Vampire Survivors now has couch co-op, a Switch version, and a brand-new engine
Still no vampires, though.
We knew it was coming, and now Vampire Survivors' four-player couch co-op mode is live on PC and Xbox, and Nintendo Switch as of this week, too.
All you need is one controller per player, and you can then add up to three additional people on the character-select screen. And yes, the Switch version launched with four-player co-op baked right in.
"Today is a big day for our game as we are finally fulfilling half the game title: there are still no Vampires but at least there are SurvivorS now. We are adding a local co-op mode today!" Poncle explains in the patch notes.
"The biggest changes to playing VS in local co-op are, well... other people. In addition to the usual chaos of human interactions, there are also different options so you can customise your co-op games such as coloured outlines for your character and indicators, and we added some small multiplayer-specific mechanics like The Friendship Amulet."
With the expansion onto Switch players have been asking for cross-save, and Poncle's response is: it's "working on it".
"We have already run successful tests in moving saves between PC, mobile, and consoles, while also adding cloud save slots!" the team explains. "We'll keep you updated, but save data is a very delicate thing, so this will really need a lot of testing and an adequate amount of time in the oven to be released in a safe, fully working state. Thanks for being patient!"
Additionally, the game has switched to a new engine with hopes it'll deliver a smoother performance for players on older systems.
"The original and new engine have been running in parallel for a while, and we are at a point now where there should be only very subtle differences left, so it’s time to make the switch so that we can focus on adding features that wouldn't have been achievable on the old engine," Poncle said, inviting people who don't want to switch to use the private branch that still uses the old engine.
"If there are major differences or even something small that's really annoying you in the new engine, please let us know on the forums or on Discord: last year we have discarded a fully working, first version of the new engine and started this one just to stay accurate to the original gameplay, so we're not afraid to tackle a few leftover differences."
ICYMI, Vampire Survivors was the surprise winner of Best Game at this year's BAFTA Game Awards, beating the likes of Elden Ring and God of War: Ragnarök.