I’m a bit disappointed in how it comes together, but there are moments that really work. The setting is cool and has a lot of potential. They have a flair that could really work with some tweaking.
The Third Shift should be a new genre staple. It harmonizes elements of many classic games and genre tropes while modernizing them. It rewards pixel hunting but doesn’t require it. Not only that, but it also has depictions of gore and horrific thematic elements. The graphical style and sense of humor make it a little easier to stomach if you’re normally a bit resistant to those depictions.
It brings some new ideas to the genre but doesn’t have a huge amount of staying power in its current form—feeling a bit empty when compared to the well-supported Vampire Survivors. But if Vampire Crawlers can keep enough player interest to justify even half the DLC of Vampire Survivors, then I think we will be looking at a genre staple with years of staying power.