Screenshots & trailers
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 83 | 120 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 96% | 91 | 1000 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | 83 | 61 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 94% | 89 | 1281 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Acclaim gate: the raw blend lands at 89.0, but scores above 88 must be earned in front of a mass audience; this verdict rests on 18,917 player reviews, a largely self-selected fanbase. As more players weigh in, the ceiling rises (full scale unlocks at 100,000 reviews).
Scoring window: since the last significant patch (Jun 23, 2026) · 300 reviews sampled · 1281 total reviews in window · weighted 230.9 up / 13.7 down · computed 1h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (68)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 80
“If you're going to create a deckbuilder out of Vampire Survivors, I think Vampire Crawlers is pretty much exactly the result you'd hope for, minus some bugs. It combines all of the weapons and power-ups from the first game with clever fusions and twists on traditional deckbuilding tentpoles.Even things that are annoying - not being able to check your deck when selecting upgrade and, hard to track damage numbers - feel like quirks of the franchise. It scratches my brain in a familiar way, and the euphoric feeling of creating a broken build still feels great.”
read full review ↗ - 87
“Vampire Crawlers is an excellent spiritual successor to its predecessor. Even though I’m not a huge fan of deck-building games, this title completely hooked me. Much of the credit goes to the speed and smoothness of its gameplay: runs are quick, satisfying, and consistently rewarding. Even after a defeat, players never walk away empty-handed, since every run grants resources useful for progression. Compared to its predecessor, Vampire Crawlers increases both strategy and depth while remaining approachable. It constantly encourages replayability: one run naturally leads to another. You may start thinking you’ll only play for a few minutes, only to realize hours have passed. That same simplicity, however, may flatten the challenge for veteran players of the genre. Still, the large number of unlockable characters and hidden secrets will keep players entertained for many hours. In conclusion, Vampire Crawlers is a more than solid title built around a pure and rock-solid gameplay loop. The game embraces the same philosophy as its predecessor: delivering a high-quality arcade experience without taking itself too seriously. Its ironic and lighthearted style once again steals the show.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Vampire Crawlers walks that fine line between familiarity and a fresh new perspective: first-person dungeon crawling like in the 90s RPGing days of yore and early 2000s mobile games pre-iPhone. Plus it's only RM24.99, equivalent to a big meal in a Malaysia mall ala Pavilion. That's 50+ hours of dungeon crawling and intricate card power combinations with legally distinct Akumajou Dracula sprites and cute 90s Konami synth-style metroidvania music; you can't get a better deal than that.”
read full review ↗ - 92
“While I wouldn’t have believed it when I started playing, this faster-paced dungeon-crawler-meets-deckbuilder surpasses the great roguelike that inspired it”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Vampire Crawlers oozes charm both in its visual presentation and gameplay loop. It truly hits that ‘one more round’ feeling and knocks it out of the park. Whether the game will shape a new genre quite the way its spin-off predecessor did is probably unlikely. However, when it comes to card battling games, and that’s a very competitive field these days, Crawlers has already launched itself right into being one of the most impressive ones on the market. Playing it on the go with the Switch 2 is a bonus as it is the perfect match for taking a quick 15-minute break from work, or as a time sink on a plane or bus journey. Priced at a tenner, the guys at Poncle have also taken on board the benefits of a competitive price point at attracting both fans and casual gamers alike.”
read full review ↗ - 100
“If you love Vampire Survivors, you’ll understand all the references in the game and maybe you’ll want to try it out. The gameplay will be a bit hard to learn at first if you haven’t played similar games, but you’ll get the hang of it quickly. If you love games like Slay The Spire, you’ll love Vampire Crawlers even if you never played Vampire Survivors.”
read full review ↗ - 75
“Vampire Crawlers offers a simplified and enjoyable roguelike card-based experience. While it doesn’t introduce anything groundbreaking to redefine the genre, it remains a fun and light option, especially for fans of the original game looking for a quick, addictive fix.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“Vampire Crawlers could easily have been just another opportunistic spin-off riding on the coattails of Vampire Survivors’ popularity. Instead, the developers have delivered a surprisingly clever reimagining of their own formula, one that manages to capture the essence of the original while offering a distinct and compelling experience. The concept works wonderfully well, the art direction is superb, the gameplay is extremely satisfying, and the wealth of content will instantly delight longtime fans. Nevertheless, it’s true that the game does become a bit more repetitive and doesn’t quite reach that same level of almost addictive obsession that turned its predecessor into a phenomenon.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Like Survivors, Vampire Crawlers has a wealth of things to unlock along with permanent upgrades to give you a boost. Early on, things can feel a bit limited, but after putting in a couple of hours, you'll start to see far more, like whole new features in the hub, and new rewards waiting in each stage.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Vampire Crawlers is a fun and somewhat addicting game that is easy to get into and challenging enough to keep you playing even if the content seems a little on the slim side”
read full review ↗ - 70
“It brings some new ideas to the genre but doesn’t have a huge amount of staying power in its current form, feeling a bit empty when compared to the well-supported Vampire Survivors. But if Vampire Crawlers can keep enough player interest to justify even half the DLC of Vampire Survivors, then I think we will be looking at a genre staple with years of staying power.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“‘Vampire Crawlers’ is both a spin-off of the developer’s previous title Vampire Survivors and a game that belongs to an entirely different genre. Even so, it faithfully carries over the core formula that made the original so compelling, delivering the same highly addictive gameplay and extended playtime experience.”
read full review ↗
Nintendo Life
Indie Games Devel
Kakuchopurei
Nindie Spotlight
Cubed3
The Switch Effect
ReGame It
Geeks & Com
Push Square
ZTGD
Pixel Byte
INVEN…and 56 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Death Parade: Dev UpdateAug 28, 2026
- QOL improvements updateJun 23, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- Hotfix 1.4.1Jun 23, 2026