Since V Rising was first announced, it has inevitably drawn comparisons to other major titles in its genre. Most notably,V Risingis often compared to titles likeRustandValheim, and for good reason, despite being draped in a gothic folklore aesthetic,V Risingfeels right at home with other acclaimed survival sandbox titles.
For fans awaiting the nextMistlands release forValheim, it’s hard to beat a better substitute thanV Rising. With its boss-focused, combat-driven progression,V Risingis easily the closest major title toValheimwith just enough changes to present an experience that feels completely fresh.
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V Rising Is An Adventure Game Mixed With Survival Elements
LikeValheim,V Risingpresents as a survival game but players' primary objective while playing is to progress through the story and beat all the bosses. It’s worth noting, however, that both games are well-crafted in the respect that players cannot afford to ignore either aspect of the game. to adequately progress throughV Rising’s story, players are inevitably going to have to dump hours into base-crafting and vice-versa. For instance, after players have tackledthe Alpha Wolf,V Rising’s first boss encounter, they will receive a useful travel form that further facilitates their ability to build a stronghold.
This is whereV Risingis most aptly compared toValheimand not others in the genre. While titles likeRustshare a lot of similarities withV Risingas well, onlyValheimand a few others offer an obvious linear progression via a boss system.Valheimplayers moving over toV Risingwill experience the same underlying drive to continue that is often missing in more ambiguous survival titles. Players never have to stop and wonder what to do next or where to go; progress begets progress. It’s in thiscombat-driven progression systemthat the two titles feel most similar.
The Base Is Everything in Valheim and V Rising
V Rising is effective atputting players in the vampire mindset. Just likeValheimdrives the desire to build a boat and raid foreign lands,V Risingentices players to raid nearby villages and seek out the nearest vein to feed on. At the end of a long day of fighting though, players in bothValheimandV Risingmust return to their all-important base. While it would be easy to tip the scales one way or the other, V Rising and Valheim both perfectly tread the line between forcing players out of their base and pushing players to focus on the stronghold itself. Both titles are built in such a manner that everything a player does is for their base, and everything their base does is for the player to progress, and, ultimately, players must defend their base vehemently in order to protect their progress.
ForPvP players inV Rising, just likeValheim, this adds a totally different angle. If a player’s base is destroyed by an enemy, it’s more or less true that their progression has been entirely wiped out. In a matter of hours, days of effort can be completely eclipsed. While this sounds relatively ruthless, for players seeking a more competitive mode, it’s the perfect level of risk. Luckily,V Risingoffers two levels of risk in PvP—one where players lose everything and the other where they only lose their carried items—and the majority of servers institute strict regulations on when bases can be attacked. Still, the similarities toValheimare certainly there. The gut punch of losing a beloved base and the unparalleled thrill of launching an assault on an enemy’s base exists in both titles.
V Risingis available in Early Access on PC.
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