Vampire Crawlers: The Roguelike Deckbuilder Spinoff Vampire Survivors Fans Crave

During yesterdays Xbox Partner Preview, poncle dropped the surprise that the entire indie scene has been secretly craving: Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors, the first official spin-off from the game that invented (and perfected) the reverse bullet-hell roguelite.

Yes, the studio that turned a £2 solo-dev gamble into a triple-BAFTA-winning phenomenon is back, and this time they’re sinking their fangs into the roguelike deckbuilder space.

And from the reveal trailer alone? It already looks just as crazy as you might expect.

Gameplay Deep Dive: Survivors DNA Meets Slay the Spire on Steroids

At its core, Vampire Crawlers is a first-person grid-based dungeon crawler (a loving nod to classic gems like Dungeon Master or Eye of the Beholder) fused with lightning-fast turn-based deckbuilding combat.

You start by picking a “Crawler”, familiar faces from Vampire Survivors, each with unique starting decks and passives (think Poe with garlic bombs or Imelda with magic growth) then descend into procedurally flavored dungeons packed with treasures, secrets, and hordes of classic enemies.

Between fights you’re actively exploring in first-person: bump into walls, find hidden rooms, dig downward with a shovel, or even ascend into cloud levels. Luca really wanted it to feel like you were down in the dungeons, not just choosing the next node from a branching map.

Then combat hits and everything goes gloriously berserk.

Cards represent attacks, utilities, and upgrades, many directly pulled from Survivors like the Whip, Bible, Garlic, and Holy Water. But the twist comes with the new Turbo Turn System where you can play slowly and tactically or slam cards as fast as humanly possible for escalating combos. Play in ascending mana order and watch multipliers explode into screen-shaking, enemy-melting chaos.

Why Build a Dungeon Crawler and not Vampire Survivors 2?

The roguelike deckbuilder genre is hotter than ever in 2025, but most deckbuilders feel… polite. Calculated. Turn timers, slow animations, deliberate pacing.

Vampire Crawlers says nope. Poncle’s philosophy is the same one that made Survivors legendary: strip away everything frustrating (long animations, bare-bones choice paralysis) and inject pure dopamine. The result is a deckbuilder where you can clear an entire wave in three seconds flat if your build pops off, yet one that still offers deep strategic layers for min-maxers.

In an interview with Xbox Wire posted right after the reveal, poncle founder Luca “poncle” Galante laid out the design philosophy for Vampire Crawlers:

“The idea is to take some of the core pillars behind the development of VS and to apply them to existing genres. I’m talking about accessibility, immediacy, affordability, replayability, and sparkly stuff. Tons of sparkly stuff!”

He also confirmed this is only the first in a planned series of spin-offs while a true Vampire Survivors 2 is quietly cooking in the background. The studio (now 20+ people strong) has spent almost four years prototyping wild experiments, and Crawlers is the one that “hit the goal” first.

Final Verdict: Mark Your Calendars, Sharpen Your Fangs

If Vampire Survivors was the game that made you lose 200 hours to “just one more run,” Vampire Crawlers looks poised to do the exact same thing, only now you’ll be slamming cards like a caffeinated speedrunner while cackling maniacally. Poncle isn't just making another deckbuilder, they are making the Vampire Survivors of deckbuilders, and we can't wait to get our hands on it.

In a year already stacked with indie heavyweights, not to mention the looming cloud of GTA 6, Vampire Crawlers might have just enough crazy to suck every free minute that 2026 has to offer. Who else is wishlisting right now? Let us know over on X (@gameminr), and we’ll see you in the dungeons. 🧛‍♂️🃏

When the combo counter hits 40x and the screen is 90% particle effects; you know you did it.

Vampire Crawlers is set for release sometime in 2026 on PC (Steam), Xbox Series X|S, PS5, Nintendo Switch & Switch 2 as well as iOS and Android. It will also be available day-one on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.