The allure of the vampire is strong. They get to be sexy and pouty, plus they get to live forever. Of course, they must also contend with a dangerous sunlight allergy, but those are the breaks. V Rising from Stunlock Studios captures the entire vampire experience, allowing players to craft their own "Draculas" and then set out to conquer a medieval world. After first launching on Steam to rave reviews, V Rising has now risen onto PlayStation 5 as well.
To start with, players will choose a server. Want to keep it co-op? Then don't join a PvP server. If you prefer to avoid cooperation and coolness, you can play solo as well. Next, the player must customize a male or female vampire (the optional Castlevania DLC lets you dress as Alucard). Then the player will awaken in a crypt and set out into the world itself.
Outside, players can learn the game system and gain various abilities by completing a variety of quests. To craft equipment, for instance, our Draculas will first have to kill a few skeletons and collect their bones. Besides wielding weapons like swords and axes in combat, the vampires can cast spells at enemies. Organic enemies, when weakened, can be fed upon. That's all good fun, but you still have to watch out for the sunlight. During the daytime, Draculas have to stay in the shadows in order to avoid deadly ultraviolet rays. That's vampirism for you!
Features:
- Immersive hands-on Action-RPG combat with the DualSense gamepad
- Survival crafting gameplay: construct your vampire castle and arm yourself
- Hunt for blood and navigate shadows to avoid the deadly sunlight
- Explore a dark fantasy world filled with fearsome creatures and dangerous foes
- Conquer over 50 powerful bosses to gain their abilities and rise in power
- Customize your gameplay with 11 weapon types and 50 spells
- Style your vampire with a variety of armor appearances and color options
- Confront and defeat Dracula to rule the night
From our short time with the game so far, it seems like a gothic, good time. Everything is pretty streamlined, so crafting and other mechanics don't bog the game down. We had a hard time finding our online co-op friend when we started out, though. It seems that players must leave the starting area before they can see and interact with each other. That's a 5-10 minute process, so no biggie. Teaming up with another Dracula or two (the game supports up to 10 player online co-op) has lots of potential for fun.
V Rising sells for $39.99 on PlayStation 5 and $34.99 on Steam. The Steam version is Steam Deck compatible.