R.I.P.: When Diablo Meets Vampire Survivors in a Corporate Hellscape

Your Claim Has Been Denied (With a Rocket Launcher)

The “Survivor-like” or “Bullet Heaven” genre has arguably become the most saturated segment of the Steam marketplace over the last few years. Since Vampire Survivors opened the floodgates, we have seen every variation imaginable: fantasy wizards, sci-fi mechs, and cute animals. To stand out in 2026, a game needs more than just thousands of enemies on screen; it needs a hook.

Enter R.I.P. – Reincarnation Insurance Program. Developed by WarmCore Studio and published by 2P Games, this title pitches itself as the unholy lovechild of Diablo and Vampire Survivors. It promises the mindless, screen-clearing joy of the latter with the obsessive gear-tuning and stat-crunching of the former.

Released into Early Access on January 25, 2026, R.I.P. asks a simple question: What if the apocalypse were just another day at the office? You aren’t a chosen hero; you are an elite employee of the Reincarnation Insurance Program, and business is booming. After a week of filing “performance reports” (read: obliterating thousands of zombies), it is clear that while R.I.P. is still growing, it has established a foundation that is incredibly hard to dislodge.

Resolve the Hordes, Collect the Paycheck

The premise is delightfully cynical corporate satire. The world is overrun by corrosion viruses and zombies, and your job is to “resolve” these issues through “physical means.” The narrative is thin—reviews describe it as a “storyline-less Diablo”—but the flavor text does a great job of framing the carnage as contractual obligations rather than heroic deeds.

The gameplay loop is split into two distinct phases: the Mission and the Office.

The Mission (Survivor Mode):

You drop into a map, and the enemies start spawning. At first, it’s a trickle of shambling walkers. Ten minutes later, it is a tidal wave of mutants, elites, and screen-filling bosses. The combat is fast, visceral, and chaotic. You have access to a lethal arsenal ranging from high-rate-of-fire SMGs to experimental heavy rocket launchers.

Unlike many games in this genre that rely on auto-fire, R.I.P. encourages more active engagement. You need to dodge, position yourself, and use active skills alongside your passive abilities. The “Divine Tech” abilities allow you to liquidate enemies into ash, turning the battlefield into a strobe-light show of destruction.

The Office (Diablo Mode):

This is where R.I.P. separates itself from the pack. In most Survivor-likes, your power is temporary. You build a god-run, you die, and you start over with maybe a few stat boosts. Here, you extract with loot. Real, tangible, stat-heavy loot.

You scavenge hundreds of weapons and tactical gear from the ruins. You see that familiar golden beam of light signaling a Legendary drop, and the dopamine hits instantly. Back at the base, you aren’t just buying generic “+5% Damage” upgrades; you are equipping helmets, chest pieces, and weapons with randomized affixes. It brings the “just one more run” energy of an ARPG into the short-session format of a roguelite.

Deep Systems: Recasting and Theorycrafting

The depth of the customization is surprising for a $13 game. If you played Diablo 3 or Grim Dawn, you will feel right at home with the crafting systems here.

• Affix Rerolling: Did you find a legendary rifle with great base damage but useless stats? Go to the company’s master artisans. You can recast gears, rerolling specific attributes to tailor the weapon to your build.
• Legend Contracts: These are unique items dropped on the battlefield that grant set bonuses. Collecting a full set can dramatically shift your playstyle, allowing for specific builds like a “Pyromancer” setup that focuses on burn damage or a “Tank” build that relies on thorns and health regeneration.
• Talent Trees: Even if you fail a run, you retain “Contribution Points.” These act as your XP, allowing you to traverse a massive talent tree to unlock permanent stat boosts and new abilities.

One user review perfectly summed up the appeal: “At the price of a milkshake… this rogue-like extractor is merged with tiered loot progression and affix rerolling for a solid 30-40 hours of your time at minimum.” It’s a game designed for the tinkerer, the player who loves to stare at spreadsheets and optimize their DPS output.

A Beautiful Mess

Visually, R.I.P. punches above its weight. Built on Unreal Engine, the lighting effects, explosions, and enemy models are crisp and vibrant. When you trigger a massive chain reaction of explosions, it looks spectacular.

However, this visual fidelity comes at a cost. As you progress into higher difficulty tiers and the enemy count skyrockets, the screen becomes a chaotic mess of damage numbers and particle effects. Several players have reported performance dips, particularly when using ability-heavy builds such as the “Corrosive” setup. One reviewer joked, “Now the game is a Screenshot Simulator. Add DLSS or FSR… Unreal Engine weirdos.”

While the game is generally stable, players on lower-end hardware may struggle when gameplay becomes too intense. The developers have acknowledged this and are actively pushing updates to improve optimization, but it is something to keep in mind.

The Early Access Experience

R.I.P. is an Early Access title, and it shows in a few key areas.

1. Content Volume: While the loop is fun, the variety of maps and enemy types is currently limited. You will be killing the same zombies in the same few environments repeatedly. The developers have promised a “New Map Areas” update in February, which is much needed.
2. Bugs: Users have reported a range of issues, including weapon affixes (such as the rocket launcher arc) failing to trigger and UI glitches where reroll costs turn negative.
3. Controller Support: While listed as supporting controllers, it feels like a mouse-and-keyboard game first. Aiming with a stick lacks the “snappiness” required for high-precision play, leading many to prefer the traditional WASD+Mouse setup.

However, the developer, WarmCore Studio, has been highly active. Since the January launch, they have released multiple hotfixes addressing player feedback. The roadmap is promising, with a “New Tower-Climbing Mode” and “New Mythic Equipment” scheduled for February 2026.

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Breakdown: The Good, The Bad, & The Buggy

The Good	The Bad	The Ugly
Loot System: Deep, ARPG-style gear progression with sets, legendaries, and rerolling makes every run feel valuable.	Controller Aim: Feels sluggish and imprecise compared to the mouse and keyboard.	Visual Clutter: Late-game runs can become a blinding mess of effects that tank the FPS on some systems.
Combat Feel: Weapons have weight and impact. Clearing a screen of 500 zombies with a rocket launcher never gets old.	Controller Aim: Feels sluggish and imprecise compared to mouse and keyboard.	Bugs: Reroll glitches and broken affixes can ruin a good crafting session.
Build Variety: Between talents, gear, and tech cards, there are dozens of ways to break the game.	No Multiplayer: A highly requested feature that is currently missing. This game screams for co-op.
Active Devs: Frequent updates and a clear roadmap show commitment to the project.

Should You Play It?

Yes, if: You love Diablo but don’t have time for a 100-hour campaign, or if you love Vampire Survivors but wish it had more complex gear systems.

No, if: You are looking for a rich story, hate screen clutter, or want a bug-free, polished experience right now (wait for 1.0).

Recommended for fans of: Greedland, Vampire Survivors, Diablo 3, Grim Dawn, and Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor.