Edited by: Jade Swann

Developed and published by Slothwerks, Krumit’s Tale is a follow up to the team’s first game, Meteorfall. Currently, the game is still in Early Access, and as such, is still receiving frequent updates adding bug fixes and additional content. The version I played is nearly complete, but still has a few rough spots to be smoothed over.

A Rough Roguelike

Meteorfall: Krumit’s Tale presents us with an intriguing blend of gameplay mechanics. At heart, the title is modeled after dungeon crawlers. The core gameplay consists of clearing dungeons filled with comical, yet powerful enemies, items, and abilities. But unlike most dungeon crawling games, all of these elements are presented as cards. Here is where the deck building comes in, as the player’s actions are determined largely by what cards are in their deck. Each dungeon has its own deck as well, and when the player enters, the two decks are shuffled together. The version of the dungeon that the player explores is then dealt out in a small grid consisting of cards from both decks. In order to clear the dungeon, the player must remove each card by either defeating the enemy or collecting the loot that the card represents. On top of this, there are some roguelike elements tossed in for added replay value. Each time the player completes their game, they have the chance of adding a new item card to their possible draws in later runs.

The title seems to be designed with multiple playthroughs in mind. Each game you play will be different from any other you’ve played before, and in all of these genres, that is a good sign of success. One thing that provides even more variety is the character options provided for the player’s hero. Currently, there are two hero options, Bruno the Brave and the wizard Greybeard. The Early Access notes imply that the developers are working on adding another character as well. Both of these characters have different decks, containing different items and abilities. This allows for many different playstyles. For example, Bruno tends to be more about high attack and defense, solving his problems with might. Greybeard, on the other hand, comes equipped with a host of magical abilities designed to deal damage to enemies before the fight even starts. Presumably, the third character will offer yet another option for players to explore as they try to complete each level.

The Possible Pitfalls

Though well-designed and fun to play, there are a few technical issues holding Krumit’s Tale back from greatness. The game crashed on a few occasions while I was playing, booting me out entirely. While it does save between dungeons, it was still an inconvenience to have to reboot the game. Then, when I returned, I found that even though the game saved, I still had to repeat some key actions, causing me to favor a complete restart, rather than continuing my run.

I also encountered a bizarre bug on the help menu. In a title like this, with many cards and perks, I often consulted the help screen to keep things straight. This is almost an unavoidable action for the game, and while the menu usually worked fine and provided just the information I needed, I sometimes found that I couldn’t return to the game, being stuck on the help page until I closed the game. There may only be a few issues I came across, but they’re big ones, and have to be fixed before the title can achieve its full potential.