V Rising Review — Compelling Game Design But Empty Narrative

Playing a game that captures your attention through its perplexed design might sound unreal, but this is the case with V Rising, from being a trifling vampire to being a prestige force of dominance and terror. V Rising offers a twisted and conflicting experience in both a gifting and a gruesome manner. The game hooked me up the more I dived into the depths of its lore and gameplay.

Story And Setting

The tale unravels the mystic times when vampires were the rulers of the far and wide land. This was until humans were blessed with divine favor and became capable of dealing with vampires by infusing their equipment with Holy Light, ending the misery of these bloodthirsty beings.

After a few eons, the vampires returned to walk among the mortal plane with more vicious intent. Indeed, it is an unfortunate event for humankind, as they currently suffer from the act of reconciliation among their kind.

What I adore the most about the open world of V Rising is that random encounters await in every corner of the map.

The lore of V Rising is quite indulgent; however, it’s not explanatory because the game is not narrative-driven. This factor was quite unexpected for me as I anticipated an intense lore-based game that would feature iconic faces of this fictional world like Alucard or Dracula, similar to Castlevania: Lord of the Shadows 2.

As the prologue ends with the awakening of a bloodthirsty being, the game shifts the focus to gameplay, and the narrative aspect remains unheeded. You are first taken to a character creation menu, which seems rough to me as the customization is somewhat limited.

The building aspect of the game is the most captivating feature of the gameplay.

Surely, the presets are plentiful to choose from, but the features to customize are limited. After having fun shaping your character, you will step out from the catacombs and venture into a vast world full of adventures and horror. Challenges and explorable sites are present in every corner of the map. 

What I adore the most about V Rising’s open world is that random encounters await in every corner of the map. The vastness of the map complements its immersive exploration dynamics. This is due to the presence of mysterious creatures that make things more entertaining while venturing into the wild.

Gameplay

The game is an open-world, hack-and-slash ARPG with a survival touch. Despite the profound lore of a war between humankind and vampires, V Rising focuses solely on its gameplay. There is much to unravel in this aspect of the game as things get more intense and engaging as you progress.

The far-reaching land comprises tons of bosses you can Track at any time despite your level. Defeating these bosses will heighten your gameplay experience as it unlocks various weapons, building materials, and new abilities for lively combat experience.

As a vampire who craves blood and glory, I find the concept quite contradicting to the lore that I have to swing axes and mace to gather wood and stones around the map. 

The building aspect of the game is the most captivating feature of the gameplay. Initially, the building layouts were minimal as it was kept to only lay down the floor and place wooden walls around it. But as you progress further, you will be capable of building a multi-level floor castle along with the leverage of moving that castle from place to place.

Progressing to unlock structures is done in two ways, and both are essential to perform. One requires you to slay V Blood Carriers (bosses), and the other requires you to complete the tasks that act as the tutorial. 

One of the most tedious things regarding building is collecting resources. As a vampire who craves blood and glory, I find the concept quite contradicting to the lore that I have to swing axes and mace to gather wood and stones around the map. 

Clunky But Highly Rewarding Combat Dynamics

Tracking down high-level enemies and obtaining new abilities is the most lore-accurate thing that V Rising has done. However, tracking enemies can be a race against time, as the day and night cycle affects the vampires. 

During the nighttime, you can freely roam around the map usually. But as the sun rises, you must stay under the shades and only move with the shadows. If you walk into the sunlight, it will not take long before the rays of light turn your inhuman body to dust. Therefore, hunting and fighting must be done at night. 

It appears quite rough that you only swing your weapon around near the enemies and the set of abilities only follow a similar pattern. 

The only enmity I have regarding the combat is the stale and weary fight mechanics. It appears quite rough that you only swing your weapon near the enemies, or the set of abilities follows a similar pattern. 

Explicitly, there is the ability to throw a projectile towards the enemy. Regardless of what build you go, whether illusion, frost, blood, etc., each build will always have a projectile ability that will only differ in its modifiers. 

The only thing that motivates me with the combat is that the boss fights are highly rewarding. Unlocking new gears and structures always feels appealing, as it sometimes adds mind-boggling features to the gameplay. Specifically, defeating the very first V blood carrier grants you the ability to shapeshift into a wolf and makes you move much faster. 

Overall, V Rising appears to be an ARPG, but it is very slow-paced to fit the genre. The fact that the game is meant to be survival but is more geared towards hack-and-slash mechanics is both appalling and appealing.

Visuals And Performance

V Rising follows the art design of low-poly characters but with a highly detailed 3D environment and remarkable lighting work. The world details are of top-notch quality, as they are required by the gameplay. 

Unlocking new gears and structures always feels appealing, as it sometimes adds mind-boggling features to the gameplay.

Regarding the game’s performance, I experienced smooth and uninterrupted gameplay. There are no bugs and glitches to face, but the fact that the initial loading screen takes forever to complete frustrated me a lot, and I used a high-end PC (RTX 3060). The good thing about it was that it occurred only once. 

Overall, the mix-up of low-poly character design and a realistic environment is quite commendable. The game’s visuals are pretty engaging, and the performance factor is outstanding.

Verdict

V Rising has excellent gameplay and perspective, according to the world of vampires. However, its unattended narrative snuffs out the whole point of making the lore vampire-related in the first place.

The drawn-out gameplay is quite immersive, delivering an engaging experience of playing as a vampire due to responsive and lively dynamics.

To summarize, the game has a reputation for survival and role-playing games. I cherish the challenging and interactive environment, but the lore side is quite dull, and I had higher expectations for the narrative.

This is my review of V Rising. While you’re here, consider checking out some of our other articles. 

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• Manor Lord Early Access Review
• Tale of Kenzera: Zau Review
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