Starting off with a minor setback, V Rising offers a unique and rewarding experience for players who approach it in the right way.

Initially, I had a tough time getting into V Rising. The concept sounded intriguing – a vampire survival fantasy where you emerge from a long slumber to navigate a world filled with challenges. The game features castle building, survival mechanics like avoiding sunlight and consuming blood, shape-shifting abilities, and magical combat reminiscent of games like Diablo or Hades. While all of this sounded appealing, the aspect that almost turned me away was the tedious resource gathering and crafting tasks. Spending hours chopping trees, mining ore, and waiting for materials to process felt like an endless grind that dampened my excitement for the game. After investing around a dozen hours, I was on the verge of giving up.

However, everything changed when I ventured into an online player versus player server, which wasn’t typically my preferred style of gameplay. Navigating through various servers, both official and unofficial, can be hit or miss. My first attempt on a PvE server restricted my building space, leading to continuous peril and frustration. But on a PvP server, the experience was entirely different. The players were helpful, and the server rules had been tweaked to enhance the gameplay. Resources were more abundant, processing times were faster, and certain restrictions were lifted, providing a smoother and more enjoyable experience. This shift in approach transformed my view of V Rising, making it much more engaging and rewarding.

V Rising, like many other crafting survival games, intertwines progression with base building. The Gear Score system determines your level, necessitating crafting better equipment to tackle tougher challenges. To access new equipment types, you must defeat boss characters scattered throughout the game world. This core gameplay loop keeps players engaged and constantly striving to enhance their capabilities.

The game features a diverse array of boss encounters, each with unique attack patterns and characteristics that make every battle engaging and memorable. These encounters add a touch of humor and imagination to the game, fostering a more lighthearted tone compared to traditional survival crafting games.

Upon defeating a boss, players are rewarded with crafting resources and access to various magical abilities. By choosing from six different schools of magic and equipping specific weapon abilities, players can customize their loadout to suit their playstyle.

One distinctive feature of V Rising is the blood purity system, where drinking blood from different creatures unlocks passive buffs based on purity levels. This mechanic adds depth to the game and encourages players to strategically hunt for higher purity blood sources.

Base building in V Rising offers a unique twist with magical machinery and diverse decorative options that evolve as players progress through the game. The game’s flexibility in allowing players to expand and customize their castles adds a layer of creativity and personalization to the gameplay experience.

Overall, V Rising’s two-year early access phase has refined its gameplay mechanics and expanded its content offerings, making it a robust and engaging experience for players seeking a unique crafting survival game. While the initial grind can be off-putting, with the right adjustments and a community-focused approach, V Rising shines as a generous and imaginative entry in the genre.

Despite its initial challenges, V Rising presents players with a rich and immersive vampire fantasy world to explore and conquer. With a blend of creativity, depth, and community interaction, the game stands out as a standout title in the crafting survival genre.

A copy of V Rising was provided for review by Stunlock Studios.