One of the year’s must-play independent hits, the reverse bullet-hell shooter Vampire Survivors, has finally added a final boss. After a recent update that included the addition of a new version of the game’s final stage, that is no longer the case.
The survival game Vampire Survivors, which was technically first released in the final months of last year, is still in early access. Although it may appear to be a top-down bullet hell shoot ’em up, the main goal isn’t to avoid projectiles; instead, you’re the one firing them, wiping out tens of thousands of foes. And because it contains a few roguelike components, Vampire Survivors makes it simple to adopt the “just five more minutes” attitude. Here is Ian Walker from Kotaku:
The true strength of Vampire Survivors, however, lies in its nearly constant dopamine rush. It resembles a mobile game without all the BS associated with mobile games or perhaps one of those pointless Flash distractions you used to sneakily launch during study hall at school. In addition to being satisfying, killing rare, tougher enemies occasionally rewards you with a treasure chest that, in a flashy sequence that rivals even the best loot boxes, showers you with extra items and money for unlocks.
You get even more stuff in the most recent update, 0.8.0 (patch notes here), which brings Vampire Survivors one step closer to a full release by adding a ton of brand-new skills, accolades, and weapons. The addition of a revised final stage, “Cappella Magna,” is the biggest change, though. According to Polygon, if you make it past the 30-minute mark, the stage’s adversaries will combine into a huge reaper à la Voltron. The last boss is that one. “Cappella Magna” will revert to the simpler—yet still incredibly challenging—version after you beat it the first time. As a reward for your work, you’ll gain access to the Great Gospel relic, which lets you upgrade weapons past their maximum level.
If you haven’t already, give Vampire Survivors a try. It is a component of Microsoft’s game-on-demand subscription service Game Pass’ PC library. Or, and this is important, it is $3.
