After launching early access in late 2021, it soon seemed impossible to escape the attraction The surviving vampires. The roguelike shoot 'em up's grip on gamers didn't loosen a bit when its full release arrived in late 2022, and the title has since hit all major platforms, with a VR version even gracing Meta Quest. Its retro design and easy-to-understand mechanics made it nothing more than an instant obsession for many, as fans mindlessly started “one more run” before they even realized they'd done it. In the newly released Vampire crawlerssurvival 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 him Vampire crawlers so far these have been some of the most fun games I've had in 2026.
Galente, often referred to as a poncle studio, has become something of a legend in the indie gaming world as it developed The surviving vampires on a tight budget while unemployed. The title was able to earn much more than the indie developer predicted, allowing him to bring in additional help expanding the game, leading to several expansions and particularly well-received Castlevania crossover. No one resting on their laurels, Poncle stunned fans in November 2025 with an announcement Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard by Vampire Survivorswith a gameplay trailer revealing that his next challenge will be a roguelike deck-builder.
Eager players got the first chance to try Vampire crawlers during the Steam Next Fest in February 2026, where the demo attracted over 3,000 concurrent players minutes after launch and generated immense praise on social media soon after. With mountains of unlockable content, a roaring soundtrack and (as the 'Turbo' in the title suggests) ultra-fast gameplay to ensure things never freeze up, Vampire crawlers it's addictive and rewarding, as a proper roguelike should be.
Vampire Survivors Dev Studio is launching a new publishing division
After the incredible success of its debut game Vampire Survivors, developer Poncle is looking to explore new opportunities as a publisher.
Vampire Crawlers has completely taken over my life
When turned on Vampire crawlers for the first time, players are unceremoniously thrown straight into the action. Anyone who has played deck-builder titles like Balatro or Kill the tower will know the gist: start with a few cards, defeat enemies or find treasure to get more cards, slowly collect stronger cards to completely decimate your enemies, and aim for the best run. Rinse and repeat. Rather than trying to reinvent the wheel, poncle has managed to incorporate familiar mechanics into its signature retro style while adding a lot of fun new gothic-themed twists. The game is also lightning fast, which is a bonus for those who want to unlock the good stuff without burning themselves along the way.
A turn-based game loop Vampire crawlers is simple enough. Every time you start a run, your deck is small, with only a few attack or defense cards. Defeating monsters earns you XP, and each level up lets you choose a new card to add to your ever-growing deck of doom. The cards come in seven colors, each representing a certain type: for example, red cards are attacks, blue cards are defense, and yellow cards increase certain stats. Attack cards can be supplemented with gems that can provide incredible buffs. (Triple attack power has saved my skin more than once.)
When I first turned on Vampire Crawlers, I “accidentally” played for about seven hours. Let that fact speak for the fun of the game.
Cards require a certain amount of mana to play, and mana is regenerated each turn or can be replenished by playing certain cards. Enemies can deal damage and once HP reaches zero the run is over, although armor cards can be played to mitigate incoming attacks. As they progress, players also earn coins that can be used in the Village hub area to unlock certain perks that make the next run even better. Players can also choose a Crawler to join them on their escape, each wielding a different weapon and providing certain benefits, from increased damage to stronger healing power.
In addition, players will discover a total of 15 relics during their run, each of which will unlock a core game mechanic. The first can be found in the tutorial level and provides the Combo Stack mechanic that is essential to how Vampire crawlers plays Basically, playing cards in ascending order of mana cost will provide a Combo Multiplier to outgoing damage, and using it can lead to massive damage output very early on. As players progress further and further, they'll unlock even more useful additions to the game, such as a way to unlock powerful Arcana cards and the incredibly useful ability to clear the entire first floor of a previously completed dungeon with a single button while still gaining XP.
Some of those who spent time with the game's demo took to social media to share their overall enthusiasm for the title, though some expressed concerns about the level of strategy required. The Combo Stack mechanic seemed too easy to exploit for some players, it removed all the hassle and greatly reduced the amount of forward planning players had to do to achieve victory. After dozens of hours spent with the title, this concern seems unfounded. In later levels, players will have to figure out how to build longer chains, decide which Crawler to take with them, and carefully choose which cards and gems are the most impactful to get the most out of their runs. This trial and error kept me coming back and probably will for the foreseeable future.
The game's theme song was composed by Yoko Shimomura of The heart of the kingdom and Final Fantasy 15 glory.
Vampire Crawlers is a roguelike that keeps on giving
Currently, Vampire crawlers has 161 achievements to strive for, and while the title already has a lot to discover, more post-launch content is on the way. This includes a dedicated Endless Mode, new ways for players to manage large amounts of cards, and improved tutorials for those just starting out. Poncle also aims to improve the Steam Deck experience and game resolution on the Nintendo Switch 2. Personally, when I first started the game, I was shocked that it had dedicated ultrawide support, given that many AAA titles have been released for PC in recent years without this feature.
In addition, the developer promised to continue making balance adjustments based on user feedback after release, noting that the late game difficulty, level balance, and overall run length have already been tweaked to make the title as fun as possible. I didn't encounter any bugs or issues during my time with the game, which is a testament to the level of care Poncle puts into his work.
There is something special about being involved in a job that is a labor of love The surviving vampires was before that. Vampire crawlers it doesn't try to be something it's not. It doesn't try to differentiate itself too much because it doesn't need to. Poncle has found its place with its retro Castlevania– inspired world and frequent dopamine hits made me a fan of his work within minutes, again.
- Released
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April 21, 2026
- ESRB
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Teen / Blood, Violence
- Developers
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Poncle
- Publishers
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Poncle
- Addictive and fast gameplay
- Plenty of content to unlock and earn achievements
- Soundtrack Banger
- The claims numbers are indeed rising
- Some mechanics are not very well explained
Vampire crawlers launches on April 21st 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 the PC code for this review.
