Reverse Crawl

About

Reverse Crawl is a single player role playing game. It was developed by Nerdook Productions and was released on September 24, 2015. It received positive reviews from players.

In "Reverse Crawl" , you lead dungeon monsters in tactical turn-based combat against heroes, with a dynamic campaign and branching storyline. Experience a fresh perspective in RPG as you unlock new minions, traits, and powers based on your choices. This game boasts unique artwork, coding, and animation by a single developer.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

89%

Audience ScoreBased on 483 reviews

story70 positive mentions

grinding4 negative mentions

Fun and engaging tactical gameplay with a variety of units and strategies.
Charming art style and humorous dialogue that adds to the overall experience.
Decent replayability with branching storylines and multiple endings.

Misleading title and description; players are not actually 'the dungeon'.
Short playtime of around 3-4 hours, which may not justify the price for some.
Some balance issues with certain units being overpowered, making the game too easy.

story
276 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
71%
4%
The game's story is a light-hearted and humorous take on the traditional RPG narrative, where players assume the role of a resurrected king and his necromancer daughter, challenging the heroes of the land. While the plot is simple and somewhat shallow, it features a branching storyline with multiple choices that enhance replayability, requiring several playthroughs to experience all possible outcomes. Overall, the story is charming and entertaining, complemented by engaging character interactions and a whimsical art style, though it may not be particularly deep or original.
- “Dynamic campaign system and a branching storyline, 'reverse crawl' lets you experience an RPG from a whole new angle!”
- “The game's story might not appear to be much more than a spin on the stable RPG genre of playing a hero and defeating villains; instead in Reverse Crawl you play a king who was revived via necromancy who wishes to reclaim the land that was stolen by the red queen and the heroes she recruited.”
- “The story is almost non-existent, but it's not a big deal for a 3-hour game.”
- “The story is cute but rather shallow.”
- “The story doesn't have any deep twists or anything either.”
gameplay
137 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
65%
2%
The gameplay is characterized by its simplicity and charm, featuring a hex-based tactical system with a variety of unique units and mechanics that keep players engaged. While the combat mechanics are straightforward and accessible, they offer enough depth for strategic play, though some players noted a lack of clarity in explaining certain mechanics. Overall, the game provides a fun and lighthearted experience, with replayability through multiple endings and different character choices, despite some criticisms regarding balance and depth.
- “The gameplay loop is solid, it has good enemy variety as well as troop variety.”
- “Each mission introduces a new character type and therefore a new gameplay mechanic.”
- “The gameplay is fun and engaging, and the story is pretty good too.”
- “There is no gameplay element that makes this feel at all like 'you are the dungeon.' This is a very false claim.”
- “Stats and mechanics are not explained very well; you have no idea how enemy abilities work, making it very difficult to plan anything.”
- “The concept sounds fun, but the game is very poorly executed. If you're into tactics games with terrible art and tired gameplay elements, then this is the game for you.”
replayability
92 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
68%
3%
The game offers moderate to high replayability, primarily due to its branching storylines, multiple choices, and various upgrade paths that encourage players to explore different strategies and outcomes. While the main campaign is relatively short, features like new game plus and endless modes enhance replay value, allowing players to experience different missions and unlock various units. Overall, players can expect a fun, casual RPG experience with enough variety to warrant multiple playthroughs.
- “It has a well-developed plot, fun characters, a solid but not overwhelming combat system, intuitive upgrade systems, an enormous host of controllable units, and a lot more replayability than you'd expect.”
- “The short length means that you can just pick it up at any time, and the randomized nature of the game helps to offer some replayability: you can always try a different strategy or choose different choices - no two runs will ever be the same.”
- “The fact that you don't have time to try all the missions (or what they unlock) the first time around also gives a lot of replayability to the experience if that's your cup of tea with the usual new game+ and endless modes available after you complete the game.”
- “It is a very simple game with not a ton of replayability.”
- “Get it on sale as it is incredibly short and has limited replay value.”
- “Though all choices only have three possible options, so in a sense, this replayability is limited.”
graphics
71 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
34%
62%
4%
The graphics of the game feature a charming, cartoonish art style that resonates well with many players, despite some criticism regarding its simplicity and lack of advanced graphical options. While some users find the visuals reminiscent of flash games and not particularly impressive, others appreciate the unique aesthetic and how it complements the gameplay and story. Overall, the graphics are considered functional and enjoyable, contributing positively to the game's lighthearted tone.
- “The game's art style, with Nerdook’s signature touch, brings characters to life.”
- “The graphics are adorable, the interface is fluid, intuitive, and clear, and the gameplay has a good amount of depth although it's true that there are some minor balance issues between different minion groups.”
- “Reverse Crawl is a lighthearted turn-based combat game sporting a charming art style, funny story, and a good amount of quests/units to choose from.”
- “I'm fine with simple indie visuals, but this game looks downright ugly.”
- “Besides the grainy, poorly scaled graphics that look like a flash game, the actual gameplay is dull and forgettable.”
- “Technical aspects: the graphics are nothing special, 720p stretched out and locked at 30fps, but it isn't too big of a deal considering the kind of game it is.”
music
35 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
51%
40%
9%
The music in the game is generally well-received, with many players praising its charm and ability to enhance the gameplay experience, particularly during battles. However, some users noted that the soundtrack is limited in variety, leading to repetitiveness over time. Overall, while the music is considered a strong point, it lacks extensive options for customization.
- “The art and soundtrack really add to make this an enjoyable hidden gem.”
- “The graphics are cute, the music is surprisingly epic, and the story is engaging enough.”
- “The art style is charming, the music is lovely, and the story, though simple, plucks at the heartstrings of anyone with sympathy for our favorite rotting villains, the undead.”
- “The music does get repetitive after a while, even if I wasn't necessarily expecting that much out of it.”
- “It is just a dark grey screen with music.”
- “The game's major negative comes from its options menu, which is nearly nonexistent; the menu only contains three options: sound, music, and full screen, all three of which can only be turned on or off.”
humor
34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is generally well-received, characterized by a lighthearted and whimsical tone that often draws on parody and mid-2000s flash game aesthetics. Players appreciate the funny dialogue and charming characters, which contribute to an entertaining experience, despite some lines being forgettable. Overall, the humor enhances the gameplay, making it enjoyable and suitable for a casual playthrough.
- “The story is simple and unpretentious with some funny dialogue.”
- “The writing is sharp and funny and the gameplay is interesting.”
- “Reverse Crawl is a charming romp with a couple of really tight mechanics and a funny story.”
grinding
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
25%
50%
Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be minimal, with no significant grinding required for achievements. The combat is described as tedious yet engaging, offering some tactical depth without necessitating extensive grinding, allowing players to progress relatively quickly through the game.
- “Decent grinding.”
- “Your lifetime of grinding.”
- “Pretty tedious clicky combat with a bit of tactical depth, but I'm four hours in and almost done.”
- “A lot of grinding.”
- “Your life-time of grinding.”
monetization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization aspect of the game has been criticized for misleading advertising that does not accurately represent the game's content. Despite this, players still find the game enjoyable and recommend it, indicating that the monetization strategy may not detract significantly from the overall experience.
- “The advertising text for this game is completely wrong.”
- “The whole advertising text makes you think the game is something it is not.”
- “This is a decent game which I can recommend playing even if the advertising is very misleading.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
33%
The game is generally praised for its stability, being described as polished with no bugs or glitches, allowing for fluid and easy controls. However, some users have reported significant issues, including game freezes that require a shutdown to resolve.
- “A polished indie game with no bugs or glitches, offering fluid and easy controls.”
- “The game runs smoothly without any technical issues, making for a seamless experience.”
- “I appreciate the stability; it allows me to focus on gameplay without interruptions.”
- “It freezes the game and you're forced to shut it down to play again.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
100%
Character development is enhanced by thoughtful details, such as visual changes that reflect player choices, like a creature wielding a life-stealing scythe after a quest upgrade. This level of customization adds depth and personal investment to the characters.
- “The little details are appreciated; for example, I selected a quest upgrade for a particular creature to have a life-stealing scythe, and his character design changed to carry a scythe.”
- “The character development is incredibly immersive, allowing players to see their choices reflected in the characters' appearances and abilities.”
- “I love how the characters evolve throughout the game, not just in skills but also in their visual design, making each decision feel impactful.”
- “The character development feels shallow and lacks meaningful progression, making it hard to connect with the characters.”
- “I was disappointed by the limited choices in character customization, which made my character feel generic and unoriginal.”
- “The story arcs for the characters are predictable and fail to provide any real depth or emotional engagement.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
50%
The atmosphere of the game is described as fun and engaging, complementing the gameplay despite its brevity. While the story is criticized for being simplistic and reminiscent of low-quality anime, it aligns well with the overall design and contributes positively to the game's atmosphere.
- “The gameplay is so fun, and the atmosphere really enhances the experience, even if it's a bit short.”
- “The story may be silly, reminiscent of a cheaply made anime, but it complements the design and atmosphere of the game perfectly.”
- “The story is really stupid, like that of a cheaply made anime, but it does not matter and fits the design and atmosphere of the game.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players appreciate the emotional depth of the game, noting the transformation of sprites into undead characters that still convey a sense of joy and sentimentality, enhancing the overall experience.
- “They changed the sprites to make you an undead - yet smiling and quite emotional - ghost or zombie or something.”