Vampire Survivors Dev Poncle Outlines Challenges of Film Adaptation: 'The Game Has No Plot'

Vampire Survivors' adaptation from video game to film presents a unique challenge for developer Poncle, primarily due to the game's inherent lack of narrative. Initially announced as an animated series in 2023, the project is now shaping up to be a live-action film, a collaboration with Story Kitchen.

Poncle, in a recent Steam post, highlighted the complexities involved in translating the game's core mechanics—simple yet addictive action gameplay focused on overwhelming enemy hordes—into a compelling cinematic experience. The studio emphasizes its cautious approach, prioritizing finding the right partners who understand the game's quirky essence over rushing into production.

"Crafting a non-video game adaptation of Vampire Survivors demands exceptional ideas, creativity, and a deep understanding of the game's unique character," Poncle explained. "This is a challenging combination to achieve perfectly. The game's complete lack of plot presents a significant hurdle; its absence makes predicting the film's direction incredibly difficult, but also exciting."

The irony of adapting a plotless game wasn't lost on Poncle, who previously quipped, "the most important thing in Vampire Survivors is the story." The exact nature of the adaptation remains unclear, even to the developers, resulting in the absence of a release date.

Vampire Survivors, a fast-paced gothic horror rogue-lite, unexpectedly became a massive success. Its simple premise—overpowering waves of enemies with a growing arsenal of characters and weapons—belied its surprisingly deep gameplay loop. The game's popularity led to significant content additions, boasting 50 characters and 80 weapons, along with two major expansions and the Ode to Castlevania DLC.

IGN's 8/10 review summarized the game as "outwardly simple but incredibly deep," noting its potential for extended periods of repetitive gameplay once mastery is achieved. The film adaptation, therefore, faces the challenge of capturing this unique blend of simplicity and depth within a narrative framework.