Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors Reviews
Vampire Crawlers is exactly the kind of follow-up you hope for from a studio like poncle. Taking everything that made Vampire Survivors so addictive and making it work in an entirely new genre is no small feat. Yet, they pull it off here with the same knack for excellent game design that made the original a phenomenon. The visual effects and soundtrack are tantalizing, the dungeon crawling adds a fun element in between the action, and the deck-building depth and addictive progression system will keep you locked in. The shared Evolution combinations from Survivors take some discovery away for veterans, but it’s a minor drawback for an otherwise outstanding experience. Between Xbox Game Pass and the $9.99 price point, Vampire Crawlers is the easiest recommendation of the year.
Vampire Crawlers is a risky attempt that mostly works out in the end. It rethinks a formula designed to be simple through a more strategic lens. The result is a game that is easy to get into but also surprisingly deep, with the same "just one more run" pull but in a very different way.
The task was difficult, but Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors managed to deliver another fun, challenging, and addictive experience. The game competently combines the roguelike and deck-builder genres, with many interesting gameplay mechanics to face all types of enemies. I'm hoping for more content in future updates, especially in the form of DLCs, so that the title becomes even bigger and better.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Vampire Crawlers could easily have been just another opportunistic spin-off riding on the coattails of Vampire Survivors’ popularity. Instead, the developers have delivered a surprisingly clever reimagining of their own formula, one that manages to capture the essence of the original while offering a distinct and compelling experience. The concept works wonderfully well, the art direction is superb, the gameplay is extremely satisfying, and the wealth of content will instantly delight longtime fans. Nevertheless, it’s true that the game does become a bit more repetitive and doesn’t quite reach that same level of almost addictive obsession that turned its predecessor into a phenomenon.
Review in French | Read full review
Vampire Crawlers - The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors proves that Poncle has successfully adapted the addictive formula of Vampire Survivors into a deck-building dungeon crawler. It’s straightforward and a lot of fun, and it retains the original roguelike spirit and visual charm. A fantastic game that shines thanks to its simple yet brilliant execution.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Vampire Crawlers is a successful spin-off that does more than just rely on its name.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
Vampire Crawlers walks that fine line between familiarity and a fresh new perspective: first-person dungeon crawling like in the 90s RPGing days of yore and early 2000s mobile games pre-iPhone. Plus it's only RM24.99, equivalent to a big meal in a Malaysia mall ala Pavilion. That's 50+ hours of dungeon crawling and intricate card power combinations with legally distinct Akumajou Dracula sprites and cute 90s Konami synth-style metroidvania music; you can't get a better deal than that.
Vampire Crawlers is a wonderful follow-up to a game I hold dear. It translates seamlessly from the bullet-heaven genre into the deck building genre. While there are a few frustrating levels and as of now a lack of endgame content to keep me going, there’s enough here to justify playing this for hours on end and keep you engaged. If you’re a fan of Slay the Spire or Balatro, Vampire Crawlers is absolutely a must grab, even if you have no prior experience with Vampire Survivors.
Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors proves that Poncle knows exactly how to flip a familiar loop into a new genre without losing what made it work in the first place. It keeps the retro look and disordered energy of the original but adds a card mechanic that lets you pull off some massive moves. Boss interruptions and bad draws can be a real headache, but the feeling of building a deck so strong it breaks the game makes every run worth it.
Vampire Crawlers is further proof of poncle’s talent: a game that knows exactly what it wants to be and doesn’t waste energy trying to force originality at all costs. It takes familiar formulas, reworks them with flair, sets them within a coherent universe, and crafts a magnetic, rich experience that’s quick to grasp but hard to put down. And it is precisely in this ability to draw the player into its vortex of progression, combos and instant gratification that Vampire Crawlers finds its greatness.
Review in Italian | Read full review
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Vampire Crawlers is a must-buy, but players will want to be prepared to sink some serious time into this title. Like Vampire Survivors, it's hard to put down, and players can easily lose hours to this game if they're not careful.
‘Vampire Crawlers’ is both a spin-off of the developer’s previous title Vampire Survivors and a game that belongs to an entirely different genre. Even so, it faithfully carries over the core formula that made the original so compelling, delivering the same highly addictive gameplay and extended playtime experience.
Review in Korean | Read full review
Vampire Crawlers is a game that goes straight for the jugular and doesn’t let go until your schedule’s bled dry. Although it is indirect with its storytelling and isn’t as visually and aurally unique as I would’ve wanted, the gameplay hard carries by being innovative, exhilarating, and concerningly addictive. There’s no deckbuilder or dungeon crawler like this out there, at least not yet. No doubt every other dev will want a bite when Vampire Crawlers pioneers a new sub-genre as its predecessor did.
...considering the hours you will get from Vampire Crawlers, it's hard to give it anything more than an enthusiastic recommendation. As a dungeon crawler, it is both competent and fun, but as an experience, you will likely find yourself enraptured. If you, like me, are the type of person to spend an entire weekend in a hotel room just playing Vampire Survivors on a Steam Deck, the exact same thing will happen with Vampire Crawlers. For the time you spend playing it, it will likely swallow you entirely, and whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing is up to you and your loved ones.
Vampire Crawlers is one of the best roguelike deck-builders on the market right now. It’s fast, charming, addictive and tremendously well-crafted. Poncle has done it again.
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Review in German | Read full review
Vampire Crawlers is a well-constructed dungeon looter with quite an engaging card combat system, let down by repetitiveness that arrives a little too soon and a complete absence of any story whatsoever.
"Upon the announcement of Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors, I felt somewhat like the leaders were becoming the followers, that poncle might be jumping on the deck-building bandwagon after successes like Slay the Spire and Balatro. Having now rolled credits on Vampire Crawlers, my fears are abated. This new entry brings a fresh spin on a well-worn formula, perfectly recreating the sense of wonder I felt starting the original."
Vampire Crawlers is probably the best Roguelike deck builder ever made, with fast paced combat and so many synergies to discover and break.