So, if you've spent some time in gaming communities around the internet lately, this game might've shown up. If you chose to ignore it, I'm here to try and push you over the edge because damn - it's addicting.
If you're doubting this is popular, here's a quick Google search, even if that's not an infallible source to gauge popularity at all.
Even my favourite shark girl vtuber is playing it!
She actually seems to be playing it... a little too much.
But anyways, what's this game about?
Let's check the Steam description.
Vampire Survivors is currently a time survival game with minimalistic gameplay and roguelite elements.
There's no place where to hide, all you can do is try to survive a cursed night and get as much gold as possible for the next survivor, before Death inevitably puts an end to your struggles.
So, I dunno what they mean by currently, but the game is still in Early Access which might throw some people off, but trust me, even like this, it's more than playable.
My description of the game would be:
Kill, grind, get strong, kill more, get stronger, die because you screwed up.
Oh yeah! You also unlock stuff the more you play and the more criteria you meet which even if you don't pay attention, you'll still meet.
Oh, and how much does it cost?
It's currently $2,99 USD or R$5,99 BRL to me.
~ But, I've also recently discovered there's a mobile version, and have been playing it even more than the Steam version. And the best part? It's free there!
The mobile version seems to be 1:1 to the PC version. I even unlocked a character on mobile which I still have not on my PC.
Another two things that make this game highly addicting besides the gameplay itself, something I'll get into soon enough, is the collection aspect of it, unlocking new items and such and the sweet, juicy, achievements.
Last thing before getting into the gameplay is that this has permanent power-ups, a button you may have seen here.
These keep the game fresh and give you even more reason besides the addicting formula the game has to keep playing.
Now how does the game play and how does it look?
Like this.
How does this answer both questions?
Because it's just simple. Each character has a different beginning weapon and you just kill things using it. It's really really simple, some might call ugly, I call inconspicuous. It's enough to be fun, but not eye-catching enough to keep you stuck looking at it.
Call it a symptom of how our society has turned into us anxious people and can't help but do things all the time, this is still great for just that. For zoning out and watching a video whilst playing a game that's more complex than killing rats in Oldschool Runescape.
This is the level up screen, you just pick what you think is going to help you the most and roll with it. Of course some combinations are better than others and some are particularly overkill, but I just go with causing as much destruction as possible in as short a time as possible whilst trying to just avoid getting hit. Bullet hell style.
Another things that gets my monkey brain firing its neurons... are the numbers. There are numbers everywhere, and the damage indicators + the damage noises just turn this game into an absolute drug. Something that just makes you keep playing. Human brains are wired to like satisfying things and that is satisfying.
Sort of like this:
That's me playing this game.
In fact, whilst getting some screenshots for this post, I ended up playing a quick session, and the only reason it was quick was because I died.
And even got 2 more achievements! Yay.
Pair all this, with the insanely cheap price, the fact it can run on a potato and that it occupies less space than most apps nowadays,
it's practically a no brainer game. And if you're not entirely convinced, check the phone version out if you can! It's honestly great.