The Cursed Crusade

53%
Game Brain Score Based on 75 reviews
  • story
  • graphics
  • gameplay
The Cursed Crusade Game Cover
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In "The Cursed Crusade," players control Denz de Bayle, a Templar Knight, and his partner Esteban Noviembre, as they navigate through a curse-ridden medieval world. The game features a unique "His Wory" mechanic, where committing sins grants players powerful abilities but also increases their corruption level. The engaging narrative unfolds against the backdrop of historical events during the Fourth Crusade, resulting in a dark and thrilling action-adventure experience.

  • PC
  • Windows
  • Play​Station
  • Play​station 3
  • Xbox
  • Xbox 360
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

53%
Audience ScoreBased on 75 reviews
graphics7 positive mentions
story10 negative mentions
  • The combat system is engaging with a variety of weapon combinations and brutal finishing moves.
  • The game features a unique setting and an interesting premise involving a curse and the Crusades.
  • It offers local co-op gameplay, which can enhance the experience when playing with friends.
  • The game is plagued by numerous bugs, glitches, and technical issues that hinder gameplay.
  • The story is poorly executed with a lackluster ending that leaves many plot points unresolved.
  • Controls are frustrating, especially with the game not recognizing controllers and having awkward camera angles.
  • story49 mentions

    The story of the game is generally perceived as lackluster and poorly executed, with many reviewers noting its confusing plot points, shallow character development, and unsatisfactory ending. While some elements, such as the medieval setting and humorous moments, are appreciated, the overall narrative fails to engage players, often feeling repetitive and poorly paced. Despite attempts at interesting storytelling, the execution leaves much to be desired, leading to frustration among players.

    • “The story treats Christian apocrypha as a sort of mythology to build from, which is quite interesting.”
    • “The two characters go through what can only be called a medieval buddy cop movie-like story, with the two working together as if they'd been 'on the force' for years and it's just another day on the job.”
    • “It is a story of a man seeking redemption.”
    • “I could have given a positive review for its fun gameplay with plenty of gore, although rather repetitive sometimes, but after I beat this game my frustration is so high on how they completely ruined the story, which was actually interesting to follow.”
    • “The story just ends; I won't spoil anything for you, except to tell you that there is a cliffhanger ending, and I am reasonably sure there will not be a sequel.”
    • “It doesn't look the best in terms of raw model polygons and texture resolution, it's repetitive, the story is delivered poorly, the facial animation is almost non-existent, and the first 20-30 minutes are terribly paced.”
  • graphics14 mentions

    The graphics of the game are generally regarded as one of its stronger points, with many users noting decent quality and appealing visuals. However, there are mixed opinions on consistency, with some praising specific animations while others criticize the overall mediocrity and presence of bugs that affect visual performance. Overall, while the graphics are considered satisfactory, they are often overshadowed by gameplay issues and storytelling shortcomings.

    • “The cursed crusade is one of those games you realize was put strong effort on and has great visuals with an attempt of good storytelling, nevertheless falls short on it.”
    • “- visuals: the strongest point, quite good graphics for a simple title.”
    • “Oh and the graphics are freaking tasty!”
    • “Decent hack & slash with a satisfactory and diverse combat system, good co-op mechanics, average visuals, and a rather boring story.”
    • “The story elements are pretty awesome, but sadly, the graphics are mediocre. They have great animation in some scenes and poor ones in others. The mechanics of the game are pretty rigid, and the action sequences can either be frustrating because they are too hard or boring if too easy.”
    • “The voice acting and poor dialogue are so distractingly terrible that I don't notice the decent graphics and fight style.”
  • gameplay13 mentions

    The gameplay is generally described as a fun yet repetitive hack-and-slash experience, featuring a diverse combat system and cooperative mechanics. While the action can be engaging with satisfying combat and demon powers, it suffers from issues like rigid mechanics, frustrating difficulty spikes, and bugs that detract from the overall experience. Many players feel that the gameplay is overshadowed by a lackluster story and inconsistent graphics, leading to mixed feelings about its execution.

    • “Decent hack & slash with a satisfactory and diverse combat system, good co-op mechanics, average visuals, and a rather boring story.”
    • “The hacky-slashy-block-parry button smash-a-thon gameplay in general is not bad at all, coupled with your demon powers which let you turn the world to flames and your enemies to undead, which are a good bit easier to knock over. It works on the whole rather well.”
    • “Battle mechanics are not bad; counter and dodge moves keep your fingers busy and the game pace relatively exciting.”
    • “A lot of the time they could have left the dialogue to be just played over actual gameplay.”
    • “It feels like a gimmick to make the graphics cool, but the implementation gives no variability to gameplay.”
    • “Gameplay-wise, it’s basic hack-and-slashing with forced co-op sequences, a buttload of QTEs, and crossbow shooting for good measure.”
  • humor7 mentions

    The humor in the game is characterized by a mix of absurdity and childlike whimsy, featuring hilariously cheesy bosses and awkward cutscenes, often enhanced by amusing anime voice acting. While some players find the humor entertaining and reminiscent of their initial experience, others note a dissonance between the game's violent themes and its child-friendly comedic elements. Overall, the humor is seen as a notable aspect, contributing to the game's quirky charm despite its flaws.

    • “The game is filled with hilariously cheesable bosses, beautifully awkward cutscenes, and yes, there will be ogres in this deeply historical story.”
    • “Not sure what the makers of this game were thinking, the humor seems like this game was made for children, yet it is violent as hell itself (see what I did there?).”
    • “But cutscene animations have funny bobbing movements to every act.”
  • stability6 mentions

    The game's stability is a mixed bag; while some players report significant bugs and glitches, particularly in cooperative mode, others find it generally playable with only occasional crashes. It runs well on Windows 10 and supports ultrawide resolutions, but technical issues can detract from the overall experience.

    • “Runs great on Windows 10 (64-bit) and it is ultrawide friendly (e.g. 2560x1080).”
    • “The gameplay is cool, and while there are some bugs, which game is completely bug-free?”
    • “The story is nice, it can sometimes be humorous, and it has nice graphics.”
    • “Bought this game to play with a friend, but the co-op doesn't work at all and the game is full of bugs, glitches, and technical issues.”
    • “Convoluted, messy bag of glitches that you need to surpass to enjoy the brutal, dynamic, and challenging combat that will be in your satisfied memories of badassery for a long time.”
    • “Game crashed a couple of times, but other than that, I didn't find any noticeable bugs or glitches.”
  • optimization2 mentions

    The optimization of the game appears to be inconsistent, with some users reporting severe performance issues, while others praise it for running smoothly even during intense gameplay scenarios.

    • “Overall, the game is greatly optimized; there are no lags even when hoards of enemies are on screen.”
    • “The performance is impressive, allowing for smooth gameplay even in the most intense situations.”
    • “I appreciate how well the game runs on lower-end hardware without sacrificing visual quality.”
    • “Very poorly optimized; my computer sounded like it wanted to take off.”
    • “The game struggles to maintain a stable frame rate, even on high-end hardware.”
    • “I experienced frequent crashes and long loading times, which made the game nearly unplayable.”
  • replayability2 mentions

    The game offers limited replayability due to its linear story progression, which may disappoint players seeking varied experiences. However, completionists might find some bonus content to explore, enhancing their overall engagement.

    • “For completionists, this game offers a bonus in replayability.”
    • “The game has a lot of replayability due to its diverse choices and outcomes.”
    • “It falls short in replayability due to its linear story progression.”
    • “For completionist players, this might be a bonus.”
  • emotional1 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game is generally lacking, as players find the story to be rather boring, overshadowing the decent hack-and-slash gameplay and cooperative mechanics. While the combat system is praised for its diversity, it fails to evoke a strong emotional response.

    • “The emotional depth of the story is lacking, making it hard to connect with the characters.”
    • “I found the emotional moments to be forced and unconvincing, which detracted from the overall experience.”
    • “Despite the game's attempts at emotional storytelling, it ultimately felt shallow and uninspired.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

42% average critic score

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