Project Lazarus
While Project Lazarus is probably the most blatant lifting of Vampire Survivors’ core elements, with few new notions of its own, it stands out for its completely different approach to graphics. Presented in 3D with you controlling one of a large number of different types of robots, it fills the screen with an improbable number of 3D enemies, without slowing down even the teeniest bit.
For me, Project Lazarus is one of the weaker post-VS games to have caught public attention. It’s not just that the game’s only really original take is that you’re playing as giant mechs, each controlling slightly differently, but more that it feels—despite its graphical accomplishments—very plain. The settings are bland, the enemies too few in type (although not in number), and the sense of progression far too slow. And yet, despite all this, it still achieves that “one more go!” factor that’s so important for the genre.
This certainly hasn’t held Project Lazarus back in terms of popularity. The Early Access game has a “Very Positive” rating on Steam, and that’s with still a year to go on its development. The good news is there’s a plan to introduce a bunch of other game modes, that should give it more variety.
