Review: Vampire Survivors: Ode to Castlevania DLC

Genre / Tags: Action Roguelike, Bullet Hell, Indie, Casual
Developer/Publisher: poncle/poncle
URL: Vampire Survivors: Ode to Castlevania on Steam

This year, we saw the release of Vampire Survivors: Ode to Castlevania, a DLC collaboration with Konami themselves to go back full circle and add Castlevania elements0 directly into Vampire Survivors that originally was just creating a Castlevania inspired bullet hell game.

As a bullet hell / action roguelike enjoyer, Vampire Survivors has always been on my radar since it released on Steam back in October of 2022.Vampire Survivors originally took inspiration from the older Castlevania styles and tried to make something similar, but in their own way and it really took off, and invigorated so many game developers to take their stab at creating a game in the genre.

I’ve easily put 20-30+ hours into this new DLC just trying to unlock new things. There is alot that has been added since the last time I played. This DLC is giant. So many new characters, items, massive stage and even tons of new remixed soundtracks even. It’s just a fantastic time as both a bullet hell enjoyer, and as Castlevania enjoyer.

20+ New Characters

(Image Credit: poncle / Steam)

Vampire Survivors: Ode to Castlevania, brings in a new myriad of characters brought in with this update. The Belmonts (Simon, Richter, Trevor and Sonia), the Belnades (Sypha, Yoko, Charlotte Aulin, and Maria Renard), and other heroes like Jonathan and Charlotte, Johnathan Morris, and John Morris. Exciting to see even ones that aren’t listed or even hidden away in the massive map.

GIANT Castlevania Stage

(Image Credit: poncle/Steam)

30+ New Music Tracks

So many incredible remixes of Castlevania tracks have been added to Vampire Survivors. Ode to Castlevania, that we all know and love as Castlevania enjoyers. Bringing in historic Vampire Survivor composers like Daniele Zandara and Filippo Vicarelli, but also some fan favorites too, both Evelyn Lark and Keygen Church. I personally probably haven’t even heard / unlocked 1/3 of the new songs. Each one i’ve heard so far is a banger and so nice to jam to while exploring the map, or just playing any of the new characters.

40+ New Weapons

There’s a huge list of weapons being added to Vampire Survivors: Ode to Castlevania, from whips, spells, magical weapons to new projectiles and even glyphs. Just a metric ton of new combos to be had and it’s exciting to try them all out. I again like the music tracks, probably have only tried like 1/3 of the characters and weapons out thus far, but each one feels pretty unique in their own right.

I’ll have to give Vampire Survivors: Ode to Castlevania a 9.5/10. The game is fantastic as always. Adding the Castlevania elements into the mix just was the cherry ontop of a nearly perfect game. I feel like I’m always pressed to give any game a perfect review. Anything and everything can be improved in some ways I feel like. How else to we get better as a gaming community?

These days I feel like most bullet-hell games should own genre, and be called “vampire survivor-like” since so many have branched off from what Vampire Survivors began.

FGM –