Few games offer pure, unadulterated dopamine quite like poncle’s Vampire Survivors. With the Operation Guns expansion, the indie smash hit teams up with Konami’s legendary Contra franchise, delivering a bullet-spraying retro arcade explosion of characters, weapons, and mechanical mayhem.
Lock and Load: The Contra Crossover You Didn't Know You Needed
Taking place across Galuga Jungle and the Neo City highway, Operation Guns swaps gothic bats and skeletons for biomechanical alien terrors, snipers, and rocket-launching tanks. Players step into the combat boots of Bill Rizer, Lance Bean, and Brad Fang.
The weapon evolutions are pure Konami nostalgia: spreading 3-way shotgun blasts evolve into screen-clearing plasma waves, while homing missiles transform into orbital satellite lasers that annihilate thousands of enemies per second.
- 11 Iconic Contra Characters: Play as Bill, Lance, Ariana, Lucia, and the cyborg wolf Brad Fang, each with passive weapon fire bonuses.
- 22 Weapon Evolutions: Evolve classic guns like the Spread Gun, Laser Rifle, and Time Grenade using the Weapon Power-Up briefcase.
- Motorcycle Highway Stage: Fast-scrolling horizontal highway action with high-speed enemy ambushes.
Key Weapon Evolutions in Operation Guns
Mastering weapon evolutions requires pairing guns with the Weapon Power-Up accessory:
| Base Weapon | Required Passive | Evolved Weapon | Devastating Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spread Gun | Weapon Power-Up | Prototype A | Fires 16 continuous explosive buckshot streams in all directions |
| Laser Rifle | Weapon Power-Up | Prototype B | Piercing laser beam that refracts off screen borders |
| Homing Missiles | Weapon Power-Up | Prototype C | High-velocity cluster warheads with area-of-effect detonations |
| Firearm | Weapon Power-Up | Fire-L437 | Rotating flamethrower cone that leaves lingering burning ground |
“Contra was all about frantic action and incredible music. Translating that into Vampire Survivors' chaotic formula felt completely natural.”
Four-Player Couch Co-Op Madness
Like the base game, Operation Guns features full four-player local couch co-op on Xbox Series X and Xbox One. Gathering friends on the sofa with four controllers as the soundtrack blares chiptune synth is gaming perfection.
Play on Xbox Game Pass
Vampire Survivors is available on Xbox Game Pass across Console, PC, and Cloud Gaming. Operation Guns is available as a budget-friendly DLC add-on that provides hours of replayability.
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