Vampire Survivors is a simple but incredibly enjoyable experience. For the price of a coffee, it’s incredibly addictive and the bang for your buck is out of this world. I’ve sunken around 15 hours into this game, and while I’ve managed to collect every single achievement, the developers are quite proactive in adding more features to this game and I’m sure the recent attention drawn in from various streamers such as NorthernLion will only push the devs to add even more content to this already amazing game for the price.
The gameplay loop revolves around collecting powerups and weapons throughout the run to stack as many abilities as you can to the point where your entire screen is filled with projectiles and auras. There’s no need to aim or shoot as the game is completely based off of your character’s movement alone. All the attacks and weapons fire off automatically, and your primary focus is to dodge enemies as much as possible while trying to survive for 30 minutes straight. Meanwhile, the variety of upgrades and combinations keeps the gameplay fresh and unique as you try to wipe out all the enemies around you before they can get to you. Throughout the run you can discover weapons and upgrades that have unique synergies, evolving them to even stronger powerups for your character to wreak havoc with, which has always been my favourite aspect of games, as discovering a hidden secret for you to enjoy is always rewarding for the player.
The inherent roguelite nature of its gameplay ensures that every run is a unique experience with new weapons, new powerups, and new characters to use while facing a horde of enemies and facing off against Death itself. With three maps to play around and a huge variety of weapons, you won’t have one run exactly like the next for a long time. The gameplay is comparable to other indie roguelite titles such as SNKRX, as while the concept and style isn’t necessarily too difficult by itself, and quite easy to pick up and learn, mastering and being aware of all the different items and synergies while learning enemy patterns and spawn times for the enemies leads to a much greater depth than one would initially expect.
While the graphics of this game aren’t too stunning and leave room to be desired, objects and enemies in this game still manage to maintain visual clarity, even when surrounded by swarms of skeletons, a screen filled with fireballs and projectiles. It’s very reminiscent of the graphics from the era of the famicon and SNES, which is surely welcomed in my books.
Overall, it’s a fantastic experience if not just for the simplicity of mowing down thousands of enemies and seeing your character become overwhelmingly powerful. It may initially fall under the radar when going through the steam recommendations and sales but I wholeheartedly recommend this game, and if you don’t enjoy it, it’s just $2 down the drain.To add to the mix, the accessibility of this game is simply fantastic. The game can be controlled with WASD, arrow keys, mouse, or with a controller joystick. It requires just one hand to play, even just a finger if needed. The only controls required to play the game is movement, and as long as you can react fast enough to dodge a swarm of Dracula’s bats headed straight for your character, you’ll be good to go.
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