CRYMELIGHT review

There’s no shortage of roguelike action games built around Hades-style gameplay. Clearing rooms, choosing upgrades, and coming back just a bit stronger after an untimely death has become a familiar framework. As such, a successful newcomer needs to add something to the formula. CRYMELIGHT strives to do that with a troubled Wonderland, poker-inspired character builds, and some routinely gorgeous artwork. FuRyu and Winning Entertainment Group’s effort has several adept qualities, particularly when it injects its characters’ troubles into the familiar fairy-tale setting. That said, the longer you spend fighting toward its Queen, the tougher it is to ignore how much of the journey feels borrowed.

Here, Wonderland is a prison for departed souls, and its amnesiac heroine is given the name Alice by the White Rabbit. The White Rabbit introduces her to a killing game with a straightforward ultimatum: defeat the Queen and earn your freedom. Accompanied by the mysterious Mary, Alice encounters other literary-rooted participants with their own painful personal histories. Discovering the experiences behind their alleged sins gradually becomes more compelling than the competition itself. Given the plotline’s remix of Lewis Carroll’s work, all the polite gatherings and curious identities are well-suited for a story about how punishment is issued.

A Nearly Sublyme Narrative

Thankfully, the storyline follows those questions into some pretty dark places. Without getting into spoiler territory, abuse, guilt, and childhood trauma are all explored, giving the cast more substance than the Alice in Wonderland motif might initially suggest. Alice’s bluntness also helps things. Her attachment to Mary provides urgency to the proceedings without making her too sympathetic to everyone she meets. Much of this comes from conversations presented in a visual novel format, where conflicting motives make the exchanges worth reading. However, the structure isn’t without the occasional issue, like when repeated battles delay the next significant revelation.

Fortunately, Alice has a wide collection of ways to dish out some hurt, as well. A chained familiar does the fighting, with weapons that include anchors, a spear, and an orb used for explosive magic. Light attacks open things up for heavier strikes, while a grab lets you fling enemies and pieces of scenery. Meanwhile, Crymeride provides faster movement across an arena and a spinning attack that can reflect projectiles. Collectively, these offensive options give you plenty of options to consider at any given moment. One of the best moments comes from throwing a foe into a group of gathered opponents, damaging the entire horde.

CRYME to the Moon and Let Me Play My Cards

While the ‘pick one of three’ Crime Cards are derivative, they do offer a bit of experimentation. Each card offers a beneficial effect alongside a playing card’s rank and suit. You assemble a hand of up to five cards, with poker combinations strengthening their effects. As such, the strongest single bonus might not be as useful as the card that completes a combination. I like how this caused me to hesitate at the reward screen. Sometimes, an immediate attack upgrade was essential. But the potential to wait and build a winning hand was an irresistible option as well.

Another welcome addition is the Wonder Dimension, a field that spreads as enemies die, strengthening Alice and accelerating the action. It encourages you to keep applying pressure, giving each fight a sense of momentum. An inevitable defeat rewinds time and returns you to the Tea Party Hall, where repentance converts collected sins into upgrade materials. If church adopted this approach, I’d be a believer. Mercifully, weapons and accessories can grow stronger even though your cards disappear. This approach helps soften the impact of failure, although progression can be a bit laborious. Too often, another attempt means fighting the same enemies, and a few improved stats don’t always give enough incentive to counteract the repetition.

Is it a CRYME?

Visually, CRYMELIGHT is a delight. Characters are richly detailed, with fancy clothing and little touches that underscore the fairy-tale setting. A colorful Wonderland contrasts well with the rougher, sketch-like style used when depicting painful memories. But the busy effects can undermine the action by making incoming attacks harder to read. Sakuzyo’s soundtrack supplies an effective mixture of whimsy and uneasiness, complementing the plot quite well.

Unfortunately, some difficulty spikes can make you mad as a hatter. Bosses require a greater understanding of attack patterns than the preceding crowds, and even Story mode still expects you to learn their routines. At their best, these encounters put your dodging, throws, and projectile reflection to satisfying use. At worst, the sudden increase in punishment makes another return trip feel exhausting. The Steam review build also suffered from freezes and progression-blocking bugs, including a boss that remained alive after its health reached zero. These failures are especially aggravating when they ruin a run. Losing to a difficult boss isn’t nearly as bad as being unable to finish one due to a bug.

A Solid Action Roguelyke

Ultimately, CRYMELIGHT gives you good reasons to care about Wonderland’s characters. The darker storytelling delivers some poignancy, Crime Cards make upgrading thorny, and the art makes the game a pleasure to look at. But those qualities have to work against occasionally tedious encounters and uneven difficulty, which can dampen the delights.

Anyone drawn to troubled characters and unsettling fairy tales will find an appealing storyline here, provided they have enough patience for repetition between the big revelations. As an action roguelite, CRYMELIGHT remains a capable but derivative title whose most memorable moments happen outside the fighting.

CRYMELIGHT was played on PC with review code provided by the publisher.