Highlights
- Co-op mode in Vampire Survivors enhances gameplay, making the addictive game even more compelling and difficult to put down.
- Co-op allows up to four players to experience all the stages and mechanics of the single-player game simultaneously.
- While co-op may increase the chaos and difficulty, it also provides certain advantages.
Vampire Survivors was a surprise hit in 2022, and the addition of co-op to the game on August 17 is going to make it even better. Game ZXC had the chance to go hands-on with Vampire Survivors' co-op mode ahead of its release and can confirm that it's a game-changing new addition that makes the already-addicting game that much more difficult to put down.
Vampire Survivors' approach to co-op is simple. It takes all the stages and game mechanics from the single-player Vampire Survivors experience but lets up to four players experience it at one time. It's incredibly easy to get a game of Vampire Survivors co-op going, making it so players can jump into the action immediately without having to sift through any extra menus.
The concept of Vampire Survivors is that players have to move their character around the screen to avoid being hit by enemies while their character automatically attacks. Co-op doesn't fundamentally change this, but it does make everything a tad more chaotic. There are ways where co-op can make Vampire Survivors easier and ways it can make things more challenging. For example, having extra players in Vampire Survivors means more attacks are going out, but players also have to stay somewhat close to each other as the game is same-screen co-op with no split-screen options.
The same-screen limitation can sometimes cause Vampire Survivors players to get stuck when trying to navigate their way around hazards, trapping them in the path of a swarm. This added challenge is off-set somewhat by the fact that co-op players have endless chances to come back to life. Dying in Vampire Survivors co-op turns the player into a coffin. After some time, the player will burst out of the coffin with about half their health bar and can resume playing like normal.
There is no co-op specific content in Vampire Survivors, which may disappoint some fans who have already extensively played the game in single player, and there is also no online co-op at launch. The lack of proper online co-op in Vampire Survivors is definitely disappointing, but at least the local co-op implementation is near-flawless. It lets players have the complete Vampire Survivors experience, but with friends.
The pros and cons of Vampire Survivors co-op balance themselves out, with the mode ultimately being a fantastic addition to an already-great game. It coincides with the release of the Nintendo Switch version of Vampire Survivors, so those on Switch looking for a great local co-op game to play need look no further.
Vampire Survivors is out now for Android, iOS, PC, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
