By popular demand, I now shift my focus towards a dark fantasy casual title I like to call, a veritable auto battler without having any chess elements to it. Vampire Survivors has been quite a sleeper hit, given its accessible price point, its premise and especially its predilection for short, action-packed gaming sessions tickling our heartfelt desires for instant gratification and self-fulfilment.

The game has grown on me like a week-old beard and that was rather surprising since I rarely indulge into the casual spectrum of independent gaming on Steam. Nevermind playing anything on a mobile platform since I barely recognize most of those “entertainment apps” as being proper games worthy of my undivided attention.

And yet here we are. Developed and published by poncle, Vampire Survivors is a stellar Steam debut with future ports for Android and iOS. There will be no escaping, though I welcome such titles as a much needed break from any other genre one might “default” towards prolonged sessions. Almost making me revise my previously mentioned stance on the majority of casual experiences.

“Less is more” is an ancient and eloquent Greek proverb. It certainly applies to Vampire Survivors, since you don’t get much in the form of narrative development. Not even static introduction screens, as the only eye-catching artwork within this title, is its Main Menu.

The story will conjure itself as you keep playing, pushing yourself in regards to that titular survival which is entirely dependent on a “rinse and repeat” type of progression. The Dark Souls pathos has transpired well into many other subgenres. One defeat too many, might still lead towards a well deserved victory once the necessary lessons have been applied.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2865249665

“Midway upon the journey of our life
  I found myself within a forest dark,
  For the straightforward pathway had been lost.”

Dante’s Inferno. You start out weak and disorientated within a haunted forest. Suddenly you’re surrounded by vicious creatures seeking to devour your very life essence. Only way to stop these bloodsuckers is to stay on the move and place your trust into a curious assortment of spells and wards firing in any and all directions.

Survival under such circumstances is aptly metered by a timer which is also acting as future warning of the impending doom. The deadly waves become bigger and faster, the foes are increasingly diversified. It’s only a matter of time until you’re engulfed by them, especially in the first few playthroughs.

The Phaser 3 graphics engine! That’s a rare one for my reviews, was almost certain it’s a variation of Unity until the Credits section settled this query. For all that seemingly endless fun it can provide, this engine still doesn’t properly follow the 16:9 aspect ratio, leaving “hollow edges” where the Steam Overlay messages glitch out.

A minor inconvenience, at least the Overlay works as intended and I could capture those chaotic battlefields with my screenshots. The only HUD elements which can be hidden, are the damage numbers and I strongly suggest you leave those on for future reference in subsequent sessions. Performance can hardly put a strain even on first generation smartphones from the looks of it.

Don’t expect any technical difficulties. In fact, I was able to push steady 144fps even when there were swarms of monsters by the thousands on-screen. The “Performance Mode” didn’t seem to do anything, I think it’s sort of an in-house joke like the 3D SCUMM rendering option for “The Curse of Monkey Island”.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2865249644

Mimicking the retro feel down to the severely limited selection of sounds. Mute them and blast some heavy metal in the background. “When the Doom music kicks in”, your survival skills will become truly motivated. You’ll thank me later.


Simply moving around won't suffice in Vampire Survivors. You need to evolve your offensive capabilities and that involves picking up the experience gems dropped by fallen foes. With sufficient practice, you will learn to navigate those deadly swarms and collect XP at a steady pace, this in turn helping you increase the kill count.

Thus, survival might almost become trivial, if not for the boss battles that clearly require more strategic thinking than just maintaining your distance from their attacks and spells. Use the environment to your advantage, though be wary of the enemies that can cross through most obstacles, since they're flying or have an ethereal form.

The game does have “vampire” in its title, yet you shall face all manner of creatures from the fantasy genre. Some will prove quite difficult to cull. As predictable as those enemy types might become once you can associate them with the maps and timeframes you reach, a handful of random elements remain in place: your auxilliary spells and the special item drops.

Keep an eye out for the chests with upgrade coins (they're highlighted with directional arrows), since these will help you unlock your first set of characters as well as stat buffs which carry over from one playthrough to another. The treasure chests must be your priority.

As stable and comprehensive as it is, Vampire Survivors is still an Early Access title and that can only mean further improvements alongside new locations and challenges down its road map. I'll say again just how much I appreciate such indie titles that manage to take a minimal approach and turn it into something truly creative and decently priced at the same time.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2865249692

We live in an ever-shifting period of price hikes and constant inflation, but not all things must be overpriced and overrated. And even if you could play this game for half an hour and try to forget about it, once it caught your attention, you will soon begin to wonder how you sunk so much time into it, so fast. The true magic of certain casual titles going above and beyond the mediocrity of their peers. Looking forward to what Vampire Survivors has in store for us in the near future.

+ Steam Trading Cards.
+ Steam Achievements.
+ Pleasant graphics, retro feel.
+ Replay value through unlockables.
+ Highly rewarding & addictive gameplay.

- Limited and repetitive sound selection.

EDIT: Added Steam Trading Cards.

This article was submitted for Imperial Reviews. Following my Curator Page, will help me keep publishing new reviews as soon as I can. Thank you for your support!