Vampire Survivor (PC)

I like to watch some live stream on Twitch. Recently many streamer play poncle's Vampire Survivor (2021). So i'll give it some try. 

Wow! Right of the bat [Pun intended], the game don't shy for being inspired by the well-known Konami's whip-wielding vampire slayer game: Castlevania. I mean look at that Dracula and hooded man that wield whip. You see what i mean, right? I don't know the deal with the mage on the right. What's with her posture and tight trouser. It's so tight that you can see her butt. Indirectly, i know. I assume she's in for sexy service but still keep it as SFW as possible. The menu itself is kind of mess. I usually think that exit game should be in the bottom of the list but not here. It's on the left corner. Also option should be under "new game" menu. I know i shouldn't judge the game by the menu screen. So let's get to it!

 

Soon after hitting the "New Game" menu, i get to choose character to play as. Even though at the moment i can only be Simon Belmont Antonio Belpaese. Belpaese? Belfast? As in HMS Belfast? The more you know!   

 

So here i am Antonio Belpaese the (less-known) vampire slayer. I instinctively press W, A, S, and D to move around and it works! Actually, i can also use arrow keys or mouse to move too. And that's about the control! My character has auto-fire on his own so all i need to do is just move around. Simple enough! 

After gather some experience gem (that may or may not be related to gem in snes game Nosferatu) from defeated bats, i get a level up! I can choose to upgrade my whip or get more weapon. Unfortunately there's no stats upgrade with each every level up. These options are all i got. Not to mention they're random for every run! You can see the experience bar at the top. I prefer if it's on the bottom but that just my minor complaint.

I choose magic wand because why not? It fires magic projectile to nearest enemy. It works pretty well and predictable. What's with this bat with blue aura? He's stronger than his normal kin. Usually it only takes 1 whip slash to get rid of normal bat but not this one. Also zombies join the fray. How lovely! [Medium Sarcasm]

Finally i can fell that stronger bat and he drop a chest which gives me free whip upgrade and some gold coins. Sniper_mvm_loot_common05.wav

Oh shoot! Flock of bat! When they move separately, i can take them on. But when they move big group like this i get underwhelmed and some of them take a bit on my head. 3X    

 

For this level up, there's spinach upgrade! One thing that Popeye teaches me to this day is eating spinach is good for you and make you stronger. But i decide not to pick it because i have inkling that upgrading thing that i already have is most priority than picking up something new. 

For some reason, holy water took a new name here as Santa Water. Isn't Saint Water is better term? Like in Castlevania, it makes floor engulf in holy flame for some duration. But it activated very differently as it will fall from above to random spot. I spot wall meat floor chicken not far from here. Lucky me. Suddenly i have need to compare the damage number with one of non-linear Castlevania. I feel like this and that are similar.

Castlevania - Symphony of The Night

As i look at the Symphony of the Night, i saw some resemblance. Wrong color though, but you can tell the similarity, can't you? I also check Aria of Sorrow, but the font number is too pastel-y perhaps due to Gameboy Advance's graphic capability. You can expect me comparing Vampire Survivor to Castlevania a lot because the game like to be Castlevania's relative but can't because it's not made by Konami.

Suddenly...

 

What the hell? Plant monsters suddenly surround me in circle form, trapping me with these skeletons and ghosts. No, i'm not trapped with them. They're trapped with me! >:)

 

Usually in any Castlevania, i don't want to pick knife sub-weapon because i already have whip for horizontal attack. Then i pick knife weapon here which fired at facing direction. It's fast but to aim the knife more predictably i need facing direction indicator and the game has none of that. I regret picking knife. Knife and i aren't friend in this game and in Castlevania game.

 

Damn! It's another plant barriers. But i saw opening there. Maybe i can get out of this crop circle [Pun intended]. I understand greater bats and zombies as vampire slayer's foe but giant mantis? All i know about mantises is: they like to destroy garden's plant and eat their husband's head after mating. Why targeting me? 

 

Then they replace bats with ghosts and zombies with werewolves. They're too much for my feeble arsenal. Dead. Sniper_paincrticialdeath02.wav

 

Turns out not focusing on upgrading my weapon has the benefit. I unlock empty tome, which i'm not sure what it does. I also unlock other stuff. It's win to me! Speaking of empty tome, i listen to Castlevania Order of Ecclesia called "An Empty Tome" while playing this game. Check this out. 

It plays on library on Dracula's castle. It's real banger. I also listen to the staple for every Castlevania game: Divine Bloodlines!

I particularly like this version because it reminds me the days i play Castlevania X Chronicles in my PSP.  The reason why i listen to Castlevania OST while playing this game is 1) Because the game reminds me of Castlevania 2) With no intention to disrespect the developer, i think the music is not good so i have urgency to replace it.

There's power up shop in main menu. These power up is permanent upgrade that you can get from beginning and it cost gold to get them. I reckon increasing damage power always good but alas! I don't have enough gold for it. It's just pure coincidence that the gold that i got from the first run is 169. No snickering there!

 

So i unlock the holy book and it appears in level up menu so don't mind if i do! I also acquire Axe which is my must-have sub weapon in Castlevania for diagonal attack. You know how it works? It travels up for awhile and then fall. Strangely it has the same behavior in this game even though this is in top-down perspective. In 2D platform perspective, it makes sense because of gravity but in this game. Why it falls to the south of the map? Scout_sf13_magic_reac05.wav      

The axe deal hefty damage though. Holy books are not shabby as they rotate around me providing a good damage to anyone foolish enough to approach me (spoiler: every enemies wants to approach me). Kind of like shield in Operation Carnage. Hey is that a rosary?

 

This run ends earlier than the first ones. I know i should pick that rosary that presumably a screen-clearing bomb item. At least i unlock fire wand for breaking 20 torches. That's something.

 

Fire wand shoots 3 fireball...at random enemy. But i'm fine with that. Some streamer don't like it due to its random behavior. As you can see here, instead aim at group enemy there. The fire wand aim at that single bat which is less-pleasant outcome. In theory, the more enemies in some direction, the bigger priority for the fire wand but not in this occasion. I still like this weapon though.

 

I pick up some chest but it contains 3 upgrades this time! Engineer_mvm_loot_rare02.wav

 

This run is better than the previous ones and i also unlock garlic by picking up 5 floor chickens. It's said vampire don't like garlic so it's useful, i reckon.

 

Oh, i see. There's unlockable list. So my quest for unlockable can be more accurate than aimlessly playing the game like what i do before. I reckon Pasqualina and Gennaro are in character selection but i have to unlock them by paying some gold.

After some run...

 

I unlock Arca Ladona by upgrading the fire wand to level 4. It can't be helped. I really like that weapon. Each character has different weapon. Antonio has vampire slayer whip that unleash long horizontal whip at facing direction. He also has slightly hitpoints and +1 armor. Arca has fire wand from get go. It has less constant activation but it deals considerably good damage. Does this sight reminds you something or someone?

Castlevania - Symphony of the Night

Yup. That should reminds you to Alucard does Hellfire magic which is legacy from his father Count Dracula himself. I like to say that the similarity is uncanny.

 

That white circle around me is garlic weapon. It deal small damage within constant period. The blue orb that i'm about to pick up is power up that pull all experience gems and gold throughout the map. It's freaking useful because picking up gems becomes difficult if there's dozens of enemy around.

 

Suddenly i pick up thing that freeze enemies. Or maybe it's Cirno's doing.

 

Ok. Many thanks, Cirno. Leave the rest to me. You can go back to Misty Lake. I really appreciate your assist. 

 

My run doesn't last quite long but i made lots of discovery including picking up this Cirno's belonging called Orologion that froze all enemies in the screen.

Next run...

 

I hate this magic pigeon, Peachone. It fires magic bullet in the circle that moves around me in clockwise manner for approximately 180^o arc but the timing on the firing is constantly bad! As you can see that the bloody pigeon bombard at the least populated area. Sometime it changes its bombing time when i get used to the previous timing. I wish there's manual activation on its bloody bombing in order to make it more reliable.

On another next run...

I get my hand on this lightning ring that call thunder on random enemies which feels better and accurate than that bloody pigeon. I take weapon that works randomly than the one that work constantly unreliable. By the way, to pause the game you can press "Esc" key or you can left-button click mouse on pause icon. That "II" symbol is what i'm talking about.  

 

Turn out the small damage from garlic aura is enough to one shot kill small bats so i don't have to worry about those flock of bats. Next time they come at me wide open while i wear garlic weapon, i just stand still and says "Bite me, bats!".

 

There's some weird coincidence that i open a chest at 4:20 and it contains 69 gold. Hey! I know you're giggling there. Stop it!

 

So there's weapon and item explanation in this collectible list. This is useful for planning ahead on your weapon that you will take on your next run. Also useful to know what the use of rare item that enemy will drop. To get rare item easier, you need to boost your luck stats which you can do so with initial power up, upgrade, or rare item (which kind of irony).

 

I obtain Clock Lancet that fires freezing laser. Funny thing is, it aim in clockwise motion and fires in every hours. It's far reliable than that stupid pigeon. Sadly, it does no damage. Only freezing enemies for a while.   

 

I didn't realize that i killed 3,000 skeletons already thus Mortaccio joins the party. You can tell he's good kind of skeleton due to his angelic halo. 

 

I unlock Imelda with 100 or something coin which is pretty cheap. I take her for a go next. Magic wand as starting weapon is not bad, i reckon. Besides starting weapon, every character has unique perk like Imelda gain more experience per gem, Arca get weapon cooldown reduction, or Antonio gain more damage power. Picking character that most suitable to your gameplay is the key to success.

After some more run...

 

I don't last long as Imelda. Then i had another run with Antonio and i manage to reach level 20 and that unlock new stage: Inlaid Library! Let's go there.

 

So new stage means new enemies there's mud golems and there's this lady in red who goes crazy on me. Finally, some lady have a crush on me. Oh, wait! It's suicide bomber ghost. Nevermind.

 

Ectoplasms! Well, at least no medusa heads. Wait, they're in that down right corner.

 

They're still more of them! DX

 

There's some bookshelves and piano in the middle that you can use to block enemies. Look at those dolts get stuck! By the way, why there's mummies in library? Their "habitat" should be within Pyramid, right?  

 

And now Dullahans join the fray? Sure, why not? I like to tell you more about the whip. At level 1, it only fires a long slash at facing direction which kind of shabby because you have to stop on your run and facing your pursuer for seconds to utilize it. But when it reaches level 2, it fires a long slash on your left and right which is very great for hit and run because it can attack your pursuer while you run away from them.

More ectoplasms! More medusa heads! And there's that lion wheel thingy. What's their name, again?

Castlevania - Aria of Sorrow

Yeah, that. How do you pronounce it anyway? Buur? Sounds like drunkard says "Bear". It may or may not related, that if you kill 1000 of these lion wheel you unlock bear/panda character.

 

This is almost Belmont's worst nightmare! I mean if the game put instant kill pit for those medusa heads to knock me into, that would be the real deal. Oh there's medusa with full body. How nice! [medusa head-size sarcasm] Good thing her sprite is in low resolution so i don't have to censor her nipples. If she has any, that is.

 

Then i get surrounded by these white witches. Salome witches, i think? They're too strong for my upgraded garlic aura. Then i'm dead. What's with that green demon with little witch hat? Get bigger hat, won't you?

 

Still, i last longer in Library than in the garden. Maybe because enemies spawn only on my left or right and thus whip works more wonder here. Anyway, i manage to level up garlic to level 7 thus i unlock Poe. I'm sure he's reference from something. My first thought is obscured arcade game called "Uncle Poo". Then his full name is Poe Ratcho which mean he's based of Bo' Rai cho. I don't play Mortal Kombat beyond 4th but i know how notorious Bo' Rai cho is. Well, so many uninteresting working on Poe here. Congratulation to me, i guess?

 

I also unlock Pentagram which erase all enemies in the screen but they don't drop experience gems and it has probably longest cooldown among all weapon. The sigil forms perfect pentagram but in this moment it shatters into pieces in split second after activation. You have to take my word for it.

Kill and run away is not the key to success in this game because you have to go back to their place where they died to pick up experience gems and treasure chest. Luckily, there's arrow indicator to point out where the treasure chest is located. Also do you notice that orange item with red glow on top left of me? It's spicy frita that makes your character temporarily blows fire breath that deal big damage to enemies. Very useful when you're heavily surrounded by enemies.

 

After lots of tries, i manage to level up Lightning Ring to level 4 thus unlocking Porta who is -let's be honest- female version of Alucard. The randomness on level up option what really prevents me from doing so. I mean get more level up or treasure chest can help you doing so but still not easy. I think i can stop here.  

Or so i said. But i achieve something more after that. Thanks to Gennaro Belpaese. He requires roughly 1,000 gold before you can play as him but it's worth it as his perk is permanent 1 extra projectile for every weapon. It may sounds not great but most weapon get extra projectile when reach certain level and due to his perk the benefit get doubled! Plus i also unlock an equipment called "duplicator" which also add extra weapon (can be upgraded up to 2-3 level). I certainly picked that equipment when i play as Gennaro. So you can imagine how many multiplier that my weapon get. 4 times or maybe even more! I also pick up milky star map that allow me to see map while pause the game. It also shows me Not only power up that i can find in the map that i currently in but also a coffin. After intense walking to the coffin (it takes really long walking distance), i find it and it's guarded by stronger enemies that surround it while moving back and forth. After killing them and open the coffin (by the head), i find another playable character: Pugnala instead of Drac himself. He say joke that most likely based on "But our princess is in another castle" in Super Mario Bros. How hilarious.     

I also discover that i can evolve weapons! If i max level axe and candelabra (which is upgrade to increase weapon's size), i get this scythe that fires in every direction. If i max level cross (which behaves like magic wand but travels back to me in infinite distance) and clover, i get heaven sword that much stronger and can deal critical damage within a chance. If i max level magic wand and empty tome (which is upgrade to reduce all weapon's cooldown), i get holy wand that fires magic projectile non-stop! If i max level fire wand and candelabra, i get hellfire which fire more diabolical and bigger fireballs that also resemble Dracula's attack in Castlevania, unsurprisingly. I feel very powerful when i play as Gennaro. Heavy_award09.wav    

But suddenly...

At minutes of 30, all enemies miraculously disappear but here comes Death! He's so fast and instantly kill me within a touch. That's not fair! "You have your fun, Werdito. Now, perish!" You big jerk! #-_-

But i unlock more things and a friend. I call it a win. This game is addicting but i shall finish my record here, for real this time.   

poncle's Vampire Survivor (2021) is unofficial spin off of Castlevania, or so it wants to be. But it's not 2D platformer that you hope for a game with bunch of sprites resemble in Castlevania. No. It's top-down shooter(?) with roguelite element and weapons that automatically work for you. Each run is limited up to 30 minutes with increasing difficulty within some period of time. But the game don't expect you to survive to 30 minutes on first try because there's so many good stuffs locked on starting point. Some upgrades useful, some are not. I feel like max health and armor upgrade are useless because why you want to be tank-y and let enemies keep snowballing? Being "glass bullet" (which is term for someone that can deal big damage but can't take big damage themselves) is the only way! Good offense is best defense, afterall. If i have to take the defensive upgrade, i take equipment: Laurel that gives me temporary invincibility upon activation. Although i reckon health regeneration is bit useful to reduce penalty should you take damage. As always, you can't go wrong with picking spinach for damage power increase. The wing which is movement speed upgrade, could be useful to dodge enemies better. Cooldown reduction sounds pretty useful to increase attack rate but increasing projectile's number is significantly more useful! All weapon seems useful although some of them are substituting on each other like Cross is stronger than Magic Wand, i reckon. Except that bloody pigeon! Should you manage to level it up to level 7, you will unlock Ebony Wings (the name may refers to another ost in Castlevania Order of Ecclesia), which is black bird that behaves the bloody same with the pigeon but the bombard circle moves in counterclockwise. That means it also sucks badly! Maybe they work better if i get my hand on both of them or they will become twice as useless. Blasted birds! The enemies looks nice and well made. But most of them don't have much of personality beyond chasing after me with various speed and health. The character have their own perk and starting point that may suit to your gameplay. But using coins to buy upgrade is more priority because some of them are cheaper yet useful. Sadly the music is not the strong point of this game as such i advise you to mute the music and listen to any Castlevania soundtrack instead. The sound effect is reminiscence of pre-90s arcade game's sound like "pling! pling!" or "Vwooosh!".    

Obviously Vampire Survivor (2021) gets my recommendation with all my soul. I never happy with getting money from destroyed candles in Castlevania but i love it here because i can use it to buy initial upgrade like Curse of Dead Gods. The game has great amount of power up, equipments, characters, and upgrades. They're all good to have...except that cursed birds. They're bloody bad! To hell that poo-dropping aerial bastards.