Vampire Survivors is Addictive and Satisfying on Mobile

A Steam Hit Perfect for Phones

One of the standout indie gems of Steam has swooped into the mobile market following a surprise release during the Game Awards. There were plenty of reasons to be excited about the annual celebration of games through awards, speeches, and new trailers but Vampire Survivors releasing on iOS and Android seemed like a huge deal. Bringing the bite-sized survive-em-up title to phones has worked far better than expected, containing a dangerously addictive game of positioning, decision-making, and curiosity all wrapped in dopamine-fused visuals. 

From developer Poncle and hitting Early Access towards the end of 2021, Vampire Survivors quickly climbed the best-selling charts of Steam which is likely how so many new players found it. The premise was simple, survive waves of skeletons, demons, and other familiar creatures at increasingly harrowing odds for a super low price. Vampire Survivors is an astounding $4.99 USD on Steam with a $2.99 DLC adding even more value. Despite the budget price and rather simplistic visuals, Vampire Survivors has a way of expertly dangling a carrot that is exceptionally satisfying to chase. A steady feed of unlockables keeps one hooked, creating that wonderful “one more run” mentality. 

Vampire Survivors is so well crafted that is an actual danger to productivity. 

I found myself playing for hours and hours on my iPhone, a platform that I rarely play games on. The touch controls work perfectly, aside from maybe misclicking upgrades while swiping to move. Aside from this, the only other gripe I can dredge up is that the game struggles to suspend the action, meaning that sometimes taking a call or opening too many apps can result in dropping a run though it appears that unlockables do stay in most instances. I’m sure this is something that can be fixed in an update. Even at my most frustrated with losing a run, I usually fired up another one. 

I’ve avoided mobile games for years because of their near-ubiquitous reliance on hooking players and then charging them with deceptive, predatory monetary tactics. Thankfully, I am of the mind to know the signs and dodge them, spending my leisure income on mostly indie games with more to offer emotionally or mechanically. Vampire Survivors wouldn’t have been nearly as engaging to me personally had it utilized microtransactions. Yet, as a title with no monetization aside from watching a 60-second ad for a revive –though I’m not sure why sometimes I can watch an ad because sometimes the option just doesn’t appear– not even the initial price like what's found on Steam making it a fantastically free download, it became one of my favorite apps on my phone. 

Vampire Survivors just works on all levels. After spending a few runs getting the hang of things and learning how upgrades worked I wondered if I could catch up on podcasts while playing. A quick flick over to Spotify and the sultry voices featured in Podquisition (James Stephanie Sterling contributed to the game’s lore and bestiary, utilizing that hilarious, playful tone they’re known for) rang true, giving me something to do with my hands while still listening to audio content. I find myself listening to a lot more music now too and I’ve gone through several albums while unraveling the many layers of Vampire Survivors. 

Honestly, I am flabbergasted with how well the game performs on my iPhone 11 Pro Max. Thousands of sprite-based creatures swarm the screen at once and the framerate kept steady throughout. This seems like a coding miracle and I would be interested to see what programmers say about this particular game, clocking in at well below 500 MBs on iPhone and Steam. Blasting through hordes of monsters is one of the most satisfying things I’ve seen in games and Vampire Survivors makes that its whole appeal. Again though, there’s enough mystery to unravel through the game’s brilliant system of achievements and unlocks and I’ve avoided looking up answers just to have something to poke at every now and again. 

Upon initial play, Vampire Survivors looked like a silly experiment utilizing pastiches of Konami’s Castlevania series. Clearly, the developer is a huge fan of that franchise and plays with those tropes to create hilarious parodies, such as the all-mighty floor chicken which heals the player, riffing off of Castlevania’s mysterious wall-bound poultry. I was surprised to find so much more than a joke project gone awry; Vampire Survivors has quickly become one of my favorite mobile games of all time. No wonder so many critics have made a point to mention it when they can and I expect a huge wave of new fans following this mobile release and the upcoming Xbox version. 

Fair warning though, by its design Vampire Survivors is incredibly addictive so go into it with those expectations. It’s a fantastic game in bursts but it is easy to lose hours to it. 

SCORES

GAMEPLAY - 9/10

VISUALS - 10/10

SOUND - 10/10

CONTROLS - 10/10

REPLAY VALUE - 10/10

OVERALL - 9.8/10

Learn more about Vampire Survivors on the game’s Steam page or find the game on iOS or Android storefronts. A copy was downloaded by the reviewer. Screenshots were captured using native features of the iPhone.