The Vampire Survivors developer, poncle, returns with another dopamine dispenser in its off-shoot entry Vampire Crawlers. Yet again boiling down a genre, in this case a roguelike deckbuilder, they have stumbled across a formula that is as addicting and enthralling as its predecessor. Even someone like myself, who isn’t usually a fan of these type of games, will find it hard to put it down.

Of course, the similarities to Vampire Survivors helps. You’ll run across similar locales, weapons, enemies, heroes, and so much more harkening memories of the previous game. Sure they have their differences, but there is a smooth transition between the two genres that the changes aren’t drastic. Instead of the Attractorb bringing in gems, it’ll draw another card. The whip would slash sideways in Vampire Survivors, but here it hits a row of enemies.

These changes ultimately depend on this type of game. Opposed to the flat 2D world of Vampire Survivors, Vampire Crawlers is now 3D. And instead of one seemingly endless map (usually), most dungeon levels are composed of some hallways and rooms with enemies throughout. None are particularly large, and the map will point out where everything is. This includes treasure chests for upgrades or new cards, breakable set pieces hiding stuff like health and coins, or even the big boss of the level itself.

Disposing of these enemies are done through card battles. The player has a set number of mana to use each round which can also increase during the run. Maybe you find a statue that requires a card donation to bump up one mana point. Maybe a hero skill does the same. Even cards themselves (like tomes) will give extra mana. This is crucial because every card has mana associated with it. Have three mana but a card that costs 4 mana to use? Out of luck. But have 15 mana? Play whatever you can!

Well….almost. While player mana isn’t necessarily going to constrict your playstyle all the time, the card mana may. Playing cards bumps up a combo level for each consecutive mana number played. So if you have 4 cards and their mana is 3, 1, 0, and 2; you can create a combo of going in numerical order: 0, 1, 2, 3. These combos will improve the abilities of your cards. This may mean you get additional armor, extra cards drawn, or boost your might percentage. And if you may be missing a number, don’t fret. Combos start from any number, so if you only want to do 2, 3, 4; that is fine too. And if you’re close, a Wild Card can be beneficial too. These act as “free” links in place of a number you may be missing, and don’t result in mana being spent. Incredibly helpful, especially when limited by mana early on.

This is where one of my few gripes come in. I would describe Vampire Survivors as pedal-to-the-metal. You pick your hero and go. Outside of grabbing gems and upgrading, you’re constantly dodging and weaving through oncoming monsters. But if Vampire Survivors is all gas, no brakes; Vampire Crawlers is being behind someone constantly brake-checking you. Each encounter is a screeching stop followed by gameplay with more stop-and-go beats. What 1-cost mana card do you want to play? Are you going for a combo this round? Do you have enough mana for a full usage?

I know people have runs where it’s essentially automatic later on and the longer runs you play. Certain combos can break the game much like Vampire Survivors. But the problem is getting to that point, and it’s mostly my own fault with expectations. Vampire Survivors was enjoyingly mindless. The biggest thinking point in a run was: ” How will I choose to evolve my layout?” Vampire Crawlers, even if it’s not hugely difficult, relies on more from the player. More planning. More focus. More attention. Again, maybe not a huge detractor for many, but for me it brings the game to more of a…crawl.

Speaking about planning, that can be done through various methods in Vampire Crawlers. Gems for instance can be obtained in a run at each level up. Cards have slots that these gems can be inserted into, and the number of slots can increase if you upgrade in the village. Gems do a number of things such as multiply damage, heal if an enemy is defeated using that card, increase or decrease the mana required for a card, and a number of other options. This allows for a variety of ways to go about each run and, if desired, mixes up every attempt.

The jeweler, once unlocked, can assist with gems. This allows the player to increase or decrease the rarity of gems found during a run. While costly, this helps limit the reroll need and put more used skills front and center at each upgrade or prevent seeing ones that the player doesn’t deem useful. This can even mean locking them entirely so they never pop up.

In one regard this can be helpful is evolutions. Certain treasure boxes, mainly after boss fights if rarity isn’t changed, allow for combination of cards to unite and become something stronger. The damage for instance feels much stronger, sometimes wiping out rows of enemies in one hit. A gem slot must be available though as the evolution itself is applied as a gem. So if you have a runetracer with a 3x damage gem applied, this can only be evolved if you have a second gem slot open. If you do, and evolve it, that 3x damage gem comes right along to the new evolution. Yes, the mana requirement will increase, but the value to evolve it is worth it.

Arguably one of the best things about the game that poncle nails is the presentation. Whether it the sound effects like unlocking a new hero or the constant flashing of lights either in attacks or obtaining treasure, Vampire Crawlers knows how to make the player feel routinely happy in the second by second feel. Lights flash and numbers pop. Confetti-like sparkles can litter the screen and seeing coins flood out of an enemy with a Maximum Overkill is insanely pleasurable.

All in all, I hate that I’m not as in love with this game as I was Vampire Survivors, though no fault to it. My general dislike of card battlers and dungeon crawlers surely plays a part, and the more methodical (if ever slight) shift between Vampire Crawlers and its predecessor has me more bummed than anything. But despite that, it sinks its teeth in me. I want to keep playing it even if it also gives me the desire to hop back into Vampire Survivors.

Vampire Crawlers is a wonderful time. It hits all the right parts of the brain to put a smile on your face while also making you desire more. It does require more from the player than Vampire Survivors and the change in genre may not suit everyone. Poncle boils the genre down to its most simplistic form and adds in every bell and whistle it can find to make it stand out from the others. I’ll find myself diving back into the game to see what other mysteries await, and see how long I can keep survivin’.