Our favourite roguelike of 2022 (opens in new tab) isn’t likely to get a sequel any time soon. In a chat with GameSpot (opens in new tab), Vampire Survivors creator Luca Galante said that, unless he devised some way to “offer something radically new” with a potential Vampire Survivors 2, a sequel would remain “unlikely”.
It’s not like Galante is packing it in entirely on Vampire Survivors, mind you. The reason he’s apathetic about a sequel is because he feels like the current game provides a good foundation to expand upon. “With the way Vampire Survivors is designed, we can deliver both new content and new game mechanics on the existing game,” he said, “so why make a sequel?” That goes for a “spiritual successor,” too. Galante seems wholly committed to the game he’s already made.
It’s vaguely amusing, given the deluge of Vampire Survivors clones (opens in new tab) we saw after the game took off last year, that Galante has no desire to make one himself, but it makes sense. If Galante can do everything he wants to do with the platform he already has—one which has already attracted a passionate fanbase that’s absolutely rabid for new content—why leave it to dry up while he works on a sequel?
It reminds me a bit of how the Among Us devs cancelled their planned sequel (opens in new tab) when that game took off during the pandemic. There’s just not much reason to mess with a good thing. So, until Galante can figure out something “radically new,” he’s sticking to his DLC plan for the game we have. It seems to be working: The game’s first DLC, Legacy of the Moonspell, currently enjoys a 96% positive rating on Steam based on over 1500 reviews.
Plus, the game’s fans are as dedicated as ever, with even Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer finding over ten days of free time to 100% the game in its current state (opens in new tab), despite overseeing the biggest corporate acquisition in gaming history.
