V Rising by Stunlock Studios AB is a product of a data-sucking vampire that can wreak havoc at any time of the day. Dracula would turn green with envy.

It starts with several services being activated as soon as players launch the product. This begins with the Epic Online Service (EOS) responsible for telemetry, followed by Valve's Steam Datagram Relay (SDR) and Connection Manager (CM), a proprietary service for retrieving the server list and Captive Portal Checks, Unity Analytics along with an additional collector, and feedback to Google Pub/Sub.

All of this happens before users reach the main menu. Before this occurs, users are prompted to enter their date of birth. The rationale behind this is that the voice chat is disabled based on the entered age. Enabling it after a false entry or correcting it later is, of course, not intended.

Once the main menu is finally reached, there are advertisements and amusing links to Discord, X, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. Naturally, clicking on these activates the respective platform's trackers.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3254070549

Since a significant amount of data accumulates during a one-hour gaming session, I must drastically shorten the information.

Note
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Stunlock Studios AB

Stunlock Studios AB is a Swedish company based in Skövde. The company was acquired in 2021 by the Chinese conglomerate Tencent Holdings Ltd. (腾讯).

Stunlock Studios AB - Kaplansgatan 16G - 54134 Skövde - Sweden
Tencent Holdings Ltd. - Tencent Binhai Building No. 33 - Haitian Second Road - Hi-Tech Park, Nanshan District- Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518054- China
Google, LLC - 1600 Amphitheatre Pkwy Building 43, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA
Epic Games, Inc. - 620 Crossroads Blvd., Cary, NC 27518, USA
Unity Technologies - San Francisco, 30 3rd Street, CA 94103, USA
Amazon.com, Inc. - 410 Terry Ave N Seattle, WA, 98109-5210 USA

A bit of this, a bit of that. And in no time, hundreds of data records have disappeared into the digital void.

Date of birth
Allegedly, this is not exploited online. Nothing was noticed in this regard during the tests. However, the service from Google worries me. So, some form of feedback did occur. The birthdate itself cannot be changed later in the game. This is important for the voice chat. If an age too low is given, the chat is locked.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3254092438

The date can be changed in the %userprofile%\AppData\LocalLow\Stunlock Studios\VRising\Settings\v3\ directory via the ClientSettings.json file.

Nonsense, considering the overall behavior of the product and legal data regulations.

Epic Online Services
I'll keep this brief. Epic Online Services (EOS) is generally required for account, anti-cheat, data server, login, e-commerce, friends and communication, inventory, leaderboards, telemetry, mods, matchmaking, payment system, metrics and logging, achievements, and much more in games. This entails a form of online compulsion because, without this service, many products would either not work at all or only partially.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2636065433

Here, players are also logged in via Epic (OAuth) and online services like matchmaking and server data are requested. Telemetry is additionally activated and updates itself approximately every 1-2 minutes along with data and IPv4 addresses. Depending on the duration, nearly 100s of IPv4 come together in one gaming session.

Valve Corporation
Valve's proprietary services manage connections to the Steam Community Servers and, similar to EOS, support multiplayer functions. In the game, the service is called Steam P2P.
However, SDR is often found in many single-player titles, where it has absolutely no place.

Unity Analytics
We all know and love Unity. That's why they always have their fingers in everything and steal from us. Even the product itself is based on the Unity engine it is only a bland accessory here and plays a minor role in the data story. The only thing worth mentioning here is that an additional service has been activated alongside the standard analytics.

Google Pub/Sub
The service is a real-time analytics service for big data analysis and ETL processes. In games Google Pub/Sub is found in many Capcom and other products. V Rising is also infected with it.

Pub/Sub as funnel analytics represents the second major telemetry service alongside EOS, capturing extensive data.

"Funnel" analytics, or funnel analysis, involves mapping and analyzing a series of events that lead to a defined goal, such as in online advertising a path that results from an offer to a purchase, or the individual steps that begin with initial user engagement in a mobile app and end with a sale on an eCommerce platform.


Own Service
Surprisingly, an in-house service under its own domain is also used. Well, it doesn't make much of a difference. Advertising with UTM/Referal tracking and server lists. That's it.


There is are comprehensive terms of use on the Steam Store page and in the game itself. In the game, of course, only after the data has already been collected and sent. An opt-out is not possible.

It is suggested to users that they can deactivate the analysis data in the game. However, this is only done half-heartedly.

What is actually switched off is Google Pub/Sub and the Unity Collector. What is not switched off are the core analytics of Unity Technologies, as well as the telemetry service of Epic Games, Inc. All other services are also not impressed by the "opt-out".

In this sense, users are being lied to about the actual program behaviour.

Regardless of this, it is also the case here that data is collected first and only then are users asked whether they want this or not.

No, or only partially

Epic Online Services: Product-dependent
Unity Analytics: Can be blocked
Google Pub/Sub: Can be blocked
Valve SDR: Product-dependent
Valve CM: No
Valve Captive Portal: Can be blocked
VRising Advertising and Server Lists: No, as they are found under the same domain

For additional details such as a full connection overview for blocking connections and involved IPv4 addresses, company details, and a German version of the review, can be found as usual at GameIndustry[gameindustry.eu]. If interested, join the Penguin Domination group to ensure you don't miss any reviews on Steam.

As always,general ratings first,followed by the full review :


---{ Graphics }---
☐ You forget what reality is
☐ Beautiful
☑ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Bad
☐ Don‘t look too long at it
☐ MS-DOS

---{ Gameplay }---
☐ Very good
☑ Good
☐ It's just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Watch paint dry instead
☐ Just don't

---{ Audio }---
☐ Eargasm
☑ Very good
☐ Good
☐ Not too bad
☐ Bad
☐ I'm now deaf

---{ Audience }---
☐ Kids
☑ Teens
☑ Adults
☐ Grandma

---{ PC Requirements }---
☐ Check if you can run paint
☐ Potato
☑ Decent
☐ Fast
☐ Rich boi
☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer

---{ Game Size }---
☐ Floppy Disk
☐ Old Fashioned
☑ Workable
☐ Big
☐ Will eat 10% of your 1TB hard drive
☐ You will want an entire hard drive to hold it
☐ You will need to invest in a black hole to hold all the data

---{ Difficulty }---
☐ Just press 'W'
☐ Easy
☑ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Significant brain usage
☐ Difficult
☐ Dark Souls

---{ Grind }---
☐ Nothing to grind
☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks
☐ Isn't necessary to progress
☑ Average grind level
☐ Too much grind
☐ You'll need a second life for grinding

---{ Story }---
☐ No Story
☑ Some lore
☐ Average
☐ Good
☐ Lovely
☐ It'll replace your life

---{ Game Time }---
☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee
☐ Short
☐ Average
☑ Long
☐ To infinity and beyond

---{ Price }---
☐ It's free!
☑ Worth the price
☐ If it's on sale
☐ If u have some spare money left
☐ Not recommended
☐ You could also just burn your money

---{ Bugs }---
☐ Never heard of
☑ Minor bugs
☐ Can get annoying
☐ ARK: Survival Evolved
☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs

---{ ? / 10 }---
☐ 1
☐ 2
☐ 3
☐ 4
☐ 5
☐ 6
☐ 7
☑ 8
☐ 9
☐ 10

V Rising is one of the better COOP games you can currently play out on the market,with a great variety in boss fights,combat,building and also how the PVP works,that is,if you even want to have PVP.

The graphics are good,especially when there are big fights happening and the spells start flying everywhere,with the moon shining all around and some local farmers are running away with torches,also the varied zones and how they look and work differently is also a nice touch to add to the artistic side of the game.

Soundwise,yet again it's good,the voice acting is great,the nature and ambient is soothing and has a good vibe,the spells,the weapons,everything is good and just sounds right,even more enjoyable with a good sound system.

There isn't really a lot of story,mostly some bits and parts of lore,but you won't be really playing this game for story,trust me,it's all about having fun,building a castle and slowly becoming the next big Dracula dude that everyone is going to fear.

Now the best part,the gameplay . There is no way to get really bored of V Rising,because the PvE is great and varied,with many bosses,different enemies,the zones have different effects or how they work,and if all that ain't enough,you can also hop on servers or play with friends and enable PVP , where the threat of losing it all,because you can if you enable all the right settings,will keep you on your toes all the time.

One of the best parts is the castle building,where you are free to build it the way you want,tho you need to take a certain spot or landmark to say so,then get more blueprints to have more options,either the floors,the walls,crafting or gardening buildings,but there are quite a lot,all linked between them so you won't have to necessarily scrap them as you keep progressing. It's one of the nicest parts of the game,with the freedom and options you get,easily letting you waste hours upon hours just tending to your castle.

Combat is also a great and strong part of the game,with every weapon having it's own passives and skill sets,some being better in certain situations,but an even better part are the spells,the vampire powers itself,they can change how fights and combat works entirely,either with strong buffs or all out AOE attacks,but the later bosses,especially act 4 , is where the game really shines with how the combat works,it's honestly a blast and a great time,tho really challenging.

There are a lot of QoL stuff also,especially since the game came out officially,with castle relocation now an option,fast travel,custom settings for difficulties,horses,all the different chests where you can only put certain mats,there are a ton of stuff thought for the benefit of the player.

Overall,if you're seeking action,creativity and freedom of choice as to what you want to challenge,be it alone or with friends,with others hunting you or just the world itself,V Rising offers a lot,with nothing pay to win to help you win,just great gearing,awesome building options and a really fun combat system.

V Rising is worthy of it's price,but if you can get a sale,it's even better,but it's one of the better COOP games you can get right now and since now it's fully released,there ain't a better time to get it. I can assure you,you will enjoy being a vampire and becoming one of the strongest out there.

If you liked the review and want to find even more content,reviews or just support me,you can do it on my Patreon : patreon.com/SteveAnton97

Fun gameplay if you enjoy power fantasy trips and grinding + the base building is a lot of fun. I also like the OST, sounds good. Haven't really played it in mp yet, but a solid single player experience for me.
BUT PLEASE, PLEAAAAAAASE let me just replace stairs with other types, instead of forcing me to rip half my castle apart to unlink every object from the staircase before removing it, I am begging you guys