40%PC

+ Great optimization; stable 144 fps on max graphics settings on GTX 1070 with zero framerate drops and no screen tearing.
+ Hundreds of enemies onscreen at the same time with no performance issues.
+ Simple controls.
+ Straightforward reverse bullet hell gameplay.
+ 86 unlockable characters each with their own starting weapon and stats.
+ 17 stages with various relics to find that each unlock new gameplay features.
+ Massive variety of weapons, items and pickups.
+ Weapon evolution system; weapons can be upgraded into powerful unique versions by meeting the item combo requirements and obtaining a gift from chests dropped by bosses.
+ Meta progression available in the form of permanent stat upgrades that can be freely respecced.

- Subpar graphics.
- Poor balancing; the beginning of a run is too hard and unenjoyable but if you somehow survive long enough to evolve multiple weapons, the run becomes too easy to the point where it's handsfree and boring.
- Progression is too slow; you don't acquire enough resources to buy enough permanent upgrades to make a noticeable power difference between runs.
- Items are boring stat sticks with no interesting effects.
- Missing key roguelike elements; the starting weapon/item pool is incredibly tiny until you unlock more via achievements and there are no random events.
- Can get very repetitive because meta progression is too slow and many key features are locked behind a ridiculous grind.
- Runs are too long and every run feels the same.
- Cannot dodge.

80%PlayStation 5

This game has a lot of depth for being so simple. Finding all the secrets and unlocking the dozens of characters is very enjoyable. This was pretty much the only game I could play after having surgery and it was a blast to platinum.

80%PC

Addictive and well made

100%PC

O primeiro jogo que joguei do estilo, então talvez seja por isso que eu tenho um carinho especial por ele
muito foda, no começo vai ser meio bosta (ate o mapa da biblioteca mais ou menos), pq seu boneco é muito fraco
mas conforme vc vai jogando e liberando conquistas ganha mais itens e mais evoluções etc tem
um sistema de progressão muito bom. nota 10/10

sobre a platina:

eu tenho 93 horas de jogo até o atual momento, mas acredito que platinei pela casa dos 50-60
é um jogo bem daora de platinar visto que as conquistas liberam itens dentro do próprio jogo

o problema:

muitas das conquistas só podem ser feitas se você adquirir as DLCs (que não são de parcerias)
então você vai ter que gastar um dinheiro a mais, mas vale a pena, pq na promoção
você consegue comprar todas as dlcs necessárias ai por menos de 15 reais creio eu

enfim, se você pensa em jogar/platinar eu absolutamente recomendo
porém é um jogo mais background, eu fazia outras coisas enqnt jogava

85%Linux

Vampire Survivors is obviously due credit for the survivors genre. While I personally have enjoyed newer entries to the genre more, I can’t deny that VS is fun and deserving of praise. I like finding combinations of skills and different strategies with which to survive. The characters serve as loadouts for various stat changes to play with which is nice for variety. The sound effects really get you going and are exciting. By the end of a run, you generally feel very powerful if you played well which is a great feeling. Overall, while it is no longer my favorite in the genre, it remains genre-defining and worthy of picking up now and then for another run.

90%Nintendo Switch

Vampire Survivors really gets the dopamine flowing with its satisfying gameplay loop. Kill enemies to upgrade weapons and collect gold to spend on permanent stat upgrades between runs.

However, it's not always about the power rush as some unlocks require completing certain conditions that may need a specific weapon or visiting a location on a certain stage, which I appreciate. It means I feel compelled to explore new ways of playing the game without always picking the strongest character or weapons, which can become stale over time.

If you enjoy these type of games, there is a lot of content for the money you pay, and there are even free updates that release every few months that add even more stages and characters. There are also DLC, some of which feature crossovers from other games like Among Us or Castlevania. All but one are paid but they are reasonably priced and often go on sale. At the time of this review, I have not invested into any DLCs yet but I plan to in the future.

My biggest criticism is how much the game can slow down when there's a lot of enemies on screen at once, especially on the Nintendo Switch, where it can really become a PowerPoint slideshow in some extreme cases.

Overall, this game is a must-play.

100%PC

To put it simply, Vampire Survivors kicks ASS. This is no doubt my favorite game of all time. So many combinations of weapons and abilities and stages to do whatever your heart desires. The DLCs all kick ass, especially the latest Castlevania DLC which added so much to do and made the game so so much better. I love Vampire Survivors and I look forward to its future.

90%PC

This game looks so simple on the surface, but there's so much to do! I've become addicted to this game. My sole complaint is that it gets too easy past the 15 minute mark.

80%PC

Pretty sweet does get old quick but decent overall, beating the game is convoluted thou

5%PC

Basically blasphemy.

90%Nintendo Switch

Main Story: 9/10 - I thought it was outstanding!

Really incredible and addicting gameplay loop. Kept me coming back and having lots of fun. LOTS of little dopamine rushes from unlocking things and completing challenges—very good for my sanity. It became a little "solved" or very easily grindable near the end—I know DLC would add some of that challenge, and I could simply add the challenge myself, AND some of the fun comes from getting to the point where nearly everything is an instakill. But the endgame monotony is enough to knock off that last point. Really close though. It's a really great game. On to 100%!

100%PC

YO SOY EL VAMPIRO EXISTE

70%PC

A game to play while watching a movie or doing something else. Graphically, don't expect anything. Weapon and character variety is good enough.

90%PC

This was surprisingly engaging. Never played anything quite like it. Tons of unlocks, achievements, and secrets to chase. The main thing I didn't do was the Eudaimonia Machine. I never made it through the Bone Zone to get that last relic. Quite the difficulty spike there!

95%PC

The cool guy of bullet hell games.

100%PC

10/10

80%PC

An addicting game with a cool art style and tons of little secrets and combat styles for replayability. If you want a fairly simple 30 to 40 minute game to pass the time, then this is worth giving it a go.

80%PC

(High 8)
Fun, but gets old after a while.

75%PC

Recommended

This is a game that does its main gameplay loop that is super strong. This is the kind that you, unknowingly, lose entire evenings playing the game. However, I found that the game explained a lot less than I wished and runs were not short (20-30 minutes) and the RNG of the items showing up means experimenting has very uneven results. After living in the wiki after not seeing progress for items, I realized that I was no longer having the same enjoyment level.

90%Linux

The art style is great and game-play addicting. 15 minute play sessions have never been more fun.

55%Mobile

I don't get the hype behind this game. I only played for a couple of hours, but it is very repetitive. It's auto-attack and I just move the character about to avoid enemies, too mindless imo. It's also heavily inspired by Castlevania and lacking in originality.

80%PlayStation 5

Um dos jogos que mais joguei em 2024. Ultra viciante, cheio de upgrades legais e um ótimo passatempo que rende horas e horas sem nem perceber.

95%PC

The dopamine rush that keeps on giving. So many secrets and interesting game play twists. Some of the power ups aren’t the best and I feel like strategy gets thrown completely out the window after a certain point in the late game, but I mean I was hooked on this game as soon as I started. This is a perfect Steam Deck game

90%PC

greatest time sink in a while

90%Mobile

Very addictive

90%PC

Haven't played Operation Guns and Ode to Castlevania yet

90%PC

Light

80%PC

Addicting and really enjoyable. I have many thoughts on the concept.
⚫ I think that adventures while good in concept, end up screwing you with having to redo things for already unlocked weapons and evolutions. This is really bad.
⚫With the DLCs not enough banishes, I need more, just the Castlevania DLC requires probably 25 banishes to filter the horrible weapons.
⚫Grinding runs is not fun.

Overall I've enjoyed it, but my god did the grind start to hurt a lot around the half mark with the DLCs.

95%PlayStation 5

The first and the best of it’s original genre with new innovation gameplay I have never play before in a video game. Trully addictive with endless replaybility.

100%PC

считаю что это лучшая игра в своем жанре (если не брать в расчет серию игр тоха)
убил в ней много часов и на своем первом аккаунте даже выбил на ней платину
сейчас изредка играю на телефоне

80%PC

Really fun game, quite unique style (when it came out), liked the old/retro artstyle and gameplay

100%PC

One of the best indie games in the last few years.

90%PC

Popularized an entire new genre of games. Can't really remember the last time something got copied so quickly and broadly. It's incredibly fun to play, it is simple and yet packed full of so many secrets and unlockable content which doesn't seem to stop coming.

80%Nintendo Switch

This is certainly one of the games of all time, and of all of them that I played, I can certainly say that this has been one of them.

What can be said about Vampire Survivors other than - it is a pure dopamine generator, a form of crack cocaine, a destroyer of attention spans and, somewhere between all of this, a game that has had tons of love put into it.

This game has content for years if one is able to actually stomach unlocking all of its secrets. For me, beating the main challenge of the game seemed like a time just right to call it quits.

100%PC

Vampire Survivors keeps on surprising with more and more features, secrets and content. I really can't wait to get into the newer DLCs

75%PC

Jogo manerin p fikr jogando de bobeira, é barato e tal. É bom p jogar de forma remota, é manerin, recomendo msm n sendo nd demais.

80%Nintendo Switch

Muito bom, acabou ficando repetitivo após várias replays.

60%PC

Not for me.

85%PC

A great and very enjoyable game that probably could never be truly beaten, but that I thoroughly enjoyed and would rather wrap up before I sour on it. It is very entertaining to see how the game continuously adds new wrinkles to the basic mechanics at the most surprising moments. There are a lot of end game secrets to discover that I'd just rather not spend the time on, but that seem like they have the potential to add many new interesting elements to the game.

100%PlayStation 5

Completed game. Was about 10 unlocks from the platinum. Most fun I’ve had with a game in a long time.

100%PC

A good game with good and easy to understand gameplay and some very simple techniques. After my first few wins I still enjoy it.
Remember eat your garlic and get your unholy bible fast, always eat you spinach and get like Popeye the Sailor Man

100%PC

10/10 Most addicting game you will ever play

80%PC

Joguinho de respeito! Sua gameplay é simples, mas é satisfatório cada vez que o personagem vai se tornando cada vez mais forte e cada vez vai derrotando mais inimigos. As combinações de poderes e a sensação de ser impenetrável depois de uma build bem montada é recompensador!

70%PlayStation 5

Shoot flashing lights at 66 million enemies

80%Mobile

Simple yet complex, but more importantly, plays good and is fun.

The most important part about a game in this style is having a huge variety of viable strategies to win, if you aren't forced into a singular meta or style of play, it's guaranteed to be a great time for the vast majority, and that is what I felt playing vampire survivors.

Visually the game is really pretty, a "distinct" and pixel art style, but still having impressive monster designs and scenarios. The music is also good and the whole theme aswell.

But most importantly, even on the phone, this game felt really good, maybe even more than playing on PC, its just so pleasurable to be able to play this game anywhere.

I fluctuated between many builds and combo attempts before finding my mojo, but all of them I had a fighting chance, and was fun.

But probably my most disliked aspect is not having continuous runs, you can't close the game, and come back in mid run, you just have to restart, which is pretty bothersome.

In all, a really good game in the genre, and I'll probably keep playing.

A strong 8/10

80%PC

Cleared Stage 2

50%PC

I Don't get the hype behind this. The game is very repetitive, with each run starting very slowly and dragging on for far longer than I wanted. I tried multiple maps (which all felt the same) and characters and just could not get into it. Wish I could get a refund.

100%PC

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Plim plim, cérebro de primata com dopamina, plim plim $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

40%PC

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.

Awkward Mixture on Substack