REVIEW : Crypt of the Serpent King Remastered 4K Edition (XBOX Series X)
I’ll begin this review by mentioning that I’m usually lenient when it comes to independent and budget releases. I’d rather play a short, janky, yet mechanically fascinating indie title than any “AAA” experience that consists of monotonous gameplay sections sandwiched between lavishly overproduced and overblown cutscenes. Even if I lower my expectations, Crypt of the Serpent King Remastered 4K Edition remains a mere upscaling of an already shallow game.
I’d normally begin by discussing any narrative components, but there are none. Despite appearing to be inspired by classic PC dungeon crawlers and blobbers from the late ’80s and early ’90s, Crypt of the Serpent King lacks any narrative context. Is each level a portion of the ostensibly named “Crypt of the Serpent King”? Why is there one sort of monster patrolling each level? Who created doors that require a dozen keys to open? All you receive is a “how to play” sub-menu that outlines the fundamentals: collect the keys, beat enemies for XP, loot chests for gold and food, face the boss, and finally progress to the next level.
If the gameplay loop was more fascinating, the lack of narrative aspects would be more acceptable, but Crypt of the Serpent King rapidly shows its mechanical depth – what little there is – and then appears satisfied to stretch out the experience with more extended key hunts in each succeeding level. You stomp around in the first person, participate in simplistic and repetitive battles, gather X-number of keys while avoiding primitive traps, open the gate to the boss, and defeat them after another bout of similarly uninspiring fighting.
Given that exploring consists of little more than going ahead, sometimes with a smidgeon of timing or pressing the leap button, the battle is undoubtedly the primary gameplay feature. I’ll admit that I was initially perplexed by the method and quickly reverted to typical foes on the first level when dealing blows. However, I quickly realised that these werewolf-like monsters could be lured into an assault, easily avoided by backpedalling, and then hit with a follow-up blow. It was over after two repetitions. What I didn’t expect was for the same strategy to work for the first boss, enemies in the second level, the second boss, and so on.
Sure, some foes have more strikes or a longer range, but that just means you have to backpedal a little further or wait a little longer before counter-attacking. The main danger came from aggroing numerous enemies (which was difficult considering their spacing), forcing myself into a corner in the tight boss arenas, or being bored and playing carelessly. New weapons normally have increased damage and range, and you can unlock two ranged variations with limited ammunition per level, but they feel superfluous. Once you’ve learned the bait-and-counter routine, even playing on hard with no health-restoring food in chests is manageable.
What surprised me was the rogue-lite framework and a very balanced progression system. At the end of each level, you can invest your gold in new gear and spend your XP to improve three traits that allow you to deal more damage, take less damage, and move somewhat quicker. If you die, you’ll be reset to the beginning of the current level, with all of your XP and gold gone (unless you’re playing on easy).
If you explore each level systematically, you’ll almost always find enough gold and XP to buy the next most costly weapon and enhance each attribute once. The disadvantage of this design is that each level ends up playing out in the same way, with foes dealing about the same amount of damage and succumbing to around the same number of blows, reinforcing the sense of repetition.
Another factor that can work in favour of small or low-budget games is a distinct aesthetic, which Crypt of the Serpent King lacks. The procedural generation engine generates enormous but empty environments with a serious lack of diversity in textures, opponent designs, and props. Given the abundance of free 3D asset libraries, it’s also impressive that the levels are sparse enough to pass for PS2 fare.
In combat, taking damage causes an annoying red haze to obscure your vision, yet dealing damage to adversaries causes the shortest recoil animation, making it difficult to know if you hit or miss. Environments, weapons, and monsters appear significantly clearer in this “Remastered 4K Edition,” but in a smoothed-over and poorly upscaled manner. Unfortunately, even after multiple attribute increases, movement is constantly sluggish, and fighting animations lack impact, making melee combat particularly unpleasant.
The dramatic, tension-inducing soundtrack, on the other hand, impressed me. The tunes don’t differ dramatically from level to level, but they create an unnerving impact similar to the classic Resident Evil and Silent Hill games; not subtle, but effective in producing atmosphere. They’re combined with a draw distance that ensures everything beyond 10 metres is cloaked in darkness, so the music frequently cranks up just as an adversary emerges from the darkness ahead of you. Of course, this means more unpleasant, poorly rendered combat, and the impact wears off quickly. Although I don’t have a nostalgic attachment to vintage PC dungeon crawlers like Eye of the Beholder or Ultimate Underworld, I am a major fan of more recent titles like Legend of Grimrock and Vaporum. Maybe that’s an unduly high bar to set, given that Crypt of the Serpent King costs the same as a cup of takeout coffee, but it feels like the devs merely developed the most basic foundations of a game and then sold it – twice. I had anticipated something inexpensive but well-constructed, rather than inexpensive but rudimentary. Overall, accomplishment hunters are the type of people that would appreciate Crypt of the Serpent King Remastered 4K Edition.
