Vampire survival game says screw it, let's add Frankenstein's monster

Almost a year after launch V Rising remains in early access, and is planning to celebrate its anniversary in the most electrifying of ways: Sod it, thought someone at Stunlock Studios, let's add Frankenstein's monster to our Dracula game. The Secrets of Gloomrot expansion is set in "a land twisted by the tortured ambitions of a scientific genius", hello Victor, who in this incarnation has a legion of followers and a civilisation built around his works and "the pursuit of evolution".

You know what that means: As the teaser shows, lots of electricity, lots of bodyparts jammed together, and a big old monster at the end of it. This is needless to say not going to be the most sophisticated take on Mary Shelley's creation, but sometimes that's fine and, c'mon, Frankenstein's monster will make for a great boss.

That's what grabbed my attention but the expansion contains a lot more. The Franken-lands are their own new biome, wracked with electric storms with gothic technology rising above the land it pollutes, "massive changes, additions, and reworks to the current biomes", and the long-promised overhaul to building that will finally let you build a castle with multiple floors alongside more customisation options.

There are a bunch of new equipment types intended to let players further tailor their playstyle, a load of new weapons, and a new school of storm spells based around electricity. Plus "more V Blood Bosses, a new V Blood tracking system, and more enemy variety. Updates to travel, inventory, vampire customization, sounds and voice, and more."

V Rising has been an enormous success, with the last official word being over three million copies sold since launch. The path it's followed has been well-chosen also, focusing on what players like about the game, the vampire vibes and things like the importance of getting your magnificent castle just right. This expansion looks to continue that focus with a bit of added horror fan service. The Secrets of Gloomrot will launch on May 17, one year after V Rising's release on early access, and is free for all owners of the game.

Rich is a games journalist with 15 years' experience, beginning his career on Edge magazine before working for a wide range of outlets, including Ars Technica, Eurogamer, GamesRadar+, Gamespot, the Guardian, IGN, the New Statesman, Polygon, and Vice. He was the editor of Kotaku UK, the UK arm of Kotaku, for three years before joining PC Gamer. He is the author of a Brief History of Video Games, a full history of the medium, which the Midwest Book Review described as "[a] must-read for serious minded game historians and curious video game connoisseurs alike."