Ever since the resurgence of interest in rogue-like shoot-'em-up games that came after the incredibly successful release of Vampire Survivors, many new fans have been looking for a similar kind of experience to jump into. While HoloCure is noticeably a lot more vibrant and colorful than Vampire Survivors, it also borrows the frantic and intense gameplay loop that made that game so addictive to play, alongside a fantastic progression system that makes every match feel so rewarding in the end.

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The most impressive aspect of HoloCure though is the sheer variety of characters, all of which are inspired by actual Vtubers. Many of the characters will have unique and often hilarious abilities that make reference to their actual counterparts, but with over 30 of them to choose from, it can be a little overwhelming for beginners. Luckily, the game does grant the player a few characters to start off with, though some are much easier to use and more fun to play than others, which is exactly what we're going to take a closer look at today.

5 Gawr Gura

Special Attack:

• Shark Call: Summon a shark that deals 500% AOE damage. Gura also has 50% increased attack damage and 15% extra speed for 15 seconds.

Skills:

• Short Height: Gura has a 15% chance to dodge a single attack. Gura receives 30% increased movement after a successful dodge and is invulnerable for 0.5 seconds.
• Power of Atlantis: A whirlpool appears every 10 seconds that draws in nearby enemies and causes them to take 15% more damage while also causing 30% damage over 0.5 seconds.
• Shark Bite: There is a 10% chance that attacks will create a bite mark. Enemies with bite marks will take 12% extra damage, and there is a 20% chance to heal Gura after defeated.

Gura is undoubtedly one of the most straightforward characters in the entire game, all players really need to worry about is throwing out the Shark Call every now and again to deal some AOE damage, while also keeping enemies at bay with her trusty Trident. The Trident itself can actually become a devastating weapon when upgraded since it will be able to perform many more thrust attacks to instantly take out anyone who dares to come close.

The only real issue with Gura is that she can start to become a little repetitive after a while because of how easy she is to play. Admittedly, she becomes a lot more varied when receiving a few upgrades, turning her into one of the best mid-range characters in the entire game, but she's best for getting players accustomed to the controls and mechanics before they eventually move onto someone else over time.

4 Ninomae Ina'nis

Special Attack:

• Tako Spin: Summon several tentacles that surround Ninomae and deal 150% damage to enemies.

Skills:

• The Ancient One: Every 5 seconds, a zone appears that has a chance of converting enemies to Harmless Takodachis which can stack onto one another. If Ninomae touches a Harmless Takodachi, she will heal for 1HP per stack and deal damage equal to its size.
• The Void: Enemies within 75px move 10% slower and take 50% damage each second.
• The Forbidden Wah: If an attack hits an enemy more than 4 times, every 4th hit deals double damage.

Ina'nis is a fairly difficult character to get to grips with, to the point where it's quite surprising that she's actually a starter character since her abilities require some beforehand knowledge of the game mechanics to be used effectively. Her character primarily revolves around The Forbidden Wah which is an ability that will greatly buff Ina's attack damage with every 4th hit of an attack. It's definitely quite an oddball ability, but it can also stack damage extremely easily when there are plenty of foes on screen at once.

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Still, though, this does mean players will need to start killing enemies fast enough to actually activate the Skill which can sometimes become more of an issue than it's worth. Her primary weapon, the Summon Tentacle, is also fairly weak and not very reliable for the long term when compared to many of the other starters. Overall, Ninomae Ina'nis is still a fairly decent character who has a few different tools to keep her safe, but it's the random nature of Forbidden Wah and her severe lack of sustainable damage output that lets her down.

3 Amelia Watson

Special Attack:

• Slow Time: All targets slow to a crawl while Amelia's pistol shoots 50% faster for 10 seconds.

Skills:

• FPS Mastery: All of Amelia's weapons deal 20% extra damage.
• Detective Eye: Critical hit chance is increased by 10%.
• Bubba: Spawn a dog companion that will run around and attack random enemies, dealing 100% of Amelia's base damage each hit.

As the name might have already given away, Amelia Watson is a detective through and through who excels at analyzing her surroundings and strategically picking off her enemies before they even know what's hit them. Her Slow Time attack is incredibly powerful, especially since it lasts for a whole 10 seconds which gives Amelia more than enough time to mow down an entire horde of enemies with her lethal multishot pistol.

While she may have plenty of offensive tools at her disposal, Amelia can get overwhelmed pretty quickly if the player doesn't keep their wits about them at all times. Amelia's pet dog Bubba, while incredibly cute, is also quite unpredictable in the way that he acts. Usually, he will attack the nearest target to deal a great amount of damage, but sometimes he will run off to pick up some Coins or will even bark in a random direction as an attack. There are definitely a few shortcomings to Amelia, but there's no denying that she's still one of the most fun characters to play.

2 Takanashi Kiara

Special Attack:

• Phoenix Fire: Kiara fires out the flames of a phoenix and gains a 15-second Immortal Phoenix buff.

Skill:

• Dancer: Running around will heal 5% HP every 5 seconds and damage is increased by 2% each second. The buff will gradually decrease if Kiara stays still.
• Trailblazer: Increases Kiara's speed by 10% and allows her to leave a flame trail everywhere she goes. The flames will deal 30% damage each hit and they last 5 seconds.
• Phoenix Shield: Kiara gains a single stack of Phoenix Shield every 10 seconds. The damage of the next attack on Kiara will be halved.

Takanashi Kiara can be a great character to pick for anyone who might be struggling to stay alive and reach the end of a particular stage. Her Phoenix Sword is very short ranged which does mean she will need to put herself at risk to deal any kind of damage, but it's really her Phoenix Fire that players should prioritize using.

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The amount of AOE damage caused by the initial explosion is tremendously high, making it viable for regular enemies and even bosses too. She's also just very tanky in general thanks to Phoenix Fire and especially Phoenix Shield which both ensure that she will never go down without a fight. For anyone who loves lighting up an arena with flames and enjoys always being on the move, Takanashi Kiara is the best character to start off with.

1 Calliope Mori

Special Attack:

• The Reaper: Temporary buff that increases scythe damage by 300% and critical hits have 300% extra damage for 15 seconds.

Skills:

• The Rapper: Enemies within 100px will take 10% extra damage.
• Death: There is a 20% chance of creating an explosion when taking down an enemy with Scythe Swing or Death.
• Work-a-holic: After an enemy is defeated, Mori's attack damage is increased by 2% for 4 seconds and can stack up to 40%. Duration refreshes after another target is defeated.

The scythe-wielding queen of death known as Calliope Mori is all about causing as much carnage as possible on the field, and she can power creep incredibly quickly thanks to how her abilities work. A lot of this comes from her Work-a-holic ability which essentially always ensures that Mori is buffed and capable of dishing out a tremendous amount of damage with her deadly Scythe Swing.

Then there's the Death ability which is capable of wiping out an entire group of Shrimp and Dead Beats with a single explosion. Because a lot of her abilities synergize with one another, she can be a little tricky to get the hang of at first, but she's incredibly fun to use after a bit of practice.