Vampire Survivors started a trend in game design that inspired many similar games. To call them clones would be an unkind interpretation, and say nothing of the improvements they've made over this: the original.

That said, Vampire Survivors on its own is an incredibly shallow experience. It's a step up from an idle game. The level of actual "play" you get out of this game is minimal. You walk, and you choose level up rewards. I get the appeal of such simple gameplay, but simple gameplay

The permanent upgrades outside of the gameplay along with your choice of character can lead to interesting starts to levels, but it all effects your choices of upgrades in predictable ways. I would go so far as to say that this kind of choice actually ends up detracting from the game.

Ultimately vampire survivors leaves an interesting blueprint and legacy for many games to build on, earning itself the "-like" suffix and its own adjective. But I can't treat this as anything but a prototype due to its simplicity.