I was immediately sold on the movie Renfield because of Nicolas Cage as Dracula. Then I found out that there was a game inspired by the movie. It looked interesting, I love playing games like this on Steam Deck, the price was low, so why not try it?

The first few hours were... difficult. Not so much because of the game's difficulty, but because it just doesn't explain everything clearly. So it slipped quietly into my backlog of unfinished games until I decided to give it another chance (and I really wanted to defeat Dracula).

And now, 66 hours later, I can say that Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood is a really great game.

Its formula is mostly the same as any other Vampire Survivors-like game. Your weapons fire automatically, and you just need to survive until the next room. Repeat that process until you defeat the main boss of the level, or die trying. Then start again. After defeating the main boss of a level, the next level is available for purchase, and so on. It's repetitive and addictive.

There are 15 characters to choose from, each with a different main weapon which can really change the way you play and think. You start with Renfield, the main character, and his attack is slashing claws in the direction you are looking. That's fine. But then you have someone like Sun-Kissed Dracula who shoots some kind of projectiles from his... rear end? Werelobo rushes enemies, some characters have guns as their main weapon, some have circling bubbles that obliterate any enemies that try to get close. And then there is Meat Monster. That guy sucks. But playing with any of them (even the Meat Monster) is a different experience.

But those are just starting weapons. You can have up to 6 weapons in each run. How about a regular food platter that acts as a boomerang? Or a bunch of cookies that circle around you? Or a regular fork? Or table that drops from the sky like meteor? And of course, a stake. There is a good variety of weapons to choose from in each run.

Then there are talents, passive skills that can range from healing you when you level up to increasing the power of all attacks, or even making you invisible.

Regarding my first thought that game mechanics are not explained right... There is a written tutorial that unlocks new topics as you play the game. The in-game shop has requirements for unlocking characters, locations, and weapons. In-game achievements literally tell you what you need to do to unlock them. So I was kinda wrong; there is a lot of helpful explanation in the game. But some are still missing. For example, I still don't know what secret files are or how to find or unlock them. And the buddy system and challenge rooms could be better explained.

To conclude, if you liked Vampire Survivors, Brotato, or Halls of Torment (or any other similar game), you will feel right at home with Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood.

The movie was tolerable.