CranKnight

I’ve never played Vampire Survivors, or even the nearest Playdate has come to a Vampire Survivors-like in Core Fault. But I know about it, a bit, and after playing CranKnight, it’s easy to see why this formula is so popular and addictive.

The nearest game analogy I have in my own personal game history is Geometry Wars, but that doesn’t really take into account all the RPG elements that make these kinds of games so easy to replay. CranKnight is basically a roguelike twin-stick shooter with upgrades. You control a little knight that runs around a playfield with one of a selection of random weapons that you picked at the start of the game. It sticks out from your body at all times and you hit enemies by running it into them. You rotate it around you with the crank or A/B buttons (you can spin faster with the crank, but it’s hard to keep it going), and you can get additional weapons or power up the ones you have in between rounds. You can hold up to four, and some shoot arrows or magic spells, while others are basic swords or defending shields. It’s most fun to just spin your weapons around and around you as you tornado through the levels, but that’s not really the best way to connect with your spells or arrows.

I usually play melee classes in games, so my favorite thing is to get the strongest axes and warhammers then just spin all over the place, trusting in my Gamer Skills™ to keep me dodging enemies and their projectiles. The bad guys get stronger each level and have new abilities, but there is a set ending to a run. Beating the game once unlocks random mode, where you no longer get to pick your favorite weapons and abilities and just have to do your best. Gives it a lot of replay value!

There are also amulets and armor that have special abilities or passive power-ups, and you can pick different paths through the game at certain points to explore new levels and battle enemies that you haven’t seen before. There are strong bosses every few levels, and you need to defeat a certain amount of enemies in each stage to advance. It gets really crazy on the screen, but there was never any slowdown, and the balance of your power-ups (when picked well) will keep you one step ahead of the bad guys.

There are achievements to unlock (called “cheevos” here), but there are no online leaderboards, which could have added a whole new element to the game. Still, plenty to see and unlock as you try to figure out your favorite way to play through it. CranKnight doesn’t go out of its way to explain itself to you, and it feels like many different playstyles are viable. Pick your favorite!

It’s not going to make me pick up a full-blown Vampire Survivors addiction (I’ve seen too many follow that dark path…), but it’s a nice, classic arcade-style distraction for a rainy afternoon. I feel like the Tasmanian Devil just spinning through enemies, and it takes a deep focus to do well, which I really like out of my favorite tiny yellow machine!

(Released April 10, 2025, on Itch and August 5, 2025, on Catalog. Copy provided by developer.)