Coin Crypt is an interesting roguelike in which dungeons, and even the movements, are randomly generated through a coin system. Said coins are used to perform attacks, heal, defend, steal, poison, and to buy equipment. An interesting take on the genre that will put very heavy focus on resource management to succeed. Is it more important to be able to attack or is healing the ideal thing to do in this situation? The strategies and possibilities are endless and depend on the dungeon itself. Does Coin Crypt stand out among genre stablemates, though?
Coin Crypt is a colourful and playful take on the roguelike that really plays around a lot with the random aspects of the genre. Almost everything is randomised, from the dungeon layout itself to what attacks are to be used, and even the power-ups and specs used during the dungeons, thus creating a game that never plays the same twice.
This is done by adding in aspects from the deck building genre in the form of coins that are collected throughout the adventure, acting as the movements taken by the hero/heroine in combat. The effects range from common “Deal 4 damage” to more complicated things like “Increase movement speed when in pocket.” Said coins are also, to make matters more complicated, used to purchase permanent power-ups in this dungeon, forcing the player to choose what coins are of importance and what can be spent, bringing together a more complex and deep gameplay in what would otherwise be a potential randomised mess.
While skill and prioritising turn into important aspects to succeed in Coin Crypt it is, sadly, too dependent on luck whether or not the deeper levels will be reached. As attacks are randomly distributed, it is not an impossibility that entire floors can be passed without encountering any attack coins. This makes it hard, if not impossible, to win battles and increase the coin stack, and zero coins means death. It is sad when even on a great roll that Miss Fortune can strike down and turn even what appeared to be certain victory into a definite loss. No skill in the world can avoid such a catastrophe, turning the difficulty in Coin Crypt into nothing more than a roll of the dice.
Sometimes the coins are on the side of the player, and sometimes they work against them. This is the flow of the game, and to a certain degree it is appealing. Coin Crypt is a randomised roguelike that is sure to appeal to anyone who wants to sit down for about five to thirty minutes and enjoy a highly potluck experience where twists and turns hide behind every corner. However, when a streak of bad luck overturns a skillful game that would have ended in victory and turns it into a loss, it is highly frustrating, but not quite enough to stop playing entirely, with it having a “just one more go” feel that classic arcade-style games have.
