The best roguelikes and roguelites are those that are simple at their core. Having a simple premise with an intriguing world and the potential for complicated end-game play helps keep players coming back for more – and that’s exactly what Vampire Crawlers does.
Officially called Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors, this game is a dungeon-crawling, deck-building roguelite with a gorgeous art style. Its Steam Next Fest demo already has me in a chokehold, which has left me worrying about my free time when the full game releases.
Vampire Crawlers is a dream for Vampire Survivors fans
In Vampire Crawlers, you’ll creep your way through pixelated dungeons, choosing your path based on which dangers and treasures lie ahead. It’s possible to skirt around monsters if desired, but you’ll end up battling a fair few critters and bosses, as they’re crucial for experience and progression.
Combat in Vampire Crawlers revolves around cards and combos. You can play several cards per turn, spending Mana to use them, with different effects like damage boosts, throwing axes, or armor increases. The cards feature items from Vampire Survivors, too.
To pull off a combo, you’ll need to play cards in order of their Mana cost. Combos stack damage and effects, making it easy to rip through hordes of bats or slavering bosses.
As with any good roguelite, there’ll be plenty of chances to gear up, gain experience, and rest up between runs. There’s a village hub, featuring useful enhancements and buildings to help with strategy, and new cards and trinkets to pick up while exploring.
Something I loved about Vampire Crawlers is that it gives players multiple routes to get through each dungeon. It’s not strictly linear; if you want to chance an extra combat encounter to get treasure, you can, but you can also head straight to the final boss and exit the level if desired.
The visuals were a delight as well. At a glance, the game is clearly related to Vampire Survivors, with the same characters and world on display, but it also felt visually distinct thanks to the first-person perspective and beautiful, pixelated environments.
Looking at the demo from a technical standpoint, it ran smoothly and didn’t throw up any performance quirks, glitches, or bugs during my time with it. The experience felt polished, despite being under development, and the controls were intuitive, too.
As a long-time Vampire Survivors heathen, the demo for Vampire Crawlers has me anxiously awaiting further news about a full release date. The game is enchantingly moreish, with a simple yet engrossing gameplay loop that’ll keep roguelite and roguelike geeks coming back for more.
FAQs
Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors was developed and published by poncle.
Vampire Crawlers is a turn-based, deck-building roguelite that follows a dungeon-crawling format.
Based on my time with the demo, Vampire Crawlers is approachable to get into, but it will present a challenge in its later stages.
There isn’t a complete Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors release date yet, but based on the trailer on the Steam page, the release window is 2026.
