Vampire Survivors
Poncle · Indie, Action Roguelike, Bullet Hell
Overview
Mow down thousands of night creatures and survive until dawn! Vampire Survivors is a gothic horror casual game with rogue-lite elements, where your choices can allow you to quickly snowball against the hundreds of monsters that get thrown at you. Be the bullet hell!
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Vampire Survivors is a time survival game with minimalistic gameplay and roguelite elements.
Hell is empty, the devils are here, and there's no place to run or hide. All you can do is survive as long as you can until death inevitably puts an end to your struggles. Gather gold in each run to buy upgrades and help the next survivor.
The supernatural indie phenomenon that lets you be the bullet hell!
Now with local co-op for up to 4 players!
- Supports mouse, keyboard, controller, and touch screen.
Starting Tips
- Take your time to grab gems and items, they won't disappear.
- Get two or three offensive weapons at first, but focus on leveling them up one at a time.
- Armour and Luck are good starting power-ups to spend money on.
- Refund power-ups often, it's free, and try new upgrade paths.
V0.1.0 release date:
- Itch: Mar 31, 2021
- Steam: Dec 17, 2021
From the game's Steam store page.
THE GAMEQ VERDICT9,998 reviews analyzed
What players are actually saying
1. Summary
95.2% of these reviews recommend Vampire Survivors. Players describe a game where you only steer and the weapons fire on their own, and where a purchase they put at around five dollars opens into hundreds of unlocks: weapon evolutions, characters, hidden stages and secrets. A large share of reviews call it addictive, talk about dopamine, or describe "one more run" turning into 3 a.m. Reviews that bring up the price mostly say it is absurdly low for what you get. Reviewers also praise the cheap add-ons (the Castlevania one gets the most mentions), years of updates, what they describe as a free mobile version with cross-save, and how well it runs on a Steam Deck or an old laptop.
Complaints are few and mostly concrete. Late in a run the screen can fill with so many effects that players lose sight of their own character, and some reviewers raise photosensitivity. Online co-op, which reviewers say arrived in 2025, drew reports of disconnects, soft-locks and unlocks that each player has to earn separately, and some players report crashes after big patches or lost saves. The negative reviews most often say the loop turned repetitive or boring, sometimes once evolutions and golden eggs made runs too easy, or that a newer survivors-like does the same thing better. A few of those reviewers still grant that the game is fair for its price.
2. What keeps coming up
What players praise
The one-more-run loop that eats hoursHigh
Many reviews are about nothing else. They describe the game as addictive, compare it to a drug, mention dopamine, or tell the story of a quick run that ended at sunrise. One player summed it up as "Open the game -> Start a run -> Pick a character and dodge enemy -> Collect items and weapons and upgrade them -> It's 4am". What reviewers point to is the escalation inside each run: you start with a whip against a few bats and finish as a storm of evolved weapons clearing the whole screen, then spend your gold and go again. A handful treat the same hook as a warning, saying they uninstalled to get their evenings back or comparing the chest openings to a slot machine.
A huge game for the price of a sandwichHigh
When reviewers talk about price, it is mostly to call the game excellent value, sometimes the best money they have spent on a game. "There is more game in this game than many other games." They put the base game at around five dollars, often less on sale, and several add that the add-ons are cheap too. A few stress that there are no microtransactions or battle pass, only a one-time purchase and optional DLC; one reviewer called the studio "the most ethical endorphin salesman". Dissent on value comes from people who bounced off the game in an hour or two and felt even a few dollars was wasted.
Simple to play, surprisingly deep to unlockHigh
Reviewers often say the game looks shallow and turns out to hide layer after layer of content: weapon evolutions and unions, arcanas, secret characters, hidden stages, an Adventures mode and a final boss that surprised them. "This game is like an onion!" one wrote, describing how each unlock removed an early complaint. Long-time players still report things left to find, and completionists praise the in-game collection tracker. Some add that you can unlock almost everything with cheat codes if you only want to play with the toys.
Years of updates and add-ons that feel generousMedium
Reviewers often thank the developer for years of free updates and new content, and the paid add-ons get warm words. The Castlevania expansion comes up far more than any other add-on: "The Castlevania DLC is an incredible labour of love", one reviewer wrote. The free crossover add-ons and the update reviewers credit with bringing online co-op in late 2025 also drew thanks. A smaller group feels the steady stream of crossover content has become too much (covered in the split panel below).
The game that started the genreMedium
Reviewers often call it the original survivors-like ("the OG"), and some say it still sets the standard against the wave of games it inspired, pointing to its polish, its amount of content and its low price. Others name newer games they prefer; that disagreement is covered in the split panel below.
A brain-off game for podcasts and short breaksMedium
Players like that a run takes 15 to 30 minutes, needs only movement, and can sit beside a podcast, a show on a second monitor or a phone call. Reviewers describe it as a wind-down game after work, something to play with one hand while feeding a baby, or a filler between bigger games. "Perfect for when you just want to de-stress after a long day at work, put a podcast or audio book on in the background and let the flow take you."
Runs on almost anything, from Steam Deck to phoneMedium
The Steam Deck comes up often as the ideal way to play, and several players say it runs on very old hardware and barely touches the battery. Reviewers credit what they describe as a free mobile version as a way to try the game first, and players who own it on several platforms like syncing saves between phone and PC: "Being able to sync your progress between the Android and PC versions is really nice."
Co-op with friends and familyMedium
Couch co-op, and later online co-op, earn steady praise from couples, parents playing with kids and friend groups, and reviewers thank the developers for adding online play. The same feature also draws a cluster of bug reports, covered in the frustrations panel below.
A soundtrack that hits harder than it shouldLow
Players regularly mention the music, calling it catchy, retro and well matched to the chaos. A few bought the soundtrack separately.
Where players are split
Late game turns idle and too easyMedium
Plenty of reviewers love the late-game power fantasy, and a smaller group says the same thing ruins it. They describe stacking golden eggs and evolutions until they can stand still and win, or as one put it, "The moment you discover weapon evolutions you solve the entire game". A negative reviewer wrote that "golden eggs kinda ruin the experience when you get enough of them". Fans answer that the game gives you curses, Hyper and Inverse modes and harder stages to dial the difficulty back up, and that an idle, relaxing run is the point for them. Some players who reached 100% say the end of the grind bored them.
Newer survivors-likes versus the originalMedium
Negative reviews name other survivors-likes far more often than positive ones, usually Brotato, Holocure, Halls of Torment, Megabonk or 20 Minutes Till Dawn. Those reviewers say the newer games add aiming, a dash, better visuals or tighter co-op. Positive reviews bring up the same games too: some say this one holds up thanks to its amount of content and low price, while others admit they enjoy a newer one more and still recommend this one, as in "The original, but no longer the king. Still rec'd."
A slow, punishing first few hoursMedium
A recurring piece of advice is to push through the start. New players describe dying early with weak weapons and slow meta-progression before unlocks snowball. "If you can stomach the first two hours of a slog, you're pretty much set." Another said to "Fight through the early-game frustration and you will be rewarded for your efforts." Some negative reviews come from people who quit inside that window and saw no reason to continue.
Secrets you may need a wiki to findLow
Players enjoy discovering secrets, and some advise going in blind. Others say the clues for certain characters and items are too cryptic and send them to a guide; one noted that "some of the clues for unlocking characters could be a little clearer as i had to google some of them".
An achievement list that keeps growingLow
Completionists are divided on the steady addition of achievements. Some welcome every update as a reason to return, while others feel the 100% they earned keeps being taken away, sometimes behind paid add-ons. "PLEASE STOP ADDING MORE ACHIEVEMENTS!"
Crossovers and content bloatLow
The Castlevania and Contra crossovers are popular, while a few players find the Among Us characters immersion-breaking or feel the roster has become a jumble of too many characters and items.
Pixel art that looks cheap at firstLow
Some players say the graphics nearly put them off and then grew on them. A small group never gets past the look and calls it ugly or dated.
What frustrates players
A repetitive loop with little to do but moveMedium
Negative reviews give this reason more often than any other: 18% of them call the game repetitive, boring or monotonous. These reviewers say that once you know which weapons are strong, every run plays the same, and that moving while weapons fire on their own does not feel like playing. Some say the game is good for 10 to 20 hours and then wears thin. Fans who mention repetition tend to accept it as part of a relaxing game.
Late-run screens you cannot readMedium
Players describe late runs where effects, gold text and enemies cover the character. "PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF POE LET US TURN DOWN OR TURN OFF WEAPON EFFECTS I CANT SEE A DAMN THING", one wrote, and another reported "While performance is excellent even with extreme enemy density, visual clarity can completely break down." Others mention eye strain and the photosensitivity warning ("The Photosensitivity warning is REAL."), and one player found that even with flashing effects disabled the end of a run stays very bright. A few report frame drops or crashes on weaker hardware during long runs. What these reviewers ask for is an option to turn the effects down.
Online and couch co-op bugsMedium
Co-op players report disconnects, runs that soft-lock at level-ups or chests, no way to rejoin, the first player getting the early chests, and that "If you want to unlock a weapon or character, you essentially have to do it twice for both of you". One couch player wrote that "After the latest update, the max item slots in couch coop were reduced from 4 to 2 per player." Before online play arrived, remote play was the only option and drew its own complaints about lag and video quality.
Crashes after big patches and lost progressLow
Some players report crashes after major updates: "the last patch/update causes it to crash about 10 minutes into a game every single time now", one wrote, while another noted that "they patched a recent recurrent crashing problem within 24hrs". A few lost unlocks or saves, and some blame what they call the studio's own cloud save: "Just wish this game used steam cloud instead of the devs own cloud service".
Movement and controls feel limitedLow
A few players want more direct control. They mention that "you can only move in 8 directions, and the hit registration feels a bit awkward", ask for a dash, or say that "Not being able to aim while moving is a deal breaker though". Others ask for key rebinding.
Animations and small interface gapsLow
Some players want to skip chest-opening and unlock animations ("No way to skip the animation for opening a treasure chest."), shrink the gold-fever text, see boss health bars, or check the Grimoire during a level-up choice.
3. The player conversation
The tone is warm, short and often joking. Most reviews are a line or two ("peak", "garlic", "dopamine simulator", "the vampire is in another coffin"), and the longer ones are often love letters from long-time players, some of whom own the game on more than one platform. Criticism mostly comes as a caveat inside a positive review, about visual clutter, the grind or co-op bugs. The negative reviews fall into two groups: people who tried it briefly and found it boring, ugly or too simple, and veterans who burned out on the late-game grind or a co-op session that kept breaking.
Newcomers and veterans raise different things. Newcomers talk about the slow start and the moment it clicked; veterans talk about golden eggs, achievements, crossovers and co-op. The share of positive reviews stayed high week to week from mid-June 2025 to early October 2026. The late-October 2025 update reviewers mention brought the busiest stretch of reviews, with thanks for online co-op alongside crash reports that, by reviewers' accounts, a fix soon answered. Two weeks in mid-August 2026 dipped below the usual level; the negative reviews from those weeks mostly found the game shallow or slow to progress, and some asked for key rebinding. The week after was back to normal.
4. What the developers could do
- Add visual-clarity controls for late runs: reviewers ask for a way to dim or shrink weapon effects and gold text so they can find their character, and some raise photosensitivity and eye strain.
- Stabilize online co-op: disconnects, soft-locks at level-ups and chests, no rejoin, unequal chest drops and unlocks that each player must earn separately are what co-op players report.
- Test big patches for crashes and protect saves: players report crashes after major updates, and some who lost unlocks would rather the game used Steam Cloud than the studio's own cloud save.
- Give the late game more challenge to aim for: negative reviews most often describe a loop that turns repetitive, and some say it goes idle once golden eggs and evolutions stack up, so harder goals or clearer pointers to the existing difficulty tools would answer it.
- Smooth the first few hours: fans tell newcomers to push through a slow, punishing start, and some negative reviews come from players who quit before it opened up.
- Make unlock hints clearer: players who like discovering secrets still end up on the wiki for some characters and items.
- Let players skip animations and rebind keys: requests to skip chest and unlock animations and to remap controls (including for AZERTY keyboards) come up in a number of reviews.
Open the Legacy of the Moonspell page
1. Summary
Legacy of the Moonspell is a cheap add-on that nearly every reviewer recommends. Price comes up again and again, almost always as a reason to buy: reviewers quote a $2 price, and for a lot of them that settles the question. Beyond value, players praise Mt. Moonspell, which they describe as a handcrafted map with a village, caves, a castle and a snowy mountain, each area with its own enemies. They also like the soundtrack, the Japanese folklore theme, and a few characters with real gimmicks, Babi-Onna and the transforming Moonspell elders above all.
Veterans raise most of the caveats. The new weapons divide players, the walled map gets hard to read once late-run effects fill the screen, and people who had already finished the base game report clearing everything in four to six hours with little challenge. A couple of reviewers who own later packs call this one their least favourite while still recommending it for the price. A smaller group objects to new achievements breaking a base-game 100% and to paid content arriving after a long run of free updates.
2. What keeps coming up
What players praise
Huge value for a tiny priceHigh
Nearly every review that mentions money counts it in the DLC's favour, often by comparing it to a coffee, a sandwich or a full-price game: "Best $2 I've ever spent." and "This $2 DLC gave me more fun than most $60 AAA games". Some long-time fans say they bought it to support the developer, and one bought it at release only to give the developers money, playing it much later. Even reviewers who found the content thin often land on yes because of the cost, and one who paid before a later price cut says they don't feel short-changed. The handful of negative reviews that bring up money argue the content is too slight even at this price, or that it should have been a free update.
Mt. Moonspell as a real, handcrafted mapHigh
Players welcome a stage with a layout after the base game's endlessly repeating fields. "Having an actual map to play on is a great change of pace," one writes, and another notes the stage has "locations of interest rather than an oversized flat plain or corridors with copypasted rooms". Reviewers single out enemies tied to each area, buildings to enter, a frozen lake and a castle, and one predicts "This will become the standard for DLC maps going forward". The walls and corridors that make the map feel like a place also cause the navigation complaints covered under the split themes.
The soundtrackMedium
The new tracks get short, warm praise, sometimes as a reason to buy on their own: "The soundtrack slaps soooo hard" and "Music alone is worth it." One reviewer says the Crystal Allure track alone justifies the price. On the other side, one long review flags a single weapon with a grating sound effect, and another asks for a way to lower the Night Sword's volume.
Japanese folklore settingMedium
Yokai, oni, kappa and tanuki enemies and a cherry-blossom village give the pack its own look, and players enjoy it: "A dope Edo Japan fantasy based addition to the Vampire Survivors main game".
Characters with real gimmicksMedium
Several players say the new characters do more than tweak stats. Menya and Syuuto power up into Megalo forms after a kill count, Babi-Onna attacks as she moves instead of on cooldown, and McCoy-Oni and the tanuki draw affection. "I loved the Jojo Poses on Babi-onna!" one writes. Not everyone agrees: some call the roster weak at level one, and one reviewer says "I didn't mention the characters because they're really just sub-par."
Where players are split
The new weaponsMedium
Fans of the new set name Silver Wind, Summon Night, Mirage Robe, Four Seasons and 108 Bocce, and one review says "Silver Wind and its evolution Festive Winds are fantastic." Others find most of the set weak or gimmicky, and because a run only offers so many banish slots, unwanted DLC weapons crowd the level-up choices: "a lot of the weapons are not good and you'll probably end up putting them on your banish list". One negative review puts it bluntly: "poor weapon, buying this dlc will dilute the drop pool". Plenty of reviews sit in the middle: "Weapons are hit or miss but the good ones are solid additions." A few players report that the strongest evolutions make the last minutes of a run too easy, and one notes Echo Night "only hits on the left side of the screen" at high Area.
Navigating the walled mapMedium
Learning the layout takes a while at first ("The new map is a bit confusing to navigate"), and some come round: "Once you get the layout of the map, it's enjoyable." The complaint that sticks is visibility late in a run. One reviewer writes that "with certain arcana and abilities, its almost impossible to see where you need to walk", and others mention bumping into walls they cannot see, enemies walking through walls the player cannot, and the Mad Groove arcana pulling every item to you so there is no reason to explore: "While the new map is made trivial with the Mad Groove Arcana". Another regrets "the lack of visualisation of hight or ground level on the map" and would like to plan a route from the pause map.
How much content it addsMedium
Reviewers agree it is "more of the same" and disagree on whether that is enough. Estimates of the content run from about four hours to over ten; one veteran writes "Took me around 4h to 100% (could be rushed in 2-3h)." Some who came to it after later packs rank it lowest: "Probably the weakest DLC in my opinion. It's still ridiculously cheap and 100% worth it". An early reviewer advises "if you only have the money for one dlc pack then I'll say DLC 2 > DLC 1". A smaller group says it has fewer secrets than its detailed map deserves: "The only bad thing here is the lack of secrets".
What frustrates players
New achievements break a finished 100%Medium
Completionists split on the added Steam achievements. Some enjoy the excuse to return ("I like when achievements are added and I have to strive to get them"), while several negative reviews resent buying DLC to keep a perfect record: "Spend 50 hours 100%ing a game, developer releases another 15 achievements locked behind DLC." One player singles out the two achievements for 100,000 kills with new characters that struggle to reach that count.
Too easy for players who finished the base gameLow
Veterans with a powered-up save say the stage offers little resistance. "If you find the base game easy, this is just as easy as it," one writes, and a negative review says that once you have beaten the game "you'll just... unlock everything pretty quickly and be done with it". One long review also misses the end-of-run Reaper fight: "things immediately end in Mt. Moonspell when you hit the half-hour mark". A few newer players report the opposite, struggling on the first stretch with weak starting weapons.
Paying for what used to be freeLow
A small group, mostly in launch month, felt the pack resembled a content patch with a price tag: "This dlc would have been great if it was like a free update or something". A recommending reviewer who has followed the game since early access admits "the contrast from getting free content regularly to having paid dlc does not feel great".
Launch-week install and performance problemsLow
A handful of launch-week players could not see the new stage or content, and one reports "this update is so buggy it causes white screens for multiple players", while another says it "shows me the content but doesnt show the level". One review describes enemies and chests spawning out of reach for about a week after release. Late-run slowdown comes up a few times ("might have some lag/frame drop at 25min+"), and one player says the pack made their Steam Deck run worse.
3. The player conversation
Launch week dominates the conversation, with many one-line reviews about price, affection for the developer and the running joke that there are still no vampires. The longer critiques come from base-game veterans who 100% everything: they praise the map's ambition, question the weapons, the difficulty and the replay value, and mostly still recommend the pack. Players who joined later tend to judge it against Tides of the Foscari and Ode to Castlevania, and a couple of them call it the weakest pack while still endorsing it. Sentiment held steady after launch: 95.3% of reviews written after launch week are positive (585 of 614), with small waves of new reviews whenever a newer DLC launched and again after a later price cut.
4. What the developers could do
- Add a reduced-effects or terrain-outline option for walled stages: players say late-run effects hide the paths and walls this map depends on.
- Rebalance the weaker Moonspell weapons and fix Echo Night's one-sided hits: players call several weapons filler they banish on sight, and one reports the evolution only hitting the left of the screen at high Area.
- Give players more control over the item pool: reviewers say unwanted DLC weapons dilute level-up choices because banish slots are limited.
- Offer a fresh-start way to play the DLC: one review asks to experience the pack "without any of the previous upgrades and modes", and veterans say a maxed save makes it trivial.
- Make the Mad Groove arcana less dominant on exploration maps: several players say pulling every item to you removes the reason to explore Mt. Moonspell.
- Add more secrets and a stronger end-of-run moment to the stage: reviewers ask for reasons to revisit the map and miss the Reaper fight that ends other stages.
- Address late-run slowdown on the stage: a few players report frame drops after the 25-minute mark.
Open the Tides of the Foscari page
1. Summary
Tides of the Foscari is a clearly liked add-on, and reviews that compare the two original packs nearly always rank it above Legacy of the Moonspell. Players praise the low price, a fantasy setting built around three adventurer heroes, and a structure that has you use specific characters and evolved weapons to break seals, reach a hidden second map and fight a final boss. Most reviewers who compare weapon sets prefer this one, naming the three-spell union, the greatsword and the arrow, and the soundtrack gets praise again.
The criticism centres on the maps. Both stages are winding and walled, and several players say that once late-run effects fill the screen they lose track of the paths and even their own character. Launch week also brought a white-screen crash that stopped some players from starting the game, a few broken achievements, and an obscure first-stage objective that left players stuck if they did not know the trick. A golden-egg farming room and a gold-farming character divide players between those who enjoy breaking the game and those who feel it ruins progression.
2. What keeps coming up
What players praise
Generous content for a couple of dollarsHigh
Price comes up often, and nearly always as praise. Some reviews are nothing more than a thank-you: "Thanks for the low price! I'm poor and miserable, but I can buy it". Several players add that the pack gives more than it seems to promise, because the second map is a surprise: "You pay for one map but actually, you receive 2!!" On the other side, one negative review calls it a paid patch that took about five hours to finish.
A step up from Legacy of the MoonspellHigh
Reviewers who bring up the first pack mostly prefer this one. "Better than Mt. Moonspell in every way even though Mt. Moonspell was already great." one writes, and a longer review says "Everything the first DLC got somewhat wrong this one fixd." They credit the stronger weapons, more distinctive characters and secrets that give the map a reason to be revisited. A few hold back on parts of it: one preferred Moonspell's music and characters, and a negative review that still calls Foscari a bit better finds its single green map boring.
Progression, secrets and the hidden second mapMedium
The players who write at length about the pack's structure love it. You break seals and crystals with particular characters and evolutions, which opens a second, darker map with its own unlocks and a boss. "Unlocking a secret level inside the main level, then progressing that level over multiple runs is an amazing idea for this game," one reviewer writes, and another says "I love the way that progression through the DLC is handled, making you play as each character in a sequence." Some like how the story of the three adventurers unfolds as you play. The same reviewers warn it can be hard to work out what to do without help.
Strong new weaponsMedium
Most reviewers who compare the two packs prefer this weapon set to Moonspell's, though one negative review found it less interesting. The three spells that combine into one union weapon, the greatsword and the arrow are the ones they name, with one player arguing "the greatsword is the single best weapon in the game" and another that "Eleanor and her evolved Spellstring are just too OP." Not every addition lands: a couple of players dislike Keitha's Flash Arrow ("I just don't like weapons that only travel where I'm facing.") and the Shadow Servant, and a few negative reviews call the items gimmicky.
The soundtrackMedium
Music is praised again, often in a line or two: "The OST in this one is a godly upgrade". Several mention the kazoo versions of tracks with affection, and one longer review describes how each hero's theme fits their class. One reviewer found Keitha's track boring.
The Berserk nodLow
Fans of the Berserk manga are pleased by a swordsman with a giant sword they recognise as Guts: "You can now play as Guts from Berserk for just 2$". One negative review still liked the abyss map's nod to Dark Souls.
Where players are split
The maze-like mapsMedium
Some players enjoy getting lost ("I got lost in the woods and liked it.") and say the paths become easy to follow once learned. A negative review takes the other side: "it is a mess to navigate when the screen gets filled with animations and enemies". Others add that the pause map shows little ("Minimap naturally shows you nothing even from areas explored"), that the maps are mostly one colour ("Tides of Foscari is just all green with not much differences"), and that the player sprite disappears behind effects: "How hard is it to layer the character on the top so that they're always visible?" One reviewer suggests playing before your save is maxed out, since "this DLC would be best played either before you have progressed within the game to the point of trivializing the difficulty or on a new save".
Gold and golden-egg farmingMedium
Reviewers describe a character and a hidden room that make farming trivial. Some players are delighted: "Sammy is the best gold farmer there is and probably ever will be." and "They introduced an common enemy which 100% drop golden eggs!" Others think it breaks progression; one negative review says that because of this room "any enjoyment from progressing a character to Gaston levels of Egg devouring is ruined". Another notes that a heavily egged character slows the game to a crawl and cannot easily be toggled back.
The final bossLow
Players who liked it call it a highlight ("DLC also has an epic boss fight"), and others found it a slow bullet sponge. One reviewer reports that collecting a key weapon before the fight stops it from spawning during the battle, and adds "Even when working properly the final boss fight is insanely lack luster".
What frustrates players
Launch crash and early bugsMedium
The most serious reports come from launch week, when installing the pack left some players unable to start the game: "the game loads briefly and then there is a persisting white screen". One player traced it to audio settings ("make sure your audio format is 96000Hz or below"), and another found the only fix was removing the DLC. Others report a stage failing to render, weapons that would not evolve, and that "some of the achievements are broken", with one player's kill count for an achievement resetting after syncing.
Achievements tied to paid DLCMedium
Completionists who had finished the base game resent buying the pack to restore a 100% record, and a few negative reviews give it as their reason: "Achievements locked behind DLC is a no-go". Some players take it in good humour and treat the new list as a reason to return.
An obscure first-stage objectiveLow
Progress on the first map requires evolving a stationary ally's weapon, which needs a specific passive the ally cannot pick up. Players who missed this got stuck over many runs: "First timer players most likely wont know either Guneviere or Party Ghoul needs Curse Skull Token passive". A long-time fan sums up the wider issue: "it can also be a bit frustrating to figure out what you're supposed to do". One player also complains that allies eat health pickups the player needs.
No Adventure modeLow
A few players miss the story-style Adventure that other packs include ("Hope this gets an adventure some day"), though one reviewer who expected to miss it writes "I thought I would be sad about the lack of adventure mode but it actually turned out better than expected."
3. The player conversation
Much of the conversation compares this pack with the first. Launch-week reviews are almost all positive (97%) and full of jokes about kazoos, Sammy and the missing vampires, while the longer reviews read the pack against Legacy of the Moonspell and mostly declare it the better of the two. The critics are mostly veterans who had maxed the base game: they question the map design under heavy effects, the egg room's effect on balance and the achievement treadmill, and a handful of them still recommend it. Reviews written after launch week are less uniform, with 92% positive (331 of 360), and some later reviews place it below Ode to Castlevania while still calling it worth buying.
4. What the developers could do
- Keep the player character visible and add a low-effects option on walled maps: several players say they lose the path and their character once effects fill the screen.
- Let the pause map record explored areas: players say the map shows nothing about where they have been, which makes the mazes harder to learn.
- Signpost the first-stage seal objective: players got stuck because nothing explains that the stationary ally needs the Curse Skull passive to evolve its weapon.
- Rebalance or limit the golden-egg room: one negative review says it ruins character progression, and another asks for finer control over eggs.
- Test DLC installs against unusual audio setups before launch: the white-screen crash stopped some players from starting the game until they changed audio settings or removed the pack.
- Fix the boss-fight weapon spawn and add mechanics to the final boss: one reviewer documents the spawn bug and others call the fight slow.
- Consider an Adventure for this pack: a few players asked for one to match the other expansions.
Open the Emergency Meeting page
1. Summary
Emergency Meeting is a cheap, well-made crossover that most players recommend, though the reviews that discuss its content in detail are more divided than the overall rating suggests. Its supporters, some of whom say they do not care for Among Us, are surprised by how cleverly the pack turns that game's tasks, vents and emergency button into weapons. They also enjoy the map's timed emergency events, the mini crewmates that follow you around and a few weapons strong enough to break the base game. For a lot of reviewers the low price makes the decision easy.
The doubts are about fit and quality. Critical reviews say the Among Us art and characters clash with the rest of the game, that most of the new weapons are situational or weak, and that they crowd the level-up pool with items players then have to banish. Players also note that the crewmate characters look alike, that item descriptions are jokes that hide what each upgrade does, that the content is short next to the first two packs, and that the pack adds no Steam achievements. Approval was highest at launch and cooler afterwards.
2. What keeps coming up
What players praise
Among Us ideas turned into real Vampire Survivors weaponsHigh
When players praise the content itself, it is usually for how the crossover is built. They enjoy card swipes, vents, scans and the emergency button reworked as weapons and evolutions: "The way that all the different tasks and mechanics are integrated into the game is really charming and fun". Some write as sceptics who were won over: "The real joke of this DLC is that it tricks you into thinking it will be bad, when it is actually shockingly well-done." and "I don't even LIKE Among Us and I still recommend this DLC". One reviewer calls it "Genuinely one of the most well executed crossovers I have seen in a game".
The usual tiny priceMedium
Price comes up often, mostly as a reason to buy. One reviewer is happy to keep paying for the developer's packs: "Yeah so I just give these guys $2 whenever they ask for it, and I'm 100% ok with that." Some who were lukewarm on the content still recommend it because it is cheap, while a few negative reviewers say they regret the purchase despite the low cost.
The map's emergency eventsMedium
The new stage, which reviewers identify as Among Us's Polus, gives players a timed objective: at set points "you are called to press a button before a time limit expires", and success earns a chest with several items. Reviewers like that it forces them to move and adds tension, and one calls it their new favourite map. A few find the timers too tight, as the split themes below cover.
Mini crewmates and the horseLow
Small touches win affection. Players praise the mini crewmate pickups that trail behind you ("those mini crewmates following you around? Instant win."), and the joke horse character turns up in a string of short positive reviews.
Where players are split
Whether Among Us belongs in Vampire SurvivorsHigh
Reviewers split hardest over this. One negative review argues that "the aesthetics are so different from the rest of the game and feel really jarring". Others call it "a meaningless crossover", say the characters "don't necessarily fit into the game like how those from Moonspell and Foscari do", or note that it leans on an old meme. Fans and converts treat the absurdity as the point, and some of the critics still recommend it: "Terrible thematic choice for a crossover DLC, but it's still somehow worth it." A few players point out that the whole pack can be switched off in the collection menu.
The new weapons and their power levelHigh
Opinions on the weapons run from dismissive to delighted. A detailed negative review says "The new weapons aren't very good. Most are very situational", and others find them clunky, slow to evolve or so visually busy they hide the player: "At many points throughout the runs I would lose visual of my character". Defenders argue "there are certain weapons from this DLC that are some of the best weapons in the game", naming Paranormal Scan, the Lifesign Scan evolution, Sharp Tongue and Report!, and several say the pack's evolutions make runs trivially easy: "weapons absolutely break the base game".
Reaching the emergency buttons in timeLow
Most players who mention the events enjoy them, but a few say the walled map makes the timers unfair: "unless I'm running a highly egged character or one that can move through walls, I'm not reaching the point in time". Another calls the map slow to cross with too little time to reach buttons on the far side.
The AdventureLow
The included Adventure mode draws both extremes. One player writes "this DLC contains the best adventure mode to date", while a negative review describes two thirty-minute Adventure runs that "wasn't fun", citing enemies that stand still until approached on an enclosed first map.
What frustrates players
No Steam achievementsMedium
Reviewers report that the pack tracks its goals in game only. Some completionists leave negative reviews over it: "No achievements have been added to steam with this DLC." Others welcome the change because it keeps a base-game 100% intact, one of them praising that "They are only adding in-game achievements".
DLC items crowding the level-up poolMedium
Players who dislike the new weapons resent seeing them in every other stage. "it just dilute the weapon/passive item pool and we do not get enough seals to compensate," one writes, and a negative review wishes the pack could be removed entirely so banishes are not wasted. Supporters reply that the evolution items only appear once you level a DLC weapon, and that the pack can be disabled.
Characters that look and play alikeMedium
The crewmates share one body shape in different colours, and several players find the roster forgettable: "characters are just the new weapons with amongus skins". Even positive reviews say they would not replay most of them, with the Engineer's scaling and the Impostor as the main exceptions.
Joke descriptions that hide what items doLow
A few detailed reviews complain that the passive items and mini crewmates explain themselves with jokes instead of numbers, so "the Passive items all have joke descriptions so you can't even see what is being improved". One adds that "The item tooltips are surprisingly useless for the items in the DLC."
Short, and partly built for co-opLow
A handful of players found it quick to finish, one in under two hours, and compare it unfavourably with the original packs: "Disappointingly short compared to Legacy of the Moonspell + Tides of the Foscari". A few also note that several characters gain bonuses only in co-op, and one sums it up as "If you like limit breaking and don't play co-op, don't buy this".
3. The player conversation
A large wave of launch-week meme reviews ("sus", ASCII crewmates) sits on top of the conversation; they are positive but say nothing about the content. The written reviews underneath are divided. Among Us fans and pleasantly surprised sceptics praise the craft and humour, while long-time players who loved the original packs' themes say this one clashes and that its weapons make runs worse. Launch-week reviews were nearly all positive; reviews written afterwards are noticeably cooler, though most still recommend the pack. One later reviewer says the Castlevania and Contra packs make this one look like a step backwards.
4. What the developers could do
- Give players finer control over which DLC items enter the pool: players who dislike the crewmate weapons say they dilute level-up choices and eat limited seals.
- Rewrite the joke item descriptions to show real numbers: several detailed reviews say they could not tell what passives and mini crewmates do as they level up.
- Rebalance the weakest weapons and tone down the evolved visual clutter: players single out situational weapons and evolutions such as the wires and thrusters that hide the character.
- Add Steam achievements for the pack: some completionists ask for them, though others prefer in-game tracking, so an opt-in approach would suit both groups.
- Loosen the emergency-event timers on the far side of the map: a few players say the walls make the buttons unreachable without movement-breaking builds.
- Give the co-op characters a solo equivalent: players who play alone say several crewmates lose their main bonus without a partner.
- Make enemies on the Adventure's first map engage sooner: one review says stationary enemies stuck behind walls made the runs dull.
1. Summary
95% of the English reviews recommend Operation Guns, which brings Contra's soldiers, aliens and weapons into Vampire Survivors. Many reviews bring up Contra, from players reliving childhood favorites like Contra III to players who had never heard of the series and enjoyed it anyway. Players praise a large stage laid out like a side-scroller with a devastated city, a boss fight recreated from Contra III, a remixed soundtrack and a roster reviewers count at twelve characters, all at a price they put at about two and a half dollars.
Players split over the guns. Many find them satisfying, and about half of the negative reviews are about them: most of the new weapons fire only in the direction the character faces, which critics say clashes with a game built around running away. The Weapon Power-Up item needed to evolve every new gun drew complaints about tedious evolutions outside the DLC's own stages, and two reviewers later edited their reviews to say a patch made it appear more often. Smaller groups raise missing Steam achievements (one reviewer later noted they were added), a bonus stage some disliked, visual noise and runs that feel too easy.
2. What keeps coming up
What players praise
Contra in Vampire SurvivorsHigh
Longtime fans call it a nostalgia trip ("Very nostalgic trip back to my childhood. Perfect alien wars feelings.") and quote the series' lines and the Konami code. Players with no history with the series enjoy it too: "I have zero nostalgia or honestly even knowledge of contra as a franchise but this is just a blast." One player said it gave them "an interest in checking out the series they're from". A few reviews ask when a Castlevania pack is coming, and one jokes: "When we said you should collab with an iconic Konami franchise, this wasn't the one we meant." A few add they would still like Contra Uprising or more Contra III music represented.
The stage and its boss fightHigh
The main stage, Neo Galuga, gets steady praise. Reviewers like its left-to-right layout that nods to side-scrollers, the variety of enemies from soldiers to alien horrors, and one area in particular: "I really thought the devastated city was the coolest area, possibly in all of Vampire Survivors." The final boss comes up often, with one player saying "the recreation of the Contra 3 Terminator boss was a major step up for presentation in Vampire Survivors". Another wrote: "Best DLC of the 4; adds a massive new map, a large roster of new survivors and enemies, a new super fun boss fight, and of course, new weapons to use." One player found the map "a bit awkward to navigate", and one recommends the included Adventure as "probably the best way to experience the DLC".
A lot of content for the priceMedium
Reviews that bring up the price or value usually count the content too: "12 new characters and 2 new maps = more reasons to spend time in vampire survivors", "12 chars? for a little over 2 bucks? thats like 1/10th of an COD skin". Some players say it launched at a discount, and one notes the price stayed low for a licensed crossover: "$2.49 USD for a crossover with Contra. Poncle won't even increase the costs for the licensing." A few say they bought it mainly to support the developer.
The musicMedium
Reviews that mention the soundtrack praise it, including two negative reviews. "Found myself staying in the music selection window just listening a good amount of the songs there", one player wrote, and another: "The soundtrack for this drop slaps." One reviewer says the music "did take a bit to grow on me", and another missed specific Contra 3 tracks.
Where players are split
Forward-firing gunsHigh
Many of the new weapons are guns that shoot where the character faces, and players disagree about them in detail. Fans like the change of pace: "Many new weapons require aiming and maneuvering, adding a satisfying layer of skill to the familiar Vampire Survivors gameplay." Another wrote that the guns "may not seem as interesting and unique as some of the other DLCs (in some respects, they aren't) but man are they satisfying." Critics see a design clash: "Why are you adding forward firing guns to a game where you are always moving away?" One negative review argues "they wanted to put twin-stick shooter elements into this DLC, but without the twin stick shooter controls", and a positive one agrees a controller is close to required. Some judge the weapons on power instead: one counted "Only 3/11 new evolvable weapons it adds did I PERSONALLY think were any good or cool", another names the Long Gun, Short Gun, Metal Claw and Diver Mine as the weak ones, while a third found them "pretty balanced, nothing overly strong and nothing useless". The weapons are the subject of about half of the negative reviews.
Too easy or too hardLow
Players disagree on difficulty. A few say the new characters and guns make runs trivial: "I like the content But its WAY too easy so in the end its just a bunch of nothing, you just run right thru it." Others found the main stage "significantly harder than existing content" or "slightly more challenging than the base game", and one negative review calls the first map overtuned, with enemies that swarm the player without strong item support.
The bonus stageLow
The second, smaller stage gets mixed reactions. One player found both stages "fun to play on", another called the special stage "kinda mid but still passable", and other reviews call it "Literally unplayable" because enemies fill the screen within minutes, or dismiss "the on rails levels". One reviewer notes it exists mainly to unlock one character.
What frustrates players
The Weapon Power-Up evolution systemMedium
Reviewers explain that every new gun needs a Weapon Power-Up (a briefcase pickup) to evolve, and that outside the DLC's own stages the item only appears on level-up, one at a time. A detailed review calls this "tedious and needlessly limiting" and suggests allowing one Power-Up per DLC gun held, and others found it "really annoying to acquire these" outside the DLC map. One player warns newcomers that "you need to pick up a briefcase for each weapon upgrade, it's not a one-and-done process", and another found "some of the evolutions were a bit unintuitive to figure out with little explanation". Two reviewers who had complained about the item's spawn rate later edited their reviews to say a patch helped. One player welcomed the "added difficulty to evolving said weapons".
No Steam achievements at launchLow
Completionists noticed the DLC had no Steam achievements. "No achievements have been added to steam with this DLC." Two negative reviews were about this alone. One player later edited their review: "Edit: They added more achievements."
Visual noiseLow
A few players say the screen gets too busy to read. A negative review praises the map and music but says "it all goes to hell from the sheer amount of visual noise", to the point of not seeing what the new weapons do. Another put it as a joke: "So much stuff on screen I can't see the new map. 10/10."
A bugged evolutionLow
One player reports that the evolved Prototype B still fires only left and right, though "the animation implies" it should shoot in every direction like the other evolutions.
3. The player conversation
About half of the reviews were written in launch week, and the tone is warm. Most of those are short: Contra jokes and quotes, "Guns", and thanks to poncle, plus a few players who bought it to support the developer before playing. Detailed reviews come from players who own every DLC and compare it with Among Us, Tides of the Foscari and Legacy of the Moonspell; several rank it their favorite, and a couple call it the worst so far.
Weapon design is the topic both sides keep returning to, and the critics there are specific: forward-only fire, missing twin-stick controls, weak base guns. Reviews written after launch week were about as positive as the launch-week ones.
4. What the developers could do
- Give the forward-firing guns better coverage or an aiming option. About half of the negative reviews are about the guns, with critics saying guns that shoot ahead clash with a game about running away and asking for twin-stick controls.
- Allow one Weapon Power-Up per DLC gun held. Players call evolving several guns outside the DLC stages "tedious and needlessly limiting", and the review that uses those words suggests this fix.
- Buff the weakest guns. Reviewers name the Long Gun, Short Gun, Metal Claw and Diver Mine as underwhelming, and one rated only three of the eleven new weapons any good.
- Explain gun evolutions in the game. A player posted a full recipe cheat sheet, and another found the evolutions unintuitive "with little explanation".
- Fix the evolved Prototype B's firing direction. One player reports it still fires only left and right after evolving.
- Rework the bonus stage's enemy density. Critics call it "Literally unplayable" as enemies fill the screen within minutes, and others dismiss it as an on-rails level.
- Reduce visual noise during late runs. A negative review says the screen gets too busy to see the new weapons or the map.
Open the Ode to Castlevania page
1. Summary
Ode to Castlevania is close to universally loved, and the praise is specific. Players say the pack holds as much content as the base game, with far more characters and weapons than the store page suggests and a whole second half that opens after a twist. They call it a heartfelt tribute that reaches deep into the series' history, they rave about the remixed soundtrack, and the finale and credits sequence left some of them in tears. Reviewers who bring up the price nearly all call it a bargain. Players who have never touched Castlevania report enjoying it too.
The criticism is narrow and comes mostly from veterans. The long chains of unlock requirements and hidden secrets feel like a grind to some and send others to a wiki. A few say the flood of new weapons, especially whips, makes it harder to get the items a build needs, and that the map's size, mazes and side-scrolling rooms test patience inside a 30-minute run. Smaller complaints cover the lack of Steam achievements, screen clutter, weak early characters and a handful of bugs.
2. What keeps coming up
What players praise
A sequel's worth of content, far beyond the store pageHigh
Reviewers keep coming back to how big it is. Players describe it as "Literally like Vampire Survivors 2." and say the store page's 20+ characters and 40+ weapons undersell a roster that keeps growing as you unlock it: "The entire store page of this DLC is a lie, in the best way possible." Another adds that "those plus symbols are doing the heaviest lifting you've ever seen". Some describe thinking they had finished, then finding a second wave of characters, map sections and secrets.
A love letter to CastlevaniaHigh
Fans of the series praise the depth of the references: playable characters from across its history, including obscure ones, classic enemies and bosses, sound effects taken from the originals, and nods that reward long-time players. "This isn't a love letter, it's an entire PhD thesis," one writes. Newcomers feel it too; one says they "never played a castlevania game but i felt the love they put into this dlc", and another says the pack made them want to play Castlevania. A few fans note gaps, such as no Lords of Shadow or N64 characters.
The remixed soundtrackHigh
Players treat the music almost as a separate album: "Paid a cheeseburger's cost for a rockin' 30+ song Castlevania remix album." They single out each character's remixed theme and the inclusion of original tracks, one names a Keygen Church rearrangement, and several ask to buy the arrangements separately: "please make the CV OST purchasable".
A price that feels too lowHigh
Reviewers who mention the price nearly all call it a bargain: "Best $3.99 DLC purchase of my life". Players say they would have paid several times as much, and a few note it costs more than the earlier packs while calling the difference justified; one reviewer lists that as "the only downside it is more expensive than other Vamp Survivors expansions".
The finale and creditsMedium
Reviews that bring up the ending praise it without spoiling it, and some call the climax the highlight of the whole game: "Jaw dropping final boss and credits sequence." Several describe being moved to tears, and some advise new players to push through the unlocks to reach it. One player is less impressed by the final encounter and would have liked a proper boss fight in its place.
Dracula's Castle as a mapMedium
Reviewers describe the single new stage as huge, with gated areas opened by beating bosses, hidden rooms and short side-scrolling sections. Teleporters solved the size problem for one player: "once you beat those mini-bosses, you get teleporters, and that single handedly made the map the best in the entire game". Players enjoy that progress through the castle carries across runs.
More content added for free a year laterLow
A few reviewers who came back later mention a free update about a year after launch that added more to the pack (one says it gave unions to weapons that lacked them): "randomly coming out with an update a year later that adds a ton more content for free is just insane".
Where players are split
Long unlock chains and hidden requirementsMedium
Some players enjoy the chase, and one found the grind welcome: "for once having to actually grind for a bunch of new stuff was refreshing". Others find it a slog. "Way too grindy for my taste," one writes, citing runs that clear only one to four unlock tasks each, and several say the secret characters are hard to find without help: "secrets are really hard to figure out without looking up a guide". One long negative review objects that an outfit requires finishing an 81-objective Adventure. Some veterans also warn newcomers off starting here; one would "hesitate to recommend this to new players, purely due to how overwhelming all of it would be", and another says "I genuinely think that you should play through the base game first."
So many weapons, so many whipsLow
Plenty of players enjoy the huge weapon list ("you can now have a build that's literally just six different whips, and that's fun."), but a few say it makes runs less reliable because the item you need appears less often: "theres 8 different f*cking whips taking up a spot in the roster". Others ask for more seal slots to manage the pool: "i would like more seal slots".
The castle's size, mazes and side-scrolling roomsLow
The side-scrolling sections charm some players ("i love the little shifts between side scrolling from top down isometric"), while others dislike them: "I hate the vertical sections with a passion." A few negative reviews say the castle is too big to explore inside a 30-minute run, full of long corridors and hard-to-read twists, and that enemies walk through walls the player cannot.
What frustrates players
No Steam achievementsLow
Reviewers report that the pack tracks its goals in game only. That disappoints completionists and prompted a few negative reviews: "The DLC page on steam says that there are achievements, in fact, DLC does not give achievements." Others who mention it treat it as a minor gripe.
Screen clutter and no real challengeLow
A few players say the pack's power level makes runs trivial and the screen unreadable: "i got 4 lines of weapons which made me unable to see anything". A handful of negative reviews argue that balance and difficulty have been gone from the game for a while and this pack adds more of the same.
Weak early characters and unclear item informationLow
Some players find the first DLC characters and their starting weapons underpowered until later unlocks arrive; one negative review says "They're all weak, even the ones you unlock near the end of the DLC like Shanoa and Soma". Others want the game to explain evolutions during a run: "some of the weapon + passive combinations make NO SENSE AT ALL" and "I don't want to look up the evolution to each new weapon".
Small bugs and rough edgesLow
Individual players report that "not only is the end credits un-skippable, it ignores what your settings are for the volume", that "the mirror boss can become impossible if you get enough curse" if you delay the fight, that the bestiary failed to log some entries at launch, and that the large stage loads slowly.
3. The player conversation
Approval has barely moved since launch: reviews written after launch week are as positive as those from launch week itself. Two groups stand out. Long-time Castlevania fans write emotional, reference-heavy reviews about the tribute and the finale, and Vampire Survivors players with no background in the series focus on the amount of content and the price. Many reviewers take care not to spoil the ending. The few critics are mostly veterans worried about weapon bloat, grind and balance, and several of them still recommend the pack. A second, smaller wave of reviews arrived about a year after launch, when reviewers mention a free content update.
4. What the developers could do
- Add optional hints for secret character unlocks: players say hidden requirements send them to guides or cheat codes.
- Give players more control over the item pool: reviewers ask for more seal slots or a way to choose upgrades, because the large weapon list makes builds harder to assemble.
- Sell the Castlevania remixes as a soundtrack: several players ask to buy the arrangements, which one notes are missing from the existing soundtrack DLC.
- Show weapon evolution and passive requirements during a run: players say they cannot work out the new combinations without outside help.
- Add Steam achievements for the pack: completionists noticed the store page and the game disagree.
- Make the credits skippable and respect the volume setting, and fix the mirror boss curse scaling: both come from specific bug reports in the reviews.
- Offer a reduced-effects option: a few players say stacked weapons hide the map they are trying to explore.
1. Summary
97% of the English reviews recommend Emerald Diorama, which reviewers describe as a free crossover with SaGa Emerald Beyond. Nearly half of the reviews are about the price: players expected to pay for what one lists as twelve characters, sixteen weapons and a new stage, found it free, and many ask to be allowed to pay. Players who describe the content enjoy the Glimmer system, where weapons randomly trigger flashy special techniques, the Showstopper comeback mechanic, characters who recruit party members, and a stage made of several linked worlds with their own bosses. Several reviewers say they had never played a SaGa game and enjoyed it anyway.
The criticism comes from a small number of detailed reviews, most of them written after launch week. They mostly argue that many of the new weapons are too weak: bosses that take minutes to kill, starting weapons that can't clear a crowd, and evolutions that rely on Glimmers to be useful. The stage and the difficulty divide players, with some welcoming a hard, challenging DLC and others calling the start a slog. A few also report visual noise from evolved weapons, a level-up pool bloated with weapons, and trouble unlocking or downloading the DLC.
2. What keeps coming up
What players praise
A full-size expansion for freeHigh
Nearly all of the reviews that bring up the price express surprise or thanks: "Free is free. No idea what SaGa is, but Poncle wants to give it to me so I'm happy to oblige!" Many ask the developer to take their money anyway. A few pass on the reason for the price as they understand it from poncle: getting the licence sorted was simpler with no money involved. Players stress how much it contains, "12 new characters, 16 new weapons, a whole new stage with multiple mini-worlds in it" in one list, and the free price softens some critics: "I wouldn't rank it that highly if it were paid DLC, it's not the best of Vampire Survivors, but it is fun, and it is free".
Glimmers, Showstoppers and party charactersMedium
Reviews that describe the new mechanics get specific about why they like them. "the glimmer mechanic is really fun without making you checking the grimoire every second", one player wrote. Another described both systems: "the Glimmer system gives you a nice dopamine rush, and the Showstopper mechanic provides an exciting comeback moment and adds to the hype." Players also like characters who recruit allies during a run and a cat-collecting character who grows stronger with every cat, and one called the weapons "some of the most fun in the entire game". Critics of the same systems say some weapons "rely too much on their glimmers to be useful", and one disliked a special attack that zooms the screen in.
SaGa without needing to know SaGaMedium
Several reviewers say they had never played or heard of the series, and the crossover worked for them anyway: "I have no idea who anyone is, a sign to probably play SaGa games." SaGa fans are delighted with the attention to detail: "As a SaGa fan, this is such an unexpected but wonderful inclusion to Vampire Survivors." Some fans of older entries wish it had drawn on more of the franchise, such as SaGa Frontier characters, and one player would rather the game stopped doing crossovers altogether.
The music remixesLow
A few players praise the remixed SaGa tracks. One list of highlights includes "Music remixes of top quality", another reviewer calls the new tracks "very fantastic as always", and a SaGa Frontier fan bought the soundtrack as a way to pay poncle something.
Where players are split
A stage of linked worldsMedium
Reviewers describe the stage as a hub of narrow paths leading to several subworlds, each with its own superboss. Fans enjoy the structure: "Once you beat a boss, a green beam guides you to the next one which persists throughout the different attempts at the level." One negative review still calls it the best part: "The new map is really good". Critics find it hard to move around. A detailed positive review describes "very pretty worlds with nice landscapes and engaging bosses, but the restrictive landscape makes this one of the harder maps in the game and sometimes frustrating to traverse", and harsher reviews say "The map kinda sucks. It's not very fun to traverse." and "the map is a slog".
How hard it isMedium
Players describe a hard start and disagree about whether that is good. Some welcome it: "Free DLC with some deliberately weaker characters which is simply the best decision for expansion." Another likes that the stage "is surprisingly difficult without Darkanas" and that the DLC unlocks only after solid base-game progress. Others describe a "horrendous slog of a start", a stage that "At around 20 minute mark gets insanely difficult", and character challenges in Inverse mode that one player calls "absolutely brutal in this one".
What frustrates players
Weapons too weak to clear a screenMedium
Weak weapons come up in positive and negative reviews alike, and in several of the negative ones. One player found the weapons and characters cool, then asked and answered: "Do they massively underperform? also yes", adding that "currently there are few things that outperform a basic Holy Wand." The longest review describes bosses surviving four or five minutes of constant attacks, runs spent running away instead of killing, and a feeling that "a basic Garlic would have contributed more to the run." Others single out the melee weapons and the starting weapons, and say they finished the DLC's unlocks only by switching to base-game weapons. One detailed review sees a wide range, from "underwhelming" active weapons to a combination that makes the player "functionally immortal". One player disagrees outright and counts the new weapons among the most fun in the game.
Visual noise from evolved weaponsLow
A few players say the evolved weapons and Glimmer techniques flood the screen. One "found myself quitting runs early because i couldn't see anything, even with the flashing effects and damage settings turned off", and another says the Glimmered techs "create far more visual noise than the majority of vanilla weapons".
Too many weapons in the level-up poolLow
A few reviews say the DLC adds to a growing problem: "an overabundance of weapons making obtaining specific weapons and passives for your run a lot harder." Several players deal with it by sealing the DLC's items once they have finished its unlocks, and one recommends exactly that: "uncheck the entire DLC in the seal menu, nothing from it will ever spawn."
Trouble unlocking or installing itLow
A few players could not reach the content. One saw the stage listed as "not yet discovered" and had "no clue how to play it", another wondered whether sharing through a Steam family blocked it, and a Mac player reports the DLC "will not even finish downloading".
3. The player conversation
Most reviews were written in launch week, and nearly all of those are positive: one-line thanks, "FREE?!", jokes about EA and Bethesda charging for less, and a few players who recommend it before playing. One review passes on poncle's explanation, as the reviewer reports it, of why the DLC is free.
Most of the negative reviews came after launch week, and one of the launch-week ones is a joke about not being allowed to pay. Reviews written after launch week were a little less positive. They are where players who had worked through the unlocks describe weak weapons, a slow start and a level-up pool crowded by new items. Some of the critics still recommend it because it is free, and several compare it with Ode to Castlevania; the longest review holds that pack up as proof that unusual weapons can still be strong.
4. What the developers could do
- Give the DLC's weapons a damage pass. Weak weapons come up in several negative reviews and in detailed positive ones, with players describing bosses that take several minutes to kill and one suggesting a 50% stat buff.
- Let characters start with a weapon of the player's choice. One detailed review says a weak starting weapon "condemns an otherwise interesting character", and others report switching to base-game weapons to finish the unlocks.
- Cut the visual noise from evolved weapons and Glimmers, and remember the screen-zoom setting. Players quit runs because they couldn't see anything, and one has to disable the zoom "every time you start".
- Ease the stage's opening minutes and narrow paths. Critics describe a "horrendous slog of a start" and a restrictive layout that is frustrating to traverse with a full screen of enemies.
- Explain how to unlock the stage and fix the Mac download. Players stuck on "not yet discovered", unsure whether Steam family sharing works, or unable to finish downloading left confused or negative reviews.
- Improve level-up odds as the weapon pool grows. Players say the extra weapons make it harder to find the items a build needs, and some seal the whole DLC to cope.
1. Summary
96% of the English reviews recommend Ante Chamber, which reviewers describe as a free crossover that puts Balatro's Jokers into Vampire Survivors. Most reviews are short and celebrate two things. One is the price: many reviews point out that it costs nothing, and a few ask to be allowed to pay. The other is the pairing itself, with Balatro or its Jokers named in many reviews and "peak meets peak" turning up more than once. Players who go into detail like the Joker characters, who translate their Balatro abilities into Vampire Survivors, the Survarot cards that let a run borrow other characters' bonuses, and weapons they describe as fun and very strong.
The reservations come from a small number of longer reviews. A few say it has the least content of any Vampire Survivors DLC so far (four characters, four weapons and one stage) and that they would rate it lower if it cost money. Several warn about a passive that throws the run's gold at enemies, which leaves them with little gold to show for a run. A few find the stage a plain looping field, call the new content badly unbalanced, or could not work out how to unlock it.
2. What keeps coming up
What players praise
FreeHigh
Reviews that bring up the price are mostly thanks or disbelief: "FOR FREE???", "Jesus bro. Let us pay." One player wrote: "I can't be the only one who saw it, scrolled down with money in hand and saw it was free." Some did not expect a licensed crossover to cost nothing: "Considering this is a collab with Balatro it's even more baffling they give this away for free". The price also softens the critics. "I wouldn't rank it that highly if it were paid DLC", one wrote, and another summed it up as "The shortest DLC yet, at least it's free."
Balatro in Vampire SurvivorsHigh
Many reviews name Balatro, Jimbo, the Jokers or the jester theme. Fans of both games celebrate the pairing ("peak meets peak", "Two of the most absurdly addictive games have crossed over"), and others joke that Vampire Survivors now has gambling. Players who comment on the fit say it works: "Balatro suprisingly fits pretty well into this game, doesn't feel weird or out of place." One reviewer says they simply don't like Balatro and still leaves a positive review, and another asks for a bigger Balatro collab with more Jokers as playable characters.
Joker characters and Survarot cardsMedium
Reviews that describe the content praise how the four characters carry their Balatro roots. "Most of the new characters really stand out from the now-207-strong crowd and do a great job translating their respective Joker's ability into such a different context." The Survarot cards, a shop of cards that add other characters' stats and effects to a run, get some of the most specific praise: "I really like the Survarot mechanic, it adds a fun way to scale during a run but doesn't (always) immediately trivialise the run." Players name Jimbo, Perkeo throwing planets, and the weapons Infernoaltro and Fibonacci Spritz, and one review calls the stage's bosses "arguably the most unique across all of VS!"
The music remixLow
A few players mention the music. "The music remix is very good." Another enjoyed getting Balatro's "music, aesthetic, and vibes", and two noticed the soundtrack art of Jimbo kissing a Vampire Survivors character.
Where players are split
The smallest DLC packMedium
Players who bring up the size agree it is small and disagree on whether that matters. A few reviews call it the smallest pack the game had received, and one counts four characters, four weapons and one stage against eight characters and seven weapons in Legacy of the Moonspell. For some that is a drawback: "This is actually a pretty weak dlc." Others like it that way. "Probably the best DLC since Moonspell and Foscari, not for how much it adds but how little it adds", one player wrote, hoping future collabs stay "digestible and unintrusive". A short review landed in between: "It's not bad, a few secrets, but it's free."
Power and balanceLow
Players agree the Joker content is strong and disagree on whether that is fine. "Ridiculously unbalanced but really fun. There just isn't much of a reason not to use Jimbo." One review notes that Jimbo's gold-based weapon keeps him from trivializing other unlocks even though he is "Hilariously overpowered". Another wants the cards reworked: "The one thing I will say is Survarots are not balanced at all." That player says some cards give permanent bonuses and others only temporary ones. A detailed review describes the stage as fun until "random artificial difficulty spikes in the final minutes", while one player argues Jimbo is already outclassed by an existing character.
What frustrates players
A passive that throws away your goldLow
Several reviews describe the clown passive that fires the run's gold at enemies. "Took me awhile to realize that anything from this pack that gets added to your powers or weapons causes your accumulated gold per session to vanish in ever increasing amounts", one player warned. Another left a negative review over it: "I wish I could just disable everything in it, because anytime you pick up a powerup from it you get a secondary that throws away all your gold for the run." A longer negative review says the mechanic keeps Balatro weapons out of normal runs, because "you leave each game with no coins making each losing run more punishing". A few of the negative reviews give it as their reason. A positive review advises players early in the game not to "expect to make a ton of money from a short run" with these weapons.
A plain, looping stageLow
A few reviews describe the stage as a flat field without the distinct areas of other DLC maps. "The map is another rehashed square map with the items just plopped around arbitrary places." Another found it "a bit confusing to navigate, since it is an infinitely scrolling area much like the original maps", and a third "kinda expected the stage that came with it to have more to it". The detailed defender of the DLC agrees it lacks distinct areas but credits it with translating Balatro's interface well.
Hard to find and unlockLow
A few players could not reach the content. "i see no way to play this", one wrote after seeing the stage listed as "not yet discovered", and another could not find it in the game until they added the DLC to their account. Reviewers say unlocking it takes a large amount of gold and base-game progress, and one flags this in advance: "Just be aware you will need a decent amount of base game progress to access the new content." Another joked: "I spent more time scrounging for the gold to access this DLC than ultimately playing it."
Lag and crashes at launchLow
A few players hit technical problems. One was thrown out of the game repeatedly at launch and then reported: "Hotfix sent out. All is fine in the world again." Another found the DLC "really laggy and the music gets turned off when there's too much lag".
3. The player conversation
Most reviews are a few celebratory words, and most were written in launch week: "FREE???", "Jimbo my beloved", "peak crossover", drug and gambling jokes, or thanks to poncle. A few reviewers admit they had not played it yet. Detailed reviews are rare and come from players who own the other DLC and measure Ante Chamber against the earlier packs, from Ode to Castlevania and Legacy of the Moonspell to the Among Us and Contra crossovers.
The negative reviews mix a few short dismissals with specific complaints: the gold drain, the stage, trouble unlocking it, and a dislike of the crossover itself. Reviews written after launch week were a little less positive than the launch-week ones.
4. What the developers could do
- Let players keep their gold, or make the gold-throwing passive optional. Several reviews raise it, and it is the reason behind a few negative reviews, including one asking to "disable everything" from the pack.
- Rebalance the Survarot cards and Jimbo. Players call the content "Ridiculously unbalanced", and one review points out that some cards grant permanent bonuses while others fade.
- Explain how to unlock Ante Chamber in the game. One negative review came from a player stuck on "not yet discovered", and others mention the gold and progress it takes to reach.
- Give the Balatro stage distinct areas and more secrets. Reviewers describe a "rehashed square map" that is confusing to navigate and has less to it than they expected.
- Fix the lag that cuts out the music. One player says the DLC gets "really laggy" and the music turns off when it does, and another reports that an earlier crash was fixed by hotfix.
- Bring the Survarot cards to more of the game. Players who describe the cards like them, one review notes they are limited to this update for now, and another would like them as a permanent mechanic in the base game.
Open the Legacy of the Bloodmoon page
1. Summary
97% of the English reviews recommend Legacy of the Bloodmoon, which reviewers describe as an original pack rather than a crossover (one calls it the first original expansion since Tides of the Foscari). Price drives the conversation. More than half of the reviews bring up a cost of roughly one dollar, and for many that is the whole review. Players who describe the content praise the new characters, with Nameless Fool named as a favourite more than once, weapons and unions that open new ways to break runs, music that no review criticizes, and a darker, horror-tinged tone with more lore than earlier packs.
Complaints are rare, and the detailed ones come from long-time players. A few call it more of the same, and one veteran says it takes an evening, two at most, to uncover everything. The new stage, Red Moon Manor, divides the people who discuss it: some find it packed with secrets, while one detailed negative review says its maze of thin hallways makes it a poor stage to play. A few reviews each raise missing Steam achievements on PC, effects that cover the screen, and power creep that removes what challenge is left. No review makes a serious case that the DLC is poor value.
2. What keeps coming up
What players praise
About one dollar for a full DLCHigh
For many reviewers the price is the entire review: "literally costs 1 money", "I'd buy that for a dollar". Players report paying 76p, 81p, 87 cents or $1.40 AUD depending on region, and less when they already owned the other DLC: "Just 87 cents if you already have all the previous DLC !" Reviews that weigh the content against the price reach the same conclusion. One player listed it as "99 cents for 10 characters, 16 weapons, a whole new stage and of course some banger music? this might just be the best-valued DLC of all time." A negative review also counts the loss as small: "Thankfully the DLC is only a buck."
New characters and weapons that break runsHigh
Reviews that discuss the content mostly praise the cast and the arsenal. Nameless Fool gets named as a favourite in a few reviews ("especially Nameless Fool who is up there as one of the best in the game in my opinion"), including one negative review, and Malice Bloodmoon and Sargon also come up. Players single out 108 Responsive Prayers and its union Road to Heaven, a new axe, and Scarlet Needle: "Scarlet Needle is a killer with how it holds bosses in place." One player wrote: "I thought that it wasn't possible for there to be more broken weapon combos than the castlevania dlc and somehow, somehow I was wrong?" Another liked that the weapon power-up and Among Us passives became obtainable through Arma Dio. On the other side, one negative review says: "Characters are just not that fun imo."
The soundtrackMedium
Music gets steady praise, and no negative review mentions it. Some say it alone justifies the price: "the OST alone is worth the one whole money." One player heard a Nightwish influence in the first track, another gave Malice Bloodmoon credit for being "so powerful she gets her own theme song!", and a third wrote "BEST MUSIC IN THE WORLD! Instantly drawn back in after a year of hiatus!" One reviewer hopes the new songs reach the official soundtrack release.
A darker tone and more loreLow
A few reviews point to the horror theme and the storytelling as what sets this pack apart. "Legacy of the Bloodmoon absolutely delivers on its presentation of a more occultish, macabre style for the new characters, weapons, and sountrack." Another player noticed "the bestiary entries for the stage's major bosses hauntingly describing their life before becoming what they are now", and others like how it ties into Legacy of the Moonspell as a sister expansion.
Where players are split
Red Moon Manor, the new stageMedium
Players disagree about the stage. Fans call it "jam-packed with interesting geography, nooks, and crannies to find", with a hidden corridor, a light labyrinth and a final boss fight one player compared to Ode to Castlevania's finale. Others found less to do than the map suggested: "there's only really the 4 bosses and the final bossfight, which I discovered in my first run on the map." One negative review describes "a few outdoor areas that lead into a manor with a lot of winding paths and thin hallways", a layout that makes dodging early hordes hard, and a hidden boss whose attacks can take a weapon away. That player ended up using flight or wall-clipping characters to ignore the maze. Opinions on its size differ too: one calls it "one of the most expansive yet", another "smallish and not particularly complicated".
How much there is to doMedium
One veteran put a number on it: "this is exactly how long it will take you to uncover everything: an evening, two tops." A few reviews call it "more of the same", one of them as a compliment. Another says "It's just more of the same, just with another coat of paint" and then adds "That said, for 1 whole moneys that's fine." A third puts it plainly: "However, you will find nothing innovative or refreshing here." Other long-time players found more in it. One wrote that it managed to "entertain, challenge and surprise me", and another found the DLC "a bit more complicated than that" once they dug into its secrets and unions.
Power creep and balanceLow
Players like how strong the new cast is, and a few warn about what that does to the game. One recommends waiting "until you beat all the 1.0 content before jumping into this one, this cast of characters and weapons HIGHLY power creep what you're supposed to have in the early game lol". Another, still alive at the 56-minute mark, concluded that "any semblance of challenge or balancing is still off the window." A negative review describes both extremes at once: builds so strong the challenge evaporates, and deaths to fart clouds the player could barely see.
What frustrates players
No new Steam achievements on PCLow
A few completionists wanted new achievements and found none. "The only thing really missing is new achievements." One player who had all base-game achievements left a negative review over it and said the platforms were treated differently: "Playstation got new achievements but no PC?"
Effects that cover the screenLow
A few reviews describe effects that hide the character or the enemies. One player calls a new weapon "annoying" because it "covers entire screen including the characters every few seconds", another asks for "an option to make opacity of explosions and other vfx lower", and a negative review asks for one effect to go: "negative review until you remove the flashing screen from Shimmering Sands. unplayable and dangerous".
A softlock and missed unlock creditLow
Two players hit problems in the unlock path. One describes a run where neither the character nor regular enemies could move while a miniboss kept attacking, "something I can only hope is bug causing a softlock", which needed a restart. Another says taking the stage's secret ending does not count toward unlocks such as evolving an item, which they call "a pretty big oversight".
3. The player conversation
Most reviews are short and grateful, and most were written in launch week. Many are a line about the price or a thank-you to the developer, poncle, and a few reviewers say outright that they had not played it yet and recommended it on price alone. The detailed reviews come from long-time players who compare it with the other DLC, usually Ode to Castlevania, and a few are glad to see an original pack again after the crossovers.
Each negative review about the game gives a different reason: characters that weren't fun, the stage design, missing achievements, a flashing effect, and balance plus a softlock. No single complaint gathered a following. Reviews after launch week were as positive as the first ones.
4. What the developers could do
- Add the DLC's achievements on Steam. Completionists noticed the missing achievements, and one review says PlayStation players got new ones while PC players did not.
- Add an effect-opacity setting and tone down the Shimmering Sands flash. Reviews describe a weapon that covers the whole screen and a flashing effect one player called "unplayable and dangerous".
- Fix the miniboss softlock and count unlocks during the secret ending. One player had to reset a run when nothing could move, and another lost unlock credit for taking the secret ending.
- Give Red Moon Manor more to discover and easier routes through the maze. One player found everything the stage holds on their first run, and another skipped the maze with flight and wall-clipping characters.
- Flag the DLC's power level for players still working through the base game. One reviewer advises finishing the 1.0 content first because the new characters and weapons outclass early-game gear.
- Add the new tracks to the official soundtrack release. The music gets steady praise, and one reviewer hopes the songs reach the proper OST.
