Vampire Survivors has a lot to answer for. This site, for example, probably doesn’t exist without it. Along with Hades, this genre-making bullet heaven has been one of my go-to games because of how regularly it provides an abundance of the things that I enjoy about gaming: novelty, surprise, and interesting decision-making.
Vampire Survivors and games like it have sometimes drawn derision from certain quarters. I’m never one to yuck someone’s yum, but I’ve seen plenty of that around. I want this review to be a counterpoint to that sentiment. I think bullet heavens are excellent alternatives to action-roguelites that often require manual dexterity and a degree of genuine skill. Because the gameplay is kept simple here, you’re able to focus on decision-making.
I think my favourite thing about Vampire Survivors is the theory crafting, which is where it is today thanks to years of updates and iteration that have added to the pot. The base game was a complete experience at launch, and since then, the game has been updated with several massive expansions and chunky, free content patches.
There are so many different characters to learn, and each one has a subtle configuration to work around as you level it up. Each one has a starting weapon, which you can evolve as you collect the experience points dropped by the enemies you kill with your automated attack. There are also several slots for additional weapons and items, and your success over the course of a run will depend entirely on how you get your build set up.
The single-stick controls and the simplicity of the core gameplay might be a limitation in some aspects, but it has also allowed for rapid iteration and a constant churn of engaging new content, as well as fresh ways to experience the same material in remixed ways.
Adventures are a good case in point. These more focused campaigns allow you to recapture that early game feel once more, as new characters and in-game quests give fresh life to old pixels. Not only are there impactful game modifiers to tinker with, but it’s a great way of familiarising yourself with the game’s vast cast of characters.
Vampire Survivors DLC
If anybody happens to read this, I’ll follow up with a deeper dive into the DLC rather than getting into it here. There’s a risk that we’ll get lost in the weeds, so let’s focus on the post-launch content more generally. The new DLC, Legacy of the Bloodmoon, is a good example of what poncle is doing with content, and it’s fresh in mind as I’ve been playing it in the evenings.
Bloodmoon adds a whole bunch of new characters and weapons. While they are fundamentally more of the same, there’s pleasing variety, and you can mix and match them with existing tools to find new ways to complete a run.
The injection of new content adds more depth to an already deep experience. The fact that poncle’s in-house DLCs cost a solitary unit of money – still a favourite detail of mine – means that the overall package is insanely good value for money.
Crossovers Galore
When it comes to crossover content, there are already three major collaborations that you can enjoy. Among Us, Contra, and Castlevania. That last one – Ode to Castlevania – is my favourite of the three, as Vampire Survivors clearly owes a debt to the artists at Konami, and that particular DLC feels like a perfect fit for this IP.
These expansions cost a little more than the in-house DLCs, but not much more, and they offer lots of thematic ways to experience Vampire Survivors anew. In fact, I think the overall level of fan service here is actually pretty good.
My kids were drawn to the Among Us expansion, Emergency Meeting; Contra is all about the guns; and I love a bit of gothic monster-whipping. Ultimately, I think you’re going to get more out of each DLC if you like the original IP that it’s based upon. And I think that probably holds true on future projects, including Jujutsu Kaisen Rumble: Survivaton and Warhammer Survivors (Auroch Digital), which are both upcoming spin-offs built on the same core bullet heaven concept.
Old School Aesthetics
Another standout feature that needs a shoutout is the soundtrack. The devs have gone to a lot of trouble to make sure that the OST is varied, and if you like classic arcade music and chiptunes, I think you’ll like this, too. New music is constantly being added to the mix, making this a very cool selling point if you enjoy this sort of music.
The graphics are the final piece of the puzzle, and if you’re a pixel art nerd like me, you’ll enjoy the overall aesthetic. It’s not a neglected part of the game, but it is kept simple on purpose. It’s a trade-off I’m happy to make for the sake of greater gameplay diversity. Having said all that, if you’re not charmed by what you see, nothing I say is going to change your mind, and that’s ok, too.
As someone who can struggle with his vision, particularly during the most intense moments in ARPGs more generally, when the screen fills up with enemies and visual effects, Vampire Survivors remains accessible to me. Even at its most chaotic moments, I’m able to keep track of what’s happening – and given the chaos levels in the late-game, that’s actually really cool.
Over the years, since it first debuted in-browser in early 2021, Vampire Survivors has proven to be a hugely addictive game, but also a surprisingly divisive one. I understand how its RNG elements might frustrate some, but if you love theory crafting and finding new and unexpected synergies, Vampire Survivors offers a rich and varied environment in which to play that way. And with lots of new stuff in the works, the fun doesn’t look like it’s stopping anytime soon.
