I got home from football at around half ten at night on the day Vampire Crawlers released. I’ll just play for an hour, I thought. The sounds of whipping elementals, hurling holy water at vampires, and throwing holy crosses at medusa heads were eventually drowned out by the chirping birds outside my bedroom window, and the night driven out by a weapon that would have been handy in-game: The rising sun. 

Much like in developer Poncle’s previous game, Vampire Survivors, Vampire Crawlers has managed to sink its fangs into me, siring me and turning me into a pathetic creature that thirsts for just one more run. One. More. Run. Ram a stake through my heart and cut off my head - that's the only way I'm going to stop playing. 

Oh what beautiful combos they make

So what is Vampire Crawlers? Well, it's a sort of dungeon crawler mixed with card-like gameplay. You take control of a crawler (character) who starts out with a hand of different cards which have varying effects from dealing damage to giving your crawler armor. Cards have different colours and they also each have a numerical value. For example, a card which grants two armor has a value of zero while a card that deals damage has a value of one. In order to play cards you need 'mana'. You typically start with three mana on average, which is enough to start some basic combos. Combos? Yes. Playing a zero value card will initiate a combo with a one value card, and then that one value card would combo with a two value card. This makes cards more powerful, so instead of a card dealing fifty damage, it would instead deal 80, as an example. There are lots of cards to discover and obviously you'll need a place to use them; There are many levels in Vampire Crawlers and they'll be familiar to anyone who played Vampire Survivors.

The popular Inlaid Library makes a return and it's arguably one of the best in the entire game! Navigating is done via arrows in the interface. Forwards, backwards, strafe left and right, you get the picture. Scattered throughout are hordes of enemies, breakable objects, and other hidden wonders to discover. You'll enter combat by moving one square away from an enemy. Once initiated, you'll be given a random set of cards from your deck. The first enemies you encounter will be easily dispatched by a single card that deals damage. You'll also get a level up after winning your first fight. From here, you'll be able to choose a reward from three options or four if your luck is high enough. These rewards can be new cards, upgrades for existing cards, or something else entirely. Those breakable objects mentioned earlier will also contain upgrades so keep your eyes open for them. Sometimes they can be easily missed, but you'll soon find one of the many helpful relics within Vampire Crawlers, a relic which shows the location of these objects on the minimap. On each map is a little mini-boss, who when defeated, will allow to you dig and descend to the next floor, where you'll find tougher enemies and usually better rewards. Each level has around five floors. 

I don't normally play...dungeon crawlers

After finishing each level you'll be dropped into a hub of sorts. This is where you can spend the coins gathered from chests and monsters on previous runs in order to improve various stats such as damage, luck, re-rolls, and more. I won't spoil anything but there are quite a lot of things to unlock, including characters at the inn. These characters all come with their own crawler ability and card. Playing your crawler's card will result in many different results. For example, Poe, another favourite from Vampire Survivors, will draw a card when he is played. Others increase damage, add mana, and so on. 

If you're looking to dig up a memorable story then you're going to be disappointed - there isn't one...at all. It's old-school and a bit 'arcadey' with gameplay being at the forefront of everything. It's just not that type of game. Outside of gameplay, I was impressed with the overall sound design. Lashing the whip and hearing it crack sounds exactly as you would expect. Sounds effects fit the game perfectly - the hitting of objects, the clank of collecting XP gems, and the background music all add to the experience. 

I'm not sure I have any real criticisms of Vampire Crawlers. There are times when the RNG may get the better of you but that frustration melts away when you've spent some coins unlocking various upgrades. It's a really solid experience and a game I would recommend if you're a fan of either dungeon crawlers or Vampire Survivors. The card element may put some of you off, but give it a try. It's £8.99 on Steam but you'll actually get a little bit of a discount if you own Vampire Survivors. 

Anyway, there are a few more hours left of my Sunday Night. One more run, you understand. Just. One. More.