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Developer Poncle has unveiled a new trailer for their upcoming title Vampire Crawlers, showcasing the turn-based combat system at the heart of this Vampire Survivors spin-off. The developer also confirmed the game has surpassed 170,000 wishlists on Steam and that they are working on a playable demo, which does not have a release date at the moment.
The new trailer provides unedited gameplay from the first dungeon floor, demonstrating what Poncle describes as "turbo turn-based battles" that players can experience at their preferred speed. Unlike the original Vampire Survivors' top-down auto-battler gameplay, Vampire Crawlers shifts to first-person dungeon exploration with strategic turn-based combat encounters. It's heavily reminiscent of old RPG titles like The Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall.
Poncle emphasised the game's focus on satisfying abilities and promised extensive customisation options for players who want to optimise their runs. "Beyond this facade of casual approach to the genre, people who are into min/maxing and total optimisation will actually be able to dramatically customise the RNG," the developer stated on Steam, hinting that the turn-based format will allow for deeper strategic planning than the original game's chaotic real-time battles.
The visual style is receiving a fresh look courtesy of Glauber Kotaki, one of the original artists from Vampire Survivors, who is redesigning all enemies and icons for the dungeon crawler. The shift to first-person perspective represents a significant departure from the franchise's established visual identity while maintaining its gothic horror aesthetic.
Poncle plans to reveal additional features in the coming weeks, including details on the card and ability customization systems and explaining design decisions like manual dungeon exploration versus menu-based navigation. The developer acknowledged player requests for a demo, confirming one is in development but cautioning that no timeline has been set.
The strong wishlist performance suggests significant interest from the Vampire Survivors community, which helped propel the original game to over 10 million sales since its 2022 early access launch. Vampire Crawlers currently has no announced release date beyond a general 2026 window.
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