Vampire Crawlers

Vampire Crawlers, or Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors - the game's full title, which is not at all absurdly long - is a card-driven dungeon crawler set in the world of Vampire Survivors. Players will encounter familiar characters, enemies and weapons, and the retro pixel art style mirrors that of the original game. However, this time the dungeons are in 3D and the gameplay is turn-based.

In this dungeon-crawling card game, players must battle their way through hordes of enemies using the abilities of their cards to deal damage, defend themselves and create unique effects. Cards require mana to play and are refreshed at the start of each turn. After playing a card, it is the opponent's turn, after which players take their turn again. Players level up by killing enemies and filling the XP bar at the top of the screen. Each time this happens, they are offered a choice of new cards to add to their deck (here, the familiar element of chance comes into play), meaning that their deck builds up throughout the course of a run. As in Vampire Survivors, collecting XP and levelling up is accompanied by plenty of glitz, glamour and bling to keep players motivated. Turn-based combat is fast as players can instantly queue their moves and let the game resolve them at full speed. Clearing (or failing to clear) dungeons also grants rewards, which can be used in the village hub area to improve the loadout for the next run.

There are seven card colours, each of which denotes a different effect. Cards are played in ascending mana order, with each subsequent card's effect being multiplied by the previous one — this is how the combo system works (once the corresponding relic has been unlocked in the tutorial). Teal cards are character cards, each of which has a unique Crawler effect. Red cards are attacks, blue cards have defensive effects, purple cards generate mana and grey cards are Wild Cards.

The real fun lies in stacking absurd combos, chaining triggers, chasing weapon evolutions, and pushing the deck beyond what is usually possible - especially since it is possible to combine up to three characters, layering their abilities to create larger effects and stranger synergies. Of course, the multi-floor dungeons can also be explored, as they contain relics, which are treasures that unlock further game mechanics. These include the Gem Hammer, which allows players to add gems to cards with an available gem slot to grant bonuses to the card's effect, and the Arcana Tent, which essentially acts as a modifier card that is played at the start of a run.

Much like in Vampire Survivors, the progression system is based on a roguelite framework. It features temporary upgrades during a run (deck building, level-ups and weapon evolutions), as well as permanent meta-unlocks in the village hub (stat improvements, character unlocks and relics that unlock buildings). Completing the game takes between 20 and 30 hours, a bit longer depending on whether each unlock is pursued. It is fairly fast-paced, motivating players not just with the typical 'just one more round' effect, but also through constant rewards that are celebrated visually in a spectacular way.

The escalation of combat options with cards, upgrades and so on is particularly satisfying, offering a wide range of wildly escalating tactical possibilities, not to mention the typical chaos against massive hordes of enemies. Admittedly, the gameplay can become repetitive, particularly once players have a powerful deck that can wipe out entire groups of monsters with a well-planned card combination. Nevertheless, players can take as much time as needed to plan their moves.

Vampire Crawlers was developed by poncle and Nosebleed Interactive, both from UK. Poncle is the studio behind the triple BAFTA-winning game Vampire Survivors (2022). Reflecting on this, they wrote on their website: Vampire Survivors"was lightning in a bottle, originally made by a solo dev (...) with a budget of £1100 and grew in content and production value over time thanks to the overwhelming success and support from the players." The studio now employs more than 25 people. Vampire Crawlers is their second game. It was made from scratch by the teams at poncle and Nosebleed Interactive, "which makes it a more traditional and much more costly production", they said. Nosebleed Interactive is an independent studio based in Newcastle upon Tyne in north-east England. They are known for Arcade Paradise, Vostok Inc., and The Hungry Horde. As well as developing their own content, they also work on a contract basis, doing porting too. The game also features music from the Japanese composer Yoko Shimomura.

Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors was released on 21 April 2026. It is priced at £9.99/$9.99/€9.99/¥1200 and is available on PC via the Steam and Epic Games Stores, as well as on the PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 1 & 2, and Xbox Series X|S. Versions for iOS and Android will be available at a later date.

Conclusion

Although Vampire Crawlers may not feel as fresh and wild as Vampire Survivors did when it was first released, it's still an exceptionally fun and highly engaging deck-building dungeon crawler in which battles can escalate into seriously chaotic mayhem.

Features

• Incredibly motivating runs with escalating combat
• Lots to unlock, with many interlocking gameplay mechanics
• Great value for money