We’ve reached the final day of our RPS Advent Calendar for this 12 months! That signifies that behind this door is our precise Game Of The Year. The GOTYest goat for 2022. Unfortunately, behind the door are additionally a number of bats, ghosts, zombies, oh man that appears like a large praying mantis I feel? How on earth are we going to get by way of all this?
By changing into the bullet hell, motherfuckers! Our Game Of The Year 2022 is Vampire Survivors!
Ed: All hail Vampire Survivors, a perfect-sized video game that may be consumed any manner you need! In a fast chunk earlier than you drop the children off on the panto, one prolonged sesh, or within the nook of the library after college. The goal of the game is straightforward: you management a bit of one who periodically auto-attacks, and it’s essential to steer them out of hurt’s manner for so long as you presumably can. “Harm” being slimy ghouls and legions of bats who swap out for big mantis lords and colossal minotaurs because the clock ticks down.
As you carve by way of enemies with a swing of your axe, you may hoover up gems that’ll grant you EXP and money for the financial institution. And with EXP come ranges, which nets you a alternative of power-up. Will you are taking the garlic that provides you a harmful aura? The magic wand? The dove that for some motive is the equal of a Call Of Duty harrier? These assaults stack, and ultimately you may mix them too, so these puny axes may morph right into a circle of scythes or your fireballs into full blown meteor strikes.
Whatever money you earn earlier than you succumb to the slime could be spent on everlasting upgrades, which make your runs a tad simpler and much more diverse. There’s loads of ranges and completely different characters to select from too, my favourites being the cursed library that is principally a protracted tunnel and a shark-person who chucks cherry bombs. Seriously, it is great that poncle has introduced us such a moreish game that solely requires as a lot time as you’d prefer it to.
Alice0: Vampire Survivors was one in all my favorite early entry experiences. After hammering by way of the preliminary blast of unlocks and violence, each fortnight or so, I’d be known as again to take a look at a brand new character or stage or secret or one thing. Lovely. What a nice eleven months of mild strolls by way of obscene ultraviolence.
Ollie: Vampire Survivors might not maintain a particular place in everybody’s coronary heart, however a particular game it’s, undeniably. Sure, it is primarily a fidget spinner. I mentioned as a lot to my colleagues in an intense Slack debate over which game needs to be game of the 12 months – this or Elden Ring. But it is a fidget spinner that makes you proclaim “oh, now, what’s this?” each 30 seconds to the legions of werewolves feasting in your private area. That makes it the greatest fidget spinner.
Plus, I can play it whereas additionally petting my cat. It is due to this fact a worthy game of the 12 months.
Liam: Does Elden Ring allow you to mix garlic and a number of copies of the New Testament to create an impenetrable pressure area that melts skeletons? I did not assume so. GOTY.
Rachel: I can’t cease enjoying this game. It has taken over my life. The feeling of slicing by way of hordes of monsters like a sizzling knife by way of butter is a excessive I can’t cease chasing.
Alice Bee: As I mentioned to Ollie throughout mentioned well mannered dialogue, fidget spinners truly carry out a vital operate for lots of people. The metaphor doesn’t stretch very far, as a result of fidget spinners don’t trigger bolts of lightning to strike the bottom and frazzle carnivorous crops each 3.2 seconds or so. Vampire Survivors packs a number of enjoyable and creativity and excellent expertise balancing into, at max, half an hour.
I used to be already on workforce BATSBATSBATS, however I feel what actually swung the vote was when Graham, might he RPS in peace, put his thumb on the scales by showing in our chat like Banquo’s ghost and declaring that Vampire Survivors reinvigorated a style and introduced it to public consciousness. “In this regard,” he mentioned, “it’s the Dark Souls of 2022 video games, whereas Elden Ring is merely the Dark Souls 3 of 2022 video games.” (Except he wrote “videogames”, as a result of he is a type of individuals). This is totally appropriate, in fact. But largely I voted for Vampire Survivors as a result of it is actually actually fucking enjoyable.