After two years in early access, V Rising is finally a finished and launched game with its 1.0 release. But has the early access period been good for the game and is the game any good today? The short answer is: Yes! The longer answer you can read here below.
Success in combining genres
V Rising is what you get if you combine Diablo and Minecraft and sprinkle it with something of its own. It is a game that looks like an ARPG similar to Diablo, it has combat which also follows that direction, but it is and plays a lot more like a survival game like Minecraft. When you first start the game it feels like a good-looking new isometric hack and slash, but after killing the first couple of skeletons you realize it is something else. Instead of getting the regular loot like a new pair of boots or a sword, you get materials to craft your first sword. And from there gathering and crafting is the way forward.
Upgrading and gearing up
Starting with the survival part of the game, V Rising works like most other games in the genre, you gather material, build machines and benches to upgrade your gear, and create new material for better buildings. Even if the groundwork is standard, there is something in its execution and the flow of it that is better than its competitors. The gathering part itself also feels better since they made it faster than most other games, it only takes a few chips on a tree to have a hundred or so of it.
The biggest parts of crafting are your castle and your gear. There is no leveling system in the classic sense, you instead craft and upgrade your gear which determines your level, and the higher your gear, the more refined materials are needed. The game is divided into different acts with a thin storyline going through them. And all acts have bosses in them which requires higher and higher gear levels. Aside from giving you some great materials, the bosses can also give you needed equipment for your base and your progress.
Castles to die for
Building, planning, and decorating your castle is almost its own game. V Rising is a dream come true for anyone wanting to live in a vampire castle. It’s easy to get walls and a lot of different floors up, the stairs come in many shapes and are placed with ease, making it easy to create your unique castle. You then have hundreds and hundreds of options when it comes to decorating your castle, making all castles on a multiplayer server look unique and great to explore. Base building is almost always a central part of a survival game, and V Rising has a feature that I think all games onward should have, the ability to relocate your base. I really cannot stress enough how great a feature this is and how much more fun it makes the game to play when you can take your base with you on your adventure.
Killing is killing
The combat of V Rising is pretty straightforward, you have your regular attack, dodge, and two different spells which you can change on the fly as you unlock more spells. The combat is fluid, and fast and the feeling of being a powerful vampire is always there. Your main attack is different depending on your weapon, but I never saw any point in changing and ended up using my axes almost all the time. Your character will go hungry after a while, which is easily fed by sucking the blood out of living creatures, a feature giving in to the vampire fantasy but not much more.
V Rising can be played solo, with a few friends, or in a bigger multiplayer session, there are both pvp and pve servers. While I did have a blast playing it solo, the game reaches even greater heights when played with others, especially friends. Being able to show off your castle, hang out together in them, and go on a hunt for the big bad bosses is a blast.
Conclusion
If you are looking for one of the best vampire games out there, look no further. V Rising takes the best parts from different genres and makes it fun and unique. V Rising had me hooked from the start and the “one hour more” feeling was constant and still is, which is one of the best grades a game can get.
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