The Castlevania collaborations keep on coming! Having already made appearances in the likes of Dead Cells, Dead by Daylight, and V Rising, it’s now Vampire Survivors turn to meld minds with Konami’s classic platform series; developer Poncle’s acclaimed minimalist survival RPG is joining in on the Castlevania fun – while still somehow managing to remain doggedly vampire-free – with a massive new paid expansion launching on Halloween.
“The sun has set on Dracula’s iconic castle once more,” explains Poncle in a flourish of scene-setting for its new DLC, “and as the moon rises a hellish horde of murky Mudmen, ghastly ghosts, and frightening Fleamen take the stage as the battle of good and evil rages under the moonlight. Unleash an arsenal of new Vampire-vanquishing weapons upon these beasts and leave a trail of doom in your wake on your quest to rid the world of the unspeakable terror.”
Vampire Survivors: Ode to Castlevania, as the new DLC is more specifically known, introduces over 20+ new characters, 40+ new weapons (eight of which are whips, if you were wondering), plus over 30 music tracks. And that’s alongside what Poncle is calling the game’s “biggest stage yet”. Breaking things down a little further, the expansion’s character roster includes the Belmonts (Simon, Richter, Trevor, and Sonia are all accounted for), alongside the Belnades, and other “amazing allies”, from Shanoa to Eric Lecarde.
Weapon-wise, Ode to Castlevania’s cavalcade of whips is accompanied by elemental spells inspired by the likes of Portrait of Ruin and Harmony of Dissonance, plus magical weapons including Alucard’s sword, spear, and shield. There’re also new projectiles – throwing javelins and iron balls are referenced – alongside a selection of glyphs, with Confodere, Vol Confodere, and Melio Confodere all being namechecked in today’s announcement.
Music, meanwhile, includes “several dozen” original tracks from across the Castlevania series, plus a “ridiculous amount” of remixes. And if you’re wondering about the map, it does, of course, whisk players to Dracula’s castle, where they’ll encounter “sinister secrets and a bunch of baneful bosses” – but, crucially, no vampires.
So how much will all this Castlevania-flavoured fare cost you when Vampire Survivors’ latest expansion launches for Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, Steam, and mobile on 31st October? Well, it’s a bit of a bargain, weighing in at just £2.99/€3.99/$3.99.