Vault Survivors Review

Are you tired of roguelike bullet hell games where you have to fight off hordes of enemies running at you? I’m not! If you’re a fan of this genre like I am, here’s Vault Survivors, a post-apocalyptic top-down roguelike shooter from developer Zyrean Interactive. You know as soon as you start that Vault Survivors will be a challenging experience, as it says right on the homepage that the game is made for speedrunners and masochists. So, I couldn’t wait to jump into the game and see what awaited me.

In the past, the world was perfect, with blue skies, green forests, and sparkling oceans full of life — a planet where people had a chance at a future. But this would not last forever... A catastrophic event occurred, making the surface uninhabitable, though there was still a chance of survival. A few people were selected to be placed in cryogenic sleep, to slumber and awaken in a new world.

Azazel wakes up Lucy, our protagonist, after a long sleep (2,000 years, to be exact) in a sanctuary where they are safe. We learn that it’s up to Lucy (the character you play as) to give humanity a second chance — sheesh, no pressure at all! The path ahead is a difficult one, but Azazel will be there to guide you and help you learn how to survive in this harsh environment.

Lucy can walk around and explore the facility as you learn the controls. The tutorial is aimed towards playing with a keyboard, but a lot can be done with a controller alongside the keyboard if you prefer. Once you learn how to dash, access the map, and interact with people and objects, you leave the sanctuary and head out into the wasteland.

You aren’t thrown into the desert unarmed; Lucy has a laser that auto-fires at the monster closest to her. When destroyed, the enemies drop gemstones for you to pick up. Collect these to level up your character and pick the weapon or upgrade you want from the three options presented. You’ll need to determine which of these will help your character the most during each run — for example, whether it’s better to increase your movement speed, raise your maximum health, or boost your attack power.

There are also weapons you can pick up and equip in the six available slots, such as a sword, compound bow, or one called Storm Bringer, which shoots lightning from your fingertips. They’re all used simultaneously, so you don’t need to worry about replacing the ones you already have. Once you’ve filled all six slots, you can focus on upgrading them to improve their stats.

The goal is to survive for 20 minutes. That might not sound like a long time, but when you’re being swarmed by large groups of enemies and their projectiles, the difficulty ramps up fast! When you die, which will happen a lot, you’re shown a stats screen that tells you how long you managed to survive, how many enemies you killed, and how much DNA (the in-game currency) you collected during your run. There’s also information on all the different weapons you used, which is handy so you know which ones are worth picking up in future runs. You can also see any achievements you unlocked, if you earned any.

You’re then taken back to the base, where you can purchase permanent upgrades for Lucy. The DNA you collected is spent on technological advancements, which are essentially upgrades to make you stronger. Some items, such as the Boots of Hermes, increase your movement speed; the Hand Cannon makes your projectiles fly faster; and the Boxing Gloves increase the knockback on your projectiles. Those are just a few of the power-ups available to you. They start off cheap but double in cost each time you buy one, so it gets expensive quickly. Chances are, you’ll need to go on multiple runs to earn enough DNA to purchase everything you want.

The main characters and enemies all have a retro-inspired pixel look. The wastelands you explore while fighting off enemies are fairly plain, but honestly, while playing, I wasn’t focused on the terrain, just the hordes of enemies coming at me. The music is upbeat and perfect for exploration and battle; this definitely isn’t one of those soundtracks that sounds like relaxing elevator music.

One thing that makes Vault Survivors stand out from other top-down survival bullet-hell titles I have played is that it actually has a deep story. Lucy doesn’t remember much of her past when she first wakes up, but as you go out on runs, fight enemies, and return to base, she gradually learns more about her past and the reason she was chosen to be frozen and reawakened to help save the human race. The story is revealed slowly; you only learn a little more each time you die and return; you can speak with Azazel, learning more about your past before heading back out again. This made me want to keep playing so I could learn more about what was going on and about the other potential survivors still out there.

If you’re a fan of roguelike bullet hell survival games, you should head into the apocalypse and check out Vault Survivors. This game has an engaging story, a variety of fun weapons, and tonnes of different enemies constantly attacking you. There’s a lot of strategy involved as you try to figure out which weapons and upgrades will help you the most and what kinds of permanent stat improvements you want to spend your DNA on to level up. Plus, there are awesome achievements to unlock, granting you new weapons based on film titles such as Fear and Loathing, Left to Dead, and Blade Runner. This title has so much to do and unlock, and it’s sure to keep you busy for a long time!