Rogueliker

Online co-op, new Balatro-themed DLC, and a Castlevania upgrade all hit Vampire Survivors

Mike Holmes

There is a big, fat triple bill of fun Vampire Survivors-related news bits for you today, with a Balatro collab, online co-op, and a nice upgrade to a previous DLC expansion.

There’s even a Kickstarter campaign for a board game, although that’s not really breaking news. Either way, here’s what you need to know.

Online co-op upgrades

There are several gameplay changes that differentiate the online mode from standard local co-op, including the ability to roam wherever you wish, rather than being banded together, and changes to how pause works. All normal stuff.

Another big addition is batch levelling relevant to the number of players – so four people means levelling up every fourth level, if I’ve got that right.

Finally, all players will have to own all of the DLC, but that’s fair enough given the pricing model used by poncle.

Balatro X Vampire Survivors – Ante Chamber

The headline for me personally is the addition of a new Balatro crossover expansion – Ante Chamber – which is out now for free on PC Steam, and a certain console. More on launch timings below.

All told, there are four new Joker-themed playable characters: Jimbo, Canio, Chicot, and Perkeo, respectively. Here’s the official write-up about each character and details about the new weapons added in the Ante Chamber expansion, which has a map that is described as an “extradimensional analogue of Balatro’s user interface.”

Jimbo: Your favorite forklift-certified clown finally has full-body representation in Vampire Survivors. Multiply stat-boosting Survarot cards by x4.

Canio: The tragic clown in oversized finery. Has a special technique to trigger additional Survarot drafts, but won’t stop frowning about it.

Chicot – Wears the cap and bells, but makes bosses look like the real clowns by cutting their health in half and switching off their hazards.

Perkeo: Short in stature but never short on Passives, this fool has a practically unlimited pool to power him up.

The trailer below dropped last night, and is there for those who enjoy watching such things. After that, you can keep scrolling down for details on the new Balatro-inspired weapons, the new stuff added in the Castlevania DLC, and more.

Infernolatro – Summon a burning score counter to burn your foolish foes to ashes. Each enemy you roast stacks your score and fans the flames, expanding the inferno until the whole table’s alight.

Gros Michel: Release a barrage of banana projectiles, each with a 1-in-6 chance to explode for deliciously critical damage.

Fibonacci Seltzer – Fires mathematically beautiful spiralling streams of fizzy destruction that can trigger your other weapons.

Celestial Booster: Planets and a rocket orbit you constantly, dealing extra damage based on your current riches.

Look at all those lovely bananas!

Vampire Survivors: Ode to Castlevania

Another fun Vampire Survivors-related tidbit is the upgrade we all just got for the Ode to Castlevania DLC. The headline additions are the two stages, Westwoods and Mazerella, but there’s plenty more, including:

  • 16 new secret characters
  • 3 new weapons + evos
  • 13 new weapon unions
  • 1 new adventure
  • 12 new music tracks

Best of all, the new content is included in past purchases and has not required a price hike for new players. Not that it cost much…

When and where you can play the new stuff

There are different dates for the various platforms, but everything is available today on PC (Mac, Win) and PlayStation, you lucky souls.

Meanwhile, all of the new content, across both expansions, and the new online mode, will be available on Switch and Xbox on October 31st – so, not too long to wait!

Finally, mobile players will get the new content today, but the online changes mentioned at the top of the page are due in November.

Update: As highlighted by a kind soul over on the Rogueliker sub-Reddit, there’s no sign of the Balatro content on Epic Game Store. I had a look and can’t see this free DLC expansion mentioned anywhere in relation to EGS.

Vampire Survivors: The Board Game

The final thing to mention in this round-up of VS-related news is the fact that there’s a Vampire Survivors board game, cunningly titled Vampire Survivors: The Board Game, and it’s currently after funding over on Kickstarter.

I vaguely remember this going live last week when I had the flu, so it was nice to see that it wasn’t part of a fever dream.

Of course, the board game was funded in mere minutes, but there is still around three weeks to go for stretch goals and all that jazz.

Would you like to know more? 

In an effort to tempt you into clicking deeper into our web of rogues, moving forward, we’re going to try something a little different, and after the upcoming advert for NordVPN, you’ll find a new feature: Rogueliker’s Hall of Fame. But first, here are a load of mega awesome roguelikes and roguelites, almost 40 of them, in fact.

The Best Roguelike Games: the best roguelites, deckbuilders, RPGs, auto-shooters, and more

Still with us? Ok, the Hall of Fame below highlights arguably the best game from each sub-category in the article linked directly above; however, each of these standout games is reinforced with another article about even more titles, whether they be turn-based roguelikes or first-person shooters. 

Finally, if you’d prefer everything split into individual platforms, we’ve got you covered, too, although be warned, those lists don’t go into as much detail: 

Android/iOS | PC (Lin, Mac, Win) | PlayStation | Switch | Xbox 

Before we get to The Hall of Fame, help us keep the lights on – if you’re shopping for a VPN, do it via NordVPN. Just hit this obnoxiously huge link! 

Rogueliker’s Hall of Fame 

First, let’s establish the parameters for inclusion. We can answer the question of “what is a roguelike?” by telling you about the game that started this whole party. Rogue is a turn-based RPG with procedurally-generated content and permadeath. The genre has exploded in a hundred different directions since then, but all of the games on this list retain one or two core features that first appeared in Rogue back in 1980. 

The best turn-based roguelikes: Caves of Qud | There are some seriously incredible turn-based roguelikes out there. Of all the modern games, these are the closest to the original Rogue. 

Great bullet heavens and auto-shooters: Vampire Survivors | There could be only one choice for this category, given how all other games are called survivors-likes for a reason! 

Awesome first-person rogues: Gunfire Reborn | We almost went with Blue Prince for this spot, but most people checking out first-person rogues probably want to wield a gun, you know?!  

Cool roguelike deckbuilders: Balatro | Sorry, Slay the Spire fans, but this poker-solitaire deckbuilder has stolen Mike’s heart and won’t give it back.

Brilliant roguelite top-down and third-person shooters: Returnal | Bit of a broad one, but with our other favourite action-roguelites featured elsewhere, we were obliged to mention Returnal here. 

Exciting roguelike platformers: Spelunky | Now, don’t get us wrong, Dead Cells is an incredible game, especially with all the DLC switched on. But when it comes to impact, you just can’t beat Spelunky.

Strategy Roguelikes: FTL Faster Than Light | Another classic roguelike that we’re still playing years after launch.

Amazing action-roguelites: Hades 2  | And finally, let’s wrap things up with our favourite of them all, There’s no beating the original Hades, although Hades 2 comes pretty close! 

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