Vampire Survivors' long-awaited online mode is finally playable, so get moving

Do you remember when Vampire Survivors first launched? It was practically all I played on my Steam Deck for a month, getting lost in the gothic fantasy bullet hell for hours on end. I was intent on collecting every item and making each run better than the last. However, I never got to play with friends. My wife's no gamer and my daughter had just celebrated her first birthday, so was probably a little young. However, developer poncle has now launched its first online mode in a public beta, so you bet I'll be hitting up my online friends to jump back in.

The change hasn't been easy. Vampire Survivors was envisioned as a single-player game created by a solo developer. Untangling poncle's vast amount of code has been tricky, hence the online mode has taken this long to come to fruition. However, that just goes to show how impressive it is that this quickly became one of the best indie games of 2022.

The game rapidly snowballed into a viral sensation, but the developer hasn't rested on its laurels. Online mode is not only a chance to play with friends further afield; it also adds some great quality of life changes to enable a smooth experience. In the online mode, you'll only level up when all players have done so—four players? You'll reach the level up screen every four ranks.

You can also use DLC online, provided every player owns it. Most exciting, however, is that the game will be free roam, not restricting players to sticking together on the same, small screen. If one player enters a boss room, however, you'll all be pulled in.

There's a spectator mode if you die and achievements carry over to your save file. You'll also be glad to know that speed up is disabled online, and the pause menu grants you a small window of invincibility rather than pausing the game for everyone.

With all those details out of the way, what's stopping you from jumping in? Simply head to the properties tab on the game (found by right-clicking the title in your library), select 'betas,' and opt into the public beta. Download a small update, and you're ready to play online.

If, like me, you've forgotten everything you ever knew about the game, check out our Vampire Survivors weapon evolution guide for a reminder. If you want to really show off to your mates, memorize the best Vampire Survivors build before heading in.

Are you enjoying the Vampire Survivors online mode? Let us know in our community Discord server, where you can also search for teammates among staff and other readers.