Cryptical Path

Roguelike innovant qui casse un peu les codes, univers sympa, addictif mais aussi punitif !

Le fait de pouvoir construire sois même notre donjon, c'est excellent !

I'm going to go ahead and give this one a cautious yes. The gameplay TLDR; The pro: After losing to the first boss I did find that I enjoyed the experience and want to face her again. So that's a positive. The con: Although I don't mind the dungeon building part, I'm not super looking forward to all of the minor room battles along the way. They are kind of easy, and it feels like a bit of a chore to just get through them so I can get to the boss fight I want to have. Graphically it is beautiful. Looks amazing in 4k. Solid marks there. Audio design is... a bit lacking for my taste. Obviously very subjective but I just don't feel enough oomph in the combat, I didn't feel the music was anything stellar, and in general the sound effects were just ok. The story is great. Writing is well done, the English grammar is good. Simple little story so far, but there's nothing wrong with that. It's well told, doesn't get in the way too much, and lends a lighthearted feel to the game that I think adds value to the experience. Good job there. The menu and games UI's are very slick. Everything works great. I played with a gamepad the entire time and never had issues with where I wanted to be on screen or what button I needed to push. I was a bit worried about that given the dungeon building part, but they clearly thought this through very well. This will make an absolutely wonderful experience on the Steam Deck for those of us with OLED units that absolutely refuse to touch fingers to screen. Everything you need is on the thumbsticks or the control buttons. Well done with this design. This game has an interesting difficulty curve.... for the most part, I found the generic room battles extraordinarily easy. In fact I kind of got bored with it. Then, as the rooms moved on.. it started getting a little more hectic. Not necessarily that enemies had new abilities or were providing unique challenges... there is some of that... but it felt also like the rooms just starting packing more enemies in. That works, I guess... but it isn't ideal. That said, I wanted to push through to the first boss and see how things went. Then I got to the first boss and got absolutely wrecked. I think I did finally start to get the pattern down, so when I face her again, I think I'll stand a much better chance... but it was a very steep jump in challenge from the rooms, which were very very easy, to the boss who actually required that you have a practiced mastery of the jumping and dashing, dash cooldowns, and melee distances of your attack. It felt awkward. But then again, at least it felt fresh. Suddenly I had something challenging to work on, and that salvaged the general combat experience. The upgrades you get throughout the run were fine. I won't say they had me on the edge of my seat, but they weren't horse armor, either. For the most part, they were meaningful if you were playing with a particular style. I didn't feel that they were complete game changers, though. As far as the dungeon building piece, it's pretty well done. I mean it isn't ground breaking... it's a deckbuilding style dungeon builder. You have build points, you have a "hand" of rooms, you can unlock more and better rooms as you play the game. The difference with this game is that you earn more build points by playing through and killing the enemies. So whereas in some dungeon builder games you spend all your build points then go after some goal or quest... in this game you might find yourself just jumping in to fight a couple rooms to make build points, then jumping back out to place another room, and so on and so forth. Although when I write it, it sounds bad... it wasn't honestly that bad. It kept you moving between the game modes pretty well. As far as roguelite meta-progression, there does appear to be quite a few unlocks to move through. The abilities progression is a bit less inspiring though. There's a tree, but it isn't that huge... I can tell that they've gone for a smaller tree, but with higher unlock costs on abilities. The problem with this design is it means you frequently will find yourself after a run with nothing to spend points on, because you don't have enough of them. This can lead to stagnation, and a feeling of lack of progression. If I had one change to request in this game from the development team, it would be to expand upon the roguelite progression in such a way that you get more frequent upgrades. Think about the mirror in Hades, for example... you were almost unlocking at least a point of something after every run (at least in the early game). I'd like to see this game move slightly in that direction vice what they have now. In closing, go back and re-read the TLDR above. Overall going with a positive rating, and I think this game will shape up to be enjoyable when all things are said and done.

This game is fun. I really like being able to create my own dungeon and unlocking the rooms little by little. I’m often disappointed by RNG in some of these games, but here, I can really control that aspect! I Hope to see more worlds in a near future. Keep the good work!

Addictif, et en ce qui me concerne très dur. je rage mais j'y retourne.

Bonne rejouabilité Utilisation ingénieuse des mécaniques de salles qui est un vrai plus Progression qui prend un peu de temps à se mettre en place mais devient vraiment riche Et cette BO ♥♥♥♥

Modèle original et très sympathique ! Effectivement peut-être un côté un peu répétitif sur les ambiances et les monstres. Les items apportent assez peu de réelle dynamique en l'état. J'aurais tendance à dire attention à la montée violente de difficulté d'un boss à un autre, mais en même temps ça plaît à certains joueurs et ne renierai pas ça. Le potentiel est vraiment là ! Le jeu est loin d'être désagréable, bien au contraire. Et avec un peu de temps et de travail, le jeu peut aller vraiment encore plus loin j'ai l'impression. Bonne expérience dans tous les cas et je veux croire à un encore mieux !

Concept très intéressant, mais hélas assez peu de replay value. On retrouve sans cesse les mêmes ennemis, les mêmes patterns de salles, les mêmes ambiances dans les différents biomes, les mêmes objets, si bien que je finis toujours par avoir le même style de build. Le manque de variété installe une lassitude, et après un peu plus d'une dizaine de run, j'ai vaincu le boss final et rien ne m'engage vraiment à continuer. Vraiment dommage car la réalisation est très propre.

Cryptical Path is an action roguelite developed by Old Skull Games and published by Old Skull Games together with Game Seer that combines dungeon crawling, strategic planning, and fast-paced combat into a formula that feels both recognizable and refreshingly different. While many games in the genre rely heavily on random generation and adaptation, Cryptical Path introduces mechanics that place more control directly into the player's hands. The result is an experience that rewards not only combat skill but also thoughtful decision-making, creating a roguelite adventure where planning ahead becomes just as important as surviving the next encounter. Set within a dangerous prison known as the Hexium, players step into the role of the Architect, an entity connected to the labyrinth itself and tasked with reclaiming control over a world that has fallen into chaos. Once designed as a containment structure for dark and powerful forces, the prison has become unstable, corrupted by the very dangers it was built to suppress. Ancient threats move freely through its halls, hidden dangers wait behind forgotten pathways, and the deeper players travel, the more they uncover about both the prison and the role of the Architect within its history. One of the strongest ideas behind Cryptical Path revolves around dungeon construction. Instead of entering completely randomized levels and adapting purely through reaction, players actively influence progression by choosing which rooms appear during a run. Shops, combat challenges, healing opportunities, and progression routes become strategic decisions rather than entirely random outcomes. This mechanic adds an extra layer of control that significantly changes how runs develop. That system creates an experience where long-term planning matters constantly. Building a path through the dungeon involves balancing immediate survival against future opportunities. Safer routes may preserve resources but limit rewards. More dangerous paths may offer stronger upgrades while introducing greater risks. The game consistently encourages players to evaluate consequences before committing to decisions, creating tension that extends beyond combat itself. Combat serves as another major highlight. Movement feels responsive, encounters move quickly, and survival often depends on maintaining momentum rather than approaching enemies cautiously. Combat design rewards positioning, awareness, and proper timing while keeping encounters energetic throughout progression. Enemies pressure players aggressively, demanding adaptation and precision as challenges gradually become more difficult. The movement systems contribute heavily to the game's overall pacing. Dodging attacks, repositioning during battles, and maintaining control over chaotic encounters creates satisfying combat flow that remains engaging even across repeated runs. The faster combat style works especially well alongside the strategic dungeon-building systems because it ensures gameplay remains active rather than overly methodical. Progression systems outside individual runs also strengthen long-term engagement. Permanent upgrades and unlockable improvements ensure failed attempts still contribute toward future success. Strong roguelites often succeed by making defeat feel like part of growth rather than punishment, and Cryptical Path handles this aspect effectively. Every run offers opportunities to learn, improve strategies, and gradually build stronger capabilities for future attempts. Replay value naturally becomes one of the game's strongest qualities. Since players actively shape progression routes themselves, repeated runs rarely feel identical. Different choices produce different pacing, different opportunities, and different challenges. Experimentation becomes part of the appeal rather than simply optimizing one ideal strategy repeatedly. Visually, Cryptical Path embraces a darker fantasy presentation that supports its atmosphere effectively. The Hexium feels dangerous and mysterious while maintaining visual clarity during combat-heavy moments. Environmental design reinforces the oppressive nature of the prison setting without sacrificing gameplay readability. Enemy designs and visual effects contribute further to immersion while helping maintain tension throughout progression. The darker narrative themes also help strengthen identity. While gameplay remains the primary focus, the setting and story elements create additional motivation to continue exploring deeper into the prison. Uncovering hidden details surrounding the world and its history adds meaning beyond progression systems alone. The experience does present occasional limitations. Some players may find certain progression elements stronger than others, occasionally narrowing experimentation during longer sessions. Combat pacing can also fluctuate depending on upgrades and encounter structure. However, these issues rarely overshadow the systems that make the game stand out. What ultimately makes Cryptical Path memorable is how confidently it challenges genre expectations. Rather than allowing randomness to dictate every outcome, it introduces player agency directly into progression systems. Success depends not only on quick reactions but also on planning, route management, and understanding long-term consequences. Cryptical Path succeeds because it recognizes that replayability comes from meaningful decisions just as much as procedural variation. The combination of strategic dungeon construction, satisfying combat systems, and rewarding progression creates an experience that feels distinctive inside a crowded genre. Cryptical Path delivers strong action gameplay, smart strategic systems, and excellent replay value while introducing fresh ideas that help separate it from more conventional roguelite experiences. Rating: 8/10

I don't write many reviews but this deserves one! I got this some weeks ago and only just installed it - and I really love what I see so far. Art and atmosphere are wonderful - sort of Alice in Wonderland meets Sandman graphic novels (plot also reminiscent of Sandman's return to his domain after a long absence...) Gameplay is fun and fluid, though I can see i have only just got started unlocking the enormous variety of items, foes and features. This is surprisingly great so far - like a best feature selection from Dead Cells, Revita and more. Beautiful game you have made!