Refined a mixture of existing game elements into arguably a new genre that has seen a lot of progression since its initial release. That being said, Vampire Survivors lags behind and seems quite of hollow compared to its new competitors. But even without comparing it to other games and just judging it on its own, there is very little meat in this game that does not consist of working through the unlock list. The synergies are too one-dimensional to allow for complex theory crafting, the different characters too similiar, the stages too undercomplex to make me want to stay in them beyond the first clearing.
The artstyle is effective but not impressive, although the music is great. So there's a lot that's not really too convincing here.
But what it does in a great manner and what i perceive to be the main draw of this game and its siblings is creating a spectacular drama contained within (30/15 Minutes). From fighting with ease, to scraping by, close to death, perhaps even using up revivals as the build just doesnt click, moving with great precision and attention to save those last little bits of hp, as you slowly collect levels, slowly grow in strength again until suddenly your build starts snowballing. This and its many different variations that one experiences as one moves through the game, combined with the constant although not quite challenging cognitive task of planning out your build during a run can make this game very exciting and especially when one is now, and one doesnt just scale within a run but also outside of it, before one reaches that point where one is merely working oneself through the unlockables, the game is quite strong.
That's also why it has proven to be such a solid foundation for its off-spring to continue to be succesful. A aimed attack, dash, items, ability traits and multiple evolutions among other things, show how to upgrade the formula effectively to increase the mechanical and cognitive challenge and satisfaction. So while it is commendable that the game keeps being updated with patches and DLC, it can't really evolve to a better version of itself without reforming its mechanics.
65/100
The artstyle is effective but not impressive, although the music is great. So there's a lot that's not really too convincing here.
But what it does in a great manner and what i perceive to be the main draw of this game and its siblings is creating a spectacular drama contained within (30/15 Minutes). From fighting with ease, to scraping by, close to death, perhaps even using up revivals as the build just doesnt click, moving with great precision and attention to save those last little bits of hp, as you slowly collect levels, slowly grow in strength again until suddenly your build starts snowballing. This and its many different variations that one experiences as one moves through the game, combined with the constant although not quite challenging cognitive task of planning out your build during a run can make this game very exciting and especially when one is now, and one doesnt just scale within a run but also outside of it, before one reaches that point where one is merely working oneself through the unlockables, the game is quite strong.
That's also why it has proven to be such a solid foundation for its off-spring to continue to be succesful. A aimed attack, dash, items, ability traits and multiple evolutions among other things, show how to upgrade the formula effectively to increase the mechanical and cognitive challenge and satisfaction. So while it is commendable that the game keeps being updated with patches and DLC, it can't really evolve to a better version of itself without reforming its mechanics.
65/100