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.
