DLCXbox · PC · PlayStation · Switch

Vampire Survivors: Ante Chamber

Poncle · Indie, Action Roguelike, Bullet Hell

Overview

Prepare for a different kind of Stake as the Jokers run wild in Vampire Survivors: Ante Chamber.

They've demolished demons, battled bats, been to outer space, and failed to find any vampires, but now the Survivors face their greatest challenge yet: a bunch of Jokers. Will you fold under the pressure, or go all in on being a Balatro-boosted bullet hell?

Join Jimbo and a cast of wild cards with combo potential that'll probably break the game. Get in on the action for a Full House of silly synergies, clownish combos, and bewildering Boss Blinds.

The house is full. The desk is rigged. And Luck is just another statistic. But fortune favours the bold, and if you can survive this clown car of poker puns, you can be the bullet hell even when the chips are down.

Jimbo: Your favorite forklift-certified clown finally has full-body representation in Vampire Survivors. Multiply stat-boosting Survarot cards by x4.

Canio: The tragic clown in oversized finery. Has a special technique to trigger additional Survarot drafts, but won't stop frowning about it.

Chicot - Wears the cap and bells, but makes bosses look like the real clowns by cutting their health in half and switching off their hazards.

Perkeo: Short in stature but never short on Passives, this fool has a practically unlimited pool to power him up.

Infernolatro - Summon a burning score counter to burn your foolish foes to ashes. Each enemy you roast stacks your score and fans the flames, expanding the inferno until the whole table's alight.

Gros Michel: Release a barrage of banana projectiles, each with a 1-in-6 chance to explode for deliciously critical damage.

Fibonacci Seltzer - Fires mathematically beautiful spiralling streams of fizzy destruction that can trigger your other weapons.

Celestial Booster: Planets and a rocket orbit you constantly, dealing extra damage based on your current riches.

Enter the Ante Chamber, an extradimensional analogue of Balatro's user interface. Battle buffoonish foes on a facsimile of Jimbo's home turf accompanied by a new ally, the Outer Saboteur, a silly little sidekick that steals your coins to throw them at enemies.

From the game's Steam store page.

THE GAMEQ VERDICT320 reviews analyzed

What players are actually saying

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.