vampire survivors It is one of the gaming phenomena of recent years. Developed by Poncle, a Spaniard who emigrated to the United Kingdom and whose real name is Luca Galante, it is a game that was born from a moment of sadness for the author, who created it almost as a form of personal liberation, without expecting much in terms. of sales. Millions of copies sold later and a dedicated documentary certainly prove something, even if we can't define exactly what.
The fact is that along with the different Mario and Sonic, Nathan Drake and Marcus Fenix, there are now also the different Mortaccio, Rottin'Ghoul, Poppea Pecorina and all the other crazy characters that populate this strange kaleidoscopic 2D action, in which everything The effort of the player's objective is to experience that feeling of omnipotence provided by an arsenal that, taken to the maximum, is capable of destroying the tens of thousands of enemies that populate the screen, until inevitable death arrives. Over the months, Poncle has updated his work several times, which, between free and paid content, has grown exponentially, but shows no signs of stopping. We just had the opportunity to Vampire Survivors Co-op Preview, the fulcrum of the next update that will be released on August 17 and that could consecrate it definitively... or at least make us share the intoxication with some trusted friends.
Vampire Survivors Cooperative Mode
Accessing the cooperative mode of Vampire Survivors is really simple: by connecting a second (or a third and a fourth) controller, the title automatically displays the additional players in the character selection. Each player chooses his hero, making the appropriate assessments, and we can begin. Naturally, usable heroes depend on how many have been unlocked through playing, so efforts made alone will not be wasted. That's all? Yes. The only variant to evaluate is the number of items for the characters: as the number of players increases, the number of weapons and bonus items that each player can collect during the game decreases.
Once you've started a level, it's easy to see how the co-op mode has been designed to not upset the balance of the base game, despite there being some timely differences. For starters, all users play on the same screen, so they will have to move together in the same direction, if they don't want to get stuck somewhere. In general, even in the cooperative mode Vampire Survivors always remains the same, with the big difference that the monsters can attack whoever they want. Therefore, the game remains focused on avoiding horde after horde, while automatically collected weapons claim victims. He differences The most important aspects, compared to the single-player game, concern the management of experience points and death. Let's go in order.
Regardless of the number of participants, the experience bar remains unique, with characters leveling up in order. In this way, Poncle avoided imbalances, that is, during a game some players could prevail over others, stealing all the jewels of the experience. So it doesn't matter who picks them up, because to upgrade you'll still have to wait your turn, unless the friendship amulet appears in the item selection, which allows you to upgrade a random weapon of each player by one point. Please note that another player cannot obtain an unlocked item. No La Borra for everyone, sorry. The only brake on shared growth is the death of a character which, unlike what happens in single-player games, is not definitive in cooperative games. When a player runs out of health, a sarcophagus appears in their place, with a timer. Once the time runs out, the character can return to life at full health. Also in this case it is clear how the design of the mode aims to avoid excessive frustration for the players, guaranteeing them the possibility of returning to the action, as long as everyone else present does not end badly.
When will the co-op update be available?
The update with cooperative mode will be completely free and you will be able to download it starting August 17, 2023 on all platforms: Steam, Xbox, Mobile and Nintendo Switch. Note that co-op can be played locally or, on Steam, via the Remote Play Together feature, which allows you to invite online friends to play, even if they don't own the title.
The final stasis
It must be said that co-op works very well in the initial phases, but is a little less effective in the final phases, when you are very powerful and there are hundreds of enemies flocking towards the players. He the problem, as anyone who has played a lot of Vampire Survivors will know, is that they are slow moments, in which there is often little movement because the number of opponents on the screen is overwhelming and there is no longer a way to wander around the map. too much. They are a few minutes of stasis, in which the game is over, the weapons are at their limit and the only thing you can do is observe, making at most short and controlled movements. Well, lived alone, these moments have their own charm and are even exciting, because they represent the culmination of the game and in some way the reward for the effort made, while in a cooperative its static character is perceived more, not so much in the screen, but in the faces and comments of the players, who become increasingly inactive. The chaos remains fascinating, but it becomes more alienating because it inexorably reveals the reduction in the active participation of those present. In short, the lack of things to do during the final waves (no weapons to choose or upgrade, no items to reach, no bosses to deal with us) tends to cool things down a bit, in what is still a very fun game. attractive experience, definitely worth a spin.
Conclusions
Holygamerz.com
Readers (113)
8.5
your vote
PRO
- Shared chaos
- more people is better
AGAINST
- The final phases acquire an alienating function
