Don't Crawl

Frustration is a given in platformers, because you are bound to fall into a trap at some point, or get stuck on a difficult section that appears to be impenetrable. However, with enough patience and concentration, even the most difficult levels can be passed eventually. In case you are a fan of the genre, you know that there’s always a pattern to follow, which allows you to take advantage of the AI’s weaknesses.

Don't Crawl is a simple 2D platformer with basic gameplay mechanics and classic level design features, but with an interesting addition: multiplayer. However, unlike what you may be thinking, the multiplayer is not about two players cooperating to deal with the traps more efficiently. Instead, you have to compete with each other, and you can either be the hero trying to escape, or the monsters trying to stop him.

The hero is not very special at all, since he can only jump and move left and right. He cannot take a punch or be touched by anything at all, otherwise he dies a painful death. The monsters, on the other hand, are a lot more dangerous, and even invulnerable sometimes. However, they are also rather immobile and stiff in most cases, which balances the equation.

Don't Crawl’s biggest disadvantage is the fact that it doesn’t feature more maps to explore and practice on. The difficulty level is very tough and intriguing, which means that it would have been a lot of fun to keep playing at least some sort of short campaign. In fact, there is only one map in multiplayer as well, which is rather disappointing, not to mention repetitive after a few matches.

Thankfully, at least the controls are smooth and responsive, which makes it simple to interact with the characters on the screen. The graphics are pretty nice as well, even if they are designed to look old and washed out. Sound-wise, the old-school successfully manage to infuse the gameplay with nostalgia, but it’s still a shame that the project isn’t more developed than this.

Don't Crawl has what it takes to become a fan favorite, if only more content was part of the mix. Other than that, the multiplayer is decent, and you can really have some fun with a friend by trying to undermine each other’s plans.