The last few years have been somewhat of a renaissance period for the survival game genre. With titles such as 7 Days to Die, Palworld, Rust, Don’t Starve and the recently released Once Human all currently in Steam’s top 50 most played games list, it’s safe to say fans of the genre, like myself, are feasting right now, especially since all of the games listed above do many things to set themselves apart from one another and provide unique experiences. However, the games I listed, and many other survival games I’ve played, do all have one thing in common: the combat tends to take a back seat to the crafting, exploration and building aspects. This is where Stunlock Studios comes into the picture.
Having spent the last few years cutting their teeth on PvP games like Battlerite and Battlerite Royale, the team over at Stunlock are looking to spread their combat prowess into the Survival game genre with their latest vampire-themed release, V Rising. Instead of heading to battle in a PvP only arena, you will instead take control of a newly risen Vampire as they try and survive through the rigors of the world of Vardoren en-route to erecting a massive castle and growing your power as a Vampire lord hoping to one day take Dracula’s place as the mightiest of all. I can’t imagine that kind of a genre switch was an easy transition to make, considering all of the layered mechanics and complexity that comes from the Survival genre. Can they pull that off? After spending over 70 hours with the game, I think I have my answer.
V Risen
Booting up V Rising for the first time, after running through a quick and dirty character creator, you will find yourself bursting out of a sealed coffin nestled deep inside of a undisclosed crypt. As you try to make your way out into the world, you will inevitably run into a few aggressive skeletons to take down with your bear hands. These skeletons will become unwilling bone donors to your cause as you fashion some armor and weapons out of what remains of them. Being locked up for so long tends to work up quite the appetite, but rats are all that’s on the menu… for now. With a body full of bones and a belly full of rats, you will eventually find the exit and take your first steps into the world of Vardoren. As you exit the crypt and enter the world, you feel the warm embrace of the bright sun above. The feeling of freedom is fleeting, however, as the warm rays on your skin suddenly begin to burn. Quickly dashing towards the nearest shadow to escape certain death, you might start to think that crypt wasn’t so bad after all. You see, in the world of Vardoren, nothing comes easy, especially for prospective Vampire lords. As they say, though, Rome wasn’t build in a day, and neither was Bran Castle.
V Rising‘s intro is brisk, and you will really get into the flow of things pretty quickly. One of the more immediate things I realized as I started my journey to over 80 hours played was that the game is played from a top down isometric perspective, similar to that of Diablo, as well as the game’s commitment to being not just a survival game, but a “Vampire” survival game. My honest to goodness first thoughts were that both of those decisions would ultimately hurt the game. Constantly fighting the sun, needing blood, and having to avoid things like garlic and silver could get pretty annoying after a while, I said to myself. But to Stunlock’s credit, I was quickly proven wrong. It gives the game a lot of flavor, and I think Stunlock’s unwavering commitment to the theme, both visually and mechanically, makes it shine. All of the typical weaknesses and obstacles you would associate with being a Vampire have mechanics and unlocks tied to them for you to chase. As you grow in power through the game’s amazing progression system (more on that later), I found myself buying more and more into the fang-tastic theme. They even have some nifty optional Castlevania crossover DLC, where you may or may not get utterly obliterated by a roaming Simon Belmont.
Home of the V
The world of Vardoren is a large, seamless world broken into several zones. It is not as open as other survival games, with plenty of dedicated paths laid out for you to follow, but it is still very fun to explore. The game has a very stylized look to it, which really helps the environments to stand out. The beginning zones invoke comparisons to that of Sherwood Forest from the Robin Hood tales, with other biomes feeling like they were ripped straight out of Winterfell or Bloodborne. Scattered throughout all of the zones are encampments and strongholds filled with enemies and bosses, as well as empty plots used for players to claim as the home of their eventual castles. Playing on a semi-well populated dedicated server made the world really come alive as many of those plots were filled with player castles instead of rubble. Playing on a dedicated server is definitely my recommended way to play. In the server that I was playing in, the global chat was full of life with lots of people looking to team up and take down some of the many challenges the game presents. It is worth noting, though, that the dedicated servers are all on 3 or 6 month resets. So if you want something with a little more permanence, you may opt to forgo the social aspects and host your own private game.
There Will Be Blood, and Stone, and Wood and…
Seeing as my server was going to be my home for the next 6 months, I felt I better lay my claim to an area on the map. Thinking ahead, I trudged my way through areas I probably shouldn’t have been in yet based on my level, eventually settling with a nice rustic area in the middle of the map, an area known as the Dunley Farmlands. The pros of living here were that I could be somewhat close to everything, with a major con being the level 36 Treant that lived right at my doorstep. Although facing certain death every time I came and went was definitely a “con,” I decided to make the best of my new home and start getting to work.
Gathering in V Rising is a very straight forward process as you can simply attack trees, rocks, brush, ore, and other things with any weapon to start collecting resources, with some weapons, of course, being more effective than others. Eventually, I had cleared all the debris on my land and collected enough resources to construct some palisade walls, along with a coffin to protect my sensitive skin from the disgusting sun.
The game has a very clever objective system that is always nudging you down a progression path by suggesting what you should do next. However, If you don’t want to travel down the game’s intended path of progression, you can also just play in any way you like. The world is yours to explore, so you are free to venture into the depths of the game no matter how prepared you may or may not be for what lies waiting there. As fun as that is, and I definitely indulged in several hours of getting killed while off the beaten path, following the intended path is a very satisfying loop. If it asks you to find a specific material, chances are that it will result in learning a new recipe that allows you build a new structure that can refine the previous material. Once refined, you may unlock new ways to build stronger gear or useful items that can help take on the game’s boss characters, know as V Bloods. Once defeated, these V Bloods will drop more recipes, powers, or other ways to enhance your character, equipment, productivity, or castle. The loop is incredibly satisfying, with the carrot on the stick never being out of reach for too long. And, once caught, it is replaced by an even nicer-looking carrot on that same stick. No matter what, though, if carrot collecting is your goal, you won’t be able to grab very many without engaging in the game’s best feature, combat.
Rock’em Suck’em Vampires
Being a top down isometric game in the vein of Diablo, I expected the combat to follow suit. While some of that may ring true at first glance, the combat here is more refined and technical. While you are limited to just three spells, two weapon arts, and one ultimate, the vast majority of these are skill shots, making each attack feel less spammy and more intentional. It’s almost as if you are playing a MOBA like League of Legends or DOTA 2. Basic melee attacks are also aimed with the right stick, and so are basic ranged attacks, which are treated like skill-shots and spells. Spells and weapon arts run the gamut of providing offensive and defensive capabilities, movement, and crowd control, so finding the right combination to suit your play style is vital.
The combat, overall, is quite fun and engaging, I was genuinely surprised with how much it clicked with me. Although, maybe it shouldn’t have been so surprising for me, having had played around 3000 hours of League Of Legends and DOTA 2.
Fun and engaging combat is only half of the equation, though. What good is excellent combat if you are only fighting punching bags? Thankfully, the team at Stunlock understood the assignment here and delivered some of the best boss encounters I have seen in a top down isometric experience. The bosses all have combat mechanics, some of which start to feel like MMO raid bosses the further you get into the game. Many of these would put bosses in much larger games, like Diablo 4, to shame mechanically. While some of them are simply roaming around the world, many of them also have unique arenas in which to fight them. The best part is, there are nearly 60 of them to take on in the base game, and each one comes with its own unique rewards.
Rise Together
When I booted the game for the first time, I made the mistake of not paying attention to the icons in the realm select screen and inadvertently chose to play on a “Brutal” difficulty server. This is something that I do not recommend choosing for anyone who wants to attempt a solo run. Having played a bit of the early access version on Steam, I was familiar with most of Act 1, and figured things were just tuned a bit harder in the 1.0 build. By the time I got to Act 2, I quickly realized something was wrong as these bosses were getting very, very, difficult to solo. Throughout my play through, I had noticed a lot of activity in the global chat and decided to ask my fellow blood suckers why the game was so difficult. At first, the only responses I got were different variations of “lol.” However, quickly after that, I was told about the server difficulty.
Lucky for me, the community here was magnificent as they quickly took me under their bat-wings and lent a helping hand whenever I needed it, including inviting me to join their clan, which enabled trading and fast travel access to each others’ castles. The game remained challenging, even when working together, but it was doable. Thanks to the the party chat system in PlayStation being persistent, I found myself part of a small little coven of Dracula-hating vampires destined for lordship. The fact that we worked together not only to fight bosses, but also to gather and craft gear and consumables to make each other, and thus the group, stronger, was a really satisfying experience. At this point in my 80 hours with the game, all but 2 of Dracula’s minions are vanquished, and the smell of our impending victory is so strong I can’t taste it. While co-op play is nearly a necessity on Brutal mode, it would still be my recommended way to play regardless of difficulty. Everything’s better when we work together and all that.
The Bloody Best
All of my time in V Rising’s 1.0 build was spent playing on the PS5. Performance held up decently, with some noticeable frame drops when things got overwhelming on screen or when transitioning to new biomes and a lot of texture streaming was taking place. It is somewhat clear that the combat was designed for mouse and keyboard as the right stick is used to both aim your targeting reticle and also is used to move the camera while you hold R2. It was something that took a little getting used to, which I ultimately did. The game also offers the option to play on a PvP realm as either a solo or duo group. The PvP can happen anywhere and anytime with the ability to fully loot another player’s castle if you can get through their defenses. The game’s strong combat systems lead well into PvP; however, during my time with the game, the PvE realms seemed to be more popular.
V Rising is seeming to be a triumph for the survival game genre, bringing exceptional combat, boss design, progression systems, and world building to the table while, at the same time, never wavering from their commitment to the vampire fantasy. It’s a combination of which I became totally lost in, and it’s one where I think anyone with even the slightest interest in the survival genre could get lost in, too. Only a few bosses stand between me and the face off with Dracula, and I can’t wait to jump back into Vardoren.
