![\"Crypt](\"https:\/\/primagames.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/crypt_custodian_npc_dialogue.jpg?resize=640%2C360\")
Crypt Custodian is a Metroidvania through and through, but its unique top-down perspective, melancholy atmosphere, and bittersweet story make it one I’ll never forget. Taking me just under 12 hours to 100%, it gave me countless collectibles to search for in its massive, sprawling world. Seriously, the map is impressively large, even by the genre’s standards. Thankfully, the world is littered with fast-travel points, making the usual song and dance of retracing your steps with newly acquired powers and abilities much less tedious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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“…I realized Crypt Custodian was, in fact, a tragic story hellbent on turning its players into sobbing messes.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Aside from a generous amount of exciting abilities to unlock, my favorite collectibles in Crypt Custodian were, hands down, the photographs scattered around the world. These photographs, usually found relatively close to the new friends you’d meet, would give brief glimpses into your companions’ lives – how they grew up, lived their lives, and ultimately met their untimely demises. Collecting all three photos of any given pal and learning the timeline of their journey to the end is when I realized Crypt Custodian was, in fact, a tragic story hellbent on turning its players into sobbing messes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Combat in Crypt Custodian is endlessly entertaining. Despite a wooden broom being Pluto’s sole weapon of choice, a plethora of Upgrades and Special Attacks can be discovered to augment the way you approach enemies, making each battle a fast-paced flurry of sweeps, jumps, and dashes. Gauntlets of enemies are often found scattered around each zone, giving you a chance to test your skills wave after wave, but the combat truly shines in Crypt Custodian’s exhilarating boss battles, some of which nearly turn the game into chaotic pits of bullet-hell mayhem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The world of Crypt Custodian manages to create a compelling atmosphere for what we’d imagine the afterlife to be like. Its unique zones, while blended together, stand in complete contrast with one another. One moment, you’re walking through your standard fantasy forest; the next, you’re jumping through a dream-like maze suspended in outer space.. which just happens to be accessed through one of the residents’ ridiculously-sized basements. There’s (after)life everywhere, and yet loneliness around every corner, a juxtaposition perfectly captured by the game’s haunting score. Its bouncy and cheerful melodies, steeped in dreariness and uncertainty, made me question whether I was feeling hopeful, defeated, neither, or both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Upon reaching the credits, Crypt Custodian concluded as an adventure that beautifully captured the essence of life’s transience through the lens of our world’s coinhabitants that we sometimes forget about. Its perfect length was filled with discovery, leaving me with a bittersweet sense of satisfaction and a yearning for more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It’s another beautiful entry under solo developer Kyle Thompson’s belt and a solid Metroidvania that will leave fans of the genre with a lasting memory.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Tidying up the Rainbow Bridge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":277728,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"_article_tier":null,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[9580,8919],"internal-label":[9323],"invoiceable_action":[9032],"article_type":[8353],"class_list":["post-277721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reviews","tag-crypt-custodian","tag-featured-well","article_type-review"],"yoast_head":"\n
\n\n\n\n![\"Crypt](\"https:\/\/primagames.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/crypt_custodian_combat_01.jpg?resize=640%2C360\")
At the end of the tunnel<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Crypt](\"https:\/\/primagames.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/crypt_custodian_cat_spirits.jpg?resize=640%2C360\")