Crowsworn Demo 1 - Review

[Lamplighter]

Before I begin, let me just preface by saying that I did... not defeat the boss. Not even once. The controls are a lot to get used to, especially as somebody who has dedicated over a hundred hours in "Hollow Knight."

That being said, there is still a lot to take from my initial twenty minutes...

__________________________________________________________

PROS!

1) The art style and architecture are on a whole other level! Looking at all of the towering vistas just poking out, with a large... sun?... blasting rays out over the horizon is gorgeous! And being able to see the layers, with many roofs covering the... sun?... was a great touch!

2) The music gave me chills! It was haunting and just a tad off-key, but in the best way! It gave the location a lot more character, and lent further into the Gothic tone of the game.

3) The abilities are unique, and set it apart from other games, such as "Hollow Knight." I especially enjoyed having the gun, which gave a fresh variety to combat. I appreciated that abilities would be stopped short if the Plague Doctor was attacked. It was smart, and made me think more about when was the best time to use abilities such as the Corvian Abilities.

__________________________________________________________

CONS!

1) This is a simple complaint, but I would have loved to use my mouse controls, but it only allowed to toggle between keys on the keyboard. Perhaps I'm spoiled, but even other Indie projects have been able to compensate for mouse controls. (I want to left and right click!)

2) Some of the attacks done by the shield boss were a little... confusing. Specifically when the boss leaps in the air and begins throwing a blade barrage. While some attacks are easy enough to dodge, although dealing fair damage for slip-ups, some of those attacks I found almost unavoidable.

I hesitate to say this, given that I am not nearly the best gamer out there. Still, playing around a bit with different techniques, the few times that I survived was through accident and not skill.

To paint a picture, the blades will fall on two sides, starting at the middle, quickly raining all the way to the edge of the walls in the opposite direction. And since dashing does not make you immune to attacks (one of those luxuries I got used to in late-game "Hollow Knight"), I am really uncertain as to how that attack is dodged.

__________________________________________________________

Edit: I was able to complete the boss, it just took a lot of readjusting for me, personally. It was quite enjoyable once you get it down and the addition of using my mouse for key-mapping was honestly life-saving!

[Konidias]

Yeah I agree with most all of this...

As for how to dodge the blades... I sort of stumbled into running to the edge of the screen in one direction and that somehow allowed me to survive them one time. Not really sure how I'm supposed to know what direction they are going to rain down in or whatever... but yeah.

The thing I kept taking damage from was when they popped out of the ground. Don't really know where I'm supposed to go as they are across the entire length of the floor. Jumping lets you dodge the initial little thrust up, but then they just go up higher and I have no clue if there's a double jump or something, but I sure couldn't figure it out.

Honestly this is a really weird demo to release. There's zero tutorial or explanation on what to do, and you're thrust into this really insanely hard boss fight straight away. I did not find it fun or challenging.... just frustrating. You don't get to warm up and learn the controls on a practice dummy or anything... you literally just have to die a bunch of times to figure it out, and I don't really enjoy that at all.

I feel like this demo makes me less excited about the game instead of more excited.

[Someone]

Originally posted by Lamplighter:

Before I begin, let me just preface by saying that I did... not defeat the boss. Not even once. The controls are a lot to get used to, especially as somebody who has dedicated over a hundred hours in "Hollow Knight."

That being said, there is still a lot to take from my initial twenty minutes...

__________________________________________________________

PROS!

1) The art style and architecture are on a whole other level! Looking at all of the towering vistas just poking out, with a large... sun?... blasting rays out over the horizon is gorgeous! And being able to see the layers, with many roofs covering the... sun?... was a great touch!

2) The music gave me chills! It was haunting and just a tad off-key, but in the best way! It gave the location a lot more character, and lent further into the Gothic tone of the game.

3) The abilities are unique, and set it apart from other games, such as "Hollow Knight." I especially enjoyed having the gun, which gave a fresh variety to combat. I appreciated that abilities would be stopped short if the Plague Doctor was attacked. It was smart, and made me think more about when was the best time to use abilities such as the Corvian Abilities.

__________________________________________________________

CONS!

1) This is a simple complaint, but I would have loved to use my mouse controls, but it only allowed to toggle between keys on the keyboard. Perhaps I'm spoiled, but even other Indie projects have been able to compensate for mouse controls. (I want to left and right click!)

2) Some of the attacks done by the shield boss were a little... confusing. Specifically when the boss leaps in the air and begins throwing a blade barrage. While some attacks are easy enough to dodge, although dealing fair damage for slip-ups, some of those attacks I found almost unavoidable.

I hesitate to say this, given that I am not nearly the best gamer out there. Still, playing around a bit with different techniques, the few times that I survived was through accident and not skill.

To paint a picture, the blades will fall on two sides, starting at the middle, quickly raining all the way to the edge of the walls in the opposite direction. And since dashing does not make you immune to attacks (one of those luxuries I got used to in late-game "Hollow Knight"), I am really uncertain as to how that attack is dodged.

I have seen many people who said this game is a rip off

I want to believe that this game has its own charm

As a demo player, how do you describe the game?

[Lamplighter]

Originally posted by Someone:

Originally posted by Lamplighter:

Before I begin, let me just preface by saying that I did... not defeat the boss. Not even once. The controls are a lot to get used to, especially as somebody who has dedicated over a hundred hours in "Hollow Knight."

That being said, there is still a lot to take from my initial twenty minutes...

__________________________________________________________

PROS!

1) The art style and architecture are on a whole other level! Looking at all of the towering vistas just poking out, with a large... sun?... blasting rays out over the horizon is gorgeous! And being able to see the layers, with many roofs covering the... sun?... was a great touch!

2) The music gave me chills! It was haunting and just a tad off-key, but in the best way! It gave the location a lot more character, and lent further into the Gothic tone of the game.

3) The abilities are unique, and set it apart from other games, such as "Hollow Knight." I especially enjoyed having the gun, which gave a fresh variety to combat. I appreciated that abilities would be stopped short if the Plague Doctor was attacked. It was smart, and made me think more about when was the best time to use abilities such as the Corvian Abilities.

__________________________________________________________

CONS!

1) This is a simple complaint, but I would have loved to use my mouse controls, but it only allowed to toggle between keys on the keyboard. Perhaps I'm spoiled, but even other Indie projects have been able to compensate for mouse controls. (I want to left and right click!)

2) Some of the attacks done by the shield boss were a little... confusing. Specifically when the boss leaps in the air and begins throwing a blade barrage. While some attacks are easy enough to dodge, although dealing fair damage for slip-ups, some of those attacks I found almost unavoidable.

I hesitate to say this, given that I am not nearly the best gamer out there. Still, playing around a bit with different techniques, the few times that I survived was through accident and not skill.

To paint a picture, the blades will fall on two sides, starting at the middle, quickly raining all the way to the edge of the walls in the opposite direction. And since dashing does not make you immune to attacks (one of those luxuries I got used to in late-game "Hollow Knight"), I am really uncertain as to how that attack is dodged.

I have seen many people who said this game is a rip off

I want to believe that this game has its own charm

As a demo player, how do you describe the game?

It's a valid concern to have, but it is safe to say that it already has its own identity.

While the demo was just a boss - although, I am sure at least one more will release before the official date- its combat requires a lot more aggression, where your health can only be replenished twice and the "blood" (I'm not sure what it really is) allows you to use your Corvian Abilities more often (the demo' ability was a bullet spree).

Of course, it is a metroidvania, so I think some people could still argue that it is a ripoff, but I don't see that as the case. Any backers are given updates two or three times a week, and each one has a new list of different ideas that Team Mongoose wants to implement or even change.

Instead, I would say that they take clear inspiration from other metroidvanias. Even games that some more critical of "Crowsworn" may forget is that even those - such as "Hollow Knight" or "Ori" - took heavy inspiration from games such as "Metroid" or "Castlevania," such as with obtaining new abilities, backtracking to discover new areas, defeating an evil force, etc.

[Lamplighter]

Originally posted by Konidias:

Yeah I agree with most all of this...

As for how to dodge the blades... I sort of stumbled into running to the edge of the screen in one direction and that somehow allowed me to survive them one time. Not really sure how I'm supposed to know what direction they are going to rain down in or whatever... but yeah.

The thing I kept taking damage from was when they popped out of the ground. Don't really know where I'm supposed to go as they are across the entire length of the floor. Jumping lets you dodge the initial little thrust up, but then they just go up higher and I have no clue if there's a double jump or something, but I sure couldn't figure it out.

Honestly this is a really weird demo to release. There's zero tutorial or explanation on what to do, and you're thrust into this really insanely hard boss fight straight away. I did not find it fun or challenging.... just frustrating. You don't get to warm up and learn the controls on a practice dummy or anything... you literally just have to die a bunch of times to figure it out, and I don't really enjoy that at all.

I feel like this demo makes me less excited about the game instead of more excited.

For the blades that come out of the ground, there is a technique that I have seen, also being a "Hollow Knight" fan, called pogoing. Basically, you strike down at the blades.

A YouTuber, who also backed the game and covers "Crowsworn" news, posted a hitless fight that demonstrates how to do it. (I've also been watching it to figure out how to avoid the attacks I was irritated with.)

https://youtu.be/-A4rte-4gvU

And, as for the lack of tutorial, I have a theory: You see, a lot of people in the "Hollow Knight" community have been giving this game a lot of publicity, including the more well-known YouTubers (such as "Rusty" or "Relyea").

On top of that, their Kickstarter advertised itself as taking inspiration from "Hollow Knight."

So... I wonder if the lack of tutorial came from an understanding that many people jumping into "Crowsworn" have already played "Hollow Knight." After all, as somebody who adores "Hollow Knight," I can attest that the controls are similar to some capacity (with a few exceptions, including no mouse controls as of now).

Nonetheless, I am excited! And, demos mean that the team can collect feedback, so they can fix what people had a problem with. (I think that I have seen then respond to a few discussion posts before.)

[AnalogFlame]

I to also played a ton of hollow knight and I beat the boss in 17 minutes. I re mapped my controller to be more similar to hollow knight

[Calvinball8]

Originally posted by Konidias:

Yeah I agree with most all of this...

As for how to dodge the blades... I sort of stumbled into running to the edge of the screen in one direction and that somehow allowed me to survive them one time. Not really sure how I'm supposed to know what direction they are going to rain down in or whatever... but yeah.

The thing I kept taking damage from was when they popped out of the ground. Don't really know where I'm supposed to go as they are across the entire length of the floor. Jumping lets you dodge the initial little thrust up, but then they just go up higher and I have no clue if there's a double jump or something, but I sure couldn't figure it out.

Honestly this is a really weird demo to release. There's zero tutorial or explanation on what to do, and you're thrust into this really insanely hard boss fight straight away. I did not find it fun or challenging.... just frustrating. You don't get to warm up and learn the controls on a practice dummy or anything... you literally just have to die a bunch of times to figure it out, and I don't really enjoy that at all.

I feel like this demo makes me less excited about the game instead of more excited.

For the attack where it rains from one side while popping up from the other, air dash to the side where the spikes popping up start from, and for the spike floor, jump then pogo.

[Quylaa]

I died about 20 times learning the attacks and patterns of the boss, and never made it past the second "spear volley". Checked this thread, realized I can heal, and beat it the next try.

The spear+spike attack always damaged me, it just doesn't seem like enough time to move from one end of the field to the other before the spears catch up with you.

[beholderface]

The air dash can allow you to stall in the air for a moment if you hold down the key a bit longer, that helped me a lot when avoiding the spike floor

[drifter]

git gud!
For the controls, its really simple once your figure out what works for you. For me, its A-S-D for heal, reload, and CORVIAN POWER(actually busted, helps to melt boss)
Then its, Z-X-C for dodge, attack, and shoot.
Simple, yeah?

[Sorin]

Originally posted by Quylaa:

I died about 20 times learning the attacks and patterns of the boss, and never made it past the second "spear volley". Checked this thread, realized I can heal, and beat it the next try.

The spear+spike attack always damaged me, it just doesn't seem like enough time to move from one end of the field to the other before the spears catch up with you.

For when he goes into the air like that, its a lot easier if you try to stay just off center of the arena when he goes up, you dont want pure center but just off center in whichever direction youre coming from is, as far as i can tell, enough warning to avoid every attack when hes in the air, floor spikes is just a simple jump and air stall, spears is just find the gap, and the combo of both is air dash to wherever the floor spikes started, im p slow to react and was still able to get a cycle or two of no damage when hes in the air but i still always mess up somewhere but ive even recently become able to do the fight without healing and my record is only taking two damage both of which are from attacks i could have dodged and have dodged before but messed up that time around

[Sorin]

Originally posted by Lamplighter:

Originally posted by Someone:

I have seen many people who said this game is a rip off

I want to believe that this game has its own charm

As a demo player, how do you describe the game?

It's a valid concern to have, but it is safe to say that it already has its own identity.

While the demo was just a boss - although, I am sure at least one more will release before the official date- its combat requires a lot more aggression, where your health can only be replenished twice and the "blood" (I'm not sure what it really is) allows you to use your Corvian Abilities more often (the demo' ability was a bullet spree).

Of course, it is a metroidvania, so I think some people could still argue that it is a ripoff, but I don't see that as the case. Any backers are given updates two or three times a week, and each one has a new list of different ideas that Team Mongoose wants to implement or even change.

Instead, I would say that they take clear inspiration from other metroidvanias. Even games that some more critical of "Crowsworn" may forget is that even those - such as "Hollow Knight" or "Ori" - took heavy inspiration from games such as "Metroid" or "Castlevania," such as with obtaining new abilities, backtracking to discover new areas, defeating an evil force, etc.

i want to add that the demo power is actually different if youre holding the power button vs tapping, holding does the short range multi hit bullet barage, and tapping is a big range single hit laser

[Ty Fyter]

Originally posted by Someone:

I have seen many people who said this game is a rip off

These are people who didn't play a video-game before 2017 kek

[Cid]

Demo is for backers only I assume? Very interested to hear about the controls and whether they feel as tight/responsive as in HK

[Terron]

Originally posted by Konidias:

Yeah I agree with most all of this...

As for how to dodge the blades... I sort of stumbled into running to the edge of the screen in one direction and that somehow allowed me to survive them one time. Not really sure how I'm supposed to know what direction they are going to rain down in or whatever... but yeah.

The thing I kept taking damage from was when they popped out of the ground. Don't really know where I'm supposed to go as they are across the entire length of the floor. Jumping lets you dodge the initial little thrust up, but then they just go up higher and I have no clue if there's a double jump or something, but I sure couldn't figure it out.

Honestly this is a really weird demo to release. There's zero tutorial or explanation on what to do, and you're thrust into this really insanely hard boss fight straight away. I did not find it fun or challenging.... just frustrating. You don't get to warm up and learn the controls on a practice dummy or anything... you literally just have to die a bunch of times to figure it out, and I don't really enjoy that at all.

I feel like this demo makes me less excited about the game instead of more excited.

Your supposed to pogo off those spikes ;) Just jump and slash downward :)

[Terron]

Originally posted by Cid:

Demo is for backers only I assume? Very interested to hear about the controls and whether they feel as tight/responsive as in HK

I am shocked to hear the negative feedback on this demo. I absolutely loved it and it got me super psyched for the game. It controls beautifully, looks ad sounds amazing and is quite challenging but in the best way. I do feel that the dash is a little delayed and would prefer if it was an immediate activation though similar to hollow knight dash but overall I am in love.
EDIT: Just booted it up again and the dash feels fine now. I think they improved it~? Am I crazy? I dno whatever dash is fine now. Games amazing.