-right purple effect becomes a minor distraction rather than an accent.

What works

  • Strong title contrast and readability. White serif text with horizontal underlines stands out sharply against the dark background and remains legible even at reduced sizes.
  • Coherent dark fantasy atmosphere. The consistent gothic color palette, grotesque character expressions, and ominous tone effectively communicate the game's dark fantasy identity.
  • Clear value separation and silhouettes. Character forms maintain distinct edges and readability in grayscale due to warm skin tones and dark backgrounds, supporting quick visual parsing.
  • Character personality and variety. Individual faces show unique expressions and features that suggest roster depth and visual storytelling potential.

What hurts the capsule

  • Generic roster reveal layout. The character arrangement follows a common indie game template without a distinctive compositional hook that would make it memorable.
  • Core mechanic not visually expressed. The capsule shows characters but does not visually communicate the 'protect the hearts from corruption' core concept—no hearts or corruption visual metaphors are evident.
  • Lower character details fade at tiny size. Characters in the bottom row become indistinct smudges at TINY thumbnail size, reducing the impact of the roster reveal.
  • Purple effect lacks purpose. The magenta burst on the far right appears decorative rather than intentional and risks being cropped on some Steam layouts.

Priority fixes

  1. [genre_clarity] Add a subtle visual cue representing the core mechanic—such as a stylized heart or corruption motif—to immediately communicate the protect-vs-corruption theme at all sizes.
  2. [composition] Reorganize character placement to ensure the most iconic or highest-contrast character occupies center-top real estate to maintain visual impact at TINY size.
  3. [uniqueness_polish] Introduce a signature visual element or frame style (e.g., corrupted aura, protective barrier, or unique border) that differentiates this from generic roster reveals in the genre.
  4. [contrast_color] Reduce or integrate the far-right purple effect more deliberately into the overall composition to avoid random decoration and ensure safe margin compliance.

Store copy priority fixes

  1. [hook_strength] Rewrite the short description to lead with a clear action verb and concrete outcome: 'Command survivors to defend sacred hearts against waves of twisted monsters in this roguelike tower-defense arcade shooter. Unleash unique abilities and manage limited stamina to survive the corruption.' This removes jargon and immediately communicates genre and core verb.
  2. [genre_clarity] Explicitly state the game is a 'Tower Defense arcade shooter' in the opening paragraph of the detailed description and clarify whether players move/aim or select targets from a fixed position.
  3. [tone_match] Remove casual asides and developer commentary ('allow me to tell you,' 'a whole lot of challenge,' '10 centuries') and rewrite in a confident, consistent voice that matches the dark post-apocalyptic setting.
  4. [feature_communication] Add a structured 'How to Play' section that explains: defend hearts from enemy waves, collect stamina-restoring marks, select special abilities, and chain kills to survive 7 levels with 5 unique characters. Replace parenthetical jargon with clear player-facing language.

Related guides

Steam app ID: 3949080 · Tags: Shoot 'Em Up, Tower Defense, PvE, Action, Shooter