It’s no secret I’m a huge Castlevania fan. I’m also late to theVampire Survivorsparty, having only started playing it a couple of months ago. The initial thought in starting up Vampire Survivors is how has Konami not sent a cease and desist to this game? So many of the character designs, weapons and enemies are flagrantly lifted from Castlevania. This game could be meme fodder for “we have Castlevania at home,” if it weren’t for the fact that at the time of writing this I’d logged more hours into Vampire Survivors than I have withCastlevania Dominus Collection(with all four games in that collection being played to completion).
Review: Vampire Survivors
Vampire Survivors is a long slow burn that never stops getting hotter, maybe not quite the first of the genre it ignited, but certainly the best.
Countless Hours of Life Drained
Not to make light of addiction as it’s a serious problem for many, but Vampire Survivors is a contender for the most addictive game in my collection. What makes Vampire Survivors so addictive is that it’s a reminder that simplicity can be a good thing. The player chooses a survivor, each of whom has a different starting weapon and special ability. The survivor autofires their weapon at timed increments while the player moves the survivor around, trying to avoid the hordes of enemies. As the player defeats the Castlevania-inspired monsters, they can collect orbs to gain levels.
As the survivor levels up, they can acquire additional active and passive weapons, as well as leveling up and evolving current ones. Survivors that last long enough can make the transition from a weakling that can fire one shot every few seconds into a perpetual killing machine, turning the screen into a nearly-indiscernible mass of damage numbers and flashing particle effects. Not sure how exciting that actually sounds, but it doesn’t take long for this vampireless game to sink its fangs into the player.
The Ever Expanding Fight For Survival
There have been various expansions that introduce new characters, weapons and areas. The most intriguing DLC pack that was previously released was Operation Guns, which brings a beloved Konami franchise to the world of Vampire Survivors: Contra. While there’s something satisfying about wielding six classic Contra weapons at once to send thousands of monsters back to the grave, it is a Konami collaboration that didn’t make a ton of sense, regardless of how fun it may be.
Ode to Castlevania is a ridiculously huge expansion to Vampire Survivors.
And now, the collaboration that makes the most sense comes to Vampire Survivors. Ode to Castlevania brings many references from Castlevania to Vampire Survivors. It was obvious from the choices made in character design, enemies and weapons that the developers of Vampire Survivors were heavily influenced by Castlevania, and it’s incredible that Vampire Survivors has achieved the level of success where actual Castlevania content is now part of it.
Ode to Castlevania boasts bringing twenty new characters and forty new weapons to Vampire Survivors. Each character also brings a remixed piece of music from Castlevania to the game as well, which given how many iconic Castlevania scores are this is music to a fan’s ears. And instead of just fighting enemies that are inspired by Castlevania, the survivors can now take the iconic nightmarish abominations such as Gergoth.
A Match Made In Bullet Heaven
One of the more interesting aspects of Ode to Castlevania is how the new level functions. In previous DLCs, there were multiple levels that were unlocked as soon as the player survived long enough. Ode to Castlevania is one singular level, but it’s too massive to traverse in a single play through, giving it a roguelite metroidvania quality. As the player travels through Castlevania, they unlock passageways by defeating bosses and discovering portal locations for fast travel. As the player spends more time in Castlevania, more passages and portals will open until the player finally discovers how to have the final confrontation with the castle’s master.
Did we say twenty new characters? We might have been lying about that. Without spoiling anything, there may be additional content hidden away once the player masters Ode to Castlevania. We aren’t going to discuss what this entails (though it’s probably been leaked in other places), we are simply going to encourage players to scour every inch of Castlevania, and see what secrets they can uncover for themselves.
Ode to Castlevania is a ridiculously-huge expansion to Vampire Survivors. It combines the ridiculously addictive gameplay of Vampire Survivors with a plethora of elements from Castlevania. From fighting familiar Castlevania bosses to playing as favorite characters like Soma or Shanoa, Ode to Castlevania is a godsend for Castlevania fans who are currently hooked on Vampire Survivors. For players who have already done everything there is to do in Vampire Survivors, this is a perfect excuse to get sucked back into it. And for Castlevania fans who haven’t checked out Vampire Survivors yet, this is the perfect excuse to see why it’s one of the highest rated games on Steam.
