Crypt Custodian Review: Having the Time of Meow Afterlife

The metroidvania genre is a diverse and expansive place made up of the likes of Hollow Knight, Ori and the Blind Forest, and Owlboy. With such steep competition, it can be difficult to not only make an impression, but keep players interested and entertained. Thankfully, the indie space is full of titles like Kyle Thompson’s Crypt Custodian that is pushing through the metroidvania crowd and making big waves. Or should I say sweeping through the crowd.

Meow Name is Pluto

In Crypt Custodian you play as Pluto, a cat who has passed on to the little kitty afterlife and wishes to simply live out the rest of his time in peace, reminiscing with memories of his precious owners who took care of him when he was alive. Unfortunately, as one might expect, the afterlife is a bit of a brutal place and after a run in with the Afterlife Guardian Kendra that doesn’t go exactly as planned, Pluto is cursed to clean up the afterlife - forever! Hey, you might have to sweep up some dirt, but how bad could it really be?

Well, it’s pretty bad honestly. Not only are you tasked with cleaning up the afterlife, but there’s also all manner of creatures clogging up the world that you’ll have to take down as you explore. Each area of the map that you unlock will have different and new enemies to face and you will definitely have to learn their attack patterns to survive. Your primary attack with your broom will be your best friend, but as you progress you’ll get upgrades to help you not only with attacking but traversal as well.

And even though you’re already dead, you’ll be dying (again?) a lot because Crypt Custodian is quite difficult. Like most games in this genre, things are often trial and error, and the more that you explore and memorize patterns, the more confident you’ll become. I did switch to easy difficulty early into my playthrough, I’m never embarrassed to admit that I’d rather be able to enjoy a game then spend hours getting stuck, but those that are determined to play through on normal or even harder difficulties will definitely have quite a trek ahead of them. 

Let’s Sweep This Sh*t Up

The more enemies you kill, the more you’ll collect dirt that you can trade in and use for upgrades to make the journey ahead a little easier. Upgrades can help you in a variety of ways from increasing your health, your attack speed or even giving you fun additions like spikes that circle around you and damage any enemies that come into contact with them. You’ll also find even more upgrades as you venture around the map as well as collectibles such as photographs from the characters' lives before they passed away. Every single corner of the map has something to discover whether it be extra bits and bobs or the next path you need to take progress in the overall story.

And speaking of the map - it is absolutely massive. I was impressed by the size after discovering only the third area, but the more I explored the more I realized that Crypt Custodian wasn’t going to be a bite-sized adventure. If you’re focusing on just getting through the story you’ll still see a huge portion of the map, but if you’re a collector, you’ll uncover an astoundingly large, intertwining world with more surprises than you can imagine.

Get Me Tickets For Ghost Slaughter 3 Right Now

Not only does Crypt Custodian feature a huge map and a large variety of enemies, but players will also uncover bosses which will offer even more ways to upgrade Pluto’s arsenal when defeated. Boss battles, of course, are more difficult than regular fights and players will have to utilize everything they’ve mastered in order to beat them, but they’re incredibly satisfying when you do. Unlike other metroidvania bosses whose attacks fill the screen with impossible, huge objects to dodge, there are many ways to strategize, learn patterns, and defeat Crypt Custodian’s bosses. 

Other than regular enemies and bosses, you can expect to solve puzzles, meet other afterlife friends, take on fighting challenges, and much more. You’ll likely finish the main story if you’re rushing through in about six hours, but those that want to find every secret could spend ten or more hours in the world's beautiful, ever-changing levels. 

Crypt Custodian doesn’t totally revolutionize the metroidvania genre, but you don’t need to be revolutionary to be incredibly masterful. Crypt Custodian follows the metroidvania formula like you’d expect, but the way that it manages to be both familiar and surprising around every corner is impressive and deserves to be given recognition for such an accomplishment. And, in spite of the game’s difficulty, it is still very manageable even during the hardest parts. Casual gamers might have a hard time, but it’s well worth the effort. Crypt Custodian starts a little slow, but those that stick around will be rewarded with one of the best experiences of 2024.   

Breakdown

Game: Crypt Custodian

Developer: Kyle Thompson

Publisher: Kyle Thompson, Top Hat Studios, Inc. , H2 Interactive Co., Ltd

Availability: PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch

Play Time: 6 Hours (Main Story), 9+ hours (Main Story + Extras)

Pros:

+ Really fun gameplay that is constantly changing as you upgrade and unlock abilities

+ Regularly changing enemies to keep players on their toes

+ Massive interweaving map

+ Wonderfully quirky characters

+ Super fun bosses

Cons:

- Many players may find the difficulty level frustrating

- Starts a bit slow, but picks up by the end of the first hour mark

Final Thoughts

Crypt Custodian is one of the very first metroidvania games I absolutely could not put down. I normally struggle to stay interested in games like it, but nearly everything about Kyle Thompson’s newest title is inviting, fun, and brilliantly addictive. Add to it a massive map to explore and characters to fall in love with and you’d be missing out on not giving it a try as soon as you can.

Review by Becca Smith