14 DAY TRIAL // 
The cube is angry. I tried to move around it because I really didn’t think I needed to kill all creatures I encountered, and my group had already sneaked its way past a bat and a skeleton. But this blob is having none of that and I need to quickly use my words to fight it. In quick succession, my four party members deliver hits, jabs, and zaps. One of them yells to get another to act.
We take a few hits, but the blob is dead and drops letters. I selected an “I”, but it fits with nothing that my four characters are trying to evoke at the moment. There’s no other reward, which contributes to my determination to sneak when possible. There’s a chest in the same room and I get the Cryptmaster to look at it, taste it, and try to wear it before getting what we are dealing with.
I get a few more letters and we reveal a drown memory for Nyx. I need to unlock more offensive powers for the group because my enemies will probably start having longer names soon. While we do that, it’s also important to discover more crowns, which probably means I need to prepare to deal with more skeleton-king created riddles.
Cryptmaster is developed by Paul Hart, Lee Williams, and Akupara Games, with publishing handled by Akupara Games. I played using Steam on the PC, the only platform on which it is available. The game creates a dungeon exploration experience where everything is powered by words.
The story is about a group of four legendary heroes, revived by a mysterious power called the Cryptmaster. Turned into undead and sustained by a Soulstone, the group now climbs toward the surface, exploring some pretty classic fantasy space while trying to recover more of their memories. Will the four understand who they were and what drove them to save the world? And how will their revelations affect their ability to stand up to the necromancer whose power is now sustaining them?
The fantasy world is structured in familiar ways, with characters who share a little about themselves and issue quests. Completing them to open up access to new areas and learn more about the world. Conversations are somewhat freeform, although only the right response will open up new options. Still, the amount of writing is impressive.
The player’s party moves as one, in old-school dungeon exploration fashion. The map is always visible and it’s easy to spot both enemies and points of interest in an area. And all interactions involve typing words, something as quickly as possible, and then hitting Enter. Write Chest to open one up and then use verbs to get clues from the Cryptmaster before guessing what’s inside. Or type the name of character abilities in combat, taking down enemies one letter of their name at a time.
Some exploration moments also require players to write the name of an action and opening up new areas can feature locks that are also centered around guessing words. To heal the party and save the game, gamers will have to think of ways to desecrate altars. Other heroes’ skulls are hidden throughout the world, ready to present players with riddles.
More importantly, typing is the only way to unlock abilities for the party and unlock new memories. Letters collected from chests and defeated enemies help but there’s still a fair amount of guessing, based on the heroes’ archetypes and what gamers have already uncovered. There were moments when I spent 3 to 5 minutes thinking of words that could be associated with characters, based on just 2 or 3 letters.
Cryptmaster isn’t afraid to give players new systems to play with. There’s a card-driven battler that asks players to choose pairs of letters to deal damage and activate special abilities. It’s a decent diversion but do not expect the depth of something like Gwent. Cards will issue rap battle-style challenges and there are also opportunities to collect creatures.
Good pacing means it's hard to become bored with any of the game’s ideas. Remembering command words during combat sequences can sometimes become annoying, especially when going from one engagement to another. Don’t be afraid to allow the necromancer to take over when riddles become too complex.
The game works hard to be accessible to as many players as possible. The game’s central idea, of using words to interact with as much of the world as possible, is engaging enough that even those who are not fans of the dungeon crawling genre should play it.
Cryptmaster uses black and white graphics, with players able to add some color via the options menu. It’s a bold choice that makes the fairly classic take on a fantasy world more interesting. The four heroes are always just faces at the bottom of the screen and most enemy designs are standard for the genre. The interface has to be navigated using either a keyboard or a controller and can be a little cumbersome.
The soundtrack is good, with relaxed tracks for the exploration moments that shift to 80s rock when combat starts. Combat effects aren’t engaging. I like the effort put into the voice work, especially for the Cryptmaster himself. It manages to make the adventure feel epic while also gently mocking the adventurers when they do something stupid or when they struggle to find the right words for a situation.
The Good
- Word-driven mechanics
- Presentation and voice work
- Variety of typing challenges
The Bad
- Some combat frustration
- Mini-games don’t add a lot
- Quite a few fantasy tropes played straight
Conclusion
World-building is pretty good, and the presentation adds to it with its striking black-and-white. Only the combat can sometimes feel like a chore, especially when enemies with long names start showing up. I never got tired of listening closely for bug sounds but some players might. Cryptmaster is a perfect example of how wonderful an indie title with a strong innovative mechanic can be and it should find as wide an audience as possible.
Review key provided by the publisher.
