Game: Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors
Genre: Action, Tabletop
System: Nintendo Switch 1 & 2 (also on Windows (Steam), PlayStation and Xbox)
Developer|Publisher: poncle
Age Rating: EU 7 | US Teen
Price: US $9.99 | UK £9.99 | EU € 9.99
Release Date: April 21st, 2026
Review code provided with many thanks to poncle.
Vampire Crawlers – From Survivors To Crawlers (And Oh No, It Works)
There was a time when Vampire Survivors quietly arrived, minding its own business… and then suddenly everyone was making something inspired by it. That snowball effect didn’t happen by accident; it was just ridiculously moreish. Now the developers at poncle have taken that same formula and decided to twist it into something else entirely. First-person dungeon crawling. Card-based combat. Roguelite structure. That’s a risky mix on paper. In practice? It clicks alarmingly well.
This feels like one of those games where you sit down for a quick run and then realise an hour or many have disappeared without asking permission.
Straight In, No Fuss
One of the first things I appreciated was that there’s no long-winded intro trying to slow you down. You’re dropped into a dungeon, and off you go. If you want lore, it’s there in menus, but the game isn’t going to stand in your way if you just want to play. You explore from a first-person perspective, moving through dungeon corridors until you bump into enemies. That’s when the card system kicks in. And it’s refreshingly simple to grasp.
Card Battles That Snap Into Place
Combat is built around a mana system and a small hand of cards. You play what you can afford, and that’s it, no overcomplication, no massive barrier to entry. You’ve got attack cards, buffs, utility effects and more. Some increase your mana pool, others boost defence or add extra effects to your attacks.
The clever bit is how quickly everything flows. Battles are short, punchy, and easy to read. If you want to take your time, you can. If you want to mash through your hand and see what happens, that works too. There’s also a positional element. Enemies move forward in rows, and once they reach the front, they attack. So a lot of your decision-making comes down to control, push them back, armour up, or wipe them out before they get too close.
That Familiar “Just One More Run” Feeling
Here’s where things start to feel very familiar, in a good way. Defeating enemies drops gems. Gems level you up. Levelling up gives you new cards. New cards build your deck. Your deck gets stronger. You go deeper. It’s that loop. And it’s incredibly effective again.
Treasure chests return, too, complete with that over-the-top presentation when you open them. It’s flashy, it’s a bit silly, and it absolutely works as a reward system. You’re constantly unlocking something, new cards, new characters, new upgrades between runs. There’s always another small goal pulling you forward.
Deck Building With Bite
The deck-building side is where things get more interesting over time. As you progress, you’ll start noticing synergies between cards. Some combinations can be merged or evolved into stronger versions, giving you more powerful effects.
Finding those combinations becomes part of the fun. You start planning builds, chasing certain upgrades, and experimenting with different approaches. And because runs are fairly quick, it never feels like a massive commitment to try something new. Even in miserable failure, I had fun on every run.
Exploration With Purpose
Unlike Vampire Survivors, this isn’t about surviving on an open map. Here you’re actively exploring structured dungeon floors. You’ll find items, coins, health pickups and secrets along the way. Sometimes you’ll stumble across special spots that allow you to evolve cards or gain extra bonuses.
Each floor ends with a boss encounter, which tends to be a bit more drawn out than regular fights. A nice conclusion to the floor. It’s not an overly complicated exploration, but one can’t help searching every inch of each floor anyway.
Style That Feels Instantly Familiar
Visually, the game sticks close to the Vampire Survivors identity, just viewed from a different angle. It keeps that pixel-inspired aesthetic and leans into a gothic, Castlevania-style vibe with its enemies and environments. Seeing that translated into a first-person perspective works better than expected. If anything, the familiarity helps; it’s immediately recognisable.
One small thought though: it would be interesting to see this formula applied to a completely different setting in future. But for now, the consistency works in its favour.
Easy To Learn, Hard To Stop
What really stands out is how accessible everything is. There’s barely any tutorial, yet within minutes, you understand how it all works. From there, the game just lets you experiment and improve naturally. The best kind of design.
It doesn’t overwhelm you with systems, but it quietly layers depth as you continue playing. And before you know it, you’re chasing better builds, unlocking upgrades, and telling yourself “who needs sleep anyway’’.
Conclusion: Crawling In My Skin
Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors takes a formula that already worked and shifts it into a completely different genre without losing what made it so engaging in the first place. The mix of first-person dungeon crawling and fast-paced card battles is surprisingly natural. It’s easy to pick up, rewarding to experiment with, and very difficult to put down once it gets its hooks in.
There’s plenty of content, loads of unlockables, and a gameplay loop that keeps nudging you forward without ever feeling heavy. If you enjoyed Vampire Survivors, there’s a lot to like here. And if you enjoy card-based dungeon crawlers, this feels like one to pay attention to.
And just like Vampire Survivors, the game that launched 1000 similar games, no doubt Vampire Crawlers will do the same.
Lastly, if you purchase this on Nintendo Switch, the Switch 2 upgrade is free.
Final Verdict: Two Thumbs Up
Do you like our content?
Subscribe to our daily news and never miss a review!