Vampire Survivors

    I, like many PC gamers, have grown accustomed to spending a single-digit amount of money on games on Steam over the years. For example, I managed to purchase the 40-cent version of the videogame 'Deus Ex': Invisible War, which I believe was the average cost of a game during the 'Great Depression'. I never played the game, but the value was undeniable. With this in mind, I believe 'Vampire Survivors' to be one of the 'best deals' available on PC gaming. It is an innovative, surprise-filled 'bullet hell' roguelike that will run on almost any device, and I found myself muttering the 'one more run' mantra at one o'clock in the morning when everyone else in the house had gone to bed. "Vampire survivor's first big surprise is how well it handles shooting," Robin Valentine, PC Gamer editor, recently commented on the game's hard drive.

    The game revolves around a 'hurdle mode' in which you must outlast a large number of ghouls and ghosts over a period of 30 minutes. The maps are simple yet expansive, and you can choose from a variety of 'Belmont-like' characters. As the game progresses,Each weapon has its own unique mechanics, such as its AoE, fire rate, and damage profile. Instead of aiming directly at enemies, weapons have a predetermined firing pattern that is affected by the player's positioning. For example, my favorite character, Arka Ladonna, begins with a relatively aggressive early game weapon, a wand that fires fireballs at random enemies on the screen every second. 

    As I have no control over the direction of the fireballs, I must follow Arka's lead to clear the crowd of enemies, taking advantage of the opportunity to level up gems in the process. Contrast this with Imelda, another Castlevania-worthy character, who starts with a wand that fires directly at the nearest enemy. This allows Imelda to target her enemies more directly from the start, allowing her to play a more immediately recognizable, aggressive style. I prefer the high-risk, high-reward randomization that Arca provides, as it is something unique to the game, but you have a wide selection of weapons from the start.

This game was a lot of fun to play and I would recommend it to anyone who wants a nice vampire undead game.