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0 V Rising is a game about a vampire who really needs to get up an escalator by any means necessary. It was released on PS5 And PC on June 11th after an early access period lasting two years.
You really are the most devious vampire…
I enjoyed what I played of V Rising in its early access state, but felt like the more linear progression system held it back, how has my opinion changed since? Find out!
Gameplay
V Rising is an online survival game first and foremost with a lot of inspiration from the Diablo series evident in its HUD, isometric view, and artstyle. The game may look similar to the Diablo series and an ARPG at first (even pointed out by a fellow writer when I was typing up this review) but V Rising carves out its niche with its survival gameplay.
Survival Mechanics
Now to be completely honest, I’m usually not too big on survival games. They’re usually way too tedious and bogged down with downtime. However, I knew V rising was something special after the early access period had me in its fangs. There’s your standard array of survival mechanics for the most part, though the game twists these features in differing ways to fit the vampire theme. You have your food meter with blood that will slowly kill you if out. Blood not only sustains you but also heals you. Differing blood qualities and types also come with the additional benefit of perks. These perks typically are your standard array of stat increases. But those increases are extremely large.
Crafting is a significant part of the game, where you’ll be making weapons and armor to boost your gear score. These items come with their durability stats, but thankfully, degradation is slow and repairs are fairly straightforward, ensuring that maintaining your equipment never becomes a burden. The game flips the traditional day/night system of traditional survival games on its head, going out during the daytime without proper equipment will see you burning and fizzling out within a matter of seconds.
Combat
Combat is hack and slash, you’ll use abilities that you collect from felling bosses. There are only 2 ability slots with an ultimate to be used. While this may not seem like many at first, there’s an extensive list of abilities to unlock and mix and match, meaning you’ll usually be switching up your ability game plan. I found battles engaging and even brutal at times. I would often find myself using the environment and positioning to my advantage, which spices things up in the ARPG genre.
Castlemania
The heart of any vampire’s journey, a home to call your own, complete with your loyal servants. chop down a tree to get wood, turn that wood into foundations, turn those foundations into walls. Bam, survival game. Where V Rising really breaks the barriers of a traditional survival game is the quality of life features. Building in the game is a dream. It’s incredibly simple to dismantle and replace walls keeping any accessories you may have placed on them in the process. As you get further in the game you’ll notice you need to separate certain production items into rooms. This encourages players to focus on their castle layout and ended up making my castle feel like a living, grand stronghold.
I remember my partner’s desperate attempts to make me stop and do something productive. To which I replied by screaming “THRONE ROOOM” as I drained our resources for a cool-looking room with barely any use.
Quality Of Life
As mentioned previously, V Rising has plenty of quality-of-life features that make playing it that much smoother and that much more immersive experience. A standout feature is the auto sort system. Storing every type of item in its dedicated chest is as easy as one simple press of a button. Why is this not a standard feature in most survival games? While there are a few drawbacks such as not being able to craft from storage and the controller layout taking a little time to get used to. The benefits outweigh these issues. A notable oversight is the shared button for changing the camera perspective and using a weapon ability, preventing you from doing both simultaneously. Despite these minor flaws, the quality of life improvements significantly reduces the pressure and time investment, making for a more enjoyable and flowing experience.
Most issues I have with V Rising that are gameplay-focused, can be fixed through changing settings. To experience the base gameplay to the fullest extent. Myself and my partner played on a private server for the majority of our time.
the settings list is extensive, with pretty much all aspects of the game being able to be tweaked in some way. This ranges from timers, health, damage output, and more.
Story
The game doesn’t offer much in terms of on the surface story. Instead, its progression system relies on a series of text boxes guiding players to do certain actions to unlock new equipment and craftable items. The further on you get in the game, these tasks and requirements can take significant amounts of time, slowing pacing down to a halt. Fortunately, there is always something to do to keep player engagement, V Bloods.
V blood
V blood are bosses scattered around the map that award abilities and crafting opportunities once slain. Some include full-on form transformations, each with their own buffs. There are 4 acts in the game, each with its own sets of encounters, areas, and bosses.
The battles themselves are well-paced and entertaining. Some earlier bosses may seem easy and have limited attacks, but as you work your way up the blood-chain fights will start to get significantly harder. There are even a few creative ones thrown in there where the boss may not be the biggest threat.
Graphics & Audio
Stylistically, the game embraces a cartoony aesthetic that complements rather than detracts from its vampire theme. The game utilizes a palette dominated by browns and muted colors, thankfully enhanced by its art style. Nights in V Rising are particularly visually appealing. As for audio, it’s standard fare—I have no complaints nor particular praise about it.
Longevity
Due to its linear structure, I don’t envision myself completing more than one or two worlds in the game. While the linear progression is well-suited for a first playthrough, it becomes evident that repetitive elements start to emerge upon subsequent completions. However, each run takes a substantial amount of time to finish, far exceeding the average length of many video games, providing good value for money in terms of gameplay hours.
Final Thoughts
V Rising stands out as an excellent survival game held back by a few minor issues accompanied by the fact that players will most likely get value out of their first playthrough, but feel tired during their subsequent ones. However, the game shines brightly (ouch) with its vampiric charm, extensive base building, and satisfying and varied combat mechanics making it one of the best survival games I’ve played period. The game’s dedication and love for its theme are palpable, evident in its systems, even with weaknesses like garlic being turned into a fun mechanic.
Due to these reasons, I am awarding V Rising the Gold Thumb Culture Award.
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Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
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