Stunlock Studios and Konami have revealed that the survival crafting game V Rising will feature Castlevania crossover content when it leaves early access this May.
V Rising is a survival game where players control a vampire, and this crossover adds Simon Belmont as a hunter who’s constantly trying to track down and kill players. If Simon Belmont is defeated, players will be able to equip and use his whip as a weapon. While that content is being added to V Rising free of charge as soon as it hits 1.0, a paid Legacy of Castlevania Premium Pack DLC will also be released. Purchasing it will net players Castlevania-themed decorations and music for their lair. These are all fitting crossover spots for a game that already heavily features vampires and pumps some life back into an unfortunately dormant game series.
For the past decade, the Castlevania series has been in a weird spot, which is also emblematic of Konami as a whole. It has a popular Netflix show, but in terms of games, we only have classic collections and an Apple Arcade exclusive to speak of. Outside of that, Castlevania has sustained itself via crossovers with other series. Simon and Richter were playable fighters in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Return to Castlevania was an expansion for Dead Cells that adapted that series’ iconic imagery and formula into a popular roguelike. Hopefully, all of these crossover indicate to Konami that the Castlevania series is deserving of a grand return with a new console game.
V Rising exits early access and gains this Castlevania crossover content on May 8. It’s also slated to be released for PlayStation 5 sometime later this year.