Crimson Capes

Co-op is buggy in some areas, but not enough to hinder enjoyment. Bring a friend or three. Really good animations for a pixelated sidescroller, apperently they were mocapped similarly to classic mk games, I think. I also liked the background layers, making the game feel way larger than it already is. Big Passion project over here, I strongly reccomend it.

Ddodging doesn't really work. "Grab a controller". I'm on a PC. I expect to be able to use my keyboad and mouse properly. Not for me.

Here off the back of Windmills, which rules. First impressions, this is like the higher budget sequel; Takes the 16 bit platformer and propels to a 90's PC spec combat adventure. Again, what's not to love. Great writing, great gameplay - hand made heaven

Only near the end of this game did I discover that it's actually a prequel to an earlier game by the dev. There is a story to the game that acts more as background as you battle your way along but it has a satisfying culmination that likely feeds into the original game. You play as one of four 'Crimson Capes', a Witcher-esque witch/mage/demon hunter in the employ of the king. It's tagged as a souls-like in Steam. It's definitely difficult and focuses on defeating bosses. In fact, to 'win' you don't have to make it through levels. Despite being a metroidvania, almost all of the map can be reached at any time without unlocking new abilities. Advancing to the final boss just takes beating all of the normal bosses, which can be done in any order. I don't know what true souls-like fans would think of this but I liked it. The combat was definitely challenging. It's your basic dodge, parry, light attack, heavy attack, and special attack system. Dodge is kind of crap but parry is crucial. Interruption is a key mechanic in combat. Getting interrupted can lead to being destroyed but it works in reverse, as well. A well-timed parry staggers an enemy and allows both a devastating blow and a …

It pains me to write such a review, because I can tell a lot of effort and passion has gone into this game, especially the animations and art. Indeed, none of these aspects of the game are an issue for me at all. If I were to critique this game only in terms of its art direction and animations, this game would be one of the best games of all time. Sadly, games cannot be assessed only on this basis, especially not Blasphemous-style soulslikes. Blasphemous is also a very gorgeous game, and had solid, rhythmic combat where every enemy seemed to be bound by the same rules as you. Alas, this is not at all the case in Crimson Capes. It felt to me that, throughout the experience, Crimson Capes wanted to have Blasphemous/Sekiro-style combat without understanding what made either of them work. As mentioned before, Blasphemous is a game that required a lot of Castlevania and Dark Souls-esque calculation, since both you and the enemies that you'd encounter would be about as fast as you. What's more, since the game was oriented around solo combat, Blasphemous was very, very careful about enemy placement and tried to make sure enemy attacks did not overlap in obnoxious ways, lest combat be an…

I haven't finished the game yet, but I loooooove the map. Idk what it is, but it looks amazing.