Crypt Custodian
Game Title: Crypt Custodian
Released: August 27, 2024
Game Length: 11 Hours
Grade: B-
Setting
Design: What if the developer of Islets decided to create a metroidvania game from an isometric point-of-view instead of a side-scroller? That's exactly what you get with Crypt Custodian. This time you are a cat that is given a body after being thrown into an odd place after your death. Unfortunately, you are judged for your actions to be a janitor for all eternity. As you explore the various regions, you realize that a number of other characters were similarly destined with the same role. You gradually learn that these folk have long left their responsibilities behind, lost their bodies, and lived on as spirits taking on a hobby or two.
Collectibles: What is drastically different than the previous game are the number of things you can find in the wild. You can find discs in each region that you can load into the jukebox at the bar. There are jars you can break open to find 20 spirit cats. Special abilities and upgrades can be found at certain intersections on the map. You can find evil shrines that will curse you with some sort of ailment and reward you with an upgrade for your efforts if you defeat 15 enemies before losing all your health (you will not be able to restore your health until then). Challenge chests will test your skills against a wave of enemies without being hit for an upgrade point (you will regain your one health and the challenge will reset once you do get hit). Each region has three pictures that tell a brief story of your 10 newfound friends (plus bonuses after the ending) when they were alive. Platform puzzles will also give you a number of different rewards.
Map: Another big change from the previous game is how the map is designed. Now, the map begins zoomed in with every platform, island, gate, and shrine you visited. You can teleport to any shrine at any time or choose to return to your previous shrine with a click of the button. You can choose to select through all the shrines by selecting the teleport option at any shrine. A maximum of 50 different custom markers, like a circle or a kitty face, can be added onto the map. When you zoom out, the game generates block maps with no platform details. Custom markers, connections to another room (centered in the middle of the block by default instead of through the pathways), and shrines continue to be shown. I learned rather quickly to mark each thing differently such as a gate with an upgrade or lever. There is an option to purchase item locations for 200 garbage or where you need to go for around 900 garbage. However, the cost of a map indicator only reveals a single item per purchase. While they are helpful in figuring out which direction you need to go next, the cost is too high when the markers are placed in a region beyond your capability.
Gameplay
Upgrades: Instead of steadily increasing your health and damage, the game decided to go a completely different route. You are not strictly tied to visit one region after another. Some bosses can be entirely skipped for later after you receive some upgrades. You will need to at least obtain five skills to progress to certain areas: double jump, boomerang, teleport, digging, and spirit form. Otherwise, the direction you take can be somewhat different than the way someone else progresses through the game. You can learn several different kinds of special abilities but can only use one of them at a time. Perks can be found that will boost your character in a lot of ways like faster movement, one extra life, less time needed to charge your special ability, gain a spirit that helps you clean up dirt, or increase attack speed. However, upgrade points are necessary to equip upgrades. While you can earn plenty from completing certain challenges, there is a character that will sell you one point for 600 garbage.
Accessibility: Because of how you can only be hit a total of four times at the start of the game, bosses can be extremely difficult. Unless you are able to push the boundaries with a bunch of upgrades, there is a good chance you are not going to withstand those powerful attacks. You can change the difficulty at any time that modifies the number of bullets, range of spikes, or speed an enemy attacks. There are additional features to increase your damage, increase your health by up to three points, remove fall damage, or offer more time for challenges. You can also add a mini-map at the bottom-right of the screen, minimize the ground marker, or change how much your controller rumbles.
Summary
Review: The difficulty of the game was way more than I could handle. Some bosses, and even enemies, were designed in such a way where you must avoid a barrage of attacks until you have a small window of opportunity to attack when they tire out. Instead of slowly increasing your power, the game went a different approach by providing perks to increase your prowess. However, they generally cost more than the amount of currency you can reasonably gather while exploring the world. Without the accessibility options to make fights easier, there was a high chance of me quitting in a fit of rage. Thankfully, there is more than enough substance and options to explore the more than ten different regions of the game.