A surprising victory in the ‘best game’ category in last week’s BAFTA Games Awards was a tiny game called Vampire Survivors. I didn’t see this coming—2D graphics, and limited controls… it did not seem very interesting, so I considered rewatching The Twilight movies for my vampire fix. But the moment I was thrown into this endless wasteland with several creatures of the night at my heel, my opinions changed.
It is not difficult to play the game. All you need to do is pick a character and a map and then start running for your life. There is no aiming or weapon-wielding either because the game automatically does that for you. The only task we are left with is to then collect enough gems to level-up, up and then upgrade the weaponry.
Speaking of weapons—the game has you covered, like a vampire’s cloak against the bright sunshine. There’s a garlic shield, that melts the enemies that approach you. A ‘King Bible’ that circles you ominously, beating down any enemies in its path. The fire wand releases fiery destruction in random directions, and even an axe does a decisive flop around the screen.
These weapons and their upgrades come in handy as the levels progress. Because as you gain more power, tougher challenges await. The bats, which were the primary enemies, give way to skeletons, and before you know it, you’re facing waves of zombies, mudmen and ghosts. A relentless horde is always encircling you, leaving you wrangling in this battle for survival.
After many hours in the game, I am no longer a Vampire Survivor. I’m a victim that now must play while watching a movie, listening to an audiobook, and even when I try to sleep. It lures me with the idea of new maps, rewards, and unlockable characters. At the beginning of the game, I had only one character to play with—Antonio with his whip.
However, with more experience gained, I now have a wild army of characters in my team. This includes Clerici, a cleric who showers monsters with “Santa water”, and Mortaccio—a skeleton that throws his bones around like a morbid boomerang.
The game does not really require any previous gaming experience or skill and is available to play on the Xbox, Windows, Mac, Android and iOS.