Vampire Survivors

Vampire Survivors is a game I've heard a lot about. Mostly from fellow Steam Deck owners, who have joked about the power provided by the device, and effectively only playing a game that requires very few resources to run.

Vampire Survivors is what you would categorise as a "rogue lite," but that's doing it an injustice and probably locking potential fans out. It's got those classic elements. Namely when you run out of lives, you just restart from where you left off. And the world/enemies is randomly generated, so there's not much map learning involved. Weapons are acquired over time by collecting currency from fallen enemies and smashed items around the map. That currency can be exchanged for upgrades & characters, each with their own unique abilities.

None of what I'm saying so far is particularly compelling.

The enemies you fight are procedurally generated, but are all some variant of beastly vampire. Starting with the simple and easily fought bat, up to nosferatu-esque ghouls. Each with different armour levels, weaponry, etc. As you upgrade your armour, max health and weapons, the enemies get more nasty. And then it introduces hordes of bats. And then it introduces zombie plants that encircle you, in a neat nod to the classic mobile game, Plants vs Zombies.

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The above is one of the views on Steam. And it nails it. This game "gets" you on the most basic video-game level that there is. Dopamine. It's easy to play. Almost too easy. And it keeps giving you something. Upgrades, weapons or just the thrill of avoiding a horde of bats from one direction while a pile of zombified vampires come at you from another.

There's probably some wonderfully over-arching strategic vision I've not yet stumbled across. I've only played an hour or two of the game so far. But it keeps drawing me in. Much like Dead Cells did, but this is so much lighter a touch to play.

I love it. It's so silly. And that's why I love it. It's primitive, a bit crude, well put-together and is almost the purest form of what gaming has to offer. Endless waves of enemies is an easy concept. And you do such little work while getting through those waves, that it winds up being fun to go back and play again. It doesn't have the frustration factor that comes with more skill-based titles like Dead Cells or Hades.

I can't recommend it enough. And if you're still on the fence, stick it on your wishlist and wait for an inevitable sale price. But do not let this one pass you by, especially if you own a Steam Deck. And I say that having only reached level 12. So far.