Crowntakers Review

Developer: Kalypso Media Group GmbH
Price: $4.99
Version Reviewed: 1.1.4
App Reviewed on: iPad Mini Retina

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Overall Rating:

Combining turn-based strategy, hexagonal game boards, and some Roguelike elements, Crowntakers somehow manages to not seem too similar to everything else out there. It’s often a little unforgiving but that doesn’t stop it from being quite enticing, too.

You play a hero in medieval times as he seeks to save the land from evil and terror. Yeah, it’s not the most original of plots, but it’s sufficient in giving you a purpose. You move around by tapping on a direction and exploring a set route. At times, you’ll come across cottages or towers which can be explored, with the chance of finding items or gold to aid your quest. You can find inns in which you can recruit mercenaries to help you, too.

Other times, you’ll come across wolves and other enemies, which is when combat kicks in. You’re taken to a different screen, where you take it in turns to make a series of moves. It’s simple stuff but also quite tricky. You’re limited in what you can do and sometimes Crowntakers can be quite unbalanced in terms of placements. There’s also the issue of time. Each move you make outside of combat adds to the game’s clock with your enemies becoming stronger the longer time goes by. You don’t want to dawdle but you also want to be able to explore surrounding areas, leading to a conflict of interest.

Further challenge comes in your choice of difficulty level. Easy gives you the chance to retain your current level every time you die, meaning grinding is effective here. Normal takes away that luxury and seems much more like a hard mode than normal.

That’s the thing with Crowntakers - it’s quite tough. You’ll enjoy chipping away at things, though - unlocking new perks, and steadily improving your armor and weaponry at a blacksmith. It might not be the most original combination of games but that doesn’t mean it's not worth checking out.