"Crafty Survivors is undoubtedly one of the most comprehensive, well-made and executed "Vampire Survivors Clones" on the market, and I cannot recommend it enough."
Singleplayer. When it comes to games developed to mimic the success of another game, especially those that feature similar mechanics and often visuals, there is no better word than “Clone” when describing them.
While some “clone” games are very low quality, others take inspiration from a popular title but find ways to add value to their title, be it through new or improved mechanics or unique and appealing visuals.
While many of these titles are passable at best, developing “clone” games occasionally leads to developers releasing titles of such superior quality that they ultimately become the founding title of a new sub-genre.
A great example of this phenomenon is Brotato, which shares many similarities with Vampire Survivors but is unique enough to stand on its own merit.
The widespread appeal and success of Brotato have given birth to a subgenre of the action rogue-like genre, the “Brotato Clone.”
As a result, we have started to see indie developers release their titles inspired by Brotato to cash in on its success, much like how the developers of Brotato took inspiration from titles such as Vampire Survivors when creating Brotato.
While Crafty Survivors is not unique enough to lead to the creation of an entirely new subgenre, it is unique enough to stand side by side with Vampire Surivors, as a title which was inspired by the legendary game, but whose developers ensured it had enough to offer that people who already owned the former, would have a reason to buy and play Crafty Survivors.
The difference between a good Vampire Survivors clone and a bad one is based on three important criteria: Combat, Progression, and Performance.
While I must admit I feel that action rogue-likes play better with auto-aim and auto-attack, as someone who enjoys a wide variety of more traditional action games, I enjoyed Crafty Survivors‘s combat mechanics, every weapon and ability feels impactful.
A decent-sized selection of unlockable playable characters, each with unique skills and abilities, helps keep things fresh long-term.
In addition, a robust selection of enemy types, from simple mobs that pose almost no threat to bosses with unique mechanics that can challenge even experienced players playing on higher difficulties, ensure that, when combined with Crafty Survivors‘s excellent progression system and multiple difficulty settings, ensures that new and veteran players alike can enjoy Crafty Survivors at a level which suits them.
I love a good progression system, and Crafty Survivors‘s system is one of my all-time favourites. It combines the simplistic upgrade system of titles such as Vampire Survivors with a rudimentary crafting system, which helps to keep things interesting.
While Crafty Survivors‘s progression system essentially accomplishes the same as more basic systems, being able to recruit characters and build up a village helps to make progression feel more immersive and rewarding.
Building and recruiting aside, players can craft items such as baked goods and statues, which provide passive bonuses and modifiers when activated.
This allows players to essentially “pick a passive” to aid them in future battles, and a hard limit on the number that can be active at one time helps keep gameplay balanced and challenging, even as players unlock additional recipes and items.
Crafty Survivors looks fantastic, with gorgeous pixel art visuals, and runs incredibly well. On my 7700 XT, FPs hover around 360 FPS with occasional peaks of 395 and lows of the upper 340s.
I have played many action rogue-likes, and to the best of my recollection, I have never played one that is as well optimised as Crafty Survivors.
This gives me confidence that if it does make its way to consoles, 9th-generation consoles would have no issue running at 120FPS minimum, while 8th-generation consoles and the original Nintendo Switch would equally have no issue running at 60FPS.
I would have loved to have given Crafty Survivors a perfect 10/10, and it deserves such a rating in almost every area. However, it has one major issue I cannot overlook: it is not the most accessible title accessibility matters.
The action-roguelike genre is mostly populated by titles that offer auto-aim and auto-attack by default, and this feature has been a godsend for many gamers with reduced mobility.
By all means, include the option to aim and attack manually; it does enhance the game on a tactical level, but for the sake of those who cannot do so, auto-attack and aim should be on by default, and toggled off by those who wish greater control over their character.
As of May 2025, Crafty Survivors does not support auto aiming, and while auto attack is finally an option, it requires players to level up at least once to activate the auto aim slot,s which while not an issue for a gamer who “likes auto aim but can handle manual aiming”, for those with severely reduced mobility, being forced to level up and unlock skills in effort to toggle on auto attacks on a skill slot by skill slot basis is not very accessible.
I understand and appreciate that the developers wanted to try something different. There is something to be said for developers brave enough to try something new in a genre where many developers play it safe and copy Vampire Survivors as much as humanly (and legally) possible.
Still, there is no harm in enabling auto-attack and auto-aim by default.
Not only would it make Crafty Survivors more accessible to gamers with reduced physical ability, but it would also make it far more appealing to gamers who enjoy Vampire Survivors due to how easy it is to control and how perfect it is to play when you are doing other things, such as watching TV or browsing the internet.
Making a game more accessible does not diminish the developer’s vision or the enjoyment of those who prefer a more channelling experience.
Rather, it levels the playing field and makes gaming more accessible to a wider audience, which is not only consumer-friendly but often far more profitable for the developer, who now has a product that can be marketed to a much larger and more diverse audience.
While many reading this may not see “what the big deal is”, to someone with limited physical ability, who struggles to play many of the games they want to play, even small gestures mean a lot.
It doesn’t matter if the issue seems trivial to you. It is important to remember at all times how you would like to be treated if you were the one who wanted to play a game but could not because the developer chose to bury the setting that would allow you to play comfortably behind a task that you were not physically able to complete.
Jesus said it best when he told his followers to treat others as they would like to be treated.
The world would be a much better and kinder place if everyone took these words to heart and lived them out in their daily lives.
Crafty Survivors is a action rogue-like video game developed and published by Flannel Bear Games, it was released on 15 March 2023 and retails for $11.99.
Crafty Survivors is available exclusively on PC.
Crafty Survivors supports the following peripherals:
Crafty Survivors is unrated and contains:
Crafty Survivors is a phenomenal game. While it is more expensive than many other titles in the same genre, at $11.99, I am more than happy to “pay a little extra” when the game is this good, if it supports the development of similar excellent titles in the future.
While Crafty Survivors has not attracted the attention that some other titles have, I would love to see it do well. If the developers decide to port it to console, I am sure it will do well, especially if the developers can get exposure via Xbox Game Pass or PlayStation Plus.
One of the best games I have played this year, and that is saying a lot, considering how many excellent games have been released so far in 2025.
We found Crafty Survivors to be a great game, meaning it delivers a memorable experience with only minor imperfections that don't detract from the overall enjoyment of the game.
"Culinary Survivors is barely a tech demo, let alone a game, and its chances of selling enough copies to sustain further development are close to zero."
"Brotato is a welcome change of pace in a genre drowned in uniformity and unoriginality."
"While Gunbot Diplomacy is a great-looking game, it feels like such a direct copy of Brotato that it makes me want to play that instead."
