Crypt Custodian review

Our VerdictA charming meowtroidvania.

Our Verdict

A charming meowtroidvania.

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Crypt Custodian sounds like the name of a tough guy ARPG, but it’s actually a charming metroidvania starring my favourite videogame cat of 2024. It’s a real shame he had to die.

Pluto has fallen off a ledge and snuffed it. It’s an abrupt and unwelcome death but there’s a silver lining: since he’s spent his life being a nice puss to some loving owners, he shouldn’t have any problem getting into The Palace, which is where good dead pets go when they die.

Need to knowWhat is it?A top-down exploration adventure set in purrgatory, starring a cat.Expect to pay£15 / $20DeveloperKyle ThompsonPublisherTop Hat StudiosReviewed onRTX 3060 (laptop), Ryzen 5 5600H, 16GB RAMMultiplayer?NoSteam DeckYesLinkSteam

Need to know

What is it?A top-down exploration adventure set in purrgatory, starring a cat.Expect to pay£15 / $20DeveloperKyle ThompsonPublisherTop Hat StudiosReviewed onRTX 3060 (laptop), Ryzen 5 5600H, 16GB RAMMultiplayer?NoSteam DeckYesLinkSteam

Alas, Pluto breaks some stuff during what is effectively an afterlife job interview, so capricious Palace Guardian Kendra decides he’s not allowed in after all. Instead of an eternity of idyll, Pluto is made a Palace door janitor. It’s not a great outcome, obviously. But it turns out other animals have fallen unfairly afoul of Kendra too, and it’s not long before a plot emerges to break out of the Palace’s walls and escape to… where?

Whereas Islets and Sheepo were sidescrollers, Crypt Custodian opts for a top-down view, bringing it closer to something like Hyper Light Drifter or Death’s Door (it shares the latter’s lightly mordant sense of humour, too). It’s considerably easier than either of those, or at least, its difficulty curve has a much smoother gradient.

Pluto wields a humble broom which functions like a sword. Combat remains uncomplicated throughout the entire game, but the difficulty lies in its bullet hell trappings. Fights are less about fancy attacks and more about balletic manoeuvring between often erratic projectiles, whether with the brisk i-frame laden dodge or careful weaving through the fray. In the vein of Hollow Knight, the controls are tuned tightly enough that, simple though they are, broom fights remained punchy and fun for more than 20 hours.

Image1of4(Image credit: Kyle Thompson)Crypt Custodian(Image credit: Kyle Thompson)Crypt Custodian(Image credit: Kyle Thompson)Crypt Custodian(Image credit: Kyle Thompson)

Image1of4

(Image credit: Kyle Thompson)Crypt Custodian(Image credit: Kyle Thompson)Crypt Custodian(Image credit: Kyle Thompson)Crypt Custodian(Image credit: Kyle Thompson)

(Image credit: Kyle Thompson)

Crypt Custodian

Crypt Custodian(Image credit: Kyle Thompson)

Crypt Custodian

Crypt Custodian(Image credit: Kyle Thompson)

Crypt Custodian

Crypt Custodian(Image credit: Kyle Thompson)

Crypt Custodian

Variety comes from the array of powers Pluto accumulates during the adventure, and there’s not just one tier of upgrade here, but three. There’s the usual metroidvania progress abilities, including a ghost double of Pluto for puzzle solving and a broom projectile (dubbed the “broomerang”) which can trigger distant switches. Eventually there’s an upgrade that lets Pluto warp to wherever he can throw his broomerang, and another that lets him burrow tunnels in the ground.

Image1of3(Image credit: Kyle Thompson)(Image credit: Kyle Thompson)(Image credit: Kyle Thompson)

Image1of3

(Image credit: Kyle Thompson)(Image credit: Kyle Thompson)(Image credit: Kyle Thompson)

(Image credit: Kyle Thompson)

Crypt Custodian

(Image credit: Kyle Thompson)

Crypt Custodian

(Image credit: Kyle Thompson)

Crypt Custodian

Charm is, in the end, something Crypt Custodian leans on very heavily. While the map is huge, most areas are just flat pathways strewn with obstacles, with only a color scheme and wispy indistinct skybox to distinguish them. It eventually makes the hard-fought discovery of a new area feel less exciting than it usually is in these sorts of games.

Yes, it does occasionally feel monotonous, especially when I realized that I could just run past most enemies rather than fight them.

On the other hand, I loved Crypt Custodian’s modesty, which is a weird thing to love about a videogame. Let me explain: for a long time I kept expecting Crypt Custodian to surprise me with some incredible new power, or crazy hidden depth. This never materialised. I eventually understood that, aside from being a mechanically impeccable videogame, this is also a cool thing a single person made with the help of their brother (Eric Thompson contributes the Boards of Canada-esque soundtrack). Though it fails to intrigue on the same level, it shares the intimacy of fellow sole-developed indieAnimal Well. It has a particular vision that would only have been smudged had other hands been involved.

During a year that has felt near-apocalyptic for the industry, it’s productive to be reminded that a videogame can just be a weird thing one person made as much for fun as for profit.

The Verdict70Read our review policyCrypt CustodianA charming meowtroidvania.

The Verdict

70Read our review policyCrypt CustodianA charming meowtroidvania.

70Read our review policy

Crypt CustodianA charming meowtroidvania.

Crypt Custodian

A charming meowtroidvania.

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Our Verdict#

Our Verdict