V Rising 1.0 – The Full Release is One of the BEST in the Genre for an Early Access game.

Title: V Rising
Genres: Survival, Action
Developer: Stunlock Studios
Platforms: PC
Release Date: Full Release 2024

Price: $29.99 USD

Summary: V Rising is a polished and immersive survival game where players embody vampires striving to regain their power. By gathering resources, crafting, and engaging in strategic combat, players build their strength and dominion. The game includes new endgame content and improved building mechanics, enhancing overall playability.

Gameplay Overview: Players begin as weakened vampires and must hunt, craft, and gather to rebuild their strength. Combining survival elements with action-focused combat, the game offers a rich and varied experience.

Features Breakdown:

Crafting and Building: The crafting system allows players to construct impressive castles and equipment, streamlined for intuitive and rewarding gameplay. The expansions you can creatre are truly wonderful. Bringing your castle to life is great. But… no modern features like “pull from chest” are sorely missed in 2024. It does cause you to cramp your most used areas into one smoosh and the rest of your castle is just “for looks”.

The COLORS and LIGHTING THOUGH?!?!?! CHEFS KISSES!

World Design: V Rising features a rich, atmospheric world that beautifully captures the gothic aesthetic of a vampire’s realm. The landscape is meticulously crafted, with dark forests, eerie ruins, and majestic castles that evoke a sense of mystery and allure. Each region is distinct, offering diverse environments that are both visually stunning and immersive.

Visual Appeal: The game excels in creating an immersive experience through its detailed art and atmospheric effects. The dynamic lighting, weather systems, and carefully designed environments contribute to a sense of place and realism. The world feels alive, with each area telling its own story through visual cues and environmental details.

Exploration and Immersion: Exploring the world of V Rising is a captivating experience. The interplay of light and shadow, the lush vegetation, and the hauntingly beautiful ruins make for a visually engaging journey. The world design not only enhances the gameplay but also invites players to lose themselves in its dark beauty.

V Rising offers a world that is as beautiful as it is haunting, with detailed environments and atmospheric effects that create an immersive and visually stunning experience.

Transmog System Overview: One of the most exciting additions to V Rising is the Transmog System, which allows players to customize their appearance like never before. This system enables players to wear any item in their slot while maintaining the aesthetics of their chosen outfit.

Customization and Color Choices: Players can now freely choose colors for their gear, enhancing personalization and expression. This flexibility ensures that your vampire not only performs well but also looks exactly how you envision them.

Impact on Gameplay: Since its inception, the Transmog System has been the best enhancement to V Rising. It allows for complete visual customization without sacrificing the stats and benefits of higher-level gear. This system encourages creativity and individuality, making each player’s vampire unique.

Combat System: Combat is intense and strategic, requiring players to master their abilities and timing to defeat diverse enemies and bosses. It feels very much like a MOBA and Souls with unique skills like WoW or Diablo. But not a piece of cake like Diablo.

Boss Fights: This is where the game truly shines. The bosses are extremely challenging and engaging. If you lose you feel you deserved it. Like Souls, your first try is always your best then you die at 1% health. You are not guarenteed the win if you get them to 2% or even 1% you have to WIN. And when you win you feel that gratification. 3 bosses a night is a challenge! We even threw the game on Brutal and their movesets are different with different stages in boss fights to keep the game fresh on further playthroughs.

Day-Night Cycle: The day-night cycle influences gameplay, adding strategic depth. While daylight poses dangers, it can be a point of frustration for some players. You will often find yourself at night saying, ok good it’s day let’s go out, since we are programmed in most games to sleep through the night.

Weapon Play: V Rising offers a diverse array of weapons, each with unique abilities that cater to different playstyles. While the addition of bows provides a fresh, ranged option, the reaper stands out as a versatile weapon, suitable for most situations. However, some weapons seem finely tuned for PvP, making them powerful “maybe carries” in PvE scenarios, especially against challenging bosses.

PvP vs PvE: The PvP aspect can be daunting for newcomers, as acquiring new skills requires defeating bosses. This progression system can create a steep learning curve and potential frustration for players who prefer to jump into PvP action. In contrast, the PvE experience, particularly with friends, is well-balanced and engaging. Cooperative play allows for strategic planning and resource sharing, making the PvE experience both challenging and enjoyable.

So while V Rising excels in cooperative PvE gameplay, its PvP mode presents challenges that may deter some players.

Rifts and Replayability Endgame Content: The entire game is the endgame is our opinion with the bosses. But the addition of new endgame zone introduces high-level challenges, maintaining long-term player interest. The game also introduces “Mortiums,” or rifts, which add a layer of replayability. Although not fully explored due to leveling requirements, these rifts promise additional challenges and content, keeping the gameplay fresh and interesting for players who have progressed significantly. Looking forward to diving into this more.

Technical Aspects and Issues: Though generally well-executed, the game’s day-night cycle and some combat scenarios may present challenges for players as the isometric camera angle can pose a learning curve. But when you get past that, the game is beautiful, runs wonderful, and the moving daylight dynamic lighting is a welcome addition to make the world feel more alive!

Hot Takes:

• “The combat in V Rising rivals top MOBAs for intensity and strategy.” – Alex G.
• “Crafting and building feel satisfying and immersive.” – Jamie L.
• “Endgame content keeps me engaged far longer than expected.” – Chris D.

Pros and Cons:

Pros:

• Strategic Combat: Engaging and intense.
• Streamlined Crafting: Intuitive and rewarding.
• Rich Endgame Content: Maintains player interest.
• Atmospheric World: Immersive environment.
• Day-Night Cycle: A bold choice and welcome to the genre of survival and immersion.

Cons:

• Day-Night Cycle: Can be frustrating.
• High Combat Difficulty: May be challenging for some players. Luckily you can truly tune difficulty in settings. But Brutal is what we recommend.

Final Thoughts: V Rising is a top pick for survival and action game enthusiasts. Its strategic combat, streamlined crafting, and atmospheric world create a compelling experience. Despite some frustrations, it offers depth and long-term replayability.