Review: Crown Trick

So I am still relatively new to PC gaming, I’m not use to using a keyboard and mouse to defeat levels in a game, and to top it off on my suckage I don’t play Rogue Like games AT ALL. I was thrown out into the ocean like Jack from the Titanic and I’m trying to not drown horribly while tackling a new type of game on a new type of platform. Crown Trick is a good title to start on for me though and I really enjoyed my first time with this game.

I am a big fan of sci-fi and comic book art, which made me fall in love with games like Ni Nu Kuni and certain Tales of games. This art hit it home for me and I enjoyed seeing every little nuance this world was dripping with. Video games are art and people need to remember that.

The Story

I enjoyed the fantasy like feel of this title it reminded me a lot of Ni Nu Kuni, just no Studio Ghibli involved. You play as Elle, who is dreaming and must save both the real world and the nightmare realm. To make sure that everyone and everything is safe you to find and defeat Vlad.

Vlad performed a sacrificial rite in the nightmare realm which broke seals and allows the power of the nightmare realm to remain unchecked. Due to this rite, death and destruction is wreaking havoc in both realms. This must be stopped and Elle is the girl to do it. With the help of the Crown you begin your quest in a dangerous dungeon where Crown teaches you how to move, how to interact and how to kill the meanies that want to make sure this chaos continues in both realms! If you didn’t have the Crown you would be S.O.L..

What is neat as you go through the levels of the game you rescue people and they are in your hub world the next time you visit it. They are usually merchants or someone to help you on your path. You can upgrade certain abilities through them by using Soul Shards, so yes, this does remind me a bit of the Demon’s Souls hub world.

The Controls

I’m not use to using a keyboard to play games just yet so it did take me quite some time to not foolishly lose health why playing this title. To move Elle around you use “WASD” on the keyboard. Thankfully somehow fate made everything easier for me due to the fact those keys are red on my keyboard. Winning! “Space Bar” is interact with items in the world. At certain points you will have to move Elle without her taking a step for that you press “Space Bar” and the corresponding direction. You will be fighting a lot in this game. Attacking is the left trigger, and you have to fight a lot and time your moves. To time your moves properly you press “X” to skip a turn. This can get you through some pesky time puzzles and gain you advantage in battle. I’m glad that I took the time to get over my keyboard control disability so that I could enjoy my time with the game.

Throughout the game you will encounter Familiars, these Familiars are basically boss fights, cool thing is that when you defeat them you can use their powers with 1 and 2. These are useful, but somewhat annoying to use, since the level is tile based the power can only hit certain tiles, kind of like Chess. You do also have some attributes you have a bottle of elixir that replenishes magic and health that you have to fill to use. You also have “blink” boots that will transport you over obstacles, you have to use them carefully though, they are limited until you refill them.

To be successful in battle you have to know how many tiles your spear will go and how many “Break Points” the enemy has. Their “Break Points” are shown in a little shield next to their avatar. Once you destroy those points the enemy is stunned and your attacks are more powerful. This is extremely useful during familiar fights. If you stun them you can really wreak havoc on their health bar.

The Look

I really enjoying traipsing around all the dungeons and the world in this game. I only wish that my dreams were that colorful and interesting. Usually I don’t remember mine, or they’re super weird and involve Silent Hill. The levels are fun to look at and navigate. The creatures you encounter are inventive and satisfying to kill.

What makes this rogue like unique is the fact that every time you move, things in the level move. This can make levels tricky sometimes, you have to pay attention to your surroundings as you jump around. This could make some of the battles or puzzles difficult if you don’t make sure you are attentive. I backed myself into a few walls doing this.

The weapons that you find strewn about the levels are also very unique. Not only do they look badass, most of them one that I found was an axe that looked like a fish. You can swap them out as you go, and most of the time their attributes will help you. I noticed that most enemies are susceptible to fire so I made sure to have a weapon on me that dealt fire damage.

Overall

I’m glad that my first rogue like was Crown Trick. I really enjoyed the world that NExT Studios built and allowed me to play in. The world they built was super fun and I hope that I get to fall back into a dream with Elle again. Once I got the hang of the controls I did enjoy my time spent in Elle’s dreams. This title has very deep rpg elements, numerous weapons to wield plenty of bosses to smite and great NPC’s to rescue. You will drop hours into this game, and you won’t really grow tired of it, when you do begin to get bored of the level you meet the boss, whup its ass then back to your hub world.

If you are a big fan of these type of games I would definitely give this one a shot. I enjoyed my time in Elle’s dreams and am excited to get back to it every time I fire up my computer. Which is a weird thing for me to say, usually I just watch YouTube on my computer and people fight on Twitter.

This review is based on a key provided by the developers