Vampire Crawlers is the second game from developers poncle, of Vampire Survivors fame. Instrumental in bringing about a renaissance of roguelike games, they've fed us well with endless DLC, both paid and free, for their first title, and now they are back with a whole new game born from its DNA.

Vampire Crawlers Review: What is it?

While fans might have expected a Vampire Survivors 2, Vampire Crawlers is a pretty radical genre pivot that swaps the real-time bullet hell for a tactical, turn-based card game. It's a casual, turn-based deckbuilder with some roguelite elements set smack bang in the world of Vampire Survivors.

Instead of an open field of enemies working their way towards you, you explore grid-based multi-floor dungeons as a dungeon "Crawler' in first person. Expect a strategic loop of scoping the map for combat encounters, picking up loot, and leveling up your deck of cards to progress.

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The Vampire Survivors' whimsy and charm is present in every facet of the game. Your arsenal is your deck composed of weapons Survivors fans will be familiar with: the Whip, Knife, Santa Water and everyone's favorite — Garlic, to name a few. The enemies will be familiar too, facing the same skeletons and bats amongst other unpleasant creatures, but from a different perspective. We aren't top-down anymore; we are face-to-face with those man-eating plants.

Our Crawler characters, which you choose from before entering the dungeon, bring unique passive triggers that respond to the cards you play. For example, Antonio grants a damage bonus every time you play an attack card. They even now have voice lines which bring a whole new breath of personality to the Vampire Survivors universe.

Vampire Crawlers Review: Gameplay

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I was sent a review guide with the game, which like any provided instructions, I decided not to read at all and go in blind. Cool girls don't look at instructions. Presented with a small deck of cards and my first Crawler, I had no idea what I was doing in the first dungeon. I progressed through the game simply throwing cards out like Gambit and hoping for the best. Thankfully, the game does a great job of showing you what to do, and the first thing you will probably learn is chaining cards to make powerful combos.

The core of the strategy revolves around your mana pool. Each card has a cost, and your goal is to manage that pool while taking advantage of the Combo Stack. The game rewards you for playing cards in ascending mana cost (0-1-2-3); doing so triggers a multiplier that ramps up your damage exponentially. This is where the "Turbo" in the title comes from — once you find the rhythm, you can play your entire hand as fast as you can click, watching damage numbers skyrocket. The OVERKILL text and accompanying soundbites are particularly satisfying to say the least.

The signature Evolution system returns, too. Those familiar with Survivors will have a massive head start in knowing specifically which weapons and passives to combine to upgrade their cards. However, there are new layers here: you can find Gems to slot into specific cards for bonuses (like 2x damage) or find one-time-use Wildcards that act as combo extenders. These allow you to push a single turn into a god-like state of devastation that can clear a whole row of enemies at once if you... play your cards right (pun intended).

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My personal favorite right now is going full Bone Build with Mortaccio. He gives extra projectiles, and there is nothing quite as satisfying as throwing Bone cards — which cost zero mana — and watching them bounce and bounce and bounce around the screen. I’ve hit a few walls of difficulty, but the beauty of this game is that death doesn't matter. It’s just an excuse to visit the Unlocks menu, find a doable goal, and bring a new item or stat boost into my next run.

If I had any criticisms, it would be that some map items are difficult to see when playing on a handheld device. However, there is a launch patch that should improve Steam Deck play and, by extension, handheld gaming on the ROG Ally X, so I'm hoping it will be fixed.

Vampire Crawlers Review: Should you buy it?

If you're a huge fan of Vampire Survivors and the aesthetic, this is a no-brainer purchase at $9.99, or you can play it day one on Xbox Game Pass. It’s an Xbox Play Anywhere title, and my progress synced flawlessly between my Series X and my handheld.

The only caveat I would say is that the gameplay loop is a big departure from the bullet hell style. This is a more methodical approach, at least initially. That being said, once you have a strong deck, you can use the auto-play button to just dump your entire hand at the enemy. I tend to do this when building up coins in dungeons I've already cleared.

I've been really into short, snappy "just one more session" games like Blue Prince, Ball X Pit, Balatro, and obviously Vampire Survivors, so Crawlers is the perfect game for me. It hits the same dopamine center that comes from building something quite ridiculous and watching it decimate the battlefield. If that sounds like your kinda thing too, you'll love this game.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with Vampire Crawlers. poncle has managed to take the soul of their first hit and transplant it into a completely different body without losing what made it special. It is a game designed with a deep love for the genre and a respect for the player's time (and crucially, money). I only hope that it receives just as much love and adulation, and consequently bucket loads of DLC for me to get my teeth into.

The review guide mentions a few known issues being ironed out, such as Guardian encounters not always rotating correctly and some Wild Evo cards missing holographic effects. I also noticed that damage numbers on cards don't always perfectly match the enemy UI, but poncle is working on a clearer calculation display for the launch patch.

Vampire Crawlers is another triumph for poncle. Just be warned: "one more run" is a lie you will tell yourself every single night.

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