Crypt Custodian Review: Rebel With A Cause (PS5)

I’ve been taken aback by just how good Crypt Custodian is. I haven’t played Islets but had heard good things. Then I heard the buzz for Crypt Custodian and it’s hard to compare expectations with your own experience. You just assume it’s going to be a fun time. I didn’t expect to be compelled to scour every inch of the screen to collect 100% and complete Boss Rush Mode.

Crypt Custodian will require extensive use of the map, but the world is extremely easy to explore – once you acquire your upgrades. The world has a broken, haunted feel to it in which you are the connective tissue. It did feel that with your help, bringing your band of misfits together gives you a mission to believe in.

There are a few quibbles – important information not displayed on the map is a good example – you may need a guide of some description – but as an experience to play through, any fan of the Metroidvania genre is going to have a great time with this one.

Crypt Custodian was released in August 2024 and is available to play on PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch and PC.

Crypt Custodian is a isometric Metroidvania with systems that reminded me another great game, Death’s Door. Ciprian Ghibridic went through this one and here’s what he thought of it (it’s great – play it as well!)

Story: Grabbing The Afterlife By The Broom

This is the story of Pluto the Cat. You’re dead. That’s right: having lived a great life, it turns out you lost your family. Life in the world wasn’t kind to you, and you died.

To be told this story, we were met by Pip and The Boss – Kendra. Kendra is the Overseer who decides who is granted access to The Palace – and who is banished to the OUTSIDE. Our story is a sad one. However, there is one small problem; to see Kendra, we had to destroy some pottery. A couple of statues. Her statues. They were in the way! So Kendra is cross with you. You’re banished to the outside to be a janitor. Forever.

To remedy this injustice, Pluto is going to have to travel the Outside and meet other unfortunate souls who are in the same predicament. In helping others, hopefully we can band together and remedy our situation?

Crypt Custodian is great at its environmental storytelling. While scouring the world, I really enjoyed just finding out things for myself. The world is diverse; each area looks different. It always felt good to meet characters and find out their story, while bosses were always a thrill to find.

In your quest, you must find friends before progressing to the end goal. There are ten to find. Crypt Custodian doesn’t hold your hand or give any way points for direction, so your playtime will vary in finding everyone you need to. I think it made the story a little longer than necessary, but enjoyment will vary for everyone. Overall, I really enjoyed my time.

While Crypt Custodian’s main quest is simple, the devil is in the details. And it’s worth exploring to find out.

Pluto is out to save the souls outside the Palace. And avoid the wrath of Kendra

Gameplay: Great Combat Accompanies Chilled, Thorough Exploration

I really enjoyed my time with Crypt Custodian. A normal story playthrough will take someone 10-15 hours. I went for the Platinum on PlayStation, which took me around 40 hours. And the reason I went out of my way for it, is because despite the odd frustration, Crypt Custodian is a damn good time.

Movement and Exploration

So Pluto the Cleaner is out and about exploring the Outside World with his trusty broom. First thing to notice is how smooth Pluto was to control. He has a solid swing of his boomerang, movement was great. Pluto has a dash mechanic to dodge incoming attacks which must refill before use. You can’t fall off the edge of platforms unless you specifically jump which was nice.

The world itself was easy to navigate but you need to be good at platforming. There were a lot of small areas of land connected with wooden bridges. Logs in the river. Separated platforms. Plenty of out of reach areas. You really needed to use the camera well. Your dodge mechanic was key as you connected to bubbles separated in the air. Use of the map is really needed. It has a zoom in and out feature for you to notice if a room had an extra exit. Some areas needed an extra something. Those were…..

There were many platforming sections to get from one side of a room to the other. The platforms here moved a certain direction when stood on.

Upgrades, Special Attacks and New Moves

Naturally you will see paths you can’t explore in your current condition. Dealing with bosses rewarded you with new abilities. Being able to throw your broom far distances. Changing the dodge into a dash. Being able to enter spectral form was a cool one. This meant you could explore more of the areas when the moveset became available, making you feel like a badass cat.

Exploring the world would also reward you with upgrades and special attacks. Some of these could be bought from the Misfits local Tavern, The Sinner’s Inn. To buy anything, you needed to collect rubbish. That’s right. You’re supposed to be a cleaner after all. Defeating enemies and cleaning up areas rewards you with trash as currency for buying important things.

Crypt Custodian also has Upgrade Points. You could buy these, find them out in the world or be rewarded for completing puzzles or enemy arenas. Your skill set allowed you to equip ONE special attack. Your upgrades could be selected by how many upgrade points you had and how many points an upgrade cost – usually between 3 and 5.

Scouring the world for upgrade points meant you could apply lots of these abilities. And a lot of them were useful, from increased damage, faster movement, spirits which help in battle. I initially felt there were too many, but with enough points, they’ll become used and it feels good to be a badass.

Last point is the Special attack. You can choose between eight options. Attacking enemies fills a pot in the top left of your screen and once full, you’re able to use it. It was a great addition. I mostly only used two or three to be fair. Locked on and Super Sweep were the best ones, but it’s nice to have options.

This is a information sheet you can update throughout the game. The rectangle shows all available upgrades and the line below are your special attacks.

Collectibles and Challenges

To be able to obtain certain abilities and upgrade points, you could find Curse Shrines. These deployed restrictions on you. Defeat x amount of enemies with a time frame or while landmines travel behind you. They were fun asides. There were plenty of enemy kill boxes to take care of as well which tested your skill.

Within the world, there were plenty of items to collect. Music discs to play in the Tavern jukebox. Releasing trapped spirits. Finding pictures of characters you’ve met, they were nice in showing a small bit of backstory. 

Crypt Custodian also had plenty of environmental puzzles to solve as well. From hitting items onto other platforms. To killing enemies to collect keys to unlock gates. To stepping on lights in the correct order. There was plenty to do as well as combat.

Until a late game addition, one problem I have with the map, apart from my liberal use of it, is that when collecting or finding something of interest, it’s not marked on the map for you. There is an icon system for you to do it yourself but I’d preferred an automated system.

I enjoyed the puzzles. They were interactive and fun despite being simple.

Combat and Bosses

Crypt Custodian as well as exploring, is about fighting. Combat was crisp and sharp. I never felt it was the games’ fault I couldn’t do something. Enemies were designed to telegraph attacks so you always knew something was coming. I felt the enemy variety was very good and everything felt unique, they all had different patterns to learn. The world also had plenty of environmental attacks, mostly something spitting fire at you. So a decent amount of timing and platforming needed to navigate the world.

Crypt Custodian bosses were incredibly fast, frantic and great fun to master. Yes, I died many a time, but learning boss enemy patterns is the experience. Plenty of the bosses also has their own variation on enemy attacks as well, from wave based systems to bullet hell shooters.

In the main menu, once bosses were defeated, there is also another mode: Boss Rush with each boss having three difficulty levels. Was a little something extra which was fun.

Apart from the collectible side of things where you do need help, Crypt Custodian was brilliant to explore and take on.

The Bosses were fast, fluid and great fun and all of them felt different

Graphics: Brilliant Art Style

Crypt Custodian always looked great. The main characters had a cartoon style expression to them, and the animations are simple but nice. The story cutscenes have no voiced dialogue but were well made.

The world’s art style I felt was amazing. From the grassy and mossy stoned areas of the Weeping Wastes. To Mira’s Basement which has Purple hue everywhere. Neon Crest has the ethereal space like quality to it. The Tower and it’s steel structures.

Yes, Crypt Custodian mechanically is all separate platforms connected by bridges, but everywhere has a distinct feel to it. Some of the environmental storytelling was good. Showing Statues of people who have lived here, or beings who have fallen on hard times. There’s even a cinema. The use of colour was great. Yes, the odd area does looks like another one but overall, the variety on display was great.

The cutscenes for Crypt Custodian are short but very sweet

Music and Sound: A Joy To Experience

The characters in the game are voiced but it’s the usual “gibberish” which is totally fine. The sound effects all sound great from movement, to enemy attacks. To seeing the special abilities in action. It all sounds heightened like from a cartoon but also grounded in reality, every blow felt tactile.

Crypt Custodian’s soundtrack is one of the best I’ve heard since I probably reviewed Planet of Lana, it’s genuinely beautiful to listen to. The boss fights are pulse poundingly great which gets you in the zone, but the world music for each zone just felt right for each area. I can’t even describe why specifically. It just added that something extra to the joy of exploration, the music was on the journey of melancholic discovery with you. The soundtrack was created by Eric Thompson, and you should just listen to it for yourself. 

Crypt Custodian was played and reviewed on PlayStation 5.