Vampire Survivors has another expansion today, although this one wasn’t actually supposed to exist. Legacy of the Bloodmoon started life as a small content update for 2022’s Legacy of the Moonspell. Poncle wanted to give its first and smallest expansion a little more content, but apparently nobody knew when to stop adding things. The update eventually became big enough to turn into an expansion of its own, leaving Moonspell with seven new unlocks while its considerably more sinister sibling went off to do its own thing.
That thing is now officially available, and poncle is calling it the darkest Vampire Survivors expansion yet.
Welcome to the Bloodmoon
Legacy of the Bloodmoon follows Clan Bloodmoon as its members retrace the pilgrimage of Saint Baal’Thasar, founder of the Order of the Red Moon.
According to legend, Baal’Thasar had a vision of a paradise illuminated by a bright red moon and created the Order to lead people towards eternal life. He eventually disappeared while searching for that paradise, leaving the Order to splinter into several sects.
Clan Bloodmoon has now decided to follow in his footsteps. That brings us to Red Moon Manor, a huge new stage and the ancient home of the Order. It’s supposedly where Baal’Thasar hid the secret of immortality, which sounds exactly like the sort of place that should probably have been left alone.
More Characters, More Weapons, One FireBall
There’s plenty to unlock once you get there. Legacy of the Bloodmoon adds more than 10 characters alongside over 16 weapons and evolutions. Malice Bloodmoon leads the group into the manor, while Calogero Bloodmoon apparently prefers solving problems with an enormous axe.
Then there are characters including Baal’Thasar himself, Ashtart, and ancient king Sargon, so expect things to get considerably stranger as you work through the new unlocks.
The weapons aren’t exactly subtle either. Scarlet Needle can impale and paralyze enemies, Incineration is capable of wiping out entire groups, and Blacken Firmament summons an ominous celestial body that starts tearing reality apart.
There’s also FireBall. Yes, after years of increasingly ridiculous weapons, poncle has finally landed on the groundbreaking idea of calling a ball of fire FireBall. The developer is well aware of this, proudly describing it as “peak originality” while making sure nobody confuses it with FireFall, FireWall, or their apparently inevitable union, FireStall.
This Accidental Expansion Got Pretty Big
The new content doesn’t stop with characters and weapons. There are eight additional music tracks, a new Adventure, and various secrets poncle hasn’t spoiled yet. Combined with the enormous Red Moon Manor stage, there’s considerably more here than the little Moonspell update that started the whole thing.
It also gives Legacy of the Moonspell something of a companion piece. Poncle describes Bloodmoon as its “evil twin,” with the new expansion taking the ideas surrounding its predecessor somewhere much darker. Vampire Survivors: Legacy of the Bloodmoon is available today and requires the base game to play.
Not bad for an update that got slightly out of hand.