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Vampire Survivors-like

Vampire Survivors-like, also known simply as Survivors-like or bullet heaven, is a video game genre popularized by the 2022 indie video game Vampire Survivors. Due to the sudden breakout success of Vampire Survivors, numerous developers began creating video game clones to the extent that critics believed a new genre was born. Similar to fixed shooters, Vampire Survivors-likes often take place on a single screen, and have successive waves of numerous enemies attack the protagonist. The player character automatically shoots their weapon, and can unlock periodic upgrades, with each run proceeding in the fashion of a roguelike. Due to the lack of a proper name for the genre, such games are typically listed as a combination of bullet hell and action roguelike on the online storefront Steam.

History

The genesis of the genre was a mobile game called Magic Survival, which the developers of Vampire Survivors drew from when designing its gameplay.[1] Following the smash success of Vampire Survivors in 2022, numerous clones started to be produced by other developers, many in search of a "gold rush" of money from fans. At first, these were blatantly stolen copies, but the next wave of games were original titles with similar gameplay.[2] These included Soulstone Survivors, HoloCure – Save the Fans!, Brotato, and 20 Minutes Till Dawn, among others.[1] Some spin-offs of existing games were created in the Vampire Survivors-like genre, including Temtem: Swarm, based on a monster-taming game, which included a catching mechanic,[3] and Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor.[4] The genre initially did not have a name, and while bullet heaven/reverse bullet hell were one popular name for it, this name was rated poorly by Robin Valentine of PCGamer, who favored the name "survivor games" or "auto-shooters".[5]

Reception

Ed Thorn of Rock Paper Shotgun wrote that most Vampire Survivors clones did a poor job of distinguishing the player from the visual clutter in comparison to the original.[6] William Hughes of The A.V. Club praised the large amount of clones, stating that "gaming is an inherently iterative medium, with the entire history of the art form made up of creators building on other people’s good ideas for play".[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Fenlon, Wes (2022-12-29). "So, so many Vampire Survivors clones came out this year". PC Gamer. Retrieved 2025-04-21.
  2. ^ Benson, Julian (2025-04-20). "Vampire Survivors kicked off a game development gold rush, but has a legitimately new genre emerged between the cash-ins?". GamesRadar+. Retrieved 2025-04-21.
  3. ^ McWhertor, Michael (2024-02-20). "Pokémon meets Vampire Survivors in new Temtem 'bullet heaven' spinoff". Polygon. Retrieved 2025-04-21.
  4. ^ a b Hughes, William (2024-03-15). "Game Theory: Yes, please, bring on the Vampire Survivors clones". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2025-04-21.
  5. ^ Valentine, Robin (2025-03-11). "We need to decide on a genre name for Vampire Survivors-like games before a really terrible one sticks". PC Gamer. Retrieved 2025-04-21.
  6. ^ Thorn, Ed (2022-11-23). "Vampire Survivors-likes need to cut through the clutter". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved 2025-04-21.