Vampire Survivors: Dozing in the Coffin

Time To Beat Plus Extra: 76.5 Hours

In 2022 indie developer Luca Galante released Vampire Survivors to great acclaim. Initially the player controls a vampire hunter amidst a green field. The starting character, Antonio Belpaese, wields a whip, a clear homage to the protagonists of the Castlevania series. Harassed by bats Antonio dispatches them with a lashing.

The player doesn't press any buttons to activate the Whip. Like all attacks in Vampire Survivors, the Whip auto-attacks. The starting level Whip attacks every 1.35 seconds. It appears as a slash in the direction Antonio is facing. Slain enemies sometimes drop Experience Gems. Walking near a Gem picks it up. Pick up enough gems and Antonio levels up. Every time the character levels up they are offered three choices. The screen shows three abilities to pick from. Abilities are either weapons or passive weapons. The three options include both new weapons to learn, or empowering weapons he already possesses. Antonio can't acquire more than six weapons and six passive weapons, though there are ways around this limitation.

Enemies, initially Bats, appear in swarms. The type of enemy changes over time, including Skeletons, Werewolves, Succubus, and Unknown. Like waves, enemy strength waxes, wanes into a weaker form, like a trough, and then increases. Each peak is higher than the one preceding it. Occasionally Boss enemies appear. 95% of enemies, including bosses, do nothing more exciting than walk towards the player. They only harm the player by touching them.

In comparison, the player maneuvers their hero around the screen. There are no buttons to press except to move up, down, left, or right, and to select an upgrade. All attacks are automated.

While regular enemies drop Experience Gems, bosses drop treasure chests. These award the player gold, but also upgrade current ability that have reached max level. 

Eventually the player dies. Relentless monsters overwhelm them, a vicious swarm that devours.

By completing specific goals the player unlocks other characters, like Arca Ladonna. The singular impressive element of Vampire Survivors is the names, and the allusions, references, translations, and homages implied by them. Many are based on Italian translations and word play by the Italian developer. Arca Ladonna translates to Ark the Woman, which the fandom wiki notes could be a reference to Arc the Lad. Arca also looks like, and acts like, Alucad from Castelvania's Symphony of the Night. Weapons like Santa Water, is both a classic vampire hunting weapon, and an obvious garble of Italian/English saint, holy, acqua, and Santa Claus.

Each character's unique name is complimented by a unique playstyle. They wield a different starting weapon, and possess a unique attribute that improves as they level up. Imelda Belpaese's gains 10% additional experience every five levels, and Bat Robbert's recover 30% of his health when it is critically low.

The player can see the outlines of some of the unlockable characters on the character choice screen. Fortunately the player can see the requirements to unlock them. Meanwhile, Vampire Survivors shrouds a host of additional characters behind double deep secrets.

Eventually the player maxes out a weapon. Upgrading a weapon requires a matching passive weapon. When the player has these, such as the Whip and the Hollow Heart, and opens a treasure chest, Vampire Survivors upgrades the weapon. This is called an Evolution, though there are also a few Unions, where two Weapons combine to become one. Evolutions are vastly more powerful than their progenitors. The Whip becomes the Bloody Tear. It inflicts significantly more damage, attacks faster, and also heals the hero.

The player dies again. Wikipedia describes Vampire Survivors as a “roguelike shoot 'em up,” but I think the developer's description on Steam is closer to the truth. “A time survival game with minimalistic gameplay and rogue-like elements.” I would call it an idle roguelike. There isn't enough to do. The attacks are all automated. The player only has to sit at the computer for two reasons. The first is to choose upgrades. The other is to move the character around the screen. Especially earlier in a battle the player must dodge the horde of enemies, always moving, circling, and trying to collect the Experience Gems without dying. This did not hold my interest for long.

And yet, you may notice I played over seventy hours of this game. There is a reason for that; collectibles and secrets. I felt compelled to keep searching for every Weapon, Passive Weapon, Character, Relic, Arcana, Stage, and Secret. Just when the player thinks they have discovered everything, Vampire Survivors vomits forth a host of new unlockables and secrets to discover. The Forbidden Scrolls of Morbane, a powerful relic unlocked late in the game, opens up a secret menu that hints at more secret characters. Achievements unlock new achievements which unlock new secrets.

Eventually the player arrives at the end of a Stage. Stages last twenty or thirty minutes. A collectible relic lets the player play a Stage at double speed, optimizing efficiency. At the end of most Stages, the player faces Red Death, a Grim Reaper shrouded in a red cloak. He kills in two hits, and has a massive health pool. Of the dozens of Weapons only two will ensure his death. Preferably the player wields both of these.

Even defeating The Reaper won't let the player escape death. The White Reaper proceeds relentlessly. It isn't an enemy, but a visual effect that can't be denied.

In Conclusion,

Despite the time I spent on Vampire Survivors I didn't enjoy the gameplay, or the lack of. Halfway through most Stages I would have already maxed out my Weapons and Passives. Then I would sit, not even touching the keyboard, for another fifteen minutes, until the level ended. Only in the early part of a Stage, where the player must dodge enemies to stay alive, does the game offer enjoyable gameplay. By the end of most levels the player can stand in place; their attacks are powerful enough to dispatch all enemies. For some players the visual display of weapons and gems might be enough to satisfy their lust for blood. Or maybe they prefer collecting dozens of secrets, weapons, and collectibles. If another game relied on this strategy a mob would stake it in the heart.

The redeeming aspect of Vampire Survivors is the inventiveness of the developer in naming the weapons, characters, and enemies, but even that isn't enough to resurrect this game.

Next article, a review and ranking of the weapons of Vampire Survivors.