Vampire Crawlers Review

After the success of Vampire Survivors, which defined an entire subgenre in 2021, Luca Galante aka poncle is back, and he isn’t trying to repeat the same recipe. Vampire Crawlers mixes action survival with strategic deck building, and from the very first minute it makes clear that its roots run deep into the roguelike tradition.

What Vampire Crawlers actually is

A retro design inspired by Castlevania with modern elements added on top. The game came out on 21 April 2026 on PC, PS5, Xbox Series and Switch, and already during Steam Next Fest in February it was clear the interest would be huge. Thousands of concurrent players and enthusiastic reactions confirmed that poncle knows which strings of player psychology to pull.

It offers that specific kind of satisfaction where you go from zero to an unstoppable monster-destroying machine, at an ultra-fast pace dominated by one word: Turbo.

Story and atmosphere

The atmosphere is gothic and dark, yet strangely optimistic. The story doesn’t play a major role, but the world is full of details and references, and every pixel enemy and every environment radiates love for the genre. The game doesn’t try to be something it isn’t; it’s a sincere tribute to old games that draws you in with its simplicity and pick-up-and-play feel.

Music is a big part of the experience. The main theme was composed by Yoko Shimomura, whose work on Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy XV you can hear in every note. The soundtrack gives the game an epic touch that keeps you going even on your last hit point.

Personal experience says more than a paragraph of praise: the plan was to try the game for a little while, and the result was seven hours straight.

Gameplay and mechanics

At its core is turn-based card combat. If you’ve played Balatro or Slay the Spire, you’ll feel right at home, only the pace here is much faster. You start with a small deck of attack and defense cards, gain experience by wiping out monsters and pick a card for your deck with every level.

Cards come in seven color categories: red ones attack, blue ones defend, yellow ones give stat bonuses. The key element, though, is gems, which you use to upgrade attack cards. A bonus that triples your attack power is huge and will save your skin in boss fights.

Strategy revolves around managing mana, which refills every turn. Plan it badly and you’re left defenseless. This is where the main new feature comes in, Combo Stack: if you play cards in ascending order of mana cost, you get a damage multiplier. At first it feels overpowered, but in later stages chaining combos correctly is a requirement for survival.

Outside the dungeons you spend time in the Village, where you buy permanent upgrades with coins and choose your Crawler, a hero with their own weapon and bonuses. Over time you unlock up to fifteen relics that add complex mechanics such as Arcana cards or clearing an entire floor with a single button.

Meta-progression is what sets the game apart

What separates Vampire Crawlers from dozens of other clones is the depth of its meta-progression. A failed run doesn’t just reward you with the feeling that “next time it’ll work”, but with real currency you invest in your character in the Village. Even after ten hours you keep discovering new ways to synergize your Crawler’s abilities with the cards you’ve unlocked.

Technically the game holds up: it has supported ultrawide resolutions natively since day one, which gives you a small but noticeable advantage in a genre where keeping track of the whole playing field is critical. And the developer has shown humility: since the Next Fest demo, the game has gone through balance changes based directly on player feedback, including late-game difficulty and run length.

Verdict

Vampire Crawlers is the kind of game that won’t let you walk away from your computer. Poncle has shown once again that he understands what makes a roguelike addictive: the game is fair, deep and still accessible to newcomers. With 161 achievements and a steady stream of dopamine, it has the potential to entertain you for hundreds of hours.

Any worries that Combo Stack will break the game are quickly dispelled by the depth of the later stages. And it’s refreshing to see a game that wasn’t made to squeeze microtransactions out of players: all content is unlocked by playing. 9/10.

Information verified as of 7 September 2026. The promised Endless Mode and other improvements aren’t out yet, so the score may still move up with more content. More reviews: Sengoku Dynasty, Heroes of Science and Fiction, Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred and Samson. Everything else is in the Reviews section, and game walkthroughs are in the Game guides section.

FAQ

Information verified as of 7 September 2026. The promised Endless Mode and other improvements aren’t out yet, so the score may still move up with more content. More reviews: Sengoku Dynasty, Heroes of Science and Fiction, Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred and Samson. Everything else is in the Reviews section, and game walkthroughs are in the Game guides section.