Crowsworn Devs Give New Insight In Anniversary Trailer Breakdown
The upcoming action-packed gothic metroidvania, Crowsworn, got a swath of new info, and it goes much deeper than just what the trailer shows.
Crowsworn recently received a new trailer to mark the anniversary of the beginning of their Kickstarter campaign. The trailer revealed a lot of previously unseen footage, such as new enemies, bosses, areas, and gameplay mechanics. There were also a pair of beautifully unsettling animated cutscenes both at the start and at end of it.
To many, that satiated the hunger for new info about this stunning-looking 2D action-platformer, but for the more curious folk, Mongoose Rodeo, the development studio in question, posted an update on their Kickstarter that reveals even more information.
The project’s Kickstarter campaign was first announced back in early 2021, and it immediately got a swarm of positive attention. Many were struck by its dark yet beautiful visuals, somewhat reminiscent of Hollow Knight in its detailed animations and heavy-impact combat.
The campaign was funded in less than three hours, and eventually reached every single one of its stretch goals. The devs describe the game as a “hand-drawn Metroidvania with a strong design emphasis on explorative platforming, immersive combat, and compelling storytelling.”
One of the first things they get into in this recent Kickstarter update, is the unusual excitement behind a new enemy called the Mausoleum Shoveler, which you can see in the trailer at minute 1:03. As silly, and perhaps adorable, as they might look, Mongoose Rodeo affirms that they should not be underestimated, for they “have some pretty responsive AI under the hood. Being capable of back-dodging, leaping between platforms, and delay-telegraphing attacks…”
They go on to describe the location where you’ll find these Shovelers, known as the Mausoleum. They hesitated on going into too much detail about this place, and why it exists, but explain that it’s “primarily themed around light, darkness, and ghostly apparitions of varying kinds…” They further elaborate that the location will have some aspects about it that will surprise players. It was also confirmed that the disturbing multi-legged creature seen at 0:52 is a boss, which had been in development for a long time.
The concept of ‘Corvian Ultimates’ was explained; this being the flashy move the player does at 0:55. One of the game’s systems is ‘Malice’ which builds up with melee attacks, and can be spent on powerful ‘Corvian powers.’ The idea of the Ultimates was to reward players for not taking hits. If your Malice meter is full, it has an overcharge mechanic, which resets to full the moment you’re hit. However, if you manage to overcharge entirely, meaning to fill the meter up twice without being hit, then you can do these ‘Corvian Ultimates’ which are described as “super powerful.” They specify that, for speedrunners, the animation cutscenes they trigger can be disabled.
Mongoose Rodeo also shared a private beta demo with some backers. Though you needed to have pledged over CAD $55 ($42 USD) to have access to it, live footage is available to view on YouTube. The demo is only one boss fight, however, it is the first playable taste the gaming audience has gotten of Crowsworn.
Crowsworn is slated to release on December 2023 for PC. Mongoose Rodeo has stated it plans to bring the game to other platforms as well.
Jose Garcia
Jose is an experienced video game analyst and reviewer, who earned his chops producing long-form video essays about the industry, those getting him his first bit of online recognition. His thousands of hours into Smash and Pokemon earn him the well-deserved title of “Nintendo Nerd” (he likes to say expert), but at heart, he, like many of us, is someone who appreciates the art of games in all its forms.
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