Screenshots & trailers
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 79 | 6 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 95% | 89 | 1000 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | – | 0 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 100% | 97 | 7 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Acclaim gate: the raw blend lands at 88.3, but scores above 88 must be earned in front of a mass audience; this verdict rests on 7,335 player reviews, a largely self-selected fanbase. As more players weigh in, the ceiling rises (full scale unlocks at 100,000 reviews).
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 21 reviews sampled · 19 total reviews in window · weighted 13.2 up / 0 down · computed 3h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (25)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 90
“As you might have guessed, we really like Crawl, and we'd bet our collected stash of gold and wrath you will, too. It's great fun in single-player thanks to some aggressive AI that will hound you at every moment, but that consistent danger takes on a new lease of enjoyment when you and three of your friends are jostling for XP and that all important killing blow. Couchplay doesn't get much better than this on Switch.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Crawl is an absolutely brilliantly-designed mutliplayer game without question. While you can’t completely stop a player with runaway skills from always winning the game tries very hard to keep everyone in a balance, at least when it comes to opportunity. If you’re stuck as a spirit for most of the game you’ll absolutely have the most lethal monsters, so hopefully with even a little skill that will then open the door to becoming the hero. Once someone is able to crack Level 10 the tension amps up and just getting to the Portal room becomes its own challenge, but then once you face the final boss know that your friends are going to work together to try to bring you down. At some point someone will finally get the gear it may take to finally win but the likelihood is that multiple people could have gotten a crack at the final fight by that time. I love the design of the game, and would absolutely recommend it to anyone who is able to play consistently with some friends of roughly equal skill. For those who would only be able to play it alone it can still be a challenging roguelike of sorts, just understand you’re losing the soul of what makes the game extraordinary in the process.”
read full review ↗ - 75
“As a local multiplayer title, Crawl stands out amongst other roguelikes. It's fun and simple gameplay is easy to pick-up for pretty much any level of gamer. However, without friends to play it with, this is not a game worth playing. Alone, Crawl runs at a pace that lives up to its name.”
read full review ↗ - 73
“Crawl is a pixel art based dungeon crawler that gives an extraordinary experience that improves so much when is played with friends. Become a hero or fight against him controlling an interesting catalogue of demons and creatures. Crawl is an incredible fun game that gives so many options to play as you want.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“There’s no doubting the enjoyment that’s possible in Crawl. I would love to have seen a proper story mode that allows the unlocking of items, etc, because the universe the devs have created is intriguing. There’s a lot here to love, but a lot that can lower the experience. It doesn’t have the draw of an Isaac or Gungeon and it won’t beat out ARMS or Mario Kart 8 Deluxe when you have friends round, but it’s worthy of time because it does so many things differently.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“Crawl is definitely worth a download, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I have!”
read full review ↗ - 72
“A fun game that's eve funnier when played with friends on its local multiplayer. If it's not played that way, Crawl will show its less good side, being a bit dull.”
read full review ↗ - 81
“Crawl is an exceptional multiplayer that takes a huge advantage of the Switch's portability. An unique game that should be present in all parties.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“Crawl hooked me in from the get-go thanks to its unique take on dungeon-crawling, with the constant shift between playing the hero and the enemy proving incredibly entertaining, especially when playing with three other friends. It’s certainly a whole lot different to the norm as far as the genre is concerned and it makes for something that never seems to stop being fun to play. The single player isn’t as fun as playing with friends and there could be a few balance issues here and there, but in all Crawl stands out as a must-own title for Nintendo Switch owners who love a unique take on competitive (and at times co-operative) local multiplayer action.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Crawl is a fun co-op dungeon crawler that sets the hero against his ghostly former friends as they race to make it out of the dungeon alive. Its innovative game mechanic keeps heroes and monsters at much the same level throughout, so the hero has to stay on his toes as he and the ghosts fight it out for control of the one remaining body in the dungeon. With the procedurally-generated nature of the title, players needn't fear getting bored with the same old dungeons and enemies each time, and fighting one's way through epic co-op battles will be a good time with friends. The game suffers in single-player, however, by giving an obvious edge to the AI and being overwhelming for those just starting the game. The achievements will offer a challenge to even hardcore gamers in both the range of different types of achievements as well as the difficulty of several of them. Fans will find plenty to keep them busy.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Crawl is a fairly decent dungeon crawler that’s made a hell of a lot better when played with friends. It suffers from some slightly imprecise controls and an art style that, while great to look at, can make for a confusing cacophony of chaos that can lead to player death. It’s also a riot to play with some friends, with some of the best multiplayer gaming I’ve played so far this year. The only downside to that is that there isn’t any online options.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Crawl is quite something. It's an opposition of co-op. You, the player, need to fight against not only the AI, but also you companions on the couch as they control vengeful ghosts. When they kill you, they regain their former life. Are you ready to see how strong your friendship is?”
read full review ↗
Nintendo Life
Nindie Spotlight
NintendoWorldReport
SomosXbox
Nintendo Insider
PS3Blog.net
IGN
Quillstreak
Use a Potion
TrueAchievements
Words About Games
Pixelophobia…and 13 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Crawl Full Release!Apr 11, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- Crawl Full Release!Apr 11, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- Update v0.12: Eye BatDec 16, 2016
- Update v0.12: Eye BatDec 16, 2016significant · resets scoring window
- Update v0.11: Vengeful SpectreOct 28, 2016
- Update v0.11: Vengeful SpectreOct 28, 2016significant · resets scoring window
- Update v0.10: Giant RatAug 10, 2016
- Update v0.10: Giant RatAug 10, 2016significant · resets scoring window
- Update v0.9: Kevin The DestroyerMay 20, 2016
- Update v0.9: Kevin The DestroyerMay 20, 2016significant · resets scoring window
- Update v0.8: Vault SeekerDec 4, 2015significant · resets scoring window
- Update v0.8: Vault SeekerDec 4, 2015
- Update v0.7: Dark YureiSep 11, 2015significant · resets scoring window
- Update v0.7: Dark YureiSep 11, 2015
- Update v0.6: Greater SpikewurmJul 27, 2015significant · resets scoring window
- Update v0.6: Greater SpikewurmJul 27, 2015
- Update v0.5: Flame SkeletonMay 8, 2015
- Update v0.5: Flame SkeletonMay 8, 2015
- Update v0.4: Bone WardenFeb 25, 2015
- Update v0.4: Bone WardenFeb 25, 2015
- Update v0.3: Plague MushroomJan 15, 2015significant · resets scoring window
- Update v0.3: Plague MushroomJan 15, 2015
- Update v0.2: Demon LordSep 26, 2014significant · resets scoring window
- Update v0.2: Demon LordSep 26, 2014
- Crawl Minor Update v0.01.02Aug 25, 2014
- Crawl Minor Update v0.01.02Aug 25, 2014