Vampire Survivors: Ode to Castlevania
Poncle · Indie, Action, Action Roguelike
Overview
Everyone is here in Vampire Survivors: Ode to Castlevania
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The Vampire Survivors have come a long way in their honorable hunt, and after joining forces with the Belmont Family, they are the closest they've ever been. Finally, within their grasp... A vampire. Possibly, at least.
The sun has set on Dracula's Castle once more, and as the moon rises a hellish horde of murky Mudmen, ghastly ghosts, and frightening Fleamen take the stage as the battle of good and evil rages once again. Unleash an arsenal of new Vampire-vanquishing weapons upon these beasts and leave a trail of doom in your wake before attempting to rid the world of the unspeakable terror himself. Do not be blind to the shadow that looms over you Survivors, as your quest has only just begun! It's all very serious stuff, so now let's pump up the volume and let's go, this is Castlevania in Vampire Survivors, baby!
What a horrible night to have a curse, especially if you are:
The Belmonts, your favorite whip-obsessed family of vampire hunters, including Simon, Richter, Trevor, and even Sonia.
The Belnades, a myriad of legendary witches from throughout the history of the occult clan. Sypha, Yoko, and even distant relatives like Charlotte Aulin and Maria Renard have their spellbooks ready.
Other Heroes, not just Jonathan and Charlotte, but Jonathan Morris AND John Morris?! Amazing allies abound, from Shanoa to Eric Lecarde.
Fighting the forces of evil is hard as hell:
Whips: Whole lot of whips. More whips than we can count (it's eight).
Spells: elemental magic has finally made its way in Vampire Survivors, offering a wide array of spells inspired by Portrait of Ruin, Harmony of Dissonance, and Order of Ecclesia
Magic weapons: not any sword, but Alucard's Sword. And Alucard's Spear. Also Alucard's Shield. Etc.
Projectiles: do you remember that time the Morris' were throwing javelins and iron balls?
Glyphs: Confodere, Vol Confodere, Melio Confodere, but also plenty of non-Confodere, we swear.
Some of these characters are famous for having a large amount of different abilities, so we probably all had a different experience in playing them in their original games. It would be silly of us to force you using these characters with an unchangeable weapon, so... well we ARE actually going to force a weapon on you, but not for long!
You'll be able to unlock at least one Weapon Selector for every single character; for example the Morning Star will let you choose any whip as a starting weapon for your friendly neighborhood-Belmont:
Enchanting mysteries and danger await those who enter:
The largest map Vampire Survivors has ever seen, stacked with sinister secrets and a bunch of baneful bosses.
A ridiculous amount of remixes of Castlevania tracks from Vampire Survivors historic composers Daniele Zandara and Filippo Vicarelli, but also from fan-favorites Evelyn Lark and Keygen Church!
♫ Vampire Killer, Bloody Tears, Simon's Theme, Leon's Theme, a lot of themes.
♫ Moonlight Nocturne, Lost Paintings, Dance of Pales, but like you've never heard them before.
♫ Aquarius, The Beginning, Divine Bloodlines, everything that screams "this is Castlevania".
♫ An Empty Tome, Invitation of a Crazed Moon, Pitch Black Intrusion, so many hits from the more recent entries in the series.
♫ Amber Scenery, Sarabande of Healing, Jaws of a Scorched Earth, and many others you didn't know the title of!
On top of that we have borrowed several dozens original tracks from Castlevania games. There is so much music we revamped the music selection panel for the occasion.
And the cherry on top: a man.
From the game's Steam store page.
THE GAMEQ VERDICT1,157 reviews analyzed
What players are actually saying
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.
