Vampire Survivors is 2022’s surprise breakout game that captured the hearts of fans everywhere with its hyper simplistic game design and addicting roguelite experience. But once you’ve completed all of the achievements in each update, what do you do next?
You could grind golden eggs, or you could find other games that scratch the reverse-bullet hell itch. After blasting our way through Steam’s catalog of roguelites, we’ve created this list of games like Vampire Survivors you should play.
Make use of this guide to master the Vampire Survivors game.
1. Nomad Survival
Platforms: PC
Price: $3
Compared to the other games on this list, Nomad Survival is the most like Vampire Survivor while still standing out with its own mechanics. The major difference between the games is how Nomad Survival threatens to drown players with its sheer density of upgrades (including passives) and how distinct each character is.
At the beginning of each run, characters in Nomad will have several different ‘heritage’ to choose from. Each heritage will fundamentally change how the character will play during a run. For example, the Cultist can choose the Nomad heritage to gain more rerolls per level up or the Poxwalker heritage to replace the immediate damage of its weapons with an AoE explosion that will deal double the damage over the course of six seconds. As a result, while there are nine classes to play, the seven heritages create a wealth of options that vary each run.
2. Spellbook Demon Slayers
Platforms: PC
Price: The demo is free.
Spellbook Demon Slayers is still in early access, but its free demo shows plenty of promise. The basic premise remains the same as other Vampire Survivor-like games, but in comparison, it offers a more arcade-like, roguelite experience.
Your opening weapon is able to one-shot most enemies and the game will spawn plenty of cannon fodder to get your levels going. Bosses spawn with upgrades that will be given to you when they’re defeated along with a free level to one of your weapons. Shrines periodically appear and grant buffs/healing when enough enemies are killed, giving you an even faster rate of monster slaying for the next few seconds.
Along with its heavy metal score, all of these mechanics create a fast, light, and snappy roguelite that’s perfect for a casual run when you need a break from work.
3. Holocure
Platform: PC
Price: Free
Created by a fan of the vtuber talent company Hololive, Holocure is a Vampire Survivor-like that oozes creativity out of every pixel you interact with.
The characters are inspired by the vtuber characters from Hololive’s English branch. Each one is either a mythical being, or a demi-god in charge of a high concept like time, space, and nature. Each section of the game, from the enemies to the weapons, are covered with in-jokes with the Hololive community and gorgeous pixel art. Even the gacha system used to unlock new characters feels like an homage to many of the Holomember’s addiction to gacha games.
A particularly fun mechanic in Holocure are the added movement challenges during a run. Holocure will send patterns of enemies at high speeds toward the player, requiring either high DPS or fast movement to dodge the enemies similar to a bullet hell.
4. 20 Minutes till Dawn
Platform: PC
Price: $3
Vampire Survivors and games like it are wonderful because of their simplicity. All you have to do is focus on dodging and how to build your character – no aim required. 20 Minutes till Dawn adds back that aiming component while still keeping the core of what makes Vampire Survivors a fun game.
Shooting your weapon is a calculated choice. Whenever you shoot, your character will slow down, giving the demonic hordes you’re blasting a chance to catch up. But the weapons themselves are also just guns that are inherently fun to shoot. Even the basic revolver has a weight to each shot that feels fun to use. In turn, this makes any upgrade to your weapons feel powerful.
But the characters steal the show for 20 Minutes. Each of the female protagonists have a passive ability and individual upgrades that brings a unique personality to each run. Even a character whose only passive is starting with additional health has a few entertaining upgrades with her.
5. Project Lazarus
Platforms: PC
Price: $5
At first glance, Project Lazarus hits a few stumbling blocks in its first run. The first mech you use is painfully slow, and the basic gun feels like an insult to pea shooters. But this game shines through its metaprogression.
Once you’ve invested a few upgrades into your guns and systems, everything else starts to snap into place. Weapons begin to feel like monster-shredders, system upgrades offer meaningful increases to your stats, and filling your mech with weapons becomes a strategic choice of favorite weapons.
In fact, level ups in Project Lazarus give often give interesting choices Players will usually have an option to heal instead of taking an upgrade. But upgrades can be granted to different equipment slots. This means players have the choice to either upgrade their current weapon, or get a second copy of that weapon to fire with their current one.
6. Just King
Platforms: PC
Price: $4
Just King takes the original premise of Vampire Survivors and adds a lighthearted RPG-Roguelite feel to it. Instead of surviving in a single massive room, you’ll be navigating your way through rooms and stages in a similar fashion to Slay the Spire. However, combat has the same general premise as Vampire Survivors except instead of items and passives to upgrade, you’re upgrading your followers.
You play as a King on an adventure. As you go through your adventure, you’re allowed to have a maximum of four followers. Each follower has their own special abilities, skills, and three equipment slots. During your battles, you can swivel your followers around in a circle around you, giving you control over where each follower will be contributing to the fight.
Currently, while the game lacks the overtop power upgrades found in games like 20 Minutes and Vampire Survivors, it makes up for it through powerful equipment combinations. One example of this is combining effects like lifesteal with items that make your followers attack more often.
If you love roguelike games, here’s our list of the best roguelites ranked, and the best indie roguelikes of 2022.
