Ugly, Brutal, and Strangely Satisfying, The Cursed Crusade Hits Me Where It Hurts
By Alex Chen | January 01, 0001
Necessary roughness https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLKdv9b0Ego A little-known title from an unproven developer being released at the budget price of $39.99, The Cursed Crusade doesn’t seem to have a lot going for it, but in the ringing of an iron mace against an enemy’s plate-covered head, I found promise.(new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=995c4c7d-194f-4077-b0a0-7ad466eb737c&cid=872d12ce-453b-4870-845f-955919887e1b'; cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "995c4c7d-194f-4077-b0a0-7ad466eb737c" }).render("79703296e5134c75a2db6e1b64762017"); }); Set in the time of the fourth crusade, The Cursed Crusade follows a pair of unlikely heroes (they’re never likely) as they travel across Western Europe, seeking answers to familiar questions and a means to rid themselves yono business of a curse that has death nipping at their heels. The story is an odd mix of the historical and supernatural, much like the strange combination of the holy Templar Denz and the Spanish scoundrel Esteban, polar opposites bound by a common cause. Though you wouldn’t know it by the way they fight. I’ve not been engaged by the story of The Cursed Crusade. If anything the horrible voice acting and sloppy graphics are actively trying to push me away from Kylotonn Games’ creation. It’s the damn fighting that keeps pulling me back. This isn’t a game about dancing about your opponents, performing outrageous acrobatic maneuvers while slicing effortlessly through layers of impenetrable armor. This is a game about cold iron against steel. It’s about slow, deliberate movements. It’s about killing one foe and moving onto the next with a brutal efficiency. If you want to take down a fully armored foe with a mace, you’re going to have to beat that armor off his body before getting to the soft, chewy center. There rummy meet is complexity lurking beneath the savage beatings.