Crowntakers

Crowntakers is a pretty interesting game that is very mismarketed. Reading the Store page, I got the impression of a merge between RPG and Roguelite, where story and different paths would take a part in the gameplay. The well edited trailer makes an impression that the game is going to be exciting and adventurous. [i][b]That is not what this game is[/b][/i]. In fact, Crowntakers has less of those elements than most well-known games in the roguelite/like genre. It reads to me like marketing speak, where the developers embellish what's in the game to make it sell, and while it's not straight up dishonest it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. And that's a shame, since this game is actually pretty good, for what it is. Here's how I would describe Crowntakers: It's a genre introduction. Many roguelites out there cater to the hardcore audience, those who've either played them before or are versed enough in games to stand a chance against the often higher-than-average difficulty. In contrast, Crowntakers is a fun, low-to-medium difficulty game with low stakes. It has a lot of bright colours, well executed character concepts and gameplay that is easy to understand but still requires some thought. All of this makes it the perfect beginner roguelite, in my opinion. Like with many roguelites, what you're searching for is not necessarily the end of the game but instead permanent upgrades. In Crowntakers, they are characters that you unlock, expanding your options and tools to finish runs in different ways. What sets it apart is that these characters are consistent; you will always encounter a character quest each run, and if you complete it you unlock the character. Other games might have made these encounters appear randomly (read: rarely) to extend playtime, and I appreciate the more honest approach here. Do a run, unlock a character. It guarantees some sort of progression (unless you lose before completing the quest) with every run, which again is good for beginners. The frustration of stomping in place doesn't really exist in this game, compared to its peers. However, there is something that is lacking, and that is variety. This game may have a randomly generated path, but the environments get old pretty fast. Forest, city, mountains. Forest, city, mountains. The same few items, the same few enemies, always in the same levels. Over and over again, for run after run. It's a bit unfair to complain about, as this game isn't exactly high budget and other roguelites have the same consistent layout (like Hades e.g.). But in other games, I don't feel it as badly and player experience matters. There isn't enough other things to distract you from the monotony. I wouldn't say it's a huge issue that ruins the game or anything, but it gets a bit long in the tooth when unlocking all characters. All in all, Crowntakers is a solid game that neatly fills a gap in the market. Beginner versions of every genre should be encouraged, as it leads to a higher variety of games that open up to new players. Not only that, but Crowntakers is also pretty fun even for someone like me, who've played games for a decade or two. For its price I would definitely say it's worth it.

⣿⣿⡻⠿⣳⠸⢿⡇⢇⣿⡧⢹⠿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣾⣿⡇⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⡐⣯⠁ ⠄⠄ ⠟⣛⣽⡳⠼⠄⠈⣷⡾⣥⣱⠃⠣⣿⣿⣿⣯⣭⠽⡇⣿⣿⣿⣿⣟⢢⠏⠄ ⠄ ⢠⡿⠶⣮⣝⣿⠄⠄⠈⡥⢭⣥⠅⢌⣽⣿⣻⢶⣭⡿⠿⠜⢿⣿⣿⡿⠁⠄⠄ ⠄⣼⣧⠤⢌⣭⡇⠄⠄⠄⠭⠭⠭⠯⠴⣚⣉⣛⡢⠭⠵⢶⣾⣦⡍⠁⠄⠄⠄⠄ ⠄⣿⣷⣯⣭⡷⠄⠄⢀⣀⠩⠍⢉⣛⣛⠫⢏⣈⣭⣥⣶⣶⣦⣭⣛⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄ ⢀⣿⣿⣿⡿⠃⢀⣴⣿⣿⣿⣎⢩⠌⣡⣶⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣆⠄⠄⠄ ⢸⡿⢟⣽⠎⣰⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⢀⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣦⠄⠄ ⣰⠯⣾⢅⣼⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡄⠄ ⢰⣄⡉⣼⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⢸⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣧⠄ ⢯⣌⢹⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⢸⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠄ ⢸⣇⣽⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠸⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠄ ⢸⣟⣧⡻⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣧⡻⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠄ ⠈⢹⡧⣿⣸⠿⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⠗⣈⠻⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⠄ ⠄⠘⢷⡳⣾⣷⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣾⣿⣿⢀⣶⣶⣶⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠇⠄ ⠄⠄⠈⣵⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⢸⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠄⠄ ⠄⠄⠄⠸⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠘⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠇⠄⠄

I had a solid 8 hrs of Fun with this game. i bought it on sale for like 4€ so that's 100% worth it. Not the best game in terms of variety, but definitely worth to buy on sale

A great game with mild roguelike elements, turn based tactical combat and a great storyline! Also nice and challenging while starting out fair for beginners ;) Rating 8/10

[h1] Slightly towards no. Move around hex board, choose path and make contextual decisions. Buy equipment in taverns, arm wrestle, hire vagabonds, take on quests. Battles are turn based, very simplified, move, attack or use items. If I can choose I prefer Heroes of M&M. Game have some unique decision making and a bit of charm when exploring the board. Music is great. Gameplay too simplified. [/h1]

Though I really like the artstyle and don't mind some grinding, this game fails to offer anything new between runs.

It's pretty good, tough a little bit easy (even on normal). There is no hard difficulty, only easy and normal. The DLC ads more replayability but makes the game somewhat easier. The story is... well there is nearly no story at at all. Also if you want (steam) achievements, you must get the dlc, as 50% of the achievements are "locked" behind the dlc. I got it for 2€, and it was definitely worth it.

It's Okay. Not great, not bad. Mid. Very mid.

Fun little tactics game with decent enemy logic to (generally) target your weaker characters. Not much replay value after completing, though it is easy enough to go back and complete all achievements ... at least those in Normal mode. I played Normal mode, where your characters (main character and mercenaries) retainer their experience level with each play-through. This was challenging up until the characters get to around level 7-8 (with a max cap of 10), at which point you can pretty much breeze through the game using potions. You still have to take care that your main character doesn't get ganged up on and die, but using some careful movement and potion-usage, you should be fine. Hard mode, where the experience level of each character is not retained, was too challenging for my interest. I supposed it could be done, but I'm someone who just wants to enjoy finishing the game and moving to the next, so I shifted to Normal after about five attempts. Enemies are decently varied, with melee, armored, life-stealing, ranged and some degree of counter-attacking and sneak attacks. Same goes for bosses. Game is pretty intuitive. Very much pick up-and-play-and-die-a-few-times to get the hang of it. A full play-through in Normal mode took me about 30-45 minutes -- again, after getting my preferred characters up to level 7-8. I enjoyed Crowntakers. Doesn't require a huge amount of thought. So fun for simple play and knocking one off the game library backlog. 6/10

6/10