Vampire Survivors has quietly been one of the most beloved games of the year. The minimalist mechanics and emergent gameplay make the game incredibly addictive.

The genre of Vampire Survivors is hard to pin down entirely. The game is a shoot-em-up with roguelike elements, but that doesn’t feel like a 100% correct description.

The player gets to a level with their character and has to survive for either 15 or 30 minutes. During the level, the player will collect experience to unlock new weapons and abilities. The weapons are semi-randomly generated, and this leads to a variety of different builds. However, it is obvious which weapons are the best.

The game is easy to play, and the gratification is relatively constant. Of course, getting all the unlockables is the real difficulty of the game.

The Sauce of the Game

The simplicity of the game is what sinks people in. You can play this game while watching TV and give this game your full attention with the same results. As much as I am negative about this game it did sink its teeth into me.

What really got me into the game was the metagaming of understanding what the best builds are, and learning ways to force a build was a fun Sunday morning. The game doesn’t require as much thinking as I thought when I started.

The attacks and abilities are all on autopilot, and when you reach the perfect build you actually don’t need to touch the controls at all. The game is less of a test of skill, and a test of how quickly you can reach the optimal build.

A Different Type of Game

This game occupies the same niche as a fun mobile game as a typical roguelike game I would love. Instead of increasing your skill to beat the game faster or with higher difficulty, you focus on figuring out the puzzle of beating the game. The game can be played in the background while listening to a podcast or watching a movie.

It is fine for a game to not occupy your whole time. If anything this makes it a great game for streams or listening to an album. However, if you are looking for a great roguelike to take up your time I would skip it.

In Conclusion

Vampire Survivors is a good time, and it is a game I do get the inch to play when I see it on steam. However, I don’t ever actively think about the game. It might be one of the best background games of the year.

6.8

People who love the game will really love it, but if you are not enthralled by optimizing character builds I would stray away.