KryptCrawler is an old-school dungeon crawler brought into VR and it actually works in a primitive sort of way. I was instantly taken back to the old Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss game with the one-step-at-a-time, four-directional movement and the primitive attack and defend system. While more mature and advanced gamers might scoff at the gameplay there is plenty here to delight newcomers to the world of VR and/or dungeon crawlers.
The presentation for KryptCrawler is quite simple, offering both a linear story mode as well as an Endless Dungeon challenge mode. The game eases you into both VR and the rules of the crypt with some simple movement puzzles that require stepping on pressure plates and pushing loose stones to open doors. Soon enough you will find a sword and shield and can start attacking those spiders crawling around the corridors and smashing pots in hopeless search of loot. Hint…there is none.
There are engraved tablets and scrolls with stories to tell and keys to find that will unlock doors leading deeper into the crypt and eventually outdoors to explore all sorts of D&D-style environments. A simple interface screen grants you access to an auto-generated map showing where you’ve been as well as the nearest save shrine along with your inventory of equipped items. Controls are simple and while the Oculus Touch is supported it’s more of a substitute for the gamepad since there are no motion controls. I was really hoping the Touch would be used for the archery, but KryptCrawler keeps the combat simple.
While the game appears to be turn-based with its grid-like architecture and single-step movement enemies will attack in real-time so unleash that sword and take them out fast, blocking when necessary. Since combat only ensues on facing grid squares you may need to sidestep into battle. The shield becomes most useful when fireball-trapped halls and giant spitting spiders show up in the first few levels of the game. One nice benefit of the movement is that there is no chance you will get VR sickness.
The presentation is fairly simple with modest visuals and textures for the environment, and objects and monsters that barely make the move from sprites to 3D. The game can be dark, but often that just accents the natural lighting and colors in the game. The music is minimal, sound effects are functional, and the voice acting is surprisingly good and even a bit creepy at times.
KryptCrawler offers an immersive and sometimes sinister dungeon crawl with some reasonably good combat, limited puzzle and trap solving, and some fun monsters and locations. It’s relatively bloodless, so even the younger kids can enjoy – at least kids old enough to be using VR in the first place. There are ten levels that will take several hours to conquer, and with a few paths to take when it comes to game style you might find enough reason to revisit the crypt for a second trip through. It might not be the best or most advanced dungeon crawler out there, but I had fun cleansing this crypt of monsters and loot and I think you will too.
