Funguys Swarm PS5 Review - Cute Mushrooms, Explosive Builds & Pure Swarm Chaos

Funguys Swarm, developed and published by Stairway Games (the studio behind Coral Island), launched in its 1.0 form on PS5 (alongside other platforms) on August 25, 2026.

This is a cartoony survivors-like/bullet-heaven roguelite in which you play as adorable mushroom heroes (“Funguys”) battling the Fire King’s army of flaming minions, mutated fruits, vegetables, and other chaotic forest foes. You fight through arenas, level up mid-run with skills and passives, build increasingly wild synergies, and return to the Forest Sanctuary between runs for permanent progression. The goal is to survive escalating swarms, defeat bosses, and ultimately confront the Fire King in the Hellscape arena.

The Gameplay ...

Core gameplay follows the classic survivors-like loop, as one would rightfully expect. You move through expanding arenas while enemies swarm you from all directions as you collect XP drops for upgrades. All while capitalizing on totems that offer everything from health items to currencies, and skill/passives in addition to special events where standing in a circle near a chestnut (treasure chest) totem gives you multiple random upgrades and currencies at once. In the way of settings auto-fire and auto-aim are available (and recommended for most players), though you can disable them for a more traditional bullet-hell feel. Combat starts simple enough. It'll have you initially throwing berries or swinging a melon axe as screen-filling chaos takes center stage while you stack abilities.

Level-ups through XP grant choices of skill cards and passives as you meet each milestone. Skills cover a wide range of effects (poison auras, orbiting mushrooms, projectiles, area attacks, dash replacements, and more), while passives provide boosts like cooldown reduction, damage increases, or utility. Weapons can also be upgraded mid-run via weapon cards (every few levels) and mutated for major changes in play style. Elements (Nature, Earth, Water, Sky, Fire, Beast, Night, etc.) additionally influence synergies and visual flair. The result is a satisfying, increasingly over-the-top power fantasy that rewards experimentation while remaining approachable thanks to the auto options.

Skills and passives, alone, have color coded rarities (Common through Legendary) that affect their power. Skills level up (often to level 10) and gain mutations at key thresholds that can dramatically alter their behavior such as splitting projectiles, adding status effects, changing targeting, or expanding area. Fire-element skills (sometimes tied to Fire King mechanics or curses/blessings) include options like post-level-up damage boosts, damage-triggered zaps, dash-based rotating discs, XP-pickup explosions, and movement-triggered runes. These can be further enhanced or mutated.

Progression, itself, is deep and multi-layered. Between runs you spend multiple currencies in the Forest Sanctuary and ShroomShop among other resident vendors. Water droplets upgrade character abilities, shards improve starting weapons, and other resources fund additional permanent boosts. A skill tree unlocks powerful meta abilities as well.

Pets, which are unlocked through Starpath quest completion, provide added upgradeable passive support on a cooldown. Weapons and their upgrades/mutations, that are a more direct line of offense, offer distinct styles (ranged berries, close-range axes, piercing spikes, and more), and every Funguy can pair with any weapon for extensive build variety. The Forest Strength system awards permanent upgrades for completing arenas, including quality-of-life options like disabling unwanted cards.

Unlockables flow heavily through the Starpath system (dozens of paths added in 1.0 alone), which grants new Funguys (including unique characters who command a sentry companion for combat), skills, passives, Treelings, relics, and more. Completing the game unlocks a secret character. This meta progression keeps every run meaningful even on failure.

Bosses in the game appear as giant, fiery threats within separate arenas, in a larger encounter at the end of each run and the Fire King, himself, in the Hellscape final arena. Aside from said bosses you'll also face off against afew beefier sub-bosses that willpursue you through the mobs, each of which drops a chestnut treasure chest filled with bonus loot. These bosses and sub-bosses are map specific according to theme, and with each map comes two difficulty optionsfor more challenging runs, and bigger currency payouts. Defeating a boss on normal difficulty ultimately unlocks hard difficulty.

The Presentation ...

The graphic design is bright, colorful, and charmingly cartoony with cute mushrooms and whimsical forest creatures contrasted against chaotic, flaming enemy swarms. Visual feedback is strong, with clear effects for skills, levels, and mutations that help readability amid the mayhem. The soundtrack (by Aji Priandaka) matches the tone with upbeat, playful, and energetic tracks that suit both the Sanctuary downtime and the escalating arena battles. Overall presentation is polished and inviting, especially for a game in this genre.

The Verdict ...

Funguys Swarm is highly playable on PS5, with smooth controller support and the kind of addictive “one more run” loop that defines the best survivors-likes. Replay value is excellent thanks to the large number of characters, weapons, skills, mutations, pets, Starpath unlocks, arena progression, and build possibilities. There’s always something new to chase. At the asking price of $9.99, it offers strong overall value, delivering a content-rich experience that punches well above its cost. And for the life of me I do not understand why it was initially rated one star on the PlayStation store by gamers. This is easily a four, if not five star indie.

As far as a recommendation goes I feel Funguys Swarm is best suited for fans of Vampire Survivors-style games, roguelite enthusiasts who enjoy deep build-crafting and meta progression, and players who appreciate cute aesthetics with challenging (but fair) bullet-heaven chaos. Newcomers to the genre will find the auto options welcoming, while veterans will appreciate the synergies and permanent unlocks. If you like colorful, addictive indie action with mushroom heroes fighting flaming produce, this is an easy recommend.