Dungeon Crawler Carl Meets Vampire Survivors In 9/10 100-Hour Free RPG

Published Nov 8, 2026, 12:00 AM EST

Tom Wilson is a Gaming Features Writer at Screen Rant. Over the past five years, Tom has worked as the Editor-in-Chief at The Game Crater, as a Staff Writer for GamingIntel, a List Writer at TheGamer, and, of course, as a Senior Writer at ScreenRant. Tom has experience writing reviews, guides, news, and features, and has been responsible for teams of writers, training them and editing their work.

Tom graduated with a Masters in Multimedia Journalism, and has since gone on to build up his portfolio of games journalism work.

The sheer number of games like Vampire Survivors releasing today is utterly staggering. Its overwhelming visuals, endless barrage of upgrades, and deceptively complex gameplay are understandably enticing, further bolstered by the low price point and spec requirements. It is no wonder that Vampire Survivors and its abundance of pretenders have garnered such critical and commercial acclaim, especially in an era dominated by elevator-pitch concepts and a desire to move away from the relentless onslaught of live service fluff.

If the leagues of other games like Vampire Survivors have not yet proved sufficient, then there is another title worth trying. This massive, 100+ hour RPG takes a lot of the very best aspects of Vampire Survivors, sprinkles a healthy dash of Dungeon Crawler Carl-esque elements, and adds a core multiplayer component to craft a compelling experience that you can play completely for free. The best part is that it's a relatively old title, meaning it's had years of updates, improvements, and new features, all of which are available for you to enjoy right now.

This Vampire Survivor-like Offers 100+ Hours of Entertainment For Free

With even Warhammer getting a Survivors-like game, it feels as if every demographic has been catered to. This includes, of course, the Dungeon Crawler Carl fans, those looking for an experience closer to an RPG, or at least one involving dungeon delving and deadly boss battles. Fortunately, the long-running MMO (which predates the wonderful Vampire Survivors), Realm of the Mad God, fits this bill perfectly, offering a chaotic, visually overwhelming, dungeon-based, RPG experience with bullet hell, Survivors-esque gameplay.

Released back in 2012, Realm of the Mad God has proven to be one of the most compelling MMOs on the market; its simplistic visuals and compelling core premise, alongside its huge focus on co-operative play and community, have helped keep its player counts consistently high, as has the steady stream of meaningful updates. Easily ranking among the greatest MMOs ever made, Realm of the Mad God, much like Vampire Survivors, understands how to hook the player and keep them coming back.

Its combination of a roguelike and MMO makes for an utterly unique experience unlike any other. It features permadeath, but it doesn't feel as punishing as one would expect from an MMO; the abundance of loot is ever tantalizing, as are the numerous classes you can choose from, the focus on group activities, and every high-stakes encounter that sees the screen awash with pixelated projectiles cascading wildly. Ostensibly, Realm of the Mad God dared to dream of an MMO Vampire Survivors over a decade before it came out.

Realm of the Mad God Is A Great MMO

Being an MMO that has been around for nearly 15 years, Realm of the Mad God features hundreds of hours of content for players to get stuck into. You can also play it for free fairly reliably; its vast array of microtransactions typically skews toward the realm of cosmetics and convenience. Of course, that doesn't mean you won't encounter some level of grind or frustration, but you're bound to get a rather substantial amount of Vampire Survivors-esque fun out of it long before you hit that point.

Realm of the Mad God is currently only available on PC. You can download it via its official Steam store page.

One has to enjoy MMOs, however, in order to truly get the most out of Realm of the Mad God. While it is certainly playable solo, engaging with its guilds or playing with friends is ultimately the main way of enjoying it. Should you engage with its community and co-operative gameplay, you'll have a great time and find yourself with dozens, if not hundreds, of hours of fun. If you've been looking for a Vampire Survivors-like with a dash of Dungeon Crawler Carl sprinkled in, then you should absolutely give Realm of the Mad God a try.

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