If you’ve ever been wanting the bite-sized Vampire Survivors in VR form, Poncle has delivered in ways that makes it the most optimal and fun way to play the game. I never thought I would get Vampire Survivors VR on my Quest 3, but it’s become my favorite Quest game yet. It may lack some of the features and content updates from its flatscreen counterparts, but here’s to hoping that it gets additional support to bring the VR port to parity.
Poncle’s Vampire Survivors entering the VR space was not what I had on my 2025 Bingo Card. Frankly, I didn’t think that it would be considered for VR at all given how both headset owners and developers are going all in on novel experiences and immersion. But here we are, November of 2025, and Poncle has shadowdropped Vampire Survivors VR in our laps. As a fan of Vampire Survivors, let me tell you, this is the best way to play Vampire Survivors so far.
It’s just a shame that it feels slightly watered down compared to its mobile, console, and PC counterparts.
Vampire Survivors is a terrifically addicting game, and it makes sense why it’s become such a hit since its original Early Access release on PC in 2021. You choose a character and then attempt to survive for as long as humanly possible as wave after wave of enemies make their way towards the chosen character like heatseeking missiles. It’s a traditional bullet hell game set within the confines of a roguelike gameplay loop, pushing players to attempt to break the norms of visual clarity and achieve pixelated nirvana as explosions and bullets fill the screen. Games last anywhere from 5 minutes to 60 minutes (assuming you’ve met the prerequisites to unlock seemingly endless gameplay).
Vampire Survivors VR has a tabletop feel to it, which makes some things harder to see while also making the core gameplay feel more tangible. Character sprites have volume, damage numbers fly toward my face, and leveling up is a celebration of explosions, confetti, and delight. In the VR space, the playing field has a slight tilt to it and is positioned as though the player is hovering slightly above the map. When enemies fill the screen to the maximum (as it often does), dodging them becomes harder than it should because the angle of the playing field obfuscates other dangerous sprites.
I love how the levels have been designed to take advantage of the 3D space, as well. Even the main menu has me sitting in a dungeon fit out of Poncle’s universe. Each level has been redesigned to have appropriate ceilings, floors, and other UI elements that perfectly connect to the immersive fantasies that can only be achieved via VR. Knowing that VR can be a jarring experience, I’m thrilled that Poncle has designed Vampire Survivors in this way, as there’s only so many first-person experiences I can handle before things get stale. Vampire Survivors VR captures the visually chaotic gameplay of its flat-screened sibling while also giving players a taste of what chaos can look like in short bursts. Remember, the average early-game Vampire Survivors experience lasts all of 10 minutes or so (if you’re lucky). Once you’ve leveled up with enough passive stats, then you can reach the 30-minute-or-so games that push the envelope; at that point, you should already be comfortable with the VR experience.
Heck, a 30-minute quick match of Vampire Survivors sounds like the perfect thing to do after I finish this review. I want its bullet hell goodness in VR over attempting to play it on my phone.
That said, I have some minor concerns that I hope get addressed in the long term. Starting with the controls, this version of Vampire Survivors VR is locked to controller only. I wish that hand tracking could be incorporated in some fashion, even if it’s something that can be enabled/disabled at will. Many players have Vampire Survivors on their phones (myself included) and are accustomed to touch controls, so having something similar would feel like it was taking advantage of the Quest 3’s hardware.
As a fan of Vampire Survivors, though, it sucks to not be able to import my progress from other platforms to this one. I’ve spent countless hours unlocking new characters, levels, and other secrets. Seeing that I technically have to do it again here feels like a slog. I just want to pick up where I left off on my phone, man.
The VR version of Vampire Survivors also comes with a limited selection of Vampire Survivors’ DLC, namely Legacy of the Moonspell and Tides of the Foscari. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love the Lake of Foscari, Abyss of Foscari, and Mt. Moonspell stages from these expansions. The best levels in Vampire Survivors are those that came from its collaborations, like Ode to Castlevania, Neo Galuga, and Polus Replica (the collaboration with Innersloth’s Among Us). I’m still currently attempting to unlock the seemingly endless amount of content from the Castlevania expansion; being able to do so in VR would feel like I would be using my already limited time better.
Thankfully, Vampire Survivors VR comes with over 20 levels, so there’s more than enough to do in this version.
Sadly, there’s no co-op enabled in Vampire Survivors VR. This is something that would definitely benefit players who would prefer to play with their friends (even if it was co-op VR with another VR player online). The lack of co-op means that I can’t attempt to unlock content faster, as I had to start from scratch with this playthrough. Not to knock on it – unlocking the content is fun. Challenging, but fun.
The reasons why I said that Vampire Survivors VR is the best way to play Vampire Survivors are twofold: First, it’s the perfect way to spend a short amount of time in my headset and get a good playthrough without feeling fatigued. Not everyone can sit (or stand) in a VR space for long, and sometimes I just want to play for a little bit before I have to go about my day doing other adulting activities. Secondly, it’s far more satisfying to play in VR despite the explosive chaos that comes with playing Vampire Survivors for longer periods. Leveling up feels like a celebration, even when I know that my little 3D pixelated sprite is not going to last more than a few more minutes.
I can understand if you’re on the fence about Vampire Survivors VR. If you own a Quest headset and have never heard of Vampire Survivors before today, give the iOS or Android versions a spin (they’re free!). If you like it on mobile, you’ll love it in VR. You’ll get far more than 10 hours of enjoyment if you ascribe to the $1 per hour spent in-game metric.
If you’ve ever been wanting the bite-sized Vampire Survivors in VR form, Poncle has delivered in ways that makes it the most optimal and fun way to play the game. I never thought I would get Vampire Survivors VR on my Quest 3, but it’s become my favorite Quest game yet. It may lack some of the features and content updates from its flatscreen counterparts, but here’s to hoping that it gets additional support to bring the VR port to parity.
