How Many Dudes? Review – Chaotic Roguelike Autobattler with Endless Synergy
I spent dozens of hours on Butterscotch Shenanigans’ quirky army-builder. How Many Dudes? is a hilarious, highly replayable roguelike autobattler that thrives on ridiculous combos, relics, and nonsense. Perfect for short runs and long theorycrafting sessions.
I went into How Many Dudes? expecting a silly gimmick and left with an obsession. This Windows-only (for now) release from Butterscotch Shenanigans turns “recruiting” into a strategic joy, where 42 bizarre Dude types clash in gloriously broken synergies. If you like Slay the Spire’s pick-and-build satisfaction but want it dressed in cowboy hats, zombies and shameless nonsense, this is your jam.
Recruiting Mayhem on the Dude Ranch
The heart of How Many Dudes? is absurdly simple: you recruit Dudes, slot them into your army, and watch chaos unfold. Combat itself is autobattler-style—your Dudes act automatically, but choosing which Dudes, Trinkets and Relics to take between fights is where the decisions live. Each run sends you through escalating waves and ridiculous boss encounters (toddlers to gods, honestly), so you’re constantly juggling offense, defense and synergies. I found myself grinning when a seemingly pointless combo — say, exploding Zombie Dudes plus a Cowboy lassoing them into a crowd — turned entire waves into confetti. The game’s loop rewards creative setups over rote grinding; sometimes a run dies early because you got greedy, and sometimes a dumb combo carries you to the final act.
Turning Broken into Beautiful: Synergies and Relics
What makes this stand out is the scale of combinatorial mayhem. With 42 Unique Dudes across six families and hundreds of Relics and Trinkets, the game practically dares you to break it. Relics can warp rules — give a Wizard volley-on-move, or make Finance Dudes cash in on a grim insurance policy — and Trinkets that drop from bosses target specific Dude types, enabling wild archetypes. Ensemble Mode (pre-selecting your dream team) and the Daily Dude (time-limited challenges) let you approach runs with intent rather than randomness. I spent hours theorycrafting: which relic pairs amplify shuriken spam, which trinket makes samurai taser combos hilarious. It’s the kind of design that encourages “one more run” thinking, because the next dumb experiment might be legendary.
A Presentation That Sells the Silly
Visually the game leans into readable, cartoony pixels and goofy animations that make every wipe feel like a punchline instead of catastrophe. Sound and music are sharp—there are little SFX moments that made me laugh out loud when a dude performed an over-the-top animation. Performance on Windows felt solid during my sessions, and the UI is clean enough that you can theorycraft without squinting; transition screens and some art polish were mentioned by players, and I can see the room for tiny improvements there. Accessibility options like text scaling are present, which is a nice touch for longer sessions. Overall it’s charmingly produced: nothing aims for AAA sheen, but everything works to support the joke and the strategy behind it.
How Many Dudes? is a joyful, often hilarious autobattler that nails the sweet spot between accessible runs and deep combo theorycrafting. It’s perfect for quick sessions and long experiments alike, though purists wanting brutal difficulty or heavy meta-progression might feel underserved. For the price and polish on Windows, it’s an easy recommend if you enjoy goofy strategy and breaking the rules for fun.
Pros
- Endless, hilarious synergy combos and deep theorycrafting
- Accessible autobattler loop — easy to learn, hard to stop
- Strong presentation with charming art, great SFX and music
- Modes like Ensemble and Daily Dude add variety and goals
Cons
- Can feel too easy for players seeking punishing challenge
- Minor polish issues in some art/transition screens
- Windows-only at launch (mac/linux not available)
Player Opinion
Players consistently praise the game’s stickiness: many mention dozens or even hundreds of hours sunk into the demo and full release, citing endless replayability and joyful discovery of combos. Praise also centers on the music, SFX and the comedic charm of the Dudes themselves. Criticisms repeat a few themes: some players find the difficulty too forgiving or desire stronger meta-progression, while others note minor UI or art polish issues. If you like deckbuilders or roguelikes like Slay the Spire but want a sillier, autobattler spin, fans agree this hits the sweet spot.