If you mix Diablo and Minecraft, you get something similar to V Rising, an isometric action RPG with survival elements that combines a fun combat system with a building system with a lot of depth and vampire mythology to create a good game that stands out from the rest stands out from the competition, but it is a bit slow and is partly reminiscent of the annoying mechanics of mobile games. After two years of early access, we were given access to the game’s beta ahead of the release of the final version.
You awaken from a 100-year hibernation to control a vampire who must spread his dark wings across the land to rebuild his kingdom. Aside from an introductory video, the game starts off quickly and straight into the action: you face off against some skeletons whose only weapon is their claws, and collect their bones to craft your first sword. In this moment it becomes clear that although V Rising looks like Diablo, its essence is completely different. There are no rewards or dungeons to search for better gear. Your vampire is a craftsman who can rebuild a castle with just his bloodless hands.
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For this reason, there is no main story, as the game is also designed for servers with up to 40 other players who can cooperate or compete against each other. There are bosses scattered around the map, organized into an act structure: Acts 1, 2 and 3, which is similar to a story but basically states their levels and difficulty and could have been presented with a bit more context. All of these bosses respawn after a while, so they won’t disappear even if other players defeat them.
When we played the beta we didn’t see a full server. In order to immerse myself in the building system as much as possible, I chose to play alone to prevent a more experienced vampire lord from attacking me, stealing my resources and destroying my castle.
I had a hard time deciding whether to call this title a construction and survival simulator with action RPG elements or an action RPG with construction and survival elements. If you’re hunting monsters or looking for a victim to draw blood from, it’s more of the latter case, but in no time you’ll be managing resources like Artisan Dracula. These two basic elements work for, but also against, the game.
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The construction and resource management systems are quite good, surprisingly flexible and very deep. The RPG elements are a bit more concise, but the fights are hectic and entertaining. It’s the switch between the two that sometimes ruins the fun, as you sometimes finish an adrenaline-fueled battle against a boss you can’t beat and decide to return to the ever-growing castle you call home to to improve his sword, only to find that your refined copper is missing. Well, let’s make refined copper, but for this you need copper and wood to make boards etc. That’s not a terrible thing in and of itself, but you might not be able to play engineer if you’re fighting monsters in the forest. Overall, there is a special synergy between these two parts of the game. Instead of gaining experience points to become stronger, you need to obtain resources that will allow you to expand the castle (later even the kingdom) and get better equipment. Your level compared to the bosses is judged by the quality of your equipment, which doesn’t mean there aren’t any character upgrades, just that you need blood from other creatures instead of experience points. You can drink the blood of all kinds of creatures, from a small rat to a large monster, which will give you bonuses depending on what you get your hands on last. Defeating a boss and drinking their blood can also give you permanent magical abilities.
The connection between building your kingdom and finding new and better blood works very well. The basic systems are solid and very well thought out, but can be difficult to manage. It can take a while to put resources into one machine, to put something into another, and finally create what you want. So V Rising isn’t a game where you spend 15 minutes fighting monsters. I was tired of dying because my equipment wasn’t good enough while searching for materials to improve it. Additionally, everything you have with you when you die, except your weapons, will remain at the scene, so you’ll have to go back to collect everything you just picked up. It’s not as bad as it might sound, but it’s a bit boring and doesn’t do an otherwise very good combat system any favors. I can’t think of any other way to balance the two playable dimensions, and I’m not sure it should be any other way, but there’s more hammering than sword swinging in this game.
However, it is important to mention that the gaming session is fully customizable in virtually all parameters: you can decide how much you can carry, how many resources you get from collection points, and how much damage you do and receive via a multiplier. You can also choose how many players enter the server and whether they can attack each other, so there are plenty of options to create an experience that suits each player. The problem is that they can skew the game’s difficulty, making these options seem like gimmicks. As I said, I played most of the beta alone, but V Rising is designed solely to be played in the company of allies and enemies. So I can imagine that rebuilding your castle and defeating enemies in company will be fun and a little easier. The number of building options is very large, allowing you to build multiple floors in the classic Vampire Gothic style and even seduce villagers to become your servants. The possibilities are endless and if you manage to get a few friends together you will surely have a great time as long as you have some patience.
Finally, I would like to mention (taking into account the fact that I have not tested the performance of full multiplayer servers) that the game is technically excellent. I played it on Steam Deck with the highest graphics at 45 fps and despite small, somewhat difficult to use menus, it adapts perfectly to the device.
I definitely recommend V Rising as it is very well designed and crafted, but you need to know what it offers beforehand. While the combat is fun, it’s not entertaining enough to distract you if you’re not interested in building and managing your castle, but rather if you want a Diablo-style action RPG where you become the Dark Lord and create your own kingdom, V Ascending is the obvious choice.
