A Vampire Survivors clone, Hero Survival replaces the vampire hunter protagonist with every day middle-aged men as they fight endless waves on Halloween-based enemies.
Sure, it has the same overall gameplay of Vampire Survivors, but unfortunately, is not Vampire Survivors. Stages are much smaller. The enemy variety is much more limited. The ability enhancements upon gaining a level are much more limited (they essentially change stats instead of making you stronger). And instead of enduring a 30-minute match, players are subjected to 10 increasing waves in which a boss appears at the end. Defeat this boss to unlock the next stage.
To get an idea of this gameplay, check out my stream embedded in this article. But Hero Survival doesn’t contain the amount of polish of Vampire Survivors and also carries a much higher difficulty. Not only is it tough to clear even the first stage, but it also takes forever to unlock any new characters, who have varying stats, and new weapons. Granted, if you like to grind, there is plenty here. But whereas Vampire Survivors constantly rewards players with an upgrade every few seconds, the drip feed of unlocks here in Hero Survivor lacks excitement and variety.
The weapon system is also different. Instead of compounding a bunch of weapons and skills to make you feel like an unstoppable b-a, players instead can optionally place modern weapons into one of four weapon slots. For example, you start with a pistol in the upper left quadrant but upon level-up, you might have the ability to assign a shotgun, sniper rifle, or machine gun to another slot. Luckily, each weapon always hits its target and always attacks the enemy that you want, for the most part. However, it is sort of weird playing as just some regular Joe, armed with a pistol, attacking pumpkin heads, ghouls, Frankenstein monsters, and mummies. The every-man versus the supernatural doesn’t fully gel.
Hero Survival isn’t a bad game, it just isn’t as good as the original that inspired it and carries the same cost. Unless you maxed out Vampire Survivors and still have that action itch, then Hero Survival is a decent alternative. Just don’t expect the same addicting gameplay polish, sense of progression, and overall gameplay hook.
Not As Good As: its inspiration origins
Fitting For: the Halloween season
Wait For It: another Vampire Survivors clone to release next week
SCORE: 5/10
By: Zachary Gasiorowski, Editor in Chief myGamer.com
Twitter: @ZackGaz
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