Overview – developed and published by Poncle, Vampire Survivors is a retro styled time survival action title where players fight wave after wave of monsters. Fight off the hordes of hell with a cast of horror styled heroes, armed with a variety of weapons and secrets to unlock. This title is available on PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox and Mobile platforms, with a link to each version of the game at the bottom of this review.
Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank Future Friends for providing the copy of Vampire Survivors that was used for this piece. The provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.
Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review. I will be skipping the story segment as there is a hidden narrative that is sprinkled through the game, so I will be going straight into the gameplay, covering the core aspects that make up the base version of this game. There is DLC available for this release, however that has not been used for this review.
Gameplay – Vampire Survivors is a timed survival action title, using classic horror tropes and characters inspired by older titles in the genre. The core objective of the game is simple, to survive in the vast open levels until the time limit, by battling wave after wave of monsters. To achieve this, the player must collect experience points from defeated enemies, leveling them up and giving them access to new weapons and support items.
When in the stages, the player only controls the movement of their character. All of the attacks are automated, with the frequency and power of attacks based on different factors. There are several types of weapon attacks, including area of effect, directional attacks and randomized projectiles. The different attacks have their own unique behaviors, with a lot of experimentation required to figure out which weapon fits a play style, as all weapons work differently.
Before starting a stage, the player must select one of the playable characters, each with their own unique starting weapon and unique special skills. At the beginning of the game, there is only one playable character, but as the player makes their way through the game, they will be able to unlock new characters. There are many different requirements, hidden or otherwise that players will need to perform to make these characters available.
However, simply completing the character unlock objectives won’t make them usable immediately. The characters once added to the roster, need to be purchased by the player using gold that is collected during play. There are several ways to collect coins, the main way is to destroy light sources on the field, which can drop coins, but there will also be chests that can appear. These chests will provide large amounts of gold, as well as weapon/support upgrades.
Speaking of upgrades, each time the player levels up, they will be able to select one of three items (four depending on luck) to add to their arsenal. The player can hold a total of 6 weapons, which can be leveled up to give them more power and even special effects. The player can also grab up to 6 support items while leveling, but there may also be special items scattered through the stages, bypassing the limit. The support items can also be powered up when leveling.
New weapons will be unlocked during the course of the players experience, adding more depth to the action. There is an evolution system tied to the weapons, which is based upon combining specific weapons and/or support items. To evolve a weapon, the player needs to have them fully leveled up, as well as holding the corresponding item if a support item is required. The weapon can then appear as a reward in a chest, unleashing an all-powerful attack.
As the player makes their way through the game, they will unlock new stages, which can contain special items called “relics” which add permanent effects. These relics give players more utility and can help the player in their journey, like a map that shows item locations and a deck of tarot cards that give special effects. There are also special stages that can be unlocked, with different special mechanics that can give the player more variety to their gameplay.
As a timed survival title, there is a time limit for each of the stages that the player takes on. As the time passes, the enemies will get stronger and appear in larger numbers. There are even boss monsters that can appear, with each of them tied to their specific stage with their style tied to it. These boss monsters are much stronger than the other enemies with a sprite size to match. There are even “mini-boss” monsters that will appear, which are responsible for dropping chests.
If the player can reach the end of the time limit, leveling their abilities and collecting weapons, they will be rewarded with a swift and brutal demise from Death itself. Once a stage is cleared, or the run ends via player death or quitting, all accumulated gold will be added to the player inventory and achievements granted. These rewards are added to the collection, as well as unlocking more content for players to enjoy.
The accumulated gold that players have can be used to make new characters playable, with different amounts needed depending on the strength of the character. The gold can also be used to purchase permanent upgrades for the character, adding extra damage, health and more. These upgrades can be refunded freely, allowing players to take a different approach to the challenge. This system gives flexibility to the challenge, changing the difficulty based on choices made.
There are multiple secrets hidden in this release for players to discover, with special modes to discover that will change the way that stages work. There are hidden codes, called spells that can be found in the game which can unlock characters ahead of time, add items and bypass progress barriers. There are also hidden codes for players to do silly things with the game, like spinning the UI and spawning ridiculous amounts of corn after being put in a stage.
The last thing to discuss for this release is the multiplayer systems for this release. Included in this title is 4 player simultaneous co-op, allowing players to take on the monsters together on the same system. When playing multiplayer, the players all share the same screen needing to move together to scroll the screen. There are also special items exclusive to the multiplayer mode, which are to compensate for limited weapon and support slots for characters.
Now with the gameplay covered, it is time to discuss the other aspects of this release, starting with the controls.
Controls – there is an incredibly simple control system for this release, with the player only needing to use a thumbstick and the A/B buttons on a controller. This makes for a very easy to pick up and play experience, with no complex button inputs to learn or functions to memorize. This makes it pretty easy for 2 player co-op out of the box with the single Joy-Con support. There is also touch screen controls for players who want to enjoy the game in handheld mode.
Difficulty – this is an easy enough game to start, with players being gently introduced to the gameplay systems. This is by throwing small numbers of enemies at the player, quick leveling and a simple pool of weapons/items to select from. However, as the player makes their way through a stage and the game as a whole, the enemies get stronger and can wipe the player out in seconds. This makes for a very challenging experience, but a rewarding one that isn’t overly frustrating.
Presentation – from a visual standpoint this game has a very retro look to it, with graphics and sprite work that is similar to that of the Mega Drive (Genesis). This look is complimented by the character and monster designs, inspired by the likes of Castlevania and classic horror media. The sound for this title has a mix of styles to it, with music that includes classic electro/Chiptune tracks, heavy rock riffs and for those of the most refined musical tastes Kazoo centric music.
Final Thoughts – I had seen the boom of this title during the past few years, but never got around to trying it on PC platforms. But when it was announced to be coming to the Nintendo Switch, I had to jump at the opportunity to try out this phenomenon. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by the depth and complexity of this title, with all of the secrets and hidden details scattered throughout. This made for a fun and exciting experience.
I am more than happy to recommend this title to everyone, as it has so much content in it at an incredibly low price of entry. The art style has a classic look to it, with the inspirations on show throughout and music to back it up. This game certainly lives up to the tag line of “be the bullet hell” with the hordes of monsters, unique weapons and additional anarchy that the multiplayer system adds to the game. The only downside is the amount of time that can be lost to this game.
In the end, I give Vampire Survivors a final score of 5/5. This is an exciting and frantic gothic horror action title, with a diverse cast of characters to unlock, secrets to discover, chaotic multiplayer mayhem and some rather silly touches that entertain. If you want to check this title out for yourself, as well as the DLC, a link to the game pages will be below, the game can also be found on mobile app stores for free (with ads).
Link to Nintendo Switch version (HERE)
Link to Steam version (HERE)
Link to Xbox version (HERE)
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