Vampire Survivors

You want a simple "just-for-fun" game? Here it is.
Overkill visual effects junkie? You'll love it.
You want to be overwhelmed by your own damage numbers? You get that.
Over 100 hours of fun and the addiction still kicks in? I can confirm that.
You want something with the feeling "that's worth it"? Take it!

Perhaps wait for a Steam sale, and you'll pay less than for a hot dog (or a doner kebab).
In a world where studios like EA, Ubisoft, and Bethesda disappoint, this stands as a beacon in the darkness.

If action roguelike is your thing, this is a must-have!

Do you like seeing numbers appear everywhere and increase into the hundredths place? Do you like making broken af builds that push the game to near crashing? Do you love to see your enemies turn to ash in front of you as you become both literally and figuratively Death himself? Have you ever wanted to play a tree?

If you like "numbers go up" and unlocking things, this is for you. Plenty to do, even if you don't get the DLC, pretty cheap even when not on sale, wide variety of characters and weapons, and a good variety of stages. Almost nothing but positives.

The only negative thing I can add is that this game used to be modable. With the recent change in engine it no longer is. I really feel like this game should perhaps have some sort of allowance for mods, because it would be infinitely fun to add strange characters to this already strange roster, along with even more strange weapons. I look at the mods page on Nexus and I am saddened by what was.

As for the DLC, all of its pretty fun. the Castlevania one is definitely the most bang for your buck since it has so much stuff in it. Moonspell, Contra, and Among Us are neat, but they aren't the longest. I'd advise to get those on sale.

its so simple and fun. i play with my kids to see who can last longer.

This is the most affordable and easy to administer epilepsy screener I have found available at time of publication. I highly recommend this software.

Gioco molto divertente che ti tiene incollato per ore, consigliato a tutti gli amanti del genere

Stricken with boredom? Play Vampire Survivors, this game, for me at least, is a glorified fidget toy: stop thinking and give my thumbs something to do for a bit while also being stimulated by fancy sounds and the visuals. This game is incredibly simple, walk around, automatically kill things, get XP from dead things to get more weapons and upgrades, and repeat. Despite the simplicity this game can be super varied because of the sheer quantity of weapons, characters, and stages, and in conjunction with all of the achievements, the replay value is incredible.

Each character has their own stats, starting weapon, modifiers, and unlock requirements, some require finding their coffin in a stage to unlock them, and for others, a particular condition must be met, it's usually kill X amount of things with this character or evolve a weapon, very rarely is it any huge task. There's a checklist for each character that tells you which stages you've beaten with that character, so it encourages you to beat every stage with every character, though that would take forever and I don't think there's a reward for doing it so I don't recommend it unless you have nothing better to do.

Gameplay is very simple, you move around, and sometimes press your confirm button to select an upgrade. You get upgrades by killing enemies and by collecting the XP they drop, there are three types of XP items, the standard blue one which gives a consistent amount, then there are the green ones which drop a consistently slightly higher amount, and then there are the red ones which give a variable amount but is usually higher than the other two. Once you level up you are given a choice between 3 (sometimes 4) upgrades, which will either be a new weapon or item, or an upgrade to your weapon or item, and then later in the game, you can choose to reroll your choices, skip the level-up entirely, or 'banish' an upgrade never to be seen for the rest of the run. Your inventory consists of two rows, one for weapons, and the other for items, most of the time, you will be limited to 6 of each, the only exception being you can pick up weapons and items that are scattered around in the stages even after you reach the limit. With the right pairing of weapons and items, you can evolve your weapon, which gives it new super-powerful effects, and you get to keep your item in most cases. Bosses will spawn every few minutes in your run, beating them will drop a chest that'll give you 1-5 upgrades for free along with some money, and this is also the only way to evolve your weapons. Most stages end after 30 minutes, there are ways to bypass this but it's more fun to figure it out, reaching or passing the time limit of a stage will deem it completed, and in the early game will unlock new stages. Things called relics can be found in stages and they provide a variety of effects, both in-game and even in the menus, each stage that has relics to collect will tell you in the menu, and there will be a little check-mark after you've collected it to let you know you have it.

This game has a lot of weapons, like a lot a lot, from whips, to guns, to holy water, to birds, this game truly has a lot, and since the game activates these weapons for you, it's all about finding the best synergy between characters and weapons to be as unkillable as possible. The weapons mainly vary with how they attack, some attacks are anchored to you and move with you while others are projectiles and have a set path after they fire, and then the area and damage that each weapon covers vary, as well as how fast the weapons attack and how long the secondary effects stay on the enemies (for the weapons that can inflict them or that are active for a period of time.) Note that the cooldown period for weapons instantly ends when you upgrade them, it's only really noticeable for weapons with long cooldowns. Some weapons, suck, but luckily it's a minority of weapons that suck, as the rest are viable in some shape or form, they excel in at least one area so you can plan and have all bases covered. swarms? no problem, attacks that cover a large area. Big guys? No sweat, attacks that deal quick concentrated damage, or large, but more infrequent big hits. Then it gets even crazier once you start to evolve them, and being an unkillable god is incredibly satisfying.

This game also has a lot of items, too, their main purpose is for weapon evolution, but they also provide dandy effects, more health, reduced damage, deal more damage, and attack faster. Some weapons also require the same item to evolve, so if you want maximum evolutions but also some extra item space, I'd say that's the way to go.

I love the DLC for this game, it doesn't do anything new exactly, it just takes the already abundant content from the base game and makes it even more abundant, with new weapons, items, characters, and stages, sadly they don't add extra achievements to match the in-game unlocks, but it makes sense as to why. Listen, have you ever wanted to see the among us beans go ham on the undead? BOOM, emergency meeting DLC baby! Contra and Castlevania collabs make sense, but then Among Us, it's super ridiculous, but it's also my favorite DLC in the game, so weird works.

This game has a great soundtrack, I can't have too much of an opinion on it, since most of the time when I'm playing this game I'm either listening to Spotify or watching YouTube videos, but from what I have listened to it's really good, and I own the soundtrack so I can listen to the base game (and some of the DLC) tracks whenever, and that brings me to a piece of advice, if you like a game and want to keep supporting it, buy the soundtrack.

This is a great game should you want to stop thinking for a while and just want to calm down, I understand that slaughtering the undead while trying to calm down doesn't sound like it would go very well, but you might be surprised. Anyway, this is a great game, and it's super cheap, which makes the value astronomically good.

So deceptively simple, so incredibly fun!

Best bullethell for the money, and one of my all around favourites in general

While I am not someone who usually cares that much about replayability (so long as the first playthrough is great) this game is about as close as one can be to infinitely replayable. I would highly recommend it, especially given its cheap price.

Quite challenging and addictive. Really enjoy the soundtrack, especially those from Ode to Castlevania.

Very fun, lots of achievements so it gives you a ton of stuff to work on, they add DLC periodically so even more stuff to do. Great game to mindlessly lose time to

It's fun and simple. Loads of opportunities to pause as well if you're looking for something to play a bit here and there.

When I first saw this game I thought it looked ridiculous, a pointless waste of time. Nothing about it sounded fun. But then I watched a video of someone playing it on YouTube and thought it looked much more fun than the promotional videos had shown. So I gave it a try and OMG, I totally enjoyed this game. It has no right to be as fun as it is. I tend to be a completionist and this game helped scratch that itch. The best part is that I'm a huge fan of Castlevania so that DLC was just the greatest thing I never knew I needed. Seriously, for me the Castlevania DLC made the game at least 10x more fun.

My only complaint would be it's kind of a one and done for me. Once everything is collected I don't feel a need to play it. Loved playing it that first time around though, collecting all the things, unlocking all the stuff, it was fantastic. I'd have to do a complete fresh install to relock everything to make unlocking it again enjoyable. But still, it was the best 190+ hours of my recent gaming life :D

It has a very unique style. It is a fun game that is not boring. It can also be used as an alternative game that can be played occasionally.

It's a fun game where you survive 30 minutes at a time (15 with hurry mode or endless when unlocked) as hordes of enemies crowd your screen and you get ever increasingly ridiculous weapons. A good number of hours out of it, especially for the price point. There's a lot of characters, different weapons, evolutions, secrets, stages etc. Sometimes things get so ridiculous that you can't even see what's going on anymore, but it's all part of the charm of the game.

I don't really have any critiques, because it does what it sets out to very well. I will say though that the game is considerably easier than I expected it was going to be going in.

Okay, I get it, maybe I have game addiction, maybe graphics do not matter sometimes, maybe plants can be dangerous, maybe vampire is in a different castle.

took 60h to complete 100% of the game and I can say this game is a gem and even after completing it I'm still playing it for fun. a lot of content, secret and nice difficulty i would play it all over again just for fun.

Fantastic game seems shallow on the first run and before you know it you are grabbed and sucked into the addiction. The game has a surplus of content and builds available the 100% took a bit of time as there is a ton of achievements but at no point did i start to dislike the game. 10/10 I survived the vampire.

dopamine simulator, i have bought every dlc and completed it and will continue to do so, the endless builds u can make, the ridiculous amount of power you can achieve, it's very fun. best 5 bucks you'll ever spend.

Deceptively simple yet incredibly addictive. The gameplay loop is pure chaos in the best way, with satisfying progression and endless replayability. The retro graphics and music add to its charm, making it a standout indie gem. Perfect for quick sessions or hours of fun.

This is a great game to just jump in for a quick 15 minutes...or spend hours if you're not paying attention. I like collecting things and achievments, and this game is mind-numbingly fun to just sit back, try to get good loadouts for stages, and try again with a different build if things don't work out.

super satisfying bullet hell with bright colors and catchy jingles makes you feel like you're gambling without the financial risk

rlly fun just need to look up the upgrade paths so you can survive ;) the skeleton with the halo is fun and the guy with double projectiles too havent unlocked everything yet bet theres a lot more fun ones too

Fun time killer. Lots of different maps and weapon combos to keep the game interesting.

The best arcade game since arcade games. Seriously, though. Just buy it. You'll try it, 3 blinks later it's been 5 days and every time you close your eyes all you can see is vampire survivors.

this game revolutionized the gaming industry for the better. it out-does counter strike, minecraft, rocket league. it is just the best of its kind

It's literally 5 bucks when it's NOT on sale. Just hop in and see its appeal for yourself. You'll easily get your money's worth.




But if that's not enough for you, then it's easy to pick up but with a lot more replayability than you might expect, it's like the perfect blend of old arcade and modern game concepts in all the right ways, and even has a surprisingly great soundtrack.

Just one more round... *looks at watch* Dang it!
That sums up Vampire Survivors. Works perfectly on Steam Deck, doesn't drain its battery much, provides fun for hours on end or until you fall asleep on the couch with your neck hurting.

Seriously, best bang for the buck since... don't know, long time ago that a game gave me this much enjoyment for the money.

I was so addicted to playing this I forgot to eat and sleep, never mind write a review. It looks ordinary in screenshots, but don't let appearances deceive you! Just try it. You can't get much more fun for $5.

Vampire Survivors is a masterclass in delivering exhilarating simplicity. At first glance, it appears to be a minimalist pixel-art game with a straightforward premise: survive waves of increasingly challenging enemies. But beneath its unassuming surface lies an addictive gameplay loop that hooks you and refuses to let go.

The game thrives on its accessibility. Controls are intuitive—most actions are automated, leaving players to focus on strategic movement and upgrade choices. As hordes of enemies flood the screen, the chaos becomes oddly meditative, as every small decision contributes to whether you emerge victorious or succumb to the masses.

What makes Vampire Survivors truly shine is its progression system. Every run feels rewarding, offering permanent upgrades, unlockable characters, and a growing arsenal of devastating weapons and synergistic combos. The sense of accomplishment after mowing down a seemingly insurmountable wave of foes is unmatched.

However, the game’s only flaw is its own brilliance. You’ll find yourself wishing there were even more achievements, content, and challenges. Each new character, weapon, and map feels like opening a gift you never want to stop unwrapping.

For anyone who loves roguelike mechanics, addictive progression, and the thrill of surviving against all odds, Vampire Survivors is an essential experience. It's a game that keeps you coming back, wishing for just one more run—and hoping for even more content to devour.

No notes, this game is fantastic... too addicting maybe. Really good for someone with carpal tunnel syndrome.

so addicting and such a simple game -- you only need one hand to play. I can lay in bed and play on my Mac with just WASD!

I try not to play too much though since it feels like this game could potentially give me brain damage

a simple yet intuitive quickie. this game does for the vampire genre what isaac did to the binding genre. its like the binding of isaac in that both games are good.

It's easy cause you just use the d pad but it's still extremely addictive. Almost like Pac-Man.

From the time I've spent playing this game, it is a very much along the line of certain games from the 8/16 bit era with some modern twists. It reminds me very much of Smash TV. You have a bunch of enemies crowding the screen trying to kill you with varying degrees of toughness or added abilities, and you get a variety of weapons you can use to kill them before they get you.

It's a fun way to kill time. It's brain dead action after you've unlocked enough items and characters, which is great to do from time to time. Maybe you could try modifying it with an option to be like Beat Hazard as a way to add some more variety to the game.

Probably my biggest gripes are the amount of time you have to invest in getting things unlocked, especially when you include the DLC's. I can only see a very small number of people wasting their lives playing the game to actually do that as opposed to going online and using the spell system to unlock them. The game would otherwise be a painfully boring waste of time to accomplish those feats. It would take far longer than the average player would be willing to spend on content that doesn't really improve the game but just gives you some slightly different variety in how you kill the endless hordes. I've been playing 82 hours at this point, and I still haven't completed the 1.0 collection. I've pretty much hit my limit and need to take a break from the game, because it's stopped being enjoyable unlocking things and is becoming work.

Another gripe I have is unlocking items that strive to make it easier to achieve the weapon/ability items you want. Just give me a sandbox mode please to choose the weapon/items I want to try. These abilities almost makes it less fun, because it's so slow to banish/skip/re-roll in an effort to maybe getting what you want, and unless you have endless mode unlocked, and maybe a couple of other things, and the right character, you may not even be able to get everything built up and evolved before the time runs out on the stage.

I recommend this game for some mindless horde destroying from time to time, because it's got nothing more going for it than that.

Just finished getting the 100% (as of 12/29/2024), and I really enjoy the game! There's many different ways you can build a run, and while some may be more consistent, I truly enjoyed the depth the game's systems had. You can disable meta progression to make the game harder if you want, and it's a great game to turn your brain off to after a long day. Tons of things to unlock, a lot of the skill comes from becoming familiar with the items/synergies as well as with movement. This vein of games gets knocked sometimes for not having you aim your weapons/having auto-fire, but I actually enjoy the simplicity. It's hard to be a sweat in Vampire Survivors, and that's part of the charm. Just an overall fun game! I'm excited for future updates/DLC, and the price is really hard to beat.

Simple but Complex, Highly Addictive but Rewarding... This game is Everything a Game Should Be and More.

Brought on STEAM, after a Few Hours I brought this Including All DLC for PS4/PS5.

I don't think I have a weakness to gambling but this game makes me wonder sometimes. What a power trip. Hello instant happy brain chemicals. Fear the addicting flashy screen that keeps you from looking away.

10/10 but how much of it is how I actually feel and not just what I crave..

I reached the part where you have to go comb through a wiki to figure out how to progress further and I'm not doing that so the game is over for me I guess. First few hours are kinda fun before you become insanely overpowered and it's impossible to lose, but after that it's like one step up from an idle game.

Vampire Survivors is legitimately one of my favorite games right now (and has been for a long time). This is the kind of game that brings me back to it even if I've spent some time playing a new game for a while. Other games I may forget about and scarcely go back to playing them. This game has so much content, even without the DLC, that I find myself coming back over and over again. Yeah, my new games are new. And shiny. But Vampire Survivors has staying power. Which is something I appreciate. To be honest, I've owned Vampire Survivor for so long, I don't remember if I paid for the download or not. But the point is moot. I've enjoyed this game so much, my intention is to buy all the DLCs for it when I get paid again. So, even if I did get it for no cost, I'd be willing to pay for it, and I will, in the form of DLC.

Very fun game and very VERY addictive. The Castlevania DLC is incredible. I never want to play this game ever again in my entire life.

A splendid arcade style bullet hell game that seems simple on the surface yet has plenty of depth with its weapon and power up combinations. All you have to worry about is dodging foes and collecting power ups since the game doesn't use a second stick to aim your weapons.

This game is amazing.
I don't even need a reason to play this it's just fun unlocking and making builds.
My only complaint is the universal Rng bug,
Allowing me to max every weapon 1 at a time.
If I just disable weapons i don't want to use that run, winning at any diff is guaranteed.

Curse level i consider diff, due to some levels getting kinda crazy and basically having 0 vision on others.

Anyway despite all that, the game is fun.

Imagine making a little survivor game that grows beyond your wildest dreams and it becomes so huge that some of the inspiration from over 30 years ago gets added to your game as DLC. That's how crazy this game is. <3

Overall: 10/10

The above score is not a final score given based on the analysis below and is rather my personal rating of my experience with the game. This is mostly a for fun thing I do after playing games based entirely on how I feel in the moment. A numerical score isn't really all that useful in practice! The breakdown below is meant to give you more cohesive information about the game and is, in my opinion, far more practical and useful for your consideration.

---Breakdown---

Worth the Money?
[X] 100% worth full price
[-] Buy it on a minor sale
[-] Buy it exclusively on a deep sale
[-] Not worth even if it was free

DLC Worth the Money?
[X] DLCs are priced fairly and provide substantial value
[-] DLCs provide good value but are a bit overpriced
[-] Only buy the DLCs on sale
[-] DLCs aren't worth it even on sale
[-] There's free DLC

Personal Enjoyment
[X] So good I completed the achievements
[-] Had a great time/Having a great time
[-] It had its moments
[-] Not for me

Starting Experience
[-] Grabs you by the balls
[X] Starts strong
[-] Needs some time to cook
[-] Never quite got there

Learning Curve
[-] Easy to pick up
[-] Takes some time
[X] Challenging but rewarding
[-] Very complicated
[-] Entirely overwhelming

Gameplay Loop
[X] Incredibly satisfying
[-] Smooth and polished
[-] Its alright
[-] Feels like its missing something
[-] Boring

Controls
[-] Buttery smooth
[X] Intuitive and responsive
[-] Gets the job done
[-] Clunky and confusing
[-] Feels like you are fighting the game

Art Direction/Thematic
[-] WOW!
[X] Absolutely nailed what they went for
[-] Stylized and coherent
[-] Nice enough to look at
[-] Not visually pleasing

Sound Design
[X] A complete banger
[-] Audibly pleasing
[-] Has a unique sound
[-] Uninspired

Time Commitment
[X] Great for short sessions
[-] Can stop and go as you please
[-] Long but with solid stopping points
[-] You'll need dedicated play sessions
[-] You cannot be employed

Attention Required
[-] Prime second monitor content
[-] May require full attention for brief periods
[X] You need to actively focus on the game
[-] Requires your full undivided attention

Closing Comments:
This is the game that sparked an entire genre and it absolutely deserves to be the namesake of said genre. Vampire Survivors is the single best survivors game on the market and its not close in my opinion. The level of detail and intricacy of the secrets/achievements in this game is off the chart. Also, Ode to Castlevania is the craziest map I have ever experienced in one of these games. That map is an entire game on its own. I genuinely couldn't sing enough praise for this game, this is one you do not want to miss!

Basically a RPG-esque progression roguelite on crack cocaine. Fight endless waves of monsters, hit max level, get stupidly overpowered, kill death itself, all in 30 minute (max chunks). Very simple, very satisfying. Some cute puzzles and easter eggs for unlocks, but this is dopamine, concentrated.

-Weapons autofire
-Level-up choices randomized
-Easy to get stupid, stupid strong after the initial learning curve
-Unlocks galore (over 100 in just the base game)

Buy buy buy. Slay slay slay.

Truly one of the best bullet hell games I've ever played. Very simple yet incredibly addictive.

For this price the game is fine. But honestly I find it piss boring after the first 2-3 runs, I've got no interest in repeating the same boring-ass gameplay loop to unlock other shit. No thanks.

Excellent. Vampire Survivors does everything perfectly and floods one's senses with pure joy. It will put you to sleep in that good, little homeless person rolled up in multiple thick blankets in bed, in a new warm mansion, on a wintry day, with a TV playing cartoons or a documentary subtly in the background sorta way. Mmm.

One of the best auto-shooters out there. This is a game with a satisfying loop and plenty of content to unlock. The pixel art gives you a nostalgic feel and there is even content available from Castlevania and Contra! If you enjoy any auto-shooter, then you will enjoy one of the originals right here.