Voltaire: The Vegan Vampire PS5 Review – Grow Crops, Crush Foes, Skip the Blood

Voltaire: The Vegan Vampire, developed by Digitality Games and published by JanduSoft, is a quirky action-farming-roguelite. Set in Transylvania, it follows Dracula’s rebellious lastborn son as he rejects blood-drinking in favor of a vegan lifestyle, blending daytime farming and resource management with nighttime tower-defense combat and hack-and-slash action.

Voltaire experiences an epiphany during a family gathering early on and chooses to abandon traditional vampiric bloodlust, determined to prove to his father that vampires can thrive on veggies. Dracula does not take this well and sends waves of minions to destroy Voltaire’s farm and force him back to a “proper” diet. 

With help from his uncles Frank and Stein, Voltaire slips away, establishes a farm across varied biomes, cultivates magical crops, and defends his new way of life. The story is light, humorous, and thematically focused on defiance and alternative lifestyles, with Voltaire as the customizable protagonist. Supporting characters and bosses provide colorful obstacles and progression beats.

The Gameplay ...

The core loop in Voltaire's undertaking revolves around a weekly cycle in each biome. During the day, players explore a limited map to gather seeds, water, and resources as well as clear and expand farm plots, plant and tend crops, set traps, and manage a hunger/energy meter. Crops fall into food types for sustenance and buffs along with more defensive/offensive plants for safeguarding your farming efforts. At night, hordes of enemies target crops and the house. It is then that players fight with basic attacks, magical abilities, orbiting pets, traps, and the plants themselves in a hybrid action-tower-defense style. Surviving the week culminates in a boss fight, after which a portal leads to a new biome with fresh challenges, environmental hazards, and progression.

Roguelite elements that Voltaire can partake of as he progresses include permanent-ish upgrades via a skill tree and perks, ability modifiers, consumables, and class options unlocked later. Features include dozens of plants, costumes/outfits for Voltaire, mini-games, and bounties from the uncles. There are also modes that lean more into pure farming or boss-focused challenges. The balance between growing enough food versus defensive plants, managing hunger, and adapting to enemy preferences forms the strategic heart of the loop. Death typically means restarting the day with partial resource loss rather than a full run reset.

The Presentation ...

The game uses a charming hand-drawn, creepy-cute art style with an isometric/bird’s-eye view. Environments are colorful yet macabre including interesting additions such as gothic farms, whimsical flora, and mischievous monsters across distinct biomes, evoking a lighter Don’t Starve or Cult of the Lamb vibe. Animations for plants, water droplets, combat effects, and characters are smooth and full of personality, making both the cozy daytime farming and chaotic nighttime battles visually engaging.

The soundtrack complements the experience perfectly. It features gentle, tranquil, cheerfully spooky tracks for daytime farming that shift to more intense, dramatic music during night defenses and boss fights. Sound effects support the action well, though voice work is limited or absent.

The Verdict ...

Challenge is moderate across modes and scales with biomes and bosses. The hunger management and the food-vs-defense trade-off create meaningful tension without feeling overwhelmingly punishing once systems click, though early hours and repetitive foraging can frustrate. Playability is generally solid and approachable, with satisfying combat growth and a varied day/night rhythm. Replay value is decent thanks to skill/perk experimentation, outfits, multiple biomes, classes, co-op, and alternative modes.

All things considered I feel Voltaire: The Vegan Vampire is best suited for fans of cozy-yet-spooky roguelike hybrids who enjoy farming sims mixed with tower defense and light action It’s ideal for players seeking charming indie experiences with replay value and a humorous premise, especially those who like managing resources under light pressure.