

Defeating monsters and exploring the stage allows the player to collect experience gems, which are used to level up, "floor chicken", which restores the player's health, and other helpful items. The player's weapons attack automatically, and the goal is to survive as long as possible against constant waves of monsters that inflict damage when they come in contact with the player. The player selects one of multiple characters with different starting weapons and bonuses, and controls them on an endless stage with an auto-generated, repeating layout.

The game was nominated in five categories at the British Academy Games Awards, of which it won in two: Game Design and Best Game. Vampire Survivors received accolades at the Golden Joystick Awards, New York Game Awards and D.I.C.E.

In spite of the game's name and key art, none of the variety of monsters encountered are vampires. The player controls an automatically attacking character while fighting against continuous waves of monsters, with the goal being to survive the onslaught for as long as possible and unlock additional characters, weapons, and relics for subsequent sessions. A port for Nintendo Switch is planned for August 17, 2023. Following an early access period from December 2021, it was released for macOS, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Android, and iOS in late 2022. Vampire Survivors is a 2022 roguelike shoot 'em up video game developed and published by Luca Galante, also known as poncle.
