Iron Crypticle (PlayStation 4) Review

At this point, it's safe to say the story behind Iron Crypticle is almost impressively barebones - but that's not why you're here is it? No one buys FIFA to find out what Alex Ferguson's been doing since retirement. No, they want raw football action, and dungeon crawlers are similar. What is in store for the player as they reach out into the depths? Loot? Monsters? Another boss fight against a large, sentient eyeball?

Iron Crypticle does the dungeon crawler portion extremely well. While it doesn't do the procedural part quite as well, the rooms all feel exciting, as the possibilities of loot become more and more enticing as they dig into the dungeon. Unfortunately, most room layouts look the same, and areas like the Catacombs do little to break this up. Sure, the Graveyard was a new twist so early in the game, but once you've conquered it a few times, it's more annoying than anything else.

Loot falls predominately from enemies, although it does occasionally just spawn in the room. Loot ranges from food to money to temporary weapon upgrades. There are also scrolls the player can use as one ditch special attacks. The random drop nature of these keeps them feeling fresh, but the same can be said for the monsters, who are often new and interesting takes on formulas the game has already shown us. Thanks to the unexpected occurring as often as it does, even if a run leaves the player feeling like everything's grown stale, the next run should remedy that no problem.

In terms of dungeon crawling, the game's biggest issue is that dying feel much heavier here than in shorter titles. Each floor is rather large, so when death comes, and wipes out all the players' progress, it feels like a lot of time has just been lost. Fortunately, as there are different difficulty settings, players who feel like they've lost too much always have the option of taking it a bit easier until their skills improve.

Then, there's the combat. This utilizes a twin-stick control scheme that works so well in this environment that it makes every second feel like the peak of an adrenaline rush. Rooms often flood with enemies, and with any other type of combat, it would feel like an impossible task to clear them out. The controls could use a bit of refinement, though, as they aren't quite as tight as one might hope. The weapon upgrades are also wonderfully varied, although one that causes the projectiles to bounce is a bit useless, as it feel entirely too erratic.

Bringing along friends can be a really exciting way to conquer dungeons, and in Iron Crypticle it's a lot of fun, and definitely the best way to play. One interesting mechanic is that if you don't clear out of rooms quickly enough, weird robots show up and mercilessly hunt you until you finish the room and leave. Bringing along a friend helps with this tremendously. Despite the rather formulaic approach this takes, there's a lot of banter to be had while tackling the dungeon, and while it may not sound incredibly strategic, it still lends itself to working together well as a team.