Crystal Catacombs

About Crystal Catacombs

Crystal Catacombs is a single player role playing game. It was developed by Levels or Lives and was released on January 15, 2015. It received neutral reviews from players.

Crystal Catacombs is a challenging, retro inspired “Megavanian” love letter that utilizes Rogue-like procedurally generated levels/enemies/items with a heavy emphasis on classic 2D platforming.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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Reviews

41%Audience ScoreBased on 68 reviews

graphics4 positive mentions

stability5 negative mentions

The game features great pixel art and a fantastic chiptune soundtrack that create a nostalgic and atmospheric experience.
Crystal Catacombs offers challenging and rewarding gameplay with procedurally generated levels and a mix of roguelike and metroidvania elements.
There are interesting mechanics such as weapon leveling, varied enemies, and a save system that preserves progress after defeating bosses.

The controls, especially jumping and wall-jumping, are often described as floaty, unresponsive, or clunky, causing frustration in platforming sections.
The game suffers from bugs and glitches including gamebreaking physics issues, binding problems, and performance drops in certain levels.
Level design and difficulty balance are problematic, with sometimes unfair enemy placement, unbalanced combat, repetitive levels, and limited incentive for exploration.

graphics
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24% positive mentions, 58% neutral mentions, 18% negative mentions
The graphics receive mixed feedback, praised by many for their appealing pixel art and bright visuals, though some find them lacking in quality compared to contemporary standards and inconsistent in style. While the retro aesthetic is appreciated by fans, others feel the graphics could be improved or offer more options. Overall, the pixel art is a key attraction but not universally admired.
- “The beautiful pixel art is the main attraction, but the graphics are not nearly as retro as the gameplay.”
- “It looks amazing, great pixel graphics.”
- “The graphics and audio are great and the game (when it works) is actually a lot of fun.”
- “Supporting multiple resolutions is a tacit admission from the developers that their game does not feature graphics that meet the minimum standards of contemporary PC gaming.”
- “If the developers ever played any of the games from the 1990s that they're aping badly, they would see the artwork looks nothing like what they slapped together here.”
- “The graphics also range from terrible to stylistic and well-done.”
gameplay
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19% positive mentions, 62% neutral mentions, 19% negative mentions
The gameplay features unique mechanics and challenging, randomly generated platforming sections that require skill and mastery, particularly in jumping and movement. However, controls are often described as finicky or awkward, with unclear mechanics and a lack of direction, leading to a difficult learning curve that may not appeal to all players. Overall, it offers a tough but potentially rewarding experience for those who enjoy demanding platformers.
- “There are a handful of game-mechanic innovations I haven't seen anywhere else.”
- “Some of the actions like wall jumping are a little tricky to master with a controller, but it doesn't hurt the gameplay.”
- “Each different area has its quirks and distinctive enemies you have to learn, and it requires a fair balance of cautious gameplay vs fast-paced movement in order to stay alive and still beat the clock.”
- “It simply lacks the mechanical fluidity we expect of a modern metroidvania game.”
- “All of the gameplay mechanics that it touts are forgettable at best.”
- “There is no direction and no explanation of game features, mechanics, what you are looking for, or where to go.”
music
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67% positive mentions, 13% neutral mentions, 20% negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its nostalgic, chiptune, and bass-heavy soundtrack that enhances the overall immersive experience. While some mention the limited variety and short looping tracks may become monotonous, most reviews highlight the soundtrack as a fantastic and integral part of the game's atmosphere.
- “Running and slashing your way through the corridors of the crystal catacombs is an almost ethereal experience, with monstrous and otherworldly designs of grotesque enemies, dark corridors filled with countless hazards, and neon-light lit treasure and warp gate rooms all set in motion to midnightepsilon's incredible nostalgia-inducing chiptune soundtrack for a total arcade bliss-out.”
- “Crystal Catacombs is a super challenging metroidvania/roguelite hybrid with a phenomenal soundtrack, spectacular pixel art, and a genuine retro feel.”
- “The pixel art has character and the music is cracking; with diverse locales and nice attention to detail, it ensures plenty of procedurally generated playtime can be spent comfortably within the 'Crystal Catacombs' - which is just as well, as the challenge on offer is substantial.”
- “If someone had put more than 10 minutes into the game, it could have been decent, but no, it's absolute trash. The music is okay, but not that good. The game isn't worth $0.10, and they want €8 on Steam. F off.”
- “The music, which I adore, is unusual (is it modal? Is that right?) and adds to the experience, but it might not appeal to everyone.”
- “The graphics were pleasing, and the music was decent (though I expect it would have gotten quite monotonous, as it seems to be a 20-30 second loop), but the game fell flat very quickly due to poor controls.”
stability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions
The game suffers from significant stability issues, including game-breaking glitches, control problems, and slowdowns that often render it unplayable. Although it was reportedly more buggy before, the lack of recent updates has left many critical bugs unresolved.
- “Also, I experienced game-breaking glitches only 2 minutes into my playthrough: one where my character hovered to the right and phased through all the walls without me being able to do anything, and one only a few minutes later where the game constantly thought I was in quicksand after leaving some quicksand.”
- “Control glitches and slowdown make this game unplayable at times.”
- “And by reading the reviews I found out that this game was more buggy before, and that the devs haven't updated it in a long time.”
story
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50% positive mentions, -25% neutral mentions, 75% negative mentions
The story in the game is minimal and straightforward, focusing on a simple treasure-seeking quest as Captain Vasil Ravencraft. However, some find the lack of depth frustrating compared to other metroidvania titles. Overall, the narrative is easy to follow but not a standout feature.
- “Simple, easy to follow story.”
- “As Captain Vasil Ravencraft, you're on a journey to discover the treasures that dwell deep within the fabled catacombs, but your quest will not be easy, as is always the way with these things.”
- “Sure, this game takes some cues from Metroid and Castlevania; there's the wall-jumping, leveling up, exploration, items, etc., but there's almost no story at all, and it's more frustrating than fun.”
- “As Captain Vasil Ravencraft, you're out on a journey to discover the treasures that dwell deep within the fabled catacombs, but your quest will not be easy, as is always the way with these things.”
- “Otherwise, I'd say pass on it and get Valdis Story: Abyssal City instead, a much better Metroidvania by far.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions
The game's atmosphere combines a unique 8-bit grimdark style with vibrant neon runes that light up upon activating checkpoints, creating an engaging and visually appealing environment. Overall, it delivers a distinctive and enjoyable mood that resonates well with platformer fans.
- “There is a strange 8-bit grimdark atmosphere that you somehow spruce up by activating checkpoints, making little neon runes glow in the environment.”
- “Conceptually, it has a lot of what I love in platformers and a decent atmosphere.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions
Character development in the game is minimal, with limited growth opportunities for the player’s character despite its challenging platformer mechanics and procedural dungeon design.
- “The game is a difficult platformer with inventory and limited character development, and procedurally generated dungeons.”
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions
Grinding offers limited benefits as the stage's boss requires reflexes and skill rather than repetitive leveling or resource gathering to be defeated. Exploration and preparation help, but success depends more on player skill than on grinding.
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions
The game offers strong replayability through challenging harder modes and an engaging survival mode, encouraging players to return for varied and extended experiences.
- “There's also plenty of replayability with harder modes and especially the survival mode.”