No run ever feels wasted as players feel a sense of increasing mastery and progression, even if they only gain a little gold. This encourages the use of different characters or gameplay strategies to try and unlock every achievement.

Courtesy of Poncle, CC BYĪfter a run, players gain different achievements, ticked off from a lengthy list. Gold can be spent to enhance character abilities. Between runs, they spend that gold to enhance their character’s abilities. The game is built around multilayered rewards. Vampire Survivors efficiently addresses two of these: competence (a sense of power and mastery) and autonomy (a sense of freedom). The Player Experience of Needs Satisfaction Model explains three key psychological needs games can fulfil and the player enjoyment and satisfaction experienced when they do. Once Vampire Survivors has players hooked, its reward structure has them coming back for more. The minimal learning curve and fluidity of the game controls means even novice players quickly feel they are conducting the apparent chaos on screen with elegant finesse. With no other controls to think about, players can fully focus on picking paths through even the tightest gaps between monsters. With careful manoeuvring, players can shepherd enemies into groups for more efficient destruction.

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