Vampire Survivors to get its “biggest DLC” yet, an ode to Castlevania with a sprawling new map

Vampire Survivors was our best game of 2022 and one of the best roguelikes, period. And over the years it’s received a slew of updates that make it a bit bigger and a bit better, but nothing that’s been mega substantial. That is, until today’s announcement that it’s getting an Ode To Castlevania expansion, classed by developers Poncle as the game’s biggest DLC yet. More characters, more weapons, a weapon selector, an enormous stage. I simply can’t wait to devour more packets of crisps as I play this.

First on the agenda: more characters. 20+ to be precise, all of them from Castlevania’s universe. Having never played Castlevania (sorry) they mean nothing to me, but they may mean something to you. We’ve got the Belmonts with their whips, the Belnades being all witchy, and “Other Heroes”, like Jonathan, Charlotte, Shanoa, and Eric Lecarde who I’m sure are all very pleasant individuals.

Over 40 weapons are being added, too. Eight whips, more elemental magic, more magic weapons like Alucard’s sword and spear, “projectiles” like javelins, and lots of Glyphs. Again, I have no reference point here, but I am sure they are all very nice. I like that there’s no need to get the references. I’m just happy I’ll get to carve up some more demons with a bunch of new stuff. Ignorance is bliss.

There’s a new weapon selector, meaning that you’ll eventually be able to decide what weapon you’d like characters to start with. On their Steam page, they say “the Morning Star will let you choose any whip as a starting weapon for your friendly neighbourhood-Belmont”.

The final highlight? “The largest map Vampire Survivors has ever seen”, which looks like a real hodgepodge of, presumably, Castlevania’s most iconic locations.

The Ode To Castlevania DLC is out on the 31st October and will cost $3.99/€3.99/£2.99, which is an absolute steal. Here’s the Steam page.

And in other Vampire Survivors news, there’s also going to be some quality of life changes. These will be announced over on a Poncle YouTube broadcast, although timing hasn’t been confirmed yet.