Vampire Survivors’ Castlevania expansion is a must-have for players of the original and a love letter to Konami’s classic franchise.
Action-survival roguelike Vampire Survivors is already one of the best deals in gaming. For five bucks, you get an endlessly replayable time sink that’s stuffed with unlockable characters, dozens of weapons to experiment with, and clever secrets to discover. The game’s most recent add-on, Ode to Castlevania, somehow manages to make the original offering feel anemic by comparison.
Maybe that’s a slight exaggeration, but Vampire Survivors: Ode to Castlevania under-promises what it actually offers for an extra $3.99. This is more than just a love letter to three decades of Castlevania games; it’s an exhaustive homage to the very inspiration behind Vampire Survivors.
Ode to Castlevania includes a massive new stage to explore, one that’s vaguely Dracula’s Castle-shaped. There’s some inspiration from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night to its structure, as the map includes recreations of boss arenas and teleportation rooms that can zip you around its huge footprint.
