V Rising review: a survival game obsessed with the processes of vampirism

As the sun sinks, my coven becomes alive. Our coven rises from their stone coffins and gathers in the main hall. Once we have decided upon our mark — in this case, Tristan, a vampire hunter that plagued our early forays into Farbane — we waste no time. In an instant we’ve transformed, running as a pack of wolves through the dense forests outside our stone castle walls. We are hungry and eager for blood, we love the glow of the moon. Vampires are us.

V RisingThis is a survival-action hybrid game, drawing deep inspiration from Gothic vampire fiction. At the beginning of the game, you’re thrust into the world as a sole survivor, your coffin hidden away deep within the recesses of a forgotten cave — your objective is to claw your way back to power.

Because interactions with NPCs and NPCs are limited to, say, cowering or a few lines of spoken dialogs, it is difficult to write a narrative. However, V Rising’s interlocking systems give rise to player-generated emergent stories. The growth of many role-playing server in different languages has allowed for the creation of unique rules and worlds. A German role-playing site I was able to join sorted its players into covens, each governed by their own vampire lords. In some instances, whole councils were formed. In power struggle situations, members were expelled and allies torn down. This intrigue and drama kept me captivated. V RisingFeeling fresh as other players helped to shape the gameplay, besides the immersion vampire mechanics Stunlock Studios provided as a base.

Image: Stunlock Studios

Talking of sun: The sun was probably the most annoying thing about the first hours of the game. However, I enjoyed it. It was a great experience to be able to sit in the shadows while the sun rose above the sky, as I attempted my first and very poor attempt at building my castle. It’s a great use of what would otherwise be an inconsequential environmental detail in any other game. This added to the Gothic atmosphere and created a sense of immersion tension. It also made me think more about how I would tackle bosses (or other difficult tasks) in a time frame. You can also add vampire flavor by adding small touches like garlic weaknesses (which you can avoid with craftable potions).

However V Rising’s most compelling gameplay systems are V Blood and Blood. As vampires, you need to consume blood to survive — but each individual enemy has a specific blood type, which each has its own stats. You will have a faster movement rate if you drink from wolves or deer, while critical hit ratings will be increased if you consume blood from Rogue-blooded enemies. You can also have different blood types that affect how these secondary stats will be boosted and how effective your natural healing abilities.

V Blood however, is quite a different experience. Killing bosses scattered around the globe will give you additional skills. You can get these in the form to transform or use more combat-oriented abilities like frost or blood-tinged attack. This ability allows for more varied play styles among vampires. I preferred to use Frost abilities, as the Chill effect either slows enemies — be it a player or NPC — or freezes them entirely. It made it much easier to kill enemies and kept them away. After obtaining the Frost Bat ability, hunting bosses became infinitely easier — it made it that much simpler to maintain adequate range from my prey.

Image: Stunlock Studios

However, certain abilities and spells are better than others. This leads to a large power gap in the PvP server. High-level players may prevent players with lower levels from gaining certain abilities. This is because their armor and weapons determine player level. As a vampire of high rank blew away several players, I was able to see it happen multiple times. The Crimson Beam is a powerful and healing ray that deals enormous damage while also heals. Because there’s nothing stopping veterans from roaming the land, they can effectively gatekeep late-game abilities and content. What’s more, they can prevent early players from developing their own castles.

These lairs are your stronghold where you can communicate with other players and form covens. You also have the ability to craft equipment. They’re effectively your base of operations where you can hang back and choose your next objective. You can add furnishings and decorations, better crafting benches, and even coffins for thralls that can do your dark bidding while you’re busying yourself with other tasks. However, customization for your castle can be a chore at the moment — better walls, windows, and other furnishings are locked behind hours of gameplay. Still, if you don’t mind the grind, the limited options can result in some impressive abodes: One player on my dedicated community server created a three-story castle, complete with an art gallery and a basement for draining the blood of humans they had kidnapped from a nearby village.

Unlike games like Rust Or Valheim, however, V Rising’s Gothic creations often serve secondary purposes. For example, harvesting enemies’ blood essence is essential in feeding the heart of your dark lair, and thus, keeping everything functional. This will make your castle more vulnerable. I found this to be extremely tedious — although it gave our collective something to do, the castle would continue to absorb essence even after we had all logged off. This can be turned off at any moment in the server settings.

Image: Stunlock Studios

You have many other options. V RisingIt attempts to portray the vampire experience, using classic literature as inspiration. DraculaPop culture pieces and bits 30-Days of Night. You can make your vampire look like a modern grotesquerie, rows of massive teeth and all; you can opt for long, flowing locks that ooze the look of the mid-’80s-to-early-’90s goth subculture; there are even options of the aristocratic nature, including rococo-inspired updos and waves. Although the clothing choices are limited in the beginning levels, you can make hats that will compensate.

So, V RisingIt is an obsession with being a vampire. It’s a game obsessed with the surface-level aesthetic and popular mythmaking surrounding the creature — but it doesn’t provide an allegorical, or even satirical, storyline about a creature that has haunted and enamored audiences for centuries. This in and of itself is worth a conversation about. V RisingThe player decides which priority to focus on. Survival games are often based around similar gameplay patterns: discover, build, take, control, explore and so forth. That is how it works. V Rising Fundamentally, it is all about. However, there are intricate systems only vampires have access to.

The surface is beautiful V RisingIt appears that this is just another survival game with a new coat of paint. In many ways, it’s hard to argue otherwise. But it is clever enough to use the vampiric mythology to create complex systems that help it distinguish itself from the ocean of survival games. It is available in English. V Rising hasn’t completely satiated my thirst in its current form, I’m hopeful that it will somewhere down the line.

V Rising On May 17, the game went live in pre-release on Windows PC. The game’s review was done on PC by using an unlocked download code from Stunlock Studios. Vox Media is an affiliate partner. They do not affect editorial content. However, Vox Media might earn commissions for products bought via affiliate links. Here are some links to help you find. additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here.