Summary
In an era where games seem to be getting more complex by the day, both in technical capability and storytelling, the success ofVampire Survivorshas been inspiring to witness. The decidedly lo-fi butimmensely entertaining indie gamerose from obscurity to become one of the most talked-about games in the business, on the strength of its addicting gameplay (not to mention its affordable price). With such immense success, a movie or TV adaptation was probably inevitable.
Indeed, ananimated TV adaptation was announcedback in 2023 in collaboration with Story Kitchen, and the game’s developer Poncle recently stated that they’vepivoted to a film formatand are currently taking the time to get the script right and flesh out the game’s essentially plotless story. Whichever format theVampire Survivorsadaptation eventually takes, one thing is for sure: the game’s cheeky sense of humor must be preserved.
Vampire Survivors’Indie Origins
Vampire Survivorswas originally developed by indie Italian game designer Luca Galante, under his pseudonym Poncle. Created while he was unemployed, Galante made the game on the cheap, spending just over a thousand Euros, and eventually released it in early access on Steam for a low price. This price point meant that more people could take a chance on the game, and it grew in popularity, allowing Galante to quit his job and focus onVampire Survivorsfull-time, releasing the full version to the world in 2022.
Prior to developing the game, Galante worked in the gambling industry, and brought some of his understanding of the compelling psychology of slot machines into his game’s design, focusing on making the gameplay as rewarding as possible. The game is often described as “reverse bullet hell” oreven “bullet heaven,“where the constant barrage of attacks comes from the player, not the enemies. This, combined with the ability to constantly power up and a 30-minute time limit, all combined to create a game with a low barrier to entry and a hefty dose of Dopamine.
The game’s runaway success made it the ideal project for Story Kitchen, an upstart studio with a specialty in video game adaptations, whose founder Dmitri M. Johnson had a hand in making theSonic the Hedgehogfranchisea box office hit. Since then, his company has shepherded adaptations ofTomb Raider(to less resounding success), and has takes onStreets of RageandIt Takes Twoin the works. So far, not much is known about what theVampire Survivorsmovie will look like, but it’s clear it’s got some pretty big talent behind it.
Why the Movie Needs to Be a Comedy
One of the distinguishing features ofVampire Survivorsis its sly and irreverent sense of humor, paying homage toits inspirations likeCastlevaniawith a tongue-in-cheek sensibility. This is evident in the game’s descriptions of levels and power-ups, and while it may not be the main reason for its success, it’s an important element that needs to be preserved. It seems like Story Kitchen has a good handle on this, having madeSonicinto a madcap family-friendly franchise, so they likely understand the elements that make the game appealing.
SinceVampire Survivorshas no real storyline, the filmmakers essentially have a blank slate to work with for their adaptation, able to tell pretty much any story they want while translating the gameplay experience to the screen. Given the game’s over-the-top style where the player mows down an endless wave of enemies, a more serious action/fantasy story would probably feel overly earnest, but leaning into the game’s cheeky humor to create a sort of self-aware action parody feels like a smarter direction.
This sort of approach has seen success in bringing games (both video and otherwise) to the screen in recent years.Josh Ruben’sWerewolves Withinearned critical and fan praise in 2021, taking the game’s Mafia-style format and turning it into a horror-comedy whodunit with self-aware humor and plenty of gore. The end result was quite a bit different from the original game, but retained some of its essential spirit while also standing on its own as a satisfying movie for viewers who hadn’t played it.
Similarly, 2023’sDungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thievesbrought the legendary tabletop roleplaying game to the big screen in satisfying fashion, taking the form of a lighthearted high fantasy comedy while paying tribute to the game’s many iconic elements. While the film’s source material has a much clearer narrative structure than eitherWerewolves WithinorVampire Survivors,it serves as an example of an adaptation that’s enjoyable for both die-hard fans and total novices.
Screen adaptations of video games don’t exactly have the best track record for excellence. Recent TV series likeThe Last of UsandFallouthave earned praise, but feature film adaptations have continued to falter.Vampire Survivorshas the advantage of being able to go in pretty much any direction it wants, given the lack of a strict storyline to follow, though its success as a movie pretty much all depends on which direction Galante and Story Kitchen choose. They’d do well to look to recent success stories likeWerewolves Withinor their ownSonicfilms and choose a path with plenty of humor.
