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If you’re anything like me, then Vampire Survivors has ruined your life since it launched in 2021. The breakthrough auto-battler (survivor-like? Whatever we are calling this genre now) took the world by storm, picking up the Golden Joystick Breakthrough Award in 2022. Its success also spawned all manner of copycats, with a sentient potato, a Deep Rock Galactic spinoff, and an official movie tie-in with Nicholas Cage’s Renfield all taking a bash at the formula. But despite all the pretenders to the throne, Vampire Survivors has remained at the front of the pack, something the game’s creator, Luca Galente, says was just pure luck.
While there were sincere homages (like the ones mentioned above), Vampire Survivors’ success spawned all manner of cheap mobile knock-offs trying to steal the thunder from Poncle. "The first thing I noticed was the literal ripoffs. People would copy and paste Vampire Survivors and publish it on other stores," Galente told Edge Magazine. He later added, “some people are inspired, which is great, but there will always be vultures trying to make money out of whatever the latest trend is."
"I got lucky. My success was lightning-fast. Players noticed me before any vulture could notice the ascension in sales. There are companies whose only goal is to keep track of what games are becoming successful, especially mobile stores, and then very quickly put a clone together, advertise that clone everywhere so that people think their clone is the real new thing, and they just kill those little indies. I have the luxury of just keeping my head down and working on my game without having to worry. For everyone else, they have to stand out among the hundreds."
Thankfully, Poncle’s luck continued as Vampire Survivors had a massive 2024, featuring massive crossovers with Konami’s Contra and Castlevania (showing more love to the latter than Konami has in over a decade).
Mobile clones of indie games have been an issue for a long time. Back in 2018, Neon White creator Ben Esposito tweeted that his game Donut County had been cloned into the hugely successful hole.io – a whole month before Donut County released. Plus, you can’t go five minutes in the App Store without stepping on a Bejeweled clone.
If you’re looking for another fantasy roguelike to sink your teeth into, Dotemu’s new brawler Absolum may be up your alley.
