This small indie game on Game Pass is starting to get a lot of talk and for good reason, its just plain fun. The concept is simple. You play a character whose job is to survive as long as possible. You do so by collecting weapons and power ups and letting them do the fighting for you. You don't have to press any buttons or do any complicated combination of button presses. You simply move around as more and more enemies surround you and try to survive.

It seems pretty straight forward at first. But as time goes on and the more you play it, the game starts to reveal more and more, and this is when you realize you're playing something special. You unlock more characters overtime. You discover that weapons and abilities can combine for some nasty results against the swarm of enemies. And you unlock many secrets I won't spoil. Overall, this game is a surprise. Especially, since you have a lot of similar games out there with the same concept. But this one is easily the best version of it.

I highly recommend playing this gem, if you haven't already. And if you did, liked it, but thought you saw everything the game had to offer, trust me, you didn't. I'm not sure yet if it is the GOTY. There is still the God of War, Beyonetta 3, and I'm currently playing through Horizon: FW, which I'm really enjoying a lot, just to name a few. But one thing is for sure, if it doesn't make the top of my list this year, it will certainly be on it.

Great game.

Oh, and the game's clear shout out to Castlevania gives it bonus points all around.

I think I love vampire survivors as a game that introduces a concept that a thousand indies are gonna do better going forward.

Like I’ve played very little of actual Vampire Survivors but a fuckin ton of Holocure.

I started playing VS this week, and I love it more than any game released this year not named “Elden Ring” or “Citizen Sleeper”. Although I do really like the music, it’s become my perfect podcast game for the year. The only downside is that, as I get better, I can’t reliably use it for a quick 10-15 minute break from my evening stuff anymore.

Also avoiding spoilers: the coolest thing about this game in the early going is just trying shit out and exploring the map. It has far more depth than I originally anticipated! Typing this shit makes me wish I was playing now! Ahhhhhh!!!

Theres nothing quite like squatting in a pulsing holy aura surrounded with spinning bibles, flinging blades and fire in a spiral while lightning crashes down on a horde of hundreds of stupid fucking flowers that will kill you almost immediately if they touch you.

Vampire Survivors is the best game I have ever played while not touching the controller. It fucking rules.

I got a Steam Deck a couple weeks ago and picked up Vampire Survivor over the weekend and was playing a TON. Really "bad" in terms of "one more run" until 2 am.

I started the only other GB thread on this game seven months ago, and I definitely love the hell out of it. I'm looking forward to when it gets ported to the new engine that'll use more than one computer core(!) so that there won't be so much slowdown when the effects really get crazy late into runs. I'm sort of waiting to engage with the endless mode until that happens. Supposed to be before the end of the year.

Even so, VS is at best 3rd on my GOTY list, because Elden Ring and Rogue Legacy 2 exist and are mortal locks for me at 1 and 2, and God of War Ragnarök could still knock it down to 4th for me. It's been a better-than-expected-year that way.

If I played an hour of this and didn't enjoy it, should I keep playing? Is there something I haven't seen yet that's going to change my opinion of it, or have I already seen the loop?

While I think this still may be true, I think it's worth noting that Vampire Survivors is itself a clone of a mobile game called Magic Survivors. That's one of the reasons people have been so kind to clones, because the game itself is one.

@brian_: IMO you've already seen the loop. It might get more fun as you buy some perma-upgrades and unlock more weapons and have a better idea of which weapon/passive combinations you want to go for (and completing a run by reaching 30 minutes for the first time is pretty satisfying), but I seem to recall the game hooking me fairly early. If you've given it an hour and not liked it I suspect it may just not be for you.

I will say that I found the game a little miserable until at least having the unlock (or character) that increases your weapons by 1 (or more) by default.

Otherwise all of the build progressions just feel terrible and like you're constantly a step behind, and if you're build is not fully solidified by like minute 15 the run is just over.

I still need to get back to it; haven't played it in months. Maybe during Extra Life?

@rorie: Vampfor Kidvivors

A few minutes ago, I just wrapped up the final achievements. So yeah, this game rules. It took me a while to "get it" though. It's really the endless layers that does it - every few hours they unlock something that adds a whole new dimension. It's possibly the best podcast game ever and it's even under 1 gig!

I'm playing this on PC but I also play a game called Magic Survival on Android, and I'm not sure which one came first... It is very rough around the edges, but I'm enjoying the hell out of that game as well. It's very similar.

Honestly, I find Crimsonland's gameplay more entertaining, but it's a fun little game to turn on and spend on hour on. It's priced well, too, so that helps.

Brotato is another real solid entry in this space, it’s a bit more by way of Nuclear Throne.

Saw Brotato had 96% positive reviews on Steam and was $5, bought it just now and did a few runs, seems pretty good! Thanks for recommending it.

VS is great , i kinda looked at it at first n said mehh i'm ok even after hearing dan n mary gush about it , then it came to gamepass so being 'free' i said why nott n then instantly felt like i had to give them come money . 86 hours n 100% later i have to say its probably the best 3 bucks i spent this yr . so far its sitting at a weird #2 for my goty list , but as time progresses i keep thinking i might need to reshuffle some thing since idk if they make sense to me even tho i rank them based on enjoyment at the time of beating.

either way i'm sorta bummed to be done with it in a it weas an amazing podcast sort of way . i might have to try brotato myself , i seen a aavak video for it a eek er 2 back n it looked pretty good , the mention of it here might help expedite that.

update: i've since tried brotato . it doesn't feel as compelling to play n everything feels pretty samey n the map feels too constrained, i could see it getting better but i don't think this one is for me, still the way the upgrades change the potato dude is neat.

It's so hard to say this game came out this year to include it in my GotY discussion. I'm in a Steam Deck group on FB though, and the joke is that SV is a mandatory game to get for it. It is really quite good and addictive. I should probably figure out how to find these coffins or whatever.

I mentioned it off hand at the top but I would advise y’all to keep track of Holocure as well even if you aren’t a Hololive fan cause it’s free and the guy making it does some real cool shit.

@efesell: Holocure is really cool all the character's unique weapons and skills make them feel much more distinct. Plus 20 minute runs are just sometimes more palatable. I wish there was more music variety but all in all it's a great change of pace.

I loved VS when i played it, i saw all there was to see but i know a lot has been added since so maybe i'll revisit it in the future, as a Hololive fan naturally i jumped into HoloCure, the characters and references elevate it a lot for me over VS and i'm super excited for every update, the character specific abilities make character choice more meaningful compared to VS.

I'd be happy to see VS at the top of peoples GOTY lists, if you're into the minutiae of the video game industry AAA gaming can be hard work sometimes, as amazing as the games are these days sometimes a cheap little project reminds us why we like video game ass video games.

in my quest to find similar games i stumbled on this one .. its pretty good i spent the last nearly 4 hours playing it , think theres about to be a price hike with the next update from what i skimmed but atm its only 3 usd and has a demo , definitely recommend checking it out
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2067920/Rogue__Genesia/