Vampirio’s journey from Vlad to Dracula: Outfit7’s Vasyl Novskyi on survival
Story Highlights Outfit7's Vampirio combines action RPG combat, survival, and tower defense with its "build by day, survive by night" gameplay loop.Vasyl Novskyi discusses the game's heroes, roguelike progression…
- Outfit7's Vampirio combines action RPG combat, survival, and tower defense with its "build by day, survive by night" gameplay loop.
- Vasyl Novskyi discusses the game's heroes, roguelike progression, Dracula-inspired storyline, and how the team adapted the experience.
- - Cell Division aims to explore new genres and creative directions beyond Outfit7's established Talking Tom & Friends portfolio.
Before he became Dracula, Vlad Dracul was a monster hunter with a story of his own. With Vampirio, Outfit7 takes players back to the beginning, exploring the events that shape Vlad’s transformation through a mix of roguelike actionRPG combat, survival, and tower defense.
Developed by Cell Division, the game brings a new direction for the studio, moving beyond its familiar Talking Tom universe into a darker world built around heroes, strategic preparation, and night-time monster battles.
Following its worldwide launch on Android, iOS, and Steam, we caught up with Vasyl Novskyi, VP of Cell Division at Outfit7, for an interview to discuss how Vampirio came together, why its “build by day, survive by night” loop became central to the experience, and how the team approached storytelling, progression, and bringing the game to PC. We also spoke about Cell Division’s creative direction and what exploring new genres means for Outfit7.
1. What is Vampirio, and what can players expect from it?
Vampirio is an action RPG with tower-defense and survival elements. For us, the combination itself felt exciting because most survival RPGs today focus heavily on one thing – simply surviving waves. We wanted to build something with more atmosphere, more strategy, and stronger character-driven storytelling..
The original inspiration came from survival-action RPGs. We loved how accessible and instantly engaging those games could be, but we felt there was room to add stronger progression systems, tactical preparation, and story. Once we started experimenting with defense mechanics and day/night cycles, the whole structure immediately clicked.
That’s where “build by day, survive by night” really came from.
But very early on we realized we didn’t want this to become just another survival game. We wanted players to remember the heroes, the atmosphere, and the Dracula story itself.
2. Vampirio feels approachable at first, but becomes deeper over time. How do progression and onboarding work?
The game is built around multiple progression layers working together. Inside each run, players have roguelike progression, leveling up during battles, experimenting with builds, choosing skills, adapting strategies. But outside individual runs, there’s also long-term progression connected to heroes, gear, campaigns, and story development.
Players encounter the core mechanics first, with more systems and complexity opening up as they progress.
That’s why Alba is the first hero players use. She’s mechanically easier to understand and helps players naturally learn the game’s systems before unlocking more advanced heroes and deeper progression layers.
One important difference compared to many survival games is that our heroes fundamentally change gameplay. They are not simply cosmetic variations. Each hero pushes players toward different strategies, rhythms, and playstyles.
3. “Build by day, survive by night” became the core identity of Vampirio. What made that gameplay rhythm work so well?
Part of it actually started from very practical product thinking. Many survival games have long sessions that can easily stretch beyond fifteen minutes. We started asking ourselves whether it was possible to divide that experience into shorter gameplay cycles while preserving the same tension and progression. That’s where the day/night structure came from.
It also feels naturally intuitive. Players immediately understand the emotional difference between preparation during the day and pressure during the night. And because Vampirio deals with vampires and monsters, night automatically creates atmosphere and tension without needing much explanation. The rhythm ended up becoming one of the game’s strongest identities.
4. The action RPG survival market is extremely crowded right now. Where do you think Vampirio stands apart?
For us, the biggest difference is the combination of systems and emotional identity. We combine survival gameplay, action RPG mechanics, tactical defense systems, narrative campaigns, and heroes with genuinely different gameplay styles.
But the story is another major part of the experience. Alongside progression systems, players follow distinct characters and Vlad’s gradual transformation into Dracula. That gives the battles a personal context beyond surviving the next wave.
5. How does the Steam experience differ from the mobile version?
Steam originally started as a creative exploration. When we looked at the game’s landscape orientation and the tactical depth of the “build by day” phase, we realized it naturally fit the PC ecosystem surprisingly well.
The core story and gameplay loop are identical, but we are absolutely not just porting a mobile game to PC. We are ensuring the Steam version feels completely native, with dedicated control schemes, UI adjustments tailored for larger screens, and visual fidelity that respects the platform. We’ve also adjusted the gameplay, particularly the difficulty and challenge pacing, for a more demanding PC audience. It’s the same fantasy world, but carefully optimized for whichever platform players choose to experience it on.
6. Vampirio isn’t just about surviving the night – it follows the journey of Alba, Vlad, and Radu. Why was the story important?
Because the story creates an emotional connection. Outfit7 actually has strong expertise in creating memorable characters and strong visual identity. We wanted to bring this expertise into a completely different genre.
The story follows Alba, Vlad, and Radu after their family and hometown are destroyed by monsters during the fall of DragonGrad. They travel to Hellsing Academy searching for power and answers, but over time the tragedy slowly starts transforming Vlad into Dracula.
Alba represents more hope and balance, while Vlad slowly changes under the weight of revenge and obsession. Radu, meanwhile, brings an unpredictable energy to the group. Accidentally bitten himself, he treats the chaos around him with far more humor and curiosity than anyone else.
So the game is not just about survival gameplay, but also about transformation.
7. When someone finishes their first campaign, what feeling do you hope stays with them?
Hopefully excitement, that they want to continue playing, continue exploring the world, continue unlocking heroes and story. But beyond that, we want the experience to feel memorable emotionally, visually, and mechanically.
Personally, I don’t really believe making “good” games is enough anymore. The market is too competitive for that. The experience itself has to stay with people.
8. If Vampirio succeeds the way you hope it will, what do you want players or the industry to say about it?
Ideally, when people discuss modern action RPG hybrids, Vampirio becomes one of the games they immediately remember. Not only because of gameplay, but because of heroes, atmosphere, progression, and the Dracula story itself. If players remember the heroes, atmosphere, and Dracula story when they think about modern action RPG hybrids, that would already be a huge success for us.
9. Cell Division feels very different from Outfit7’s more established products. What kind of creative space do you want it to become?
For me, the Cell Division represents exploration. Talking Tom & Friends remains incredibly important for Outfit7, but long-term creative growth also requires experimenting with new genres, audiences, and ideas. This division was formed with a mandate to try different creative directions and challenge ourselves even more. That kind of exploration is healthy for any studio long-term.
More interviews from the Outfit7 universe:
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- From Virtual Pet to Creative Playground: How My Talking Angela 2 Built a Self-Expression System
- Inside Outfit7’s Cell Strategy: How Vampirio Emerged as a Breakout Hit
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