Vampire Survivors: Ode to Castlevania is an unhinged tribute to its inspiration
It was almost serendipitous how Vampire Survivor’s initial collaboration with Konami was with Contra instead of Castlevania, given the game’s nod to Castlevania while maintaining a “no vampires” aspect. It would have dampened the atmosphere if it had become an actual Castlevania game. However, when Ode to Castlevania appeared and overflowed with an excessive amount of elements in its first trailer alone, everything felt fitting. Rather than compromising the unique vibe, it turned out that the creators of this unexpected indie hit had enough passion to create a meticulous tribute to Castlevania, which is quite unusual given the number of such tributes seen recently.