I don’t consider we’ve ever lined Maniac right here on VG247. The truth is, I don’t assume I’ve seen a lot protection for it elsewhere, both. Maniac isn’t the kind of sport that generates headlines, even when its complete gimmick is one I can’t consider nobody considered sooner.
For those who haven’t already began Googling, Maniac is what occurs whenever you create a Vampire Survivors-alike and gown it up in GTA 2 apparel. So, should you ever questioned what a GTA-coded one in all these video games would appear to be and the way it could play, Maniac has the reply.
Maniac is one in all few really good Vampire Survivors-likes launched in 2024, and definitely one of many many who got here out this 12 months. 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 sport.
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 whenever you begin off solely reliant on melee, and later whenever you improve to a firearm (or a rocket launcher).
The GTA 2 blood is liable for among the most devastating motion in any a kind 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 very best components of the One Needed Star really feel all of us bear in mind from basic GTA video games, earlier than issues get too hectic. And similar to these video games, Maniac doesn’t maintain again whenever you maintain pushing its limits, it welcomes it, in reality.
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 vehicles/driving into the circulate, which might in any other case break the cautious stability of velocity and energy ASS video games work so exhausting 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 nicely Maniac’s methods come collectively, particularly contemplating a reliable product bought on that premise alone would’ve completed simply nice.
Maniac runs nice on Steam Deck, too. You don’t want a handheld to play it, in fact, however I’m prepared to wager it’s going to shortly change into your ASS sport of selection whenever 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.
