Since hitting the scene just a few years ago, there’s no doubt that Vampire Survivors has made an incredible impression, and has led to countless indie developers trying their hand at that style of play. Whatever you call the subgenre it pretty well created on its own, whether auto-fire roguelike, dodge-em-up, or any number of other variations, the base concept is you controlling a character who will need to dodge and weave through waves of enemies, knocking them out with what is usually a growing arsenal of weapons. Some titles will let you aim if you’d like, and others keep you purely focused on maneuvering yourself in order to stay out of trouble. Overpowered 2 is the latest variation to land on the Switch eShop, and unfortunately it is far from belonging even in the middle of the pack.

While I normally don’t spend much time or effort being critical of how indie games look, this is a space full of pixel art entrants, and among them all this may be the least inspiring of the bunch. Many elements simply feel out of proportion with one another, and nothing here really inspires a sense of creative design being at play, as much as re-use of existing assets in some fashion. Another critical issue is that the game makes poor use of space, and without enemies coming in from all directions the best strategy is honestly just to run around in circles the majority of the time, removing any sense of accomplishment or engagement from the affair as a whole. There simply isn’t enough going on here, and there’s not a single stand-out feature that can hope to redeem it either.

With most indie games based on a property that’s more popular, coming in at a low-budget price can at least be a selling point, but unfortunately Vampire Survivors itself is pretty cheap at full price, and goes on sale periodically. Worse, most of the competition this faces out there is similarly inexpensive, so trying to undercut everyone else on price in the hopes that it can compensate for a lackluster release simply doesn’t work as a strategy. Left instead with only its gameplay and lack of any real positives to speak of, this is a release that tumbles down into mediocrity and being forgettable very easily.