Crawl (Horror Game)
- February 17, 2024
- Sole Rift
- 11h median play time
Get on itch.io Store"Crawl " is a single-player Horror Action game with an interesting plot, outstanding gameplay, fantastic graphics, and a masterful soundtrack. You crawl through caves, taking photos of missing people while managing your flashlight and camera cartridge, all while avoiding the creatures lurking in the shadows. With high replayability, 'Madness' mode, and the ability to save your photos, "Crawl" offers a thrilling and immersive horror experience, but contains sensitive content, including pixelated blood and low-poly corpses.
Windows
PlayStation
Reviews
- Crawl offers a unique and engaging multiplayer experience where players can switch roles between hero and monsters, creating a dynamic and competitive atmosphere.
- The game features beautiful pixel art and a catchy soundtrack that enhances the overall experience, making it visually appealing and enjoyable to play.
- With a variety of unlockable monsters, weapons, and items, Crawl provides high replayability, ensuring that each playthrough feels fresh and exciting.
- The game lacks online multiplayer support, which limits its accessibility for players who cannot gather friends in person, making it less appealing for those who prefer online gaming.
- Some players find the gameplay can become repetitive after a few sessions, particularly due to the limited number of bosses and environments.
- The controls can be clunky at times, especially when using a keyboard and mouse, which may detract from the overall gameplay experience.
- gameplay526 mentions
- 46 % positive mentions
- 52 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The gameplay of this title is characterized by its fast-paced, chaotic, and competitive nature, making it particularly enjoyable in local multiplayer settings. Players alternate between controlling a hero and various monsters, with mechanics that encourage both cooperation and rivalry, resulting in a unique and engaging experience. While the game offers a variety of weapons and abilities, some players feel it lacks depth and content for long-term engagement, especially when played solo.
“The gameplay is loads of fun with all the different loadouts for humans and the different evolution choices for monsters always keeping the game feeling new.”
“The gameplay is fast, fluid, and easy to jump into with friends.”
“The interplay of the gameplay as a human and that of a ghost/monster adds a lot of variety to the game, as well as creating an incredibly competitive gameplay loop as you attempt to progress/prevent other players' progression respectively.”
“Firstly, the game lacks depth and variety in gameplay.”
“The combat mechanics are overly simplistic and repetitive, making each playthrough feel like a chore.”
“I did not play the game for long before the bland gameplay and poor multiplayer support made it excruciating to play.”
- graphics263 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 52 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are predominantly praised for their charming pixel art style, which evokes nostalgia and complements the gameplay's fast-paced action. While many players appreciate the retro aesthetic and find it visually appealing, some critiques highlight that the pixelated graphics can be difficult to navigate and may appear outdated to others. Overall, the art style is considered a significant strength, enhancing the game's atmosphere and enjoyment, especially for fans of retro gaming.
“Absolutely love the theme and the art style; I've even made a few pixel arts for it myself.”
“The pixel art style and atmospheric soundtrack contribute to the game's overall charm.”
“Crawl's graphics are above and beyond any quality of art I've ever seen done for a pixel-based game, right up there with the great blockbusters.”
“Furthermore, the game's graphics and sound design are subpar.”
“The pixelated graphics look outdated and unappealing, and the sound effects and soundtrack are forgettable and unremarkable.”
“Another related issue that hinders the overall experience is the badly pixelated graphics, which makes reading anything difficult, and it has nothing to do with the font size; the letters are pretty damn big already.”
- music176 mentions
- 59 % positive mentions
- 39 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim, with many reviewers praising its nostalgic chiptune style that complements the retro pixel art and enhances the overall atmosphere. While the soundtrack is described as catchy and fitting, some players noted that it can become repetitive after multiple playthroughs, suggesting a desire for more variety. Overall, the music is considered a standout feature, contributing significantly to the game's charm and enjoyment.
“The pixel art style and atmospheric soundtrack contribute to the game's overall charm.”
“An amazing game to play with friends, with one of the best soundtracks I've ever had the pleasure of listening to!”
“The music in Crawl is also amongst the best 8-bit soundtracks I've ever heard, mixing baroque and classical musical structures with old arcade sound effects and synths.”
“The pixelated graphics look outdated and unappealing, and the sound effects and soundtrack are forgettable and unremarkable.”
“Same goes for the dungeon environment which lacks almost any variety in its aesthetic, and the music which begins to feel repetitive after a few playthroughs.”
“Also, at this point, the music is very limited and gets pretty repetitive.”
- replayability100 mentions
- 52 % positive mentions
- 45 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The game's replayability is highly praised, with many players noting the enjoyment derived from multiplayer experiences and the variety of unlockable content, including gods, monsters, and items. While some players feel that the single-player experience may lack depth after initial completion, the procedural generation of levels and the potential for cooperative play significantly enhance replay value. Overall, the game is considered to have immense replayability, especially when played with friends, though some desire additional content and online multiplayer options to further enrich the experience.
“Has insane replayability and unlocks for people who like a grind.”
“The customization of gameplay on each run makes this game almost infinitely replayable and a blast each time, but the key feature of this game is having it played with people.”
“The randomization of levels and bosses also makes the game really replayable.”
“I completed this in 46 minutes, enjoyed my time with it - although it got too hectic at times - the big complaint for me is that once you complete this game, unless you just want to replay it with friends or retry the exact same experience you’ve been through, you’re out of luck when it comes to replayability.”
“It's a fun game but it has an oddly low amount of replayability for a rogue-like.”
“Although, lack of online multiplayer and only 1 boss makes this game spoil replayability.”
- humor56 mentions
- 98 % positive mentions
- -4 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is consistently highlighted as a major draw, particularly when played with friends, leading to chaotic and hilarious moments. Players enjoy the comedic mechanics, such as spawning slimes and using barrels to hinder opponents, which create memorable and funny interactions. Overall, the game is praised for its ability to generate laughter and fun, making it an excellent choice for group play.
“I especially like how it feels to gang up on the human as monsters; it's hilarious kicking the human while they're down!”
“Spawning in slimes to annoy the human player is friggin' funny as sin, and my group even coined it as 'slime time' for whenever we had a lot of slimes and monsters at the ready.”
“Crawl is fantastic, just simply an amazingly vicious and unforgiving co-op party experience that will leave you and your friends screaming at each other, laughing, and sometimes crying.”
“The humor in this game falls flat and feels forced, making it hard to enjoy the experience.”
“I expected a lot more laughs, but the jokes are stale and often miss the mark.”
“The attempts at humor feel out of place and detract from the overall gameplay.”
- story53 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 77 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The game's story is a simple yet engaging narrative where players take on the role of heroes who, upon death, become ghosts seeking revenge on the living. While some players appreciate the light touch of the narrative that complements the gameplay, others express a desire for a more developed story mode. Overall, the story serves as a backdrop to the gameplay, enhancing the experience without being overly complex.
“In the depths of darkness, where shadows dance and malevolent spirits whisper, this game unfolds like a spooky campfire story, where heroes rise and fall, and monsters seize their chance for revenge.”
“Crawl's light touch on narrative and story set the mood without impeding gameplay or leaving you to wonder why your character is there.”
“Upon death, you become one of three ghosts seeking to end the life of a man in order to claim his humanity; during your quest, you may choose to work together as you possess monsters and traps, but ultimately you all strive to be the one to deliver the final blow in order to claim a chance at sweet deliverance.”
“After all your friends are dead, they turn into ghosts (antagonists), whose mission it is to kill the current protagonist so that they can take over their life and become the new protagonist.”
“This game features a very short, simple story, and is promoted with a short, simple advertisement that compliments the game's most attractive qualities very well.”
“It's not open world and it's not story driven.”
- atmosphere32 mentions
- 63 % positive mentions
- 28 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its unique blend of pixel art, haunting soundtracks, and immersive settings that evoke a sense of nostalgia and trepidation. Players appreciate the intense, competitive environment created by the chaotic gameplay and the presence of eerie monsters, which enhances the overall experience of exploring treacherous dungeons. The combination of captivating visuals, engaging music, and a well-crafted ambiance contributes to its standout status in the indie gaming scene.
“The atmosphere was thick with trepidation, as my fellow adventurers and I navigated the treacherous dungeon, unaware of the betrayal that awaited us.”
“Its captivating concept, haunting atmosphere, and thrilling gameplay make it a standout title in the indie gaming world.”
“The atmosphere is on point in terms of making you feel as if you're exploring a dank dark dungeon that's haunted by an ancient evil presence, the spirits that haunt you, follow you and possess traps and summon monsters only add to this feeling.”
“The atmosphere of the game is just creepy enough to send the willies up newcomers, not to mention the new intro cutscenes narrated by the magnificent old shrimpeyes.”
“While the look could understandably be considered 'played-out' to some extent, in the current indie environment, the atmosphere cast over the room by the up-tempo horror-midi soundtrack is both appropriate and exceptional.”
“The feeling of competition and the tense atmosphere when you're on 5 hp and you manage to kill the final boss just makes it that much more fun.”
- grinding24 mentions
- 8 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game is frequently described as tedious and time-consuming, with many players noting that it can feel excessively grindy, especially when playing solo. While some find enjoyment in grinding for unlockables and appreciate the satisfaction of progress, others feel it detracts from the overall fun, particularly without friends to share the experience. Overall, the consensus suggests that while grinding is a significant part of the game, it can lead to a repetitive and drawn-out experience.
“A bit grindy sometimes.”
“A lot of grinding.”
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“Unless you have friends to constantly play this, it just is a tedious grind.”
“Going through the rooms is fine by me, but when the game is drawn out because of someone grinding for items, it doesn't feel as fun.”
- stability17 mentions
- 18 % positive mentions
- 12 % neutral mentions
- 71 % negative mentions
The stability of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players experiencing frequent freezes and controller issues, particularly during remote play. However, others have noted that the game runs smoothly with minimal bugs, especially for an early access title, and praised the developers for their responsiveness to reported issues. Overall, while there are significant stability concerns for some users, others find the game to be surprisingly polished and enjoyable.
“Nothing ever felt cheesy or broken; there were no glitches.”
“Crawl is a great game in many regards: a fun art style, polished gameplay, and surprisingly bug-free for an early access game.”
“As an early access game, I was astonished when I picked this up because I found little to no glitches or bugs, and it was bursting with content right from the start.”
“Game freezes every thirty seconds.”
“It's a buggy mess though... constant problems with the controllers and don't get me started on trying to remote play.”
“Important things to note: the game can be a little buggy regarding controllers.”
- optimization8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is a mixed bag; while many players appreciate the balance and polished performance, some have experienced issues with smooth gameplay on certain systems. There is a wealth of options for players looking to optimize their strategies, but technical performance can vary, impacting the overall experience.
“Some deities aren't as powerful as others, but there's enough room for cleverness and play optimization that all the options feel interesting.”
“Very balanced and polished performance.”
“I really wish it was a thing of the past; that way they could have optimized the idea!”
“But on the tryhard side, there's a host of options and optimization to sink your teeth into, as well as plenty of things you can pick up to make things more interesting.”
- emotional5 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by its ability to evoke strong feelings, with players expressing moments of deep connection and nostalgia, often leading to tears. The gameplay experience is described as a heartfelt tribute to classic gaming, where the challenges faced by the hero create a sense of triumph and heartbreak, enhancing the overall emotional journey.
“I cried.”
“So good, it makes me want to cry...”
“Overall a heartfelt love letter to the gaming days of yore, a must-buy for anyone who remembers a video game arcade.”
- monetization4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization aspect of the game has been criticized for misleading advertising, particularly regarding its multiplayer capabilities, which has left some players feeling deceived. While the game's promotional materials highlight its appealing features, the actual content is perceived as short and simplistic, leading to disappointment among buyers.
“Misleading advertising, be warned!”
“The deceptive advertising regarding multiplayer capability also ticks me off.”
“This game features a very short, simple story, and is promoted with a short, simple advertisement that compliments the game's most attractive qualities very well.”
