Crown of Pain
- April 9, 2024
- Coldwild Games
- 2h median play time
Get on SteamCrown of Pain is a challenging 2D pixel art metroidvania game. Assemble and lead a party of up to four characters through treacherous dungeons filled with monsters and traps. Featuring customizable abilities, permadeath, and a dark fantasy setting, each playthrough offers a unique experience. Adapt your strategy to survive and uncover the mysteries of the Crown of Pain.
Mac OS
PC
Windows
Linux
Reviews
- The game features a charming pixel art style and a fitting soundtrack that enhances the overall atmosphere.
- The blend of tactical gameplay with match-3 mechanics offers a unique and enjoyable experience, especially for fans of the genre.
- Despite its simplicity, the game has potential for strategic depth through character synergies and skill combinations.
- The game lacks content and variety, with only a few characters and levels, leading to a repetitive gameplay experience.
- There are significant technical issues, including slow loading times and bugs that can disrupt gameplay, such as losing progress when starting a new game.
- The difficulty spikes can be frustrating, and the absence of a tutorial or clear instructions makes it challenging for new players to grasp the mechanics.
- gameplay23 mentions
- 22 % positive mentions
- 65 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by a blend of tactical elements and a simple match-3 mechanic, which some players find engaging yet repetitive due to limited party combinations. While the game features charming visuals and a good variety of enemies, it suffers from a lack of clarity in its mechanics and an underdeveloped gameplay loop, leaving players feeling that it could benefit from better tutorials and refinement. Overall, the mechanics are easy to learn but challenging to master, with potential for growth if the developer addresses existing issues.
“A wonderful blend of tactical gameplay and simple match-3 mechanics.”
“Extracts as much complexity as reasonably can be from a simple mechanic.”
“The aesthetics and general presentation are beautiful, the gameplay is already interesting with room to grow and evolve into something truly special.”
“This makes the gameplay a bit repetitive because there are only so many combinations of parties you can build.”
“It's very underbaked with a repetitive gameplay loop.”
“No special blocks, the game explains nothing, a lot doesn't work as intended, e.g. tooltips stop showing up, some things like 'closest' target are just dead wrong when it comes to e.g. summoned enemies, and the overall gameplay is literally the absolute bare minimum for this kind of game.”
- music9 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 11 % neutral mentions
- 22 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received positive feedback for its enjoyable and simple soundtrack, with some players expressing a desire for more variety to reduce repetitiveness. Many appreciate the music's contribution to the overall experience, with some even suggesting it deserves to be purchased separately. Overall, while the soundtrack is generally well-received, there are calls for additional tracks to enhance the game's atmosphere further.
“The soundtrack is so great it deserves to be bought separately!”
“Enjoyable short match-3 game with beautiful art and nice casual music.”
“The music and presentation have kept me playing this game way longer than I otherwise would have.”
“The game is still in early access, but I do hope that more music tracks get added to better differentiate the different zones and important battles.”
“Music is a tiny bit repetitive, admittedly, and as some others have said, I'd personally love to see the cursor in a more pixelated format to match the rest of the art style.”
- story5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- -20 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The story in the game is considered minimal and underdeveloped, primarily serving to introduce the end goal without much depth. While the atmosphere is praised, many players express a desire for a more engaging narrative, suggesting that enhancing the story could significantly improve the overall experience.
“The story may be bare bones, but the atmosphere is great!”
“I was hoping for a bit more of a story, as there really wasn't any besides exactly what you see in the teaser video on the store page.”
“Currently, there's not much more to this than the match-3 element (which is well made and balanced), but if they slap a story or something in the future, the game is going to be good.”
“The story is not much of one.”
“I was hoping for a bit more of a story as there really wasn't any besides exactly what you see in the teaser video on the store page.”
“Currently, there's not much more to this than the match-3 element, but if they slap a story or something in the future, the game is going to be good.”
- graphics5 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally described as beautiful and aesthetically pleasing, with excellent visuals and sound. However, some users noted that the cursor could better match the pixelated art style, and while the overall presentation is strong, there is room for improvement.
“The game's visuals and sound are excellent.”
“The aesthetics and general presentation are beautiful; the gameplay is already interesting with room to grow and evolve into something truly special.”
“The graphics are average.”
“I would personally love to see the cursor in a more pixelated format to match the rest of the art style.”
“Although totally different genre, the visuals and sound gave me a bit of Darkwood vibes.”
- grinding4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be somewhat tedious initially, particularly when aiming for achievements, but it becomes more manageable as they build a full team. The lack of penalties for failure encourages repeated attempts, allowing players to accumulate resources for upgrades, though the randomness of match-3 mechanics can add an extra layer of challenge to the grinding process. Overall, grinding is a significant part of the gameplay experience, balancing between effort and reward.
“Replaying is just for getting the last bit of achievements, which are grindy.”
“There is no penalty for failure; rather, every time you fail, you get currency to upgrade your heroes and try again. So it's just a matter of grinding until you're strong enough or RNG blesses you with a super turn.”
“Having to do some grinding and work against the inherent randomness of match-3 games is a little difficult, but that's what most of these games are all about.”
- atmosphere4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for being engrossing and charming, with a dark, gothic aesthetic that enhances the overall experience. Players appreciate the art and sound effects, which contribute to a captivating environment, despite the story being minimal. The atmosphere effectively complements the match-3 gameplay and party-building mechanics.
“The atmosphere is great, even if the story may be bare bones and just introduces you to the game's end goal.”
“It's kind of engrossing with its atmosphere, and I enjoyed the party-building mechanic.”
“It has a very charming, dark, gothic atmosphere that scratches my itch for a match-3.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's replayability is mixed; while it can be completed in just 1-2 hours with no significant penalties for failure, players can experiment with different characters and abilities for a varied experience. However, the lack of substantial content may lead to a perception of minimal replay value overall.
“At the current state, you can beat the game in a couple of hours, which is totally fine, but it also has replay value as you can try different characters, abilities, and so on.”
“There is no punishment for failing a combat encounter, which turns the game into a mindless grind until you pass each hurdle. Even so, the entire game is beatable in 1-2 hours with zero replay value.”
“At the current state, you can beat the game in a couple of hours, which is totally fine, but it also has limited replay value as you can only try different characters and abilities a few times before it feels repetitive.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game has received mixed feedback, with users noting that the sound quality is acceptable, but the technical performance suffers from slow loading times.
“The technical performance is lacking; it loads slowly.”
“The optimization is poor, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences.”
“I often encounter lag and stuttering, which severely impacts my enjoyment of the game.”
