Over the course of the last year or so, I’ve been increasingly getting into rogue-like titles. I started with Brotato and ended up putting a fair amount of time into the title until I found some livestreams of Megabonk. I progressed pretty far through that game before moving into the original Slay the Spire. For full disclosure, I am super cheap so Slay the Spire 2 has been wishlisted. Luckily, I heard a bit of online chatter about Vampire Crawlers. Vampire Survivors (the OG game from the Vampire Crawlers team) had popped up on my Steam list previously, but I hadn’t delved into it by the time I saw the first few reports on Vampire Crawlers.
Anyways, it’s been 30 hours later and I can say that Vampire Crawlers is the best game that I have played so far this year. From the retro-inspired pixelated graphics drawing influence from 1990s PC titles to the “hyper card” style that does not require lengthy animations and other slowdowns intended by game designers, there’s just something special about Vampire Crawlers.
Vampire Crawlers gameplay
Vampire Crawlers’ learning curve is very easy for players to pick up but gradually becomes more difficult as one progresses through the map. While I did die my first playthrough, I ended up having a streak of about 10 runs before the second bridge wasted me. The mana costs are understandable while the sequential combo buff that one will pick up fairly early makes the early-mid game content a breeze. The number of companions that players will locate through Vampire Crawlers are great with a number of distinct buffs. I ended up playing most of my runs with the pure warrior companion (red card trigger = + DPS), but I can see the necessity of additional healing or mana when the situation dictated.
Many, many achievements
Along with the gacha game noises that draw inspiration from both eastern and western (casino) traditions, the VC team keeps players interested with well over 100 distinct achievements. Rather than being trophies, these achievements frequently give players additional currency or items.
Concluding thoughts
It is a rare, rare time when I am moved enough by a video game (seriously, I think the AEW game was the last time) to write a review on my own volition. Vampire Crawlers is that good of a game. I’m sure I’ll be getting a bit angry at the game as I progress through the final tower, but that’s part of the challenge. The team has laid out additional content milestones so even those that finish up the base game should not have to wait too long before getting back into it. Our hope is that there are different archetypes / cards that will continue to be released in subsequent updates / DLCs.
Rating: 10/10
Vampire Crawlers / Steam Link / Poncle