Crumbling is like no other game I have played; a game that would never be possible outside of VR, a game that seamlessly integrates you into its world as both puppet and puppeteer. For those of you old enough to remember when we actually “opened our toys and played with them” rather than just collecting them, you will instantly fall in love with the charming atmosphere the Crumbles hobby and craft store offers the moment you step in. And once you start playing this delightful rogue-like action game, you might just start having flashbacks to those days of smashing your own action figures together in simulated combat.
Crumbling is divided into two sections, the hobby shop and the magical game worlds. Upon entering the shop, I was given a few pop-up hints at basic gameplay and there is a fun controller poster by the cash register if you forget. Navigating the shop requires you to make this crawling motion to move and spin. It was weird at first, but you get used to it. A rack of sold-out Crumbling action figures will slowly get restocked as you progress through the game, but first up was the Knight, one of a few unique character types. It’s an almost surreal experience sliding that character off the rack, grabbing the cardboard backing with one hand and slowly tearing away the blister pack. Sorry if that last sentence triggered any collectors.
Before diving right into gameplay some further exploration of the shop revealed a workbench where I could repaint my Crumbling, a cash register where I could shop for power ups (after I earned some coins), and this large wheel to display my power-up collection and choose any three to have active for the next mission. But I saved the best for last…the comic book rack where you will get to interact and turn the pages of these charming, colorful panels, all brilliantly narrated like a storybook, only this book is incomplete. It’s these missing pages that will send you into one of four fantastic game worlds so you can fill in the blanks and finish the story.
There are four areas, the Tower, Hills, Forest, and Cave, each with their own unique set of encounters, creatures, mini-games, and boss fights. The levels themselves are these charming dioramas created with a mix of materials like cardboard and plastic with all these porcelain figurines used to decorate the landscape; a perfect backdrop for the carnage about to ensue in the sky above. There is a nice assortment of enemies that spawn in and around these dioramas, each with their own unique attack patterns and abilities, and combined with your own attacks the resulting special effects can be quite spectacular.
Each area has multiple stages that switch up each time you play as well as its own mini-game level like whack-a-crumble and a slingshot target game using a squirrel’s tail. My favorite was the electrical puzzle where you have to rapidly move this metal ring around a twisty wire without touching it; perfectly recreated using the Touch controls. After you clear each level, you activate this gateway then push your Crumbling through it to advance to the next battle.
The Knight has a big sword and is mostly about melee attacks, while other classes like the Shaman uses a spear with a lengthy time-to-fire, and the Blaster with a rapid-fire cannon that prohibits movement while firing. It’s a clever mix of melee and ranged abilities that serves this rogue-like genre well, allowing you to change up your playstyle on all those inevitable replays. It keeps the game fresh. The overall gameplay loop has you clearing several increasingly difficult stages of enemies until you complete the run, earn a coin and discover your next missing page for the comic book. Repeat until all the pages are found for all the books. Sounds short and sweet and it is, but also surprisingly strategic if you want it to be.
In addition to each character’s weapons and abilities you also get to choose from various reward and perk cards after each encounter that slowly stack for that session. You can unlock this energy ribbon that will damage anything that touches it; it will make you feel like an Olympic gymnast swirling that thing around, and you can make it deadlier by increasing its length and damage. There is a spiky sphere that will orbit your Crumbling, doing damage to anything it touches, and there are cards to increase the power of both your primary and magical attacks.
The two things you do get to keep after each session are magic and any earned coins. Magic is the most important resource in the game since it is required to unlock additional game areas as well as leveling up your power-ups. Each power-up offers a variety of abilities like boosting your health or increasing the number of magic orbs or even having those orbs gravitate toward you. There are some fun and touch decisions ahead when you have to choose only three.
Crumbling can be played standing or seated, but you will need a large empty space in front of you, as you will be swinging your arms wildly, punching and stabbing the air, and probably looking pretty silly…at least that’s what my dog tells me. The spatiality of the gameplay is easily the most unique element to Crumbling whether you are slicing enemies with a virtual sword, throwing deadly spears with laser-like accuracy, or blasting away with some crazy cannon, all while some adorable Amiibo-like figure is stuck to your hand.
I can’t recommend Crumbling highly enough. It’s a perfect blend of action (real physical action), strategy, and rogue-like combat all wrapped in this mom-and-pop hobby story frontend that really make Crumbling more of an immersive experience than your typical game. I played and reviewed on the Quest 3, and the visuals and controls were flawless and comfortable. This is the perfect game for the entire family, and I really hope you get to check it out.
