The New Classics #19: Crown Trick

 

The Backstory: A cute little roguelike that unexpectedly got granted a physical release — with a special edition, please. Given that I love cute little roguelikes and physical games, I had to secure Crown Trick; and when my gaming instinct claimed it for immediate play, I obeyed with good grace. 

 

 

The Game: Hello darkness my old friend! With its nightmare theme, its barely lit dungeons and gloomy soundtrack, CT sure isn’t bound to put a gamer in a bubbly mood. I prefer bright colours and mellow atmospheres as a rule; so that dark-ish artistic direction left me unimpressed. I’m not fond of cartoonish looks in games either; I mean, if I wanted to feat my eyes on some cartoon art, I’d just watch cartoons. Gimme them pixels! But there is more to a game than mere aesthetics, especially in this gamer’s eyes; let’s talk gameplay, folks! 

 

 

Well, it’s certainly a roguelike. I was confused at first by reviews describing the game as a mix of SRPG and roguelike — that is, until I realised that the ‘SRPG’ mention mostly meant that the game operates on a turn-based system, with grid-based battle areas. It may also be a reference to CT’s careful and deliberate brand of combat, which is very reminiscent of your average SRPG. Now that didn’t sit well with me, folks; as you know from recent reviews, I’ve become somewhat allergic to molasses-like fights in RPGs. 

 

I have nothing to say about procedurally generated levels and the randomness of weapon and item drops, because these are lovely staples of the genre. On the other hand, I have a lot to say about the controls and physics. See, both manage to be at once stiff and slippery, which is quite a feat indeed. As a result, I always felt on edge when playing — and not for the right reason. The thing is, roguelikes are so tough as a rule that they require tight, pitch-perfect controls and physics; no roguelike player needs an added layer of fake difficulty on top of the real thing. 

 

 

The Verdict: I can’t say I hated my time with Crown Trick: I mean, I gave the thing its two hours to shine, and I sure didn’t get bored during that time. However, now that I turned my Switch off, I don’t feel like ever coming back to that game. No matter the hype and the stellar reviews, CT and I are simply not meant together.