When will we have enough Vampire Survivors? The answer is probably never. That is way Team Poncle is busy working on even more updates and additions to the game, after Legacy of the Moonspell a few months ago, now comes an entire new DLC. Expect characters, levels and – naturally – surprises and memes. Let’s see what is bubbling up in our Tides of the Foscari review.

Much like its previous expansion, Tides of the Foscari immediately gives players what have been longing for: new stuff to play with. There is definitely no need to go around the story or waste time introducing it. The new characters are based around a classical trio, all three of them are part of an academy (for which they will proudly receive a badge, around level 30). In keeping with its fantasy theme, the three are based around the good ol’ RPG trope: one wizard, one warrior and one archer/thief.

The new level, Lake Foscari, very much follows what has been seen in the Legacy of the Moonspell’s new stage. While mainly based in a forest, we can explore around and find many different areas: lake, mushroom village, hedge maze. Overall, its flavor definitely seems like it is more at home in Vampire Survivors than the Eastern vibes of Legacy. This can easily remind players of the original first level, the Mad Forest. Navigating the maze while trying to survive the enemies attacking in waves will be a serious challenge even for veteran players of Survivors.

The new enemies also very much follow the fantasy vibe of the DLC, with huge humanoid mushrooms, goblins with knives, dwarves, hags and, of course, Sammies. These are friendly-looking caterpillars that when killed drop, for some reason, cakes (most of the time). They are quite useful to keep around when facing the final boss of the level, the Avatar of Gaea, or when you’re having trouble simply staying alive.

Since the three new characters very much adhere to classic fantasy tropes, they all play pretty differently, with the warrior brandishing a huge sword and a treasure of health points, but being slow and tanky. The wizard is quicker on her feet, with an attack that is ready to go off, but will have to be built and unlocked in order to unleash its full potential. The archer (or thief apparently?) is nimble on his feet and with a deadly attack that, unfortunately, is also quite slow at first.

Priced at the usual couple of buckaroos and packed with secrets that I cannot go into, (just a tiny hint: try to kill as many Sammy as possible!), Tides of the Foscari is another great addition to the Vampire Survivors family. Bringing a total of seven new characters, thirteen new weapons and – clearly – some new music, this will definitely keep fans happy for several more hours as they explore the forest and its surroundings.

Poncle keeps supporting its BAFTA-awarded game in the best way possible, with perfectly priced bits of juicy new content that enrich what is already a pretty rich base game to start with. Definitely one that veteran survivors don’t want to miss out on.

Our Tides of the Foscari review was made possible with a key shared by the PR, Future Friends. Vampire Survivors and its expansions are available on Steam.