Best of 2022: Vampire Survivors – Tom’s one true and only choice for GOTY

I’m not adjacent picking runners-up. Nothing other comes close.

I thin to beryllium weary of the blistery caller game. The crippled that’s travel retired of obscurity and is being talked astir arsenic the 2nd (Third? Fourth?) coming of Molyneux. Everyone connected societal is all, “You MUST!! play this game. It is legit AMAZING!1!” My bullshit sensors occurrence up into overdrive and I’m fundamentally forced arsenic acold distant arsenic imaginable from said game. I privation I hadn’t done this with Vampire Survivors.

Although released successful Early Access connected December 17, 2021, Vampire Survivors lone truly made an interaction successful 2022. At the commencement of the twelvemonth the rumblings began. I ignored them. The sound grew louder. I enactment connected my receptor defenders. The crippled was announced for Xbox and Game Pass. I turned up my nose. Just what could this archaic-looking crippled beryllium doing that had enthralled truthful galore people? I, I decided, wasn’t going to autumn into the hype trap... oregon truthful I thought.

Long communicative short, I played the Xbox mentation connected Game Pass and was hooked. I installed the crippled connected the Steam Deck soon aft and the remainder is history. It’s easy my astir played crippled of the year, contempt the information that it’s a crippled successful which you truly don’t bash that much.

Trying to explicate what’s truthful large astir Vampire Survivors truly requires words from a amended writer than me, but I’ll bash my best. This simplistic looking enactment crippled sees you navigate 2D unfastened satellite levels, with your quality automatically attacking utilizing a fig of weapons that you summation arsenic you play. The much you play, the much upgrades you tin make, with palmy runs ending successful your quality being capable to fuck everything up by simply existing successful the space. A due badass. And it feels bloody brilliant.

I deliberation I’ve got a just spot of Vampire Survivors inactive to see, not adjacent considering the bargain-priced DLC. I’m inactive being treated to “WTF conscionable happened” moments that permission maine connected the borderline of Googling answers to things I truly don’t privation explaining. I indispensable enactment strong.

You truly indispensable play it to judge it.

If you’re speechmaking this and are yet to acquisition Vampire Survivors, it comes with the biggest proposal immoderate video crippled tin get: my praise. This is simply a fantastic game, and a crippled that tin beryllium played connected a clump of platforms for a precise tiny fee. Don’t beryllium similar me. Embrace the hype. Revel successful it, and person a large time.

I was going to reel disconnected a clump of different games that I similar this twelvemonth (such arsenic The Last of Us: Part 1, Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, for example), but I don’t privation to. I’m a tired, aging antheral who doesn’t person astir capable clip to play everything I privation to play. The information that I’m lone truly playing Vampire Survivors says it all. It's Game of the Year and it’s not adjacent close.