The Indie Hit You Need To Know!
If you haven’t heard there is a big new indie darling taking the PC gaming world by storm, it’s name is Vampire Survivors. Why are people talking about it? Its simplicity leads to it being addictive. It’s currently available on Steam for $2.99/£2.09, Xbox Game Pass PC and you can even play it for free in browser on itch.io! (Go and play it now!)
In Vampire Survivors, the player has to survive monstrous enemies coming toward them. Different characters have different weapons and bonuses. The only aim for the player is to avoid everything coming toward them. So how do you defeat enemies if you have no way to attack?
Your chosen character attacks on your behalf and as you play through the never ending stage their attacks defeat enemies. The defeated enemies drop gems; with these you can upgrade said character. This takes the form of upgraded stats, more weapons and items to enhance the auto attack, helping defend against the ever increasing strength of the enemies who are out for your blood.
It takes longer to explain the game than actually playing it (which if you haven’t, check it out). It has a retro throwback look akin to old Castlevania games. The sound design adds an extra special feeling to the whole thing, with the soundtrack in particular being a massive highlight. If you wish to play it as a “podcast game”, no one is going to wish you ill will as it’s perfect for that too!
Roguelike is a term that puts me off games as there have been so many over the years. Vampire Survivors feels like something completely fresh to the genre. Every death means more chances to upgrade, meaning players can get a little bit further next run.
Vampire Survivors scratches that itch of “one more run” and is the perfect 10-15 minute game. Great if you’ve got a little time to spare, the better you get, the longer the runs will be. This is not a problem for me and most likely never will be.
Released December 2021, Vampire Survivors has grown more and more since its debut. Developer poncle has a vision which looks likely to see the game go from strength to strength in 2022.
Vampire Survivors is currently in early access for Personal Computers and is available on Steam, Xbox Game Pass PC and itch.io. In case you were wondering, it doesn’t actually feature any vampires.
While you’re here, please subscribe to Upside Down Shark on YouTube! We also have a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts!
