A screenshot or short video of indie hit Vampire Survivors doesn't exactly make the strongest impression. Its throwback aesthetics aren't without their charm, sure, but you might confuse it for a Castlevania fangame--its cracking whips, spinning bibles, and fluttering bats arguably fall just on the good side of copyright infringement. However, once you actually sit down and play a few minutes of this bullet hell survival game, you'll have a hard time getting back to your busy workday.

When that happens to you, you'll be in happy company. You can often find Vampire Survivors in Steam's best-sellers list, alongside heavy hitters like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Apex Legends.

Vampire Survivors belongs to a certain class of indie game that's fallen by the wayside in recent years: the time-waster. Best represented by idlers like Cookie Clicker or gambling-inspired titles like Peggle, Vampire Survivors is not a deep, taxing experience that requires hours at a time. Instead, it's designed for short play sessions of 30 minutes or so, enough to fit into your lunch break, or perhaps an empty hour in your weekend schedule.