Following its early access launch in late 2021, it soon felt impossible to escape the pull of Vampire Survivors. The roguelike shoot ’em up’s iron-tight grasp on players hadn’t waned a bit by the time its full release came at the end of 2022, and the title has since made its way to all major platforms, with a VR version even gracing the Meta Quest. Its retro design and easy-to-understand mechanics made it all but an instant obsession for many, as fans thoughtlessly began “just one more run” before they even realized they had done it. In the newly released Vampire Crawlers, survival is still the goal, but this time, it’s all about building the right deck. Developer Luca Galante clearly has a deep understanding of what makes the roguelike genre tick, and the time I’ve spent with Vampire Crawlers so far has been some of the most fun I’ve had gaming in 2026.
Galente, often referred to by the studio name poncle, has become somewhat of a legend in the indie game sphere, having developed Vampire Survivors on a shoestring budget while unemployed. The title managed to earn far more than the solo developer predicted, allowing him to bring in additional help to expand the game, leading to multiple expansions and a particularly well-received Castlevania crossover. Not one to rest on his laurels, poncle stunned fans in November 2025 by announcing Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors, with a gameplay trailer revealing that a roguelike deck-builder would be his next challenge.
Eager players got their first chance to try Vampire Crawlers during Steam Next Fest in February 2026, with the demo pulling in over 3,000 concurrent players minutes after launch and drawing immense praise on social media soon after. With mountains of content to unlock, a banger soundtrack, and (as the ‘Turbo’ in the title suggests) an ultra-fast-paced gameplay option in place to keep things from ever getting stale, Vampire Crawlers is as addictive and rewarding as a proper roguelike should be.
Vampire Survivors Dev Studio Launching New Publishing Division
Following the incredible success of its debut game Vampire Survivors, developer Poncle looks to explore new opportunities as a publisher.
Vampire Crawlers Has Completely Taken Over My Life
When turning on Vampire Crawlers for the first time, players are unceremoniously tossed directly into the action. Anyone who has played deck-builder titles like Balatro or Slay the Spire will know the gist: start with a few cards, defeat enemies or find treasure to acquire more cards, slowly amass more powerful cards to totally decimate your foes, and aim for the best possible run. Rinse and repeat. Rather than trying to reinvent the wheel, poncle has managed to incorporate familiar mechanics into his signature retro style while adding plenty of fun new gothic-themed twists. The game is also lightning-fast, which is a bonus for those wanting to unlock the good stuff without getting burnt out along the way.
The turn-based gameplay loop in Vampire Crawlers is simple enough. Each time you begin a run, your deck is small, with only a few attack or defense cards. Defeating monsters earns XP, and each level increase allows you to choose a new card to add to your ever-growing deck of doom. Cards come in seven colors, each representing a certain type: for example, red cards are attacks, blue cards are defensive, and yellow cards boost certain stats. Attack cards can be augmented with gems, which can grant incredible buffs. (The 3x attack power boon has saved my skin more than once.)
When turning on Vampire Crawlers for the first time, I “accidentally” played for around seven hours. Let that fact alone speak to the game’s fun factor.
Cards require a certain amount of mana to play, and mana refreshes each turn, or can be replenished by playing certain cards. Enemies can deal damage, and once a player’s HP hits zero, the run ends, though armor cards can be played to mitigate incoming attacks. As they progress, players also earn coins, which can be used in the Village hub area to unlock certain perks that will make the next run even better. Players can also select a Crawler to join them on their run, each of whom wields a different weapon and grants certain perks, from increased damage to stronger healing potency.
Additionally, players will discover a total of 15 Relics throughout their run, each of which unlocks a major game mechanic. The first can be found in the tutorial level, granting the Combo Stack mechanic, which is central to how Vampire Crawlers plays. Basically, playing cards in ascending mana cost order will grant a Combo Multiplier to outgoing damage, and utilizing this can lead to massive damage output very early. As players grind their way further and further, they will unlock even more helpful additions to gameplay, such as a way to unlock powerful Arcana cards and the incredibly helpful ability to use a single button to clear the entire first floor of a previously completed dungeon while still earning XP.
Some of those who spent time with the game’s demo took to social media to share their overall excitement about the title, though some expressed concern about the level of strategy required. The Combo Stack mechanic, to some players, seemed to be too easily exploitable, removing any difficulty and severely limiting the amount of planning ahead players needed to do to achieve victory. After spending dozens of hours with the title, this worry seems unfounded. In later levels, players will need to figure out how to build longer chains, decide which Crawler to bring along, and carefully choose which cards and gems are most impactful to make the most of their runs. This trial and error kept me coming back, and will probably do so for the foreseeable future.
The game’s theme song was created by Yoko Shimomura of Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy 15 fame.
Vampire Crawlers Is the Roguelike That Keeps on Giving
Currently, Vampire Crawlers has 161 achievements to strive for, and while there is already plenty to discover in the title, more post-launch content is on the way. This includes a dedicated Endless Mode, new ways for players to manage large numbers of cards, and improved tutorials for those just starting out. Poncle is also aiming to improve the Steam Deck experience and the game’s resolution on the Nintendo Switch 2. Personally, when I launched the game for the first time, I was shocked that it had dedicated ultrawide support, given that many AAA titles have launched for PC without this feature in recent years.
Additionally, the developer has promised to continue making balance adjustments based on user feedback after release, noting that late-game difficulty, level balance, and overall run length have already been tweaked to make the title as fun as possible. During my time with the game, I didn’t run into any bugs or issues, a testament to the level of care poncle puts into his work.
There’s something special about engaging with a piece of work that is a labor of love, as Vampire Survivors was before it. Vampire Crawlers doesn’t try to be something it’s not. It doesn’t try too hard to be different, because it doesn’t need to. Poncle has found his niche, with his retro Castlevania-inspired world and frequent dopamine hits making me a fan of his work in mere minutes, yet again.
- Released
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April 21, 2026
- ESRB
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Teen / Blood, Violence
- Developer(s)
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Poncle
- Publisher(s)
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Poncle
- Addictive and fast-paced gameplay
- Ample content to unlock and achievements to earn
- Banger soundtrack
- The damage numbers do, indeed, go up
- Certain mechanics aren’t explained too well
Vampire Crawlers launches on April 21 for PC via Steam, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch, with mobile ports to follow at a later date. Game Rant was provided with a PC code for this review.
