The Nintendo Switch is home to many Roguelike and Roguelite games of amazing quality. All offering a different experience within the genre. Some being rhythm-based, while others being more hack & slash. Crown Trick is another beautiful game in the genre that has something unique to bring to the table as well.
Setting-up your goal
The game starts off with a beautifully animated introduction to the story. You play as Elle, a girl who entered the Realm of Nightmares. You team up with Crown who claims to be the “Guardian of Nightmares”, who grants you your special powers. Nightmares have seemed to have brought disasters and chaos into the world which in terms caused the world to be on the brink of destruction. The cause of all this is a human who goes by the name of Duke Vlad, with his heart filled with greed. You as Elle are tasked to save both the realm of Nightmares as the world you’re from by defeating Duke Vlad. Battle your way through your nightmares in the procedurally generated dungeons that are set in her own mind. Here is where the storytelling end and you will be booted straight up in the meat and bones of the game.
Strategic Rogue-lite?
Crown Trick has a unique spin on the genre. Gone is the high-octane action gameplay of a lot of rogue-lites and in with turn-based strategy. Instead of free movement, you move on a grid-like pattern, taking a page out of Crypt of the Necrodancer, will remaining really different. Because you are on a grid you can’t move diagonally, so it’s best suited to play by using the good old D-pad rather than the left control stick. Time only moves when you do, but sometimes it is better to wait and let the enemies approach. The grid-like movements can feel prohibiting, but this is tackled by introducing a mechanic called Blink. Blink is a limited resource that lets you move to any location near you without taking up a turn. This gets you out of the way of heavy-hitting attacks without being damaged. Your blinks and mana will recover every room so play around with them to their fullest potential.
Never-ending depth
At the start of each run, you’ll be given the option between two random weapons. Each weapon you pick-up along the way has its own stats, perks and range. Choose the weapon you like best. Each enemy has its own stats, weaknesses and resistances, so choose the right skill or weapon against the right enemy. Some enemies also have weak points. For instance, the Steam-powered combat units are conductive which means they will short circuit when standing on water or taking water damage.
Besides your weapon, you will also have skills available to use. By beating familiars, a kind of mini-boss, new skills are obtained. These are powerful moves that cost Mana to cast. Only 2 sets of Familiar skills can be carried at once.
Breaking enemies is the core mechanic in the game. Each enemy has its own breakpoint. If this reaches 0 the enemy will be stunned and take more damage. When an enemy is broken Elle’s break gauge will fill up. With this filled-up gauge, your attack power will increase and blink usage will be recovered. Note that this buff will only count for a couple of moves so plan your next moves carefully. When enemies are charging an attack or when being around your character, they will also be more vulnerable. Their breakpoint will be lowered by either 2 or 3 points.
The Rogue-lite elements
Slay enemies and obtain more powerful weapons, items and relics as you proceed. Items can help you when in a pinch but the items can only be used once. Relics are passive abilities that enhance Elle her stats. They stay with you for the entirety of the run and for instance increase crit. damage. They are essential for having a good run. When slaying enemies money and soul shards are obtained. Money that you gather can be spent in the shops where relics, weapons and items can be purchased within each run. Soul shards are used to permanently upgrade Elle. These are spent at the NPC’s that you free along the way. These will appear in the Hall of Reincarnation and give buffs that make you get more money, keep some money between runs or obtain better healing items etc. Blueprints can be obtained throughout the dungeon. You need to survive long enough to hand them in the Emporium to unlock the corresponding item to use in later runs.
So much to do, so much to see
There are many aspects to the game besides the lovely gameplay that elevate the whole experience.
The game for instance features a Gacha station and slot machine. At the Gacha station, you can spend money in order to obtain a Gacha ball that contains a random weapon from a list of 10. Do you go for the high-risk high rewards plays or are you going to save up your money for a rainy day? You can ban items you don’t want to have a higher chance but it will cost more money per Gacha.
The slot machine unlocks rewards based on the total score you get. When hitting the jackpot all rewards will be obtained immediately. Points at up but then there is no match at all, all the points will be reset.
In addition to all this content, there is also the occasional challenge room. Here you get a specific target for you to complete to gain rewards upon completing them.
Pet Peeves
I due have some problems with the game but they are more pet peeves. It’s hard to pick-up or interact with items sometimes. You need to move away and re-approach to interact again. I also had some experiences when I needed to press that button twice. Besides this, the game flows kinda slow. This makes traveling back through areas annoying. But it makes some sense I guess, the game is not as action-packed as some other Rogue-lites instead of being more focused on slower-paced turn-based strategy. There is an option to teleport but the way you need to select the correct teleporter is kinda slow too.
Graphics and performance
I haven’t yet tackled the looks of the game. Crow Trick runs excellent in both docked and undocked mode. The screen can get a little cluttered with everything going on, but I never felt like I lost my character or what was going on exactly. The lighting and art-style of the game are really nice, I haven’t found a single thing I didn’t like in terms of graphics. The characters you meet along the way are also all very unique, fun and quirky in their own way. The dialogue made me chuckle on multiple occasions. Every button you can press is explained by just looking at the game, which makes it easy to pick-up without needed to get used to the controls again.
Conclusion
If your a fan of the Rogue-lite genre, this game is a great addition to your Nintendo Switch collection. The game offers a unique take on the genre that makes it stand out from the crown, I mean crowd. The game offers a real challenge and as with many rogue-lites will keep you playing for hour after hour.
