I don’t consider we’ve ever coated Maniac right here on VG247. In actual fact, I don’t assume I’ve seen a lot protection for it elsewhere, both. Maniac isn’t the kind of recreation that generates headlines, even when its total gimmick is one I can’t consider nobody considered sooner.
In case you haven’t already began Googling, Maniac is what occurs once you create a Vampire Survivors-alike and gown it up in GTA 2 apparel. So, in the event you ever questioned what a GTA-coded one in every of these video games would seem like and the way it might play, Maniac has the reply.
Maniac is one in every of few truly good Vampire Survivors-likes launched in 2024, and positively one of many many who got here out this yr. And no, I refuse to name that style ‘bullet heaven’. If something, we should always default to the far superior (and extra descriptive) style label: ASS, auto-shooting-surival. As such, Maniac is a good-ASS recreation.
What makes Maniac notably good at pulling off the gag is its dedication to the fusion of the 2 video games its mainly impressed by. The Vampire Survivor influences discover a new residence right here, first once you begin off completely reliant on melee, and later once you improve to a firearm (or a rocket launcher).
The GTA 2 blood is chargeable for a few of the most devastating motion in any a type of, and a big a part of that’s the physics engine beneath. Even early on, when the chaos and mayhem are saved to a minimal, merely watching your character work together with the world, and the inhabitants of that world itself, is a pleasure. It captures the most effective elements of the One Needed Star really feel all of us bear in mind from traditional GTA video games, earlier than issues get too hectic. And similar to these video games, Maniac doesn’t maintain again once you hold pushing its limits, it welcomes it, the truth is.
The extra your energy grows – with character upgrades, pickups and actually highly effective weapons – the extra the display will get painted with blood and automobile wreckage. I’m particularly keen on how the sport manages to implement automobiles/driving into the move, which might in any other case break the cautious steadiness of velocity and energy ASS video games work so laborious to attain.
Driving physics are tuned to attain that really feel, with forgiving dealing with that tempts (and rewards you) for pulling off last-second swerves, and drifts into blockades to seize a powerup. It’s genuinely spectacular how properly Maniac’s programs come collectively, particularly contemplating a reliable product offered on that premise alone would’ve executed simply effective.
Maniac runs nice on Steam Deck, too. You don’t want a handheld to play it, after all, however I’m keen to wager it’s going to shortly grow to be your ASS recreation of selection once you do. Failing that, simply load up a video of somebody at max Needed Stage and simply watch utter mayhem unfold. Seize it on Steam, or wishlist it for when the (already low cost) value goes down.