A VR experience that looks enticing at first glance--but does it stand up for a second?
CrazyBunch brings us a unique dungeon crawling (it's not just a clever name!) experience with the appropriately titled KryptCrawler. Made with VR technology heavily in mind--it's aimed to bring a breath of fresh air to what is a staple genre for many gamers.
You play as a faceless explorer, content with reaching the dark and sinister depths of the crypts and tombs laid before you. Puzzles take a big part in this: solving to open things and advance being a classic way of navigation through an ancient house. There are chests, fallen explorers that came before you and plenty of spiders to take a whack at.
The graphics are the highlight of this title I feel. You have some amazing textures and brooding atmosphere before you to give you the feeling of uneasiness. Unfortunately, the surroundings tend to appear more than what they are--you walk around waiting for something to jump from the shadows, and in VR especially, some very clever jump scares--or even just regular frights could be wonderfully implemented. For some reason though, this isn't a game that tends to lean that way--even with the threat so clearly being there. This is the holiday version of dungeons: a vacation from those prickly tombs that only have your destruction in mind. Now, there are instances where the game is blatantly trying to kill you off, but any aspect of horror never feels a part of it.
Another bit worth noting: the directional sound is a very smart feature. Hearing voices whisper behind you as if they're coming like wind through the stone cracks is not an easy feat to pull over convincingly. KryptCrawler's sound and voice acting has been so well done that it tends to make the hair stand on the back of your neck whilst pulling you in further to wallow in immersion.
The major calling card of KryptCrawler has to be the directional movement. As it's all grid based, you have a very WASD (if playing on desktop) control scheme. There is an option to unfix your head so you can look around, but the game seems to want to fight you, always snapping back to it's intended position. It's a control scheme that can be a bit of a pain to learn initially, but once you have it down it feels more natural. The combat comes in the form of a coloured forcefield showing you your limits in connection to another hitbox. Again, the combat feels clunky at first, and remains so to a degree, but it is something that the novelty of VR tends to wash away.
Unfortunately, KyrptCrawler tends to be a bit of a minefield in the way of bugs. There are still issues to work out with the VR, namely it being compatible with the HTC Vive. It's solely made for the Oculus which can be quite an easy overlook when purchasing. I imagine there will be many (and have been many already) that purchase the game in good faith only seeing 'VR' in bold letters advertising. As the HTC Vive does quite well for itself, especially with VR becoming more and more of a common platform, I find it puzzling that KryptCrawler wouldn't automatically be compatible with both. I suppose you can play on your desktop, of course, but the way this game ultimately shines is in VR.
I put in a recommendation for KryptCrawler, but do be aware that it's not 100% polished, rides heavily on the VR aspect and isn't compatible with HTC Vive. If you have an Oculus, patience, and enjoy a borderline creepy experience--then KryptCrawler just might be for you!