The studio behind Vampire Survivors just dropped one of the most unexpected announcements in recent gaming memory. Poncle revealed Vampire Crawlers, a roguelike deckbuilding dungeon crawler set in the same universe as the bullet-hell sensation that took over gaming in 2022. Instead of automatically attacking waves of enemies, you’ll be exploring first-person dungeons and playing cards to unleash combo-driven carnage. It’s launching in 2026 on every major platform including day one on Xbox Game Pass.
What Exactly Is Vampire Crawlers
Vampire Crawlers takes the snowballing power fantasy of Vampire Survivors and translates it into turn-based card combat. You pick a Crawler, each one a returning character from the original game with unique abilities, and explore grid-based dungeons from a first-person perspective. Combat revolves around building card combos by playing cards in ascending mana order, with each step multiplying the next card’s effect. The goal is to keep the combo chain going to 10, 20, 30 hits or even reach infinite combos if you’re skilled enough.
Poncle founder Luca Galante describes it as marrying the user interface of old-school PC blobbers from the 1980s with modern fast-paced card mechanics. You’ll explore dungeons using giant buttons on the screen to move while managing a deck of attacks and utilities. The game features familiar items from Vampire Survivors like Garlic, Fire Wand, and Empty Tome, all reimagined as cards with evolution systems and weapon upgrades.
The Speed That Changes Everything
The most interesting design choice in Vampire Crawlers is letting players control the pace. You can take your time planning tactical moves or blitz through turns as fast as humanly possible. The game is built to provide accurate logical outcomes regardless of how quickly you play, which Poncle calls the “TurboTurn” system. This directly addresses one of Galante’s biggest frustrations with deckbuilders where you have to wait for animations to complete or artificial pauses interrupt your flow.
The mana combo system encourages aggressive play. If you can chain cards in the right order using wilds to extend stacks, you’ll trigger cascade effects that break the game in spectacular fashion. Galante mentioned drawing inspiration from Italian card games and Solitaire for the stacking mechanic, along with the combo system from Baten Kaitos, a 2004 Namco RPG that few people remember but clearly left an impression.
More Than Just Card Battles
Between combat encounters, you’ll actively explore dungeons rather than just navigating menu trees like most roguelike deckbuilders. Poncle wanted to give more meaning to exploration without going full RPG territory. The dungeons exist to offer interesting choices about what to do between fights and create the feeling you’re moving through a world where anything could happen. Expect functioning walls, multi-floor layouts, treasure chests that require headbutting, and unique interactions on each floor.
There’s also a village that serves as a central hub for your survivors. Here you’ll unlock power-ups after each run, accumulate experience to gain new cards, and chase weapon evolutions. The meta progression sounds similar to Vampire Survivors where every death makes you slightly stronger for the next attempt. Galante confirmed fans will encounter familiar elements like unlocking something new after every run, a banger soundtrack from composers Daniele Zandara and Filippo Vicarelli, and terrible humor.
Why Stay in the Vampire Survivors Universe
Galante explained that setting Vampire Crawlers in the established universe solves multiple problems. First, it signals to players that the game follows the same core pillars as the original: accessibility, immediacy, affordability, replayability, and tons of sparkly visual effects. Second, it removes the major creative blocker of defining story, setting, and lore from scratch. The existing Vampire Survivors world has enough open-ended lore that developers can focus purely on gameplay while still having room for new ideas.
Interestingly, this project has been in development for almost four years. Shortly after the initial success of Vampire Survivors in 2021, Galante started thinking about partnering with other indie studios to create spin-offs. Vampire Crawlers was one of several experiments, but it hit its goals immediately even in the prototype phase. That’s why it’s the first spin-off being revealed, with more potentially coming in the future.
A Different Development Philosophy
Unlike Vampire Survivors which launched in Early Access and evolved based on community feedback for years, Vampire Crawlers is being developed as a complete game. Poncle set themselves the challenge of doing a global launch where players get the whole experience immediately. However, they’ve built the game to be expandable if the community wants more content. Galante promised they have lots of ideas to expand the game and will support it for several months after launch.
The approach to design also differs from the original. Vampire Survivors was born from Galante’s desire to have a simple game where he could focus on creating content. With Vampire Crawlers, he approached an existing genre and tried to remove everything frustrating about it. He took what he liked from deckbuilders he’d played in the past and cut out all the annoying parts. The result is a game that respects skilled players by letting them play as fast as they want without waiting for animations or artificial delays.
What About Vampire Survivors 2
When asked if Vampire Crawlers is a sequel, Galante clarified it’s just a spin-off, hopefully the first in a series. The idea is taking the core pillars behind Vampire Survivors development and applying them to existing genres. As for an actual Vampire Survivors sequel, Poncle is working on something but isn’t talking about it yet. So don’t worry, the original format isn’t being abandoned even as the studio experiments with new genres.
Galante also mentioned having a not-so-secret desire to make a new Castlevania game, which makes sense given how much Vampire Survivors draws from that series aesthetically. Whether that’s a real possibility or just wishful thinking remains to be seen, but it shows the ambition Poncle has beyond just iterating on their surprise hit.
FAQs
What is Vampire Crawlers?
Vampire Crawlers is a roguelike deckbuilding dungeon crawler from Poncle, the creators of Vampire Survivors. It features turn-based card combat, first-person dungeon exploration, and combo-driven gameplay set in the same universe as the original game.
When does Vampire Crawlers release?
Vampire Crawlers is scheduled to release in 2026. Poncle hasn’t announced a specific date yet, stating the game will launch when it’s ready since this is their first global launch for a new title.
What platforms will Vampire Crawlers be on?
Vampire Crawlers will launch on PC via Steam, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Android, and iOS. It will also be available day one on Xbox Game Pass Premium and Ultimate.
Is Vampire Crawlers a sequel to Vampire Survivors?
No, it’s a spin-off rather than a sequel. Poncle hopes it will be the first in a series of spin-offs that apply Vampire Survivors’ core design pillars to different genres. A true Vampire Survivors sequel is being worked on but hasn’t been announced yet.
How does the combat work in Vampire Crawlers?
Combat is turn-based and card-driven. You play cards in ascending mana order to build combos, with each step multiplying the next card’s effect. You can play as slowly and tactically as you want, or as fast as humanly possible with the TurboTurn system ensuring accurate outcomes.
Will there be familiar characters from Vampire Survivors?
Yes, returning Vampire Survivors characters serve as Crawlers you can play as, each with distinct abilities. Familiar items and weapons also return as cards, including Garlic, Fire Wand, Empty Tome, and many others.
Does Vampire Crawlers have meta progression?
Yes, there’s a village hub where you unlock power-ups after each run. You’ll accumulate experience to gain new cards, find customization gems in treasure chests, chase weapon evolutions, and summon survivors to trigger cascading effects.
Will Vampire Crawlers receive post-launch support?
Poncle plans to support the game for several months after launch with additional content. Unlike Vampire Survivors which launched in Early Access, Vampire Crawlers is being developed as a complete game but built with expandability in mind if the community wants more.
Conclusion
Vampire Crawlers represents one of the boldest pivots in recent indie gaming. Taking a massively successful auto-battler and transforming it into a turn-based deckbuilder is risky, but Poncle has earned trust by consistently supporting Vampire Survivors with free updates, clever crossovers, and genuine care for their community. The focus on removing frustrations from the deckbuilder genre while maintaining that signature chaotic energy shows thoughtful design rather than chasing trends. Whether you’re a Vampire Survivors veteran or someone who bounced off the original’s frantic pace, Vampire Crawlers looks like it could offer something genuinely fresh when it launches next year. Now we just have to wait and see if Poncle can pull off the same magic twice.