The survival game V Rising exploded on Steam in 2022. With over 100,000 players at release, it was the absolute hit of the summer. Then there was a year of silence, no major updates and hardly any new content. Now the developers are delivering and promising big things.
What kind of game is this? In V Rising, you play as a vampire and build your own castle. However, you first need to gain power because you awaken completely dried out and must try not to die from the first sunlight.
The special thing about V Rising is that you essentially play the “bad guys” from survival games. While nights in such games are often deadlier, they are the time when you get stronger and can go hunting.
You go hunting for blood, tap people with particularly good blood or abduct them and defeat bosses to unlock new abilities and travel the world.
V Rising impresses especially with its gameplay. The creators, Stunlock Studios (Battlerite, Bloodline Champions), are known for action gameplay. With magic, different weapons, and even fighting on horseback, you battle against monsters, humans, and other vampires.
In our video, you will find all the information about V Rising in 2 minutes:
1 year in Early Access – 1st expansion comes for free
This is how it went with V Rising: The survival game has celebrated successes on Steam. It was released in Early Access on May 17, 2022, and was to be further developed from then on. V Rising attracted over 150,000 players at that time (via steamcharts).
V Rising was a real surprise hit, just like Valheim before it:
However, almost a year passed without any new content. The first major update was supposed to be released in 2022 but did not come. In December, the news came: the big content update will finally come in 2023, but at that time there was still no date.
Now Stunlock Studios is sharing on the official website that new content will finally come in May. However, this will not just be a simple update but an expansion, and it will be completely free.
What’s in the expansion? The focus of the expansions is the magic system of V Rising. The survival game currently offers the possibility of weaving spells into combat; however, you are largely dependent on other weapons.
With the new expansion, spells are supposed to feel more powerful and belong more to their respective “schools”. Blood magic should feel more vampiric, while necromancers should be able to deal more with the undead. Through jewels, a new system, spells can be further enhanced.
Whether the change is enough to be able to play a pure-blood mage remains to be seen. In addition to spell revisions, the update offers:
- improved building and crafting system – for example, with multiple levels for your castle
- legendary weapons with random effects
- “Territories,” a new feature that allows you to claim land for yourself
V Rising is still rated “very positive” on Steam (85%, as of February 9). The biggest criticism from fans is that fresh content is lacking – which is expected to come no later than May. If you want to pass the time until then, you can find the current best games in the genre in our list:
The 25 best survival games 2023 for PlayStation, PC, and Xbox
