Just a quick summation as I decided to pick up and see what the fuss was about. My experience with roguelites and the like remains a much lesser resume than I'd like as there are many more on the list I would like to partake and revel in. However Vampire Survivor seemed to be the flavored niche of 2022 -despite its December 2021 release- so I figured it'd be a good place to cap off the year.
I knew about its '30 minute time limit' and its reliance solely on a D-Pad and Enter for controls, prior but not much else about its unlocking structure or any goal in which to come to to feel particularly fulfilled in my runs. I figured the only real endgoal at the moment was completion of each level and unlocking what all was currently present in the game. I also knew going in that there wasn't much chance I'd actually want to reach this fairly lofty peak within the timeslot I've allotted myself before the year's end. I had actually prepared myself to finish Neon White for the end of the year to fulfill an arbitrary but some sort of significant 'Top 10 of 2022'. At least, a list in my head at the moment- and one quite incomplete as I have significantly less time now than ever to play much of the headliner games across each year in addition to my catalog resembling more of a never ending conveyor belt of JRPGs I'm too damaged to not be intrigued by instead (Star Ocean 6 I will play you someday).
In the meantime, Vampire Survivors would have to substitute- although its release in 2021 does quite ruin the actual thoughts I had about including it in any list I had boiled up.
I'll admit I'm fluffing up quite a bit before talking up anything about the game and my score may prematurely reveal my intentions but to be quite honest there wasn't much I had critically in mind with this game. I didn't follow too much of the prior discourse surrounding addiction and predatory __________. Sadly I must adhere to a similar philosophy when tackling said discourse that I do when thinking about local politics- that is to say I really dont. I don't really get the idea and personally I don't really wanna dissect the gameplay loop or any heinous ideas or mechanics because beyond this review I don't think I'll ever play this game again because I found myself kinda disappointed after my first '30 minute' run. Prior to this run I was actually quite content with the idea even with its spartan loop. It reminded me of course of several of the flash games from school computer lab 'free-time' sessions from addictingames, kongregate, armorgames, etc. To this extent I would say that Vampire Survivors does succeed in making such a simple premise addicting, enjoyable and easy for anyone to pick up on. This much content for a game that's cheaper than a meal at Taco Bell is quite a boon, although I can't really go much further in my expression for this game as the loop kinda just dies after that first clear. It's kinda lame that characters are bought with money rather than unlocked through any secrets or tricks throughout the map. I guess there's secret bosses and items located on certain stages but I was hoping for something a bit more intriguing with progression. Instead each map kinda just relies on walking around getting the same set of given items that- while ever-expanding over the course of buying characters and upgrading certain items to a given rank- really doesn't feel like a lot. The thing really holding the game back -perhaps I just haven't reached a certain threshold- is that most items really don't feel that good. The appeal of Isaac is that a lot of runs do get filled with trash to middle of the road items that might not feel that satisfying, but there's a good chance you'll get that ONE item that turns the run into the most insane 30 minutes of Isaac in a while. To Isaac's benefit it does have over a decade's worth of content but even in it's early stages there was a huge amount of noticeable variables and playstyles that felt meaningful to a run. By Wrath of the Lamb you had Sacred Heart, Ipecac, Mom's Knife, Guppy Transformation, Brimstone, etc. and this was still super early in the rogue-like revival -before the Rebirth revamp. The most satisfying item in Vampire Survivor meanwhile was... Garlic? I kinda liked the risk of enemies getting close but having a constant AOE with knockback chance around me. Uhhh the Axe? The fact there's so little input in what you do during a run really hurts my desire to go any further, and I know that's kinda the point but nothing else really tickles my brain during the run once I do get all the items or secrets that were in the stage.
I do want to give credit that this is basically the trendsetter for this year, and I can definitely see why the game would be an entertaining loop for some people, and I certainly haven't scratched as much of it as it begs, but I just didnt see fit to continue my playtime of it. Especially since- from the time I had first heard of this game as a 'hit' it was immediately followed by "...and I also played this game that was very much like Vampire Survivors but arguably better!"
I knew about its '30 minute time limit' and its reliance solely on a D-Pad and Enter for controls, prior but not much else about its unlocking structure or any goal in which to come to to feel particularly fulfilled in my runs. I figured the only real endgoal at the moment was completion of each level and unlocking what all was currently present in the game. I also knew going in that there wasn't much chance I'd actually want to reach this fairly lofty peak within the timeslot I've allotted myself before the year's end. I had actually prepared myself to finish Neon White for the end of the year to fulfill an arbitrary but some sort of significant 'Top 10 of 2022'. At least, a list in my head at the moment- and one quite incomplete as I have significantly less time now than ever to play much of the headliner games across each year in addition to my catalog resembling more of a never ending conveyor belt of JRPGs I'm too damaged to not be intrigued by instead (Star Ocean 6 I will play you someday).
In the meantime, Vampire Survivors would have to substitute- although its release in 2021 does quite ruin the actual thoughts I had about including it in any list I had boiled up.
I'll admit I'm fluffing up quite a bit before talking up anything about the game and my score may prematurely reveal my intentions but to be quite honest there wasn't much I had critically in mind with this game. I didn't follow too much of the prior discourse surrounding addiction and predatory __________. Sadly I must adhere to a similar philosophy when tackling said discourse that I do when thinking about local politics- that is to say I really dont. I don't really get the idea and personally I don't really wanna dissect the gameplay loop or any heinous ideas or mechanics because beyond this review I don't think I'll ever play this game again because I found myself kinda disappointed after my first '30 minute' run. Prior to this run I was actually quite content with the idea even with its spartan loop. It reminded me of course of several of the flash games from school computer lab 'free-time' sessions from addictingames, kongregate, armorgames, etc. To this extent I would say that Vampire Survivors does succeed in making such a simple premise addicting, enjoyable and easy for anyone to pick up on. This much content for a game that's cheaper than a meal at Taco Bell is quite a boon, although I can't really go much further in my expression for this game as the loop kinda just dies after that first clear. It's kinda lame that characters are bought with money rather than unlocked through any secrets or tricks throughout the map. I guess there's secret bosses and items located on certain stages but I was hoping for something a bit more intriguing with progression. Instead each map kinda just relies on walking around getting the same set of given items that- while ever-expanding over the course of buying characters and upgrading certain items to a given rank- really doesn't feel like a lot. The thing really holding the game back -perhaps I just haven't reached a certain threshold- is that most items really don't feel that good. The appeal of Isaac is that a lot of runs do get filled with trash to middle of the road items that might not feel that satisfying, but there's a good chance you'll get that ONE item that turns the run into the most insane 30 minutes of Isaac in a while. To Isaac's benefit it does have over a decade's worth of content but even in it's early stages there was a huge amount of noticeable variables and playstyles that felt meaningful to a run. By Wrath of the Lamb you had Sacred Heart, Ipecac, Mom's Knife, Guppy Transformation, Brimstone, etc. and this was still super early in the rogue-like revival -before the Rebirth revamp. The most satisfying item in Vampire Survivor meanwhile was... Garlic? I kinda liked the risk of enemies getting close but having a constant AOE with knockback chance around me. Uhhh the Axe? The fact there's so little input in what you do during a run really hurts my desire to go any further, and I know that's kinda the point but nothing else really tickles my brain during the run once I do get all the items or secrets that were in the stage.
I do want to give credit that this is basically the trendsetter for this year, and I can definitely see why the game would be an entertaining loop for some people, and I certainly haven't scratched as much of it as it begs, but I just didnt see fit to continue my playtime of it. Especially since- from the time I had first heard of this game as a 'hit' it was immediately followed by "...and I also played this game that was very much like Vampire Survivors but arguably better!"