A Vampire Survivors x Hades Hybrid With Grind in Its Veins
If you’ve spent any time in the roguelite trenches, you know how most new releases feel: pixel-heavy, auto-attack, chaos on the screen, rinse and repeat.
Night Swarm definitely fits the mold — but it also swipes some DNA from Hades, mixes in Survivors-style auto-combat, and then drops you into a vampire power fantasy where “just one more run” becomes a genuine threat to your sleep schedule.
So here are my early impressions after a handful of runs and the start of my castle upgrades.
🎮 Gameplay: Auto-Attack Chaos With a Hades-Style Progression Twist
Combat itself is pure Vampire Survivors:
- Your attacks fire automatically
- You dash around enemies
- Waves get chunkier and deadlier
- Runs become screens full of damage numbers
But the progression?
That’s where the Hades influence kicks in hard.
You’re building a castle, unlocking upgrades, empowering companions, and slowly stacking permanent buffs that make each next attempt feel juicier.
Hades gives you Zagreus.
Night Swarm gives you a young vampire on a “gain power and rule everything” arc.
Not original, but it works.
🏰 Castle, Companions & That Hades-Like Loop
The castle is the game’s beating heart.
You upgrade:
- Your character
- Your passive boosts
- Your companions (yes, companions join you in battle!)
- New abilities and modifiers
- Your overall strength for future runs
This is EXACTLY the same psychological loop as Hades:
“Just one more upgrade, then I’ll stop.”
You never stop.
🎧 Music & Voice Acting: Surprisingly High Effort for a $10 Indie
For a sub-$10 roguelite, Night Swarm puts in effort:
✔️ The castle theme
Plays every time you’re back at home base. Not iconic, but catchy enough that it sticks.
✔️ Battle music shifts
- Standard violin-driven energy
- Harder encounters kick into electric guitar riffs
This is actually a hype-boosting touch you rarely see in budget roguelites.
✔️ Full voice-over dialogue
This is easily the biggest surprise.
Is it AAA quality? No.
Does it give the game more personality than half the roguelites on Steam?
Absolutely yes.
For €8–10, you can’t expect Hades-tier VO, but it’s solid for what it is.
🧛 Story & Theme: Light but Functional
You play a rising vampire trying to gain power bit by bit. Lore is delivered through voice lines and castle interactions. It’s simple, but it gives some purpose to the grind.
🖼️ Visuals: Clean, Stylish, and Easy on the Eyes
Lots of roguelites drown you in pixel mush.
Night Swarm actually looks clean and readable, especially:
- Enemy silhouettes
- Character animations
- Ability effects
- Castle environment art
It’s not genre-defining, but it’s noticeably more polished than the typical $5-$10 Steam roguelite.
🔁 Grind Factor: VERY High
Let’s be blunt:
Night Swarm is grindy AF.
If you don’t enjoy repeating runs to unlock incremental upgrades, you’re going to bounce off fast.
But if you do like that loop?
Oh boy… expect the “just one more run” demon to possess you.
🎯 Does It Stand Out in the Roguelite Market?
Here’s the honest answer:
No — not really.
But that’s not a bad thing.
Night Swarm doesn’t reinvent the roguelite wheel.
It simply combines two extremely addictive formulas:
- The auto-attack chaos of Vampire Survivors
- The progression dopamine of Hades
Throw in companions, castle upgrades, voiced dialogue, and stylish visuals, and you get a game that’s not unique — but definitely fun enough to pull you in.
For under 10 bucks?
It’s honestly a bargain.
👍 Early Impressions — Pros & Cons
Pros
- Addictive “one more run” gameplay
- Hades-style castle progression
- Voiced dialogue (surprising for the price)
- Companions you can recruit + upgrade
- Clean visuals for the genre
- Great price point
- Easy to get into, hard to put down
Cons
- Doesn’t reinvent the roguelite genre
- Very grind-heavy
- Voice acting is uneven
- Auto-attack means combat depth is limited
🧛 Verdict (So Far)
Night Swarm isn’t the next Hades, but it is a fun, addictive roguelite mashup that punches above its price tag. If you enjoy Survivors-style gameplay with a bit more structure and character, this is a great cheap pickup.
Full review coming once I’ve unlocked more of the castle and late-game builds.
