Vampire Crawlers Switch 2 Review

Vampire Crawlers Switch 2 Review
Version Reviewed: Nintendo Switch 2

Vampire Survivors sank its fangs into me many moons ago, and it has stayed installed on my Switch and Switch 2 pretty much ever since it released on the platform. There is something so satisfying about level-up rewards falling in your favour and creating a truly broken build that wipes everything on screen. It all comes down to the heart of the cards, and in that same spirit, developer Poncle has created Vampire Crawlers, a deck-building dungeon crawler that takes that idea quite literally. What’s it like? Pick your crawler, stack the deck, and prepare for some truly broken builds as we review Vampire Crawlers on Nintendo Switch 2.

Vampire Crawlers brings the action down to a first-person dungeon-crawling experience where you have a deck of cards at your disposal to take on waves upon waves of enemies. The goal is to level up, build your deck, and ultimately clear each level. As you level up, you will add more cards to your deck to increase your chances of success, and even if you fail, you will still gain something to strengthen your future runs.

You have a limited amount of mana, which can be expanded through upgrades or special casts. Using cards with incremental mana costs boosts the next card in the combo for additional bonuses. For example, a Spellbinder card costs 0 mana to play. Follow that with an armour card that costs 1 mana, and it will grant double the normal amount. Then, using a card that costs 2 mana will be further boosted, and so on. Wildcards help reset the mana count while keeping the combo going, opening the door for some incredible plays. This roguelike progression perfectly captures the spirit of Vampire Survivors, making Vampire Crawlers a worthy addition to the franchise.

Vampire Crawlers begins in a hub town that grows as you progress. Here, you can purchase power-ups, add gem slots to cards, unlock new crawlers after finding them in levels, and check your overall progress. Once you leave the gates, you will explore familiar locations from a completely new perspective. Each main area features three difficulty levels to clear, relics to uncover, and crawlers to recruit. Every so often, you will encounter a bridge that feels like a skill check that encourages you to refine your build before pushing forward.

…And refine your builds, you will, as Vampire Crawlers allows you to effectively break its systems with some over-the-top combinations supported by Arcana cards. One of my first standout builds focused on stacking armour. With the right Arcana, I could retain my armour value between turns, letting me absorb heavy damage while slowly wearing enemies down. It felt unstoppable at first, but as enemies grew stronger and hit harder, I could no longer scale my defence quickly enough. That led me to experiment with a high DPS build, stacking mana costs with a one-two combo of pistols to deal an insane amount of damage. Gems within runs also push the loop further, refunding mana and returning cards to your deck, creating near-infinite chains of attacks that can wipe out everything in front of you. However, Vampire Crawlers anticipates this kind of play and introduces mechanics to keep it in check. Repeating the same card too many times in a single turn will cause it to shatter, and if you push too far, you will summon reapers that can quickly end your run. There is a lot more happening beneath the surface, but going deeper into the mechanics would take away from the joy of discovery that makes Vampire Crawlers so compelling.

All of this is brought to life with Vampire Survivors’ signature 2D pixel art for enemies and abilities, while the environments are rendered in 3D in a way that matches the overall aesthetic. There is a real sense of delight in seeing familiar characters and enemies, now viewed from a first-person perspective as you explore each level. One of my favourite touches was spotting Poe’s portrait hanging in the library. He was always my go-to character in Vampire Survivors, so finally unlocking him in Vampire Crawlers felt like being reunited with an old friend. The action still gets chaotic, with multiple effects filling the screen during battles. You will see King Bibles swirling while Peachone bombards enemies, and multiple spells firing off in quick succession. It all feels incredibly satisfying when everything comes together, and having the action overwhelm the screen, much like Vampire Survivors, is very much the point.

The soundtrack stands out in particular, with heavy guitar riffs and church organs cutting through the chaos to create a fast-paced and energetic feel. Your crawlers also quip when playing cards or receiving boosts, although the dialogue is quite limited and becomes repetitive over time, often getting lost in the noise of battle. Performance-wise, there are a few minor issues. Some weapons occasionally continue firing at nothing for a few seconds longer than intended, and during limit-breaking overkills, the frame rate can dip slightly. None of this meaningfully detracts from the experience. If anything, it adds to that feeling of pushing your builds to the point where the game can barely keep up, which is not something I expected to enjoy as much as I did.

For my Dungeon Crawlers looking into accessibility, there are visual options to reduce screen shake, enemy shake, screen flashing, and add a grid view. You can also choose to rotate the mini map with the player and isolate audio sources. The game also has mouse support, but surprisingly, no Joy-Con mouse mode support, which seems like an odd choice. As always, I recommend further research into finding out if Vampire Crawlers suits your needs.

At just under $15 AUD, there’s plenty of game here and value for money. The roguelike progression is well-paced, there’s a lot of levels and reasons for multiple playthroughs, and plenty of different characters and build combos to keep you entertained for the long haul. Vampire Crawlers is a fantastic spin-off worthy of the franchise. For returning fans with high expectations, Vampire Crawlers will exceed them. For newcomers, there’s an addictive gameplay loop that will keep you coming back for more as Crawlers reveals its secrets. Despite sinking over 30 hours into it already, I feel like I have only scratched the surface on some insane builds, and much like Vampire Survivors, Vampire Crawlers has earned a permanent spot on my Switch 2’s storage. This is one dungeon crawler you will want to sink your teeth into!

So, What’s it Like?

Vampire Crawlers is a What’s It Like Certified Exceptional Game.

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