Platform reviewed: Xbox Series X/S
Also On: PS4/PS5, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS and Android
Price: $2.49
When this was first announced, I thought, “What an interesting concept, I wonder how they will pull this off?” Contra is a classic Konami shooter franchise that has been attempted to be rebooted (in my opinion unsuccessfully) multiple times over the last 25 years, and Vampire Survivors is an absolute joy of a game that has you killing masses of enemies in endless mobs while finding the perfect combination of weapons to make you unstoppable. The answer to my question came to me approximately 3 minutes into my first playthrough of the new DLC, “quite well indeed”.
If you’ve played Vampire Survivors before, you mostly know what you are getting into. The game essentially looks and plays the same as it always has, but the DLC has added twelve new characters, eleven new guns (that all evolve to make twenty-two new weapons), a new passive item, and two new stages. The two stages are a larger stage (Neo Galuga) and a Smaller Stage (Hectic Highway). In addition to all of that, thirteen new songs have been added. All are Contra originals, while some have got the Vampire Survivor twist on them.
The 12 new characters all are Contra-based in one form or another, and you only start with one of them. The rest of them are unlocked in classic Vampire Survivors fashion by grinding and doing numerous different tasks to get your hands on them.
The 11 new weapons are essentially the same way. Your first character starts out with a gun, and of course, it can evolve by playing with and combining it with new passive abilities. You get a new gun with each of the new characters that you unlock and can upgrade them in basically the same fashion. All the guns are from a previous Contra game or just have a heavy Contra feel to them.
Neo Galuga (no surprise) is very heavily Contra-themed as well. From a jungle, to blown-up bridges, and even a base, the enemies are mostly from the Contra series as well. There are powerups that you can find in the winged capsules that will give your character temporary buffs. When the time comes to a close, you can head to a section of the base and fight against a familiar boss too. Hectic Hiway is a bonus stage you must unlock by “completing the story”. This stage takes place on, you guessed it, a highway. Here you will find yourself on a motorbike battling your way through hordes of enemies.
Final Grade: A
Do you like Vampire Survivors? Do you want more Vampire Survivors? Do you have three dollars? If you answered yes to all three of those questions, do yourself a favor and go out and buy Operation Guns. It’s worth the low cost and will add hours to an already incredible game furthering your addiction to unlocking things.
Review code provided by Future Friends Games