Thank you so much for visiting the crypt! A charming video with which I have only one complaint - I may have been dead for centuries but the ice-cream scoop at 2:58 still made me flinch so hard my head fell off.
The game sounds super interesting! Am wondering if there'll be some sort of option in settings to replace speed typing with something more turn based, as personally my fingers lose all coordination the moment I'm reminded of the mechanical requirements of typing such as in typing speed tests or even just somebody watching my screen 😅 Y'know, the way somebody reminding you of how your tongue is sitting in your mouth suddenly makes it impossible to make it sit comfortably, or being made aware of your breathing meaning you're now doing so manually. Your welcome 😜
Watched a friend stream it. Was delighted. Began recommending it to people. Might get it myself. Thought the card game was neat. Helped friend by remembering what some of their attacks were called.
I remember when Barry was playing the demo, he typed "Amogus", and the Cryptmaster responded, "Unfortunately, due to copyright laws, I am unable to respond to that"
What a journey. From “demon souls is unreasonably hard, shove it up yourself” to “this is demanding but ultimately fair and incredibly rewarding” to “this is unreasonably hard for a souls game, shove it up yourself”
I mean... What's the difficulty point we start all agreeing is unreasonably bullcrap? Every single duo fight is crap, Godfrey's phase 2 is crap, Malenia is just a bad gimmick boss, yet there's plenty who see no issue with any of that. Not particularly good at any Soulsbourn game, I admit, but when does "demanding but fair" cross into "we hate you. Please suffer"?
Well, SotE is indeed pretty hard, and that is if you are doing a decent job exploring and leveling up the blessings, which most people don't seem to be, if the people that summon me to help are any indication. I like it hard as it is, but if one thought the later parts of the game were a bit too much, it might be worth considering if it makes sense to get it.
@@Umbra_Ursus I agree that the duo fights in elden ring were pretty crap but for different reasons, I didn't find them hard in the slightest, they just weren't interesting as all of them are just "two normal enemies" or "two minor bosses", kinda goes back to the "dual dragonriders" bullshit from dks2, it's really not that fun or interesting to just take two of something you already fought and slap them in the same arena. I actually really liked the Godfrey and Malenia fights though, they were two of the only fights in the game where it felt like light rolling helped in the slightest and two of the only ones you can't just damage race on most builds.
@@Umbra_Ursus "Whats the point we all agree..." Never and nowhere. There's no point where everyone will agree with anything. The whole of humanity is diverse enough that even just our subsection of it has vastly different tastes, likes, strengths and weaknesses. And as the original comment shows, those tastes ect can change over time. If something doesn't feel fair and others disagree that doesn't mean you're wrong. Just means its not to your taste.
@@Umbra_Ursus I wonder how many people are getting stuck because they absolutely refuse to use good summons since they've been shamed into not using them. Use the damn summons and try using some of the 50 billion craftable items to beat the game and do the no x shit stuff in 2nd, third, etc playthrough. Also change up your armor, weapons, and talismans.
Man, that ad-read with the googly eyes om his underwear was a deep cut in ZP history. Props for it and props to anyone who got it. For those who did not, Little Big Planet review.
“I guess this review is a bit shorter than normal so here’s something else to fill the time.” Followed by a mock horror scene of those same boxer shorts as an end gag. Saw that when the LBP review was brand new.
It is a bit different though, every time you type the same things, the names of the attacks you learned. I think it would've been more interesting if it was something like typing of the dead instead.
Note to viewers: This isn't just another esoteric "Yahtzee game". It's a really good game. I'm not into typing puzzles or dungeon crawlers, but think this is a remarkable game in many ways than one. The combat is slightly dodgy, but you get used to it.
Don't let Yahtzee discourage you, even people who's first language is not English can enjoy the game: 1) You can farm monster for letters if you are bad at guessing skills 2) Puzzles have multiple solutions and are skippable if you really don't know 3) You can check your "vocabulary" = skill list, in battle and it pauses time. You can also use menu to make combat turn based!
I can’t help but wonder if Cryptmaster might secretly be an edutainment game. That or one that someone might be able to conceivably convince a school board is an edutainment game so that kids (probably older ones) would be able to play it during their designated computer lab class much like Oregon Trail back in the day.
I mean, you can type "FART" and the party will collectively rip a heavy one that shakes the dungeon itself while giggling and the Cryptmaster will respond along the lines of "Are you giggling!?"
Oregon Trail taught me that any attempt to go west of the Mississippi river was doomed to failure due to dysentery, cholera, snakes, more cholera, extreme heat/cold, drowning in any body of water deeper than 3 inches, and hunting accidents.
you know a game is good when if you purposefully fail the Tutorial the Cryptmaster actually tells step by step you have to get a refund cause you clearly don't want to play it
Yahtzee pulling off 11 letter bingos through 5 overlaps in a game of Scrabble against his 4 year old is the kind of mental image I watch his videos for.
Now just need to wait another 4-8 years for the existential crisis when the kiddo can outdo the parent in this particular matter. It's an inevitability 😂
Wow, that core mechanic reveal was a hell of a twist. This like whenever college friends busted out a bizarre indie browser-based video game none of the rest of us had ever heard of.
Mandalore referred to this as "Mavis Beacon's Typing of the Dead", which is probably accurate for the combat. Though I do agree that maybe the combat could have benefitted from typing out the enemy's name on top of being able to type out special attacks. That in mind, guessing an enemy's true name would be very fitting for a game about fairies and demons. Just putting that out there.
I learned about this game from a tweet demonstrating the Cryptmaster giving you step by step instructions on how to request a refund in Steam because the game is too obtuse for them to figure out how to type "Hit" at the beginning. That's gotta be a selling point by itself and I'm honestly surprised that didn't get caught while he was in the mindset of trying stupid words as well (trying to break things etc).
I didn't know before I played this game that what I really wanted was Wizardry IV meets Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing, with obligatory yet strangely compelling collectible card and fishing minigames, but it turns out that's exactly what I really wanted. I see Yahtzee's point about the combat, but...I went in to the final boss underlevelled, and then backed off and did a lot of grinding. Perhaps too much grinding, because a lot of why he was a cakewalk many hours later was that I'd somehow gotten good at the combat, and understood how to use timer resets and buffs and knockback to my advantage, and had gotten pretty good at figuring out how to queue up the word I'd need when the timer cooldown was going to expire, and just remembering far more of the combat skills I'd learned. At some point in all those hours the combat went from frantically typing HIT POKE ZAP to stringing together fatal combos and thinking my way through the process.
Oh wow! Definitely did not anticipate this being a game that’s right up my alley-I ADORE word games and my typing speed ain’t too shabby either. Definitely gonna have to check this one out! :D
People who make it through their first, let alone their second, Yahtzee review are generally linguistic pervers with a dry, witty sense of humor. So no, it's not bad that you're totally sold on this. It is to be expected around these parts. Now bugger of and enjoy yourself.
I had never heard of this game before and now I can't wait to play it! "that's on full upfront display like an extremely interesting paragraph tattooed across a delightful pair of jugglies" made me burst out laughing.
Yup, this is on point - although I must add, the game is woefully short in it's second half. The last two areas are just "oops, you already completed the objectives, what do you mean you're only halfway through the character upgrades?".
I can relate to that. Getting old is a bummer in that regard. Sometimes i just dont have the patience for the extra dificult game, and i postpone them for the future. For when i'm not as stressed from work and such. Aging is a real thing.
Imagine being so good at games you never look in the settings menu and never see the turn-based combat option. Or if it's not there, you can restart the game and pick it at the beginning.
To be fair, the game itself recommends you play it in real time. It outright lets you choose turn-based on your first boot of the game, though... No need to go into settings for that at first.
Cryptmaster is a really good game, I assume it’s what non-nerds get out of solving crossword puzzles, but this game takes all that and makes it actually fun.
The people getting enjoyment out of crossword puzzles are *also* nerds, believe me. Cracking the Cryptic does the Times Cryptic Crossword fairly often, though it's mostly sudoku these days.
Crossword enjoyers may not be nerds in the "traditional" sense, but I promise you, my Granny who loved crosswords was _definitely_ a nerd! Just a history and literature nerd rather than a technology and games nerd like ourselves. She was amazing, miss her so much ❤
It's good, but I feel that it overstays its welcome. By the mid-game, the combat just gets really tedious (especially with the constant need for healing and hunting for bugs to fuel said healing), and while the characters and the world kept me going, I was feeling more burned out by the end of it than after playing some hundred plus hours long grindathon games.
I agree about the map and the music, but those minor gripes aside I absolutely loved my time with Cryptmaster. I'm almost bummed that I finished it as it's not really a game that lends itself to replaying until it's been a while so you can forget all the solutions
It has a lot of riddles as well. Some are pretty easy, while others can make you spend several minutes scratching your head, trying to find a solution. There's nothing quite like nailing a difficult riddle after figuring out the solution for yourself!
I don't know why but hearing the gameplay makes me think a very verbose Scribblenauts where figuring out the words solves the puzzle. Also seeing the textboxes over the heads make me think of Wheel of Fortune and the Cryptmaster would be an awesome host for that.
You had me at "word puzzles" and K.O.'d me at "GCSE English smartass git". English lit and History A-levels aced, baby! Adding this baby to my Steam cart right after finishing this video (might even play it one day)
@@stonebones7639 Bit late but he's one half of the channel Keepetclassy with a close friend of his named Amber since before LDO ended. For awhile now, Gabe has been doing regular streams of DOS games after he downloaded a fullset and deleting the ones he doesn't like.
Imitation is the greatest form of flattery so they say. I'm very glad to see Yahtz's fondness for the cryptmaster's voice acting; always one to truly appreciate a work of love
I paused at the description of the voice to look up the trailer to hear it. Said "I might just buy this game" Then the actual gameplay was described - I am going to buy this game right now
2:24 - I just bought that TNG VCR board game from a local thrift store - what a crazy coincidence it would appear in a Yahtzee video within the same week 🤣
I've got this game, it's already a ton of fun and I intend to use it to teach my son typing and spelling... eventually. When he's old enough. It's far better than mavis beacon teaches typing.
I always love it when Yahtz finds a game with an interesting core mechanic that he likes. This doesn't sound quite on the level of a Lucas Pope game, but maybe it's around that ballpark. I'll definitely have a closer look.
Originally, they had one of those short text banners that gave away Yahtzee's opinion of the game. If you aren't sure what I'm referring to, go look at almost any video from WhatCulture gaming lol
Thank you Yahtzee for putting into words what I couldn't about the Cryptmaster's VO. So thematically potent he can say just about anything it feels clever, entertaining. Masterwork
The demo showed a lot of jank but the execution of the premise is that diamond in the rough for typing games that actually engages your brain and isn't just a glorified QTE mechanic slapped on a reverse bullet hell shooter
"If you are not into word puzzles this game is going to leave you behind and dissapear over the horizon like a deadbit vampire in a face of garlic scented bill for child support". This joke got me cackling.
Was just a test to see if some extra personality in the thumbnail landed. It did not lol. We swapped it back. Don't worry, we're not getting into red circles and crap territory!
Honestly, the text just ruined the composition of the thumbnail. It was so clearly added in later that any "personality" it might have lent was offset by how out of place it looked. Still, happy to see that you're so responsive to feedback! That's why we support you!
@@SecondWindGroup Thank you. Bad flashbacks to when some previous channel tried adding extra to the titles to make it seem more personal, but these works hold up well on their own without the gimmicks. I think. I guess it's hard for me to say because I'm a fan already, I know reaching new people is important too.
it's funny how you pictured defeating a big (although non-fig) wasp with an onomatopeia resembling the least perplexing parts of the song "Rattlesnake" it truly gizzards my wizard
Grafting a puzzle game onto an RPG is hard work. That's why these what-if mash-ups rarely happen/pan out. Higher concepts like this one often have to be folded into the core gameplay. Actually, that tends to make them MORE inventive and less rote. Hi-Fi Rush is a case for integration, and on the complete opposite end, The Witness is an example of understanding your main objective and playing to that.
Was just about to say that the text giving Yahtzee's opinion away was one of many items on the list of "Things absolutely fucking nobody asked for", but they've changed it now. Lol Chasing that old algorithm. I get you gotta do, but, damn.
Wow I looked up the voice actor he praises so highly. His name's Lee Williams and he used to be a "heroin chic" model, and was considered for the role of Tom Riddle in the Harry Potter movies.
There is an option to make the combat turn based rather than real-time, which seems like it would be more enjoyable to me, even though the real-time combat is marked as "recommended".
0:57 FUCKING THANK YOU. My soulslike fatigue was IMMEDIATE cuz I don't find constant, crushing defeat to be a very good motivator. Other games let me learn a boss's patterns and forge a path to victory WITHOUT killing me over and over and making me shlep back to the arena. That's just hostile game design, IMHO. The only difference is it hit a sweet spot that activated some people's latent desires for masochism...
@@DTfan43 For me the patterns are just annoying, but the real problem is that bosses do way too much damage. Even with a prepared level 150 character and using summons, these god damn fights cross the line hard into “this is actually just bullshit” territory.
@@MrMetalforever5 And if you aren't talking about the DLC, there are still so many other things you can be doing to make fights easier. It's like a carpenter complaining that his wood won't cut, meanwhile he's trying to use a plastic knife when there's a perfectly good saw right next to him.
Use code secondwind at incogni.com/secondwind to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan.
This had better come with pictures of your Willy because now that's all I can think about.
I like to imagine the naked dance from the Little Big Plant video from over a decade ago.
Last I checked Incogni wasn’t available in Australia, has that changed?
Thank you so much for visiting the crypt! A charming video with which I have only one complaint - I may have been dead for centuries but the ice-cream scoop at 2:58 still made me flinch so hard my head fell off.
The game sounds super interesting! Am wondering if there'll be some sort of option in settings to replace speed typing with something more turn based, as personally my fingers lose all coordination the moment I'm reminded of the mechanical requirements of typing such as in typing speed tests or even just somebody watching my screen 😅
Y'know, the way somebody reminding you of how your tongue is sitting in your mouth suddenly makes it impossible to make it sit comfortably, or being made aware of your breathing meaning you're now doing so manually. Your welcome 😜
@@Respectable_Username There already is
@@Crispman_777 Oh sweet! Will make sure to check it out then, given that was my only hesitation 😄
Watched a friend stream it. Was delighted. Began recommending it to people. Might get it myself. Thought the card game was neat. Helped friend by remembering what some of their attacks were called.
I remember when Barry was playing the demo, he typed "Amogus", and the Cryptmaster responded, "Unfortunately, due to copyright laws, I am unable to respond to that"
I imagine he has that as a generic response for a lot of other names of intellectual properties
That gave me a good chuckle, here for you 🍪.
What a journey. From “demon souls is unreasonably hard, shove it up yourself” to “this is demanding but ultimately fair and incredibly rewarding” to “this is unreasonably hard for a souls game, shove it up yourself”
I mean... What's the difficulty point we start all agreeing is unreasonably bullcrap? Every single duo fight is crap, Godfrey's phase 2 is crap, Malenia is just a bad gimmick boss, yet there's plenty who see no issue with any of that. Not particularly good at any Soulsbourn game, I admit, but when does "demanding but fair" cross into "we hate you. Please suffer"?
Well, SotE is indeed pretty hard, and that is if you are doing a decent job exploring and leveling up the blessings, which most people don't seem to be, if the people that summon me to help are any indication.
I like it hard as it is, but if one thought the later parts of the game were a bit too much, it might be worth considering if it makes sense to get it.
@@Umbra_Ursus I agree that the duo fights in elden ring were pretty crap but for different reasons, I didn't find them hard in the slightest, they just weren't interesting as all of them are just "two normal enemies" or "two minor bosses", kinda goes back to the "dual dragonriders" bullshit from dks2, it's really not that fun or interesting to just take two of something you already fought and slap them in the same arena.
I actually really liked the Godfrey and Malenia fights though, they were two of the only fights in the game where it felt like light rolling helped in the slightest and two of the only ones you can't just damage race on most builds.
@@Umbra_Ursus "Whats the point we all agree..." Never and nowhere. There's no point where everyone will agree with anything. The whole of humanity is diverse enough that even just our subsection of it has vastly different tastes, likes, strengths and weaknesses. And as the original comment shows, those tastes ect can change over time.
If something doesn't feel fair and others disagree that doesn't mean you're wrong. Just means its not to your taste.
@@Umbra_Ursus I wonder how many people are getting stuck because they absolutely refuse to use good summons since they've been shamed into not using them. Use the damn summons and try using some of the 50 billion craftable items to beat the game and do the no x shit stuff in 2nd, third, etc playthrough. Also change up your armor, weapons, and talismans.
Man, that ad-read with the googly eyes om his underwear was a deep cut in ZP history.
Props for it and props to anyone who got it. For those who did not, Little Big Planet review.
I wondered if that’s what it was referencing, that’s a real throwback
An oldie but a goodie.
I saw that and hated myself for instantly recognising it. Goddammit, we're too old for this shit to still be funny.
“I guess this review is a bit shorter than normal so here’s something else to fill the time.” Followed by a mock horror scene of those same boxer shorts as an end gag. Saw that when the LBP review was brand new.
I remembered, and now I got the song stuck in my head and Yathzee talking about Steven Fry.
3:35 The moment where every Typing of the Dead enjoyer simultaneously snapped their heads to attention.
I was gonna say...
Touch Type Tale probably scratches that itch too.
It is a bit different though, every time you type the same things, the names of the attacks you learned. I think it would've been more interesting if it was something like typing of the dead instead.
And the Typing Chronicles games, Epistory and Nanotale.
Don't forget The Textorcist! And those savory moments in Trivia Murder Party 2 in Jackbox Party Pack.
5:03 You kids will never have to suffer through this. "PUSH DOOR? PULL DOOR? OPEN DOOR?! USE DOOR?! WHICH ONE IS IT *THIS* TIME, GAME?!?!?!"
It's "USE HANDLE ON DOOR"
@@williamhenby952 BUT I HAVEN'T FOUND THE HANDLE TO ATTACH *TO* THE DOOR, ARGH!
Note to viewers: This isn't just another esoteric "Yahtzee game". It's a really good game. I'm not into typing puzzles or dungeon crawlers, but think this is a remarkable game in many ways than one. The combat is slightly dodgy, but you get used to it.
I want a podcast with the Cryptmaster, narrator of Stanley Parable, and the voice of Harry DuBois.
But then all other podcasts would become superfluous, yes even that one you like
Add in the narrator from Bastion and we have a deal.
Does Harry ever even talk?
@@Lazerfaced Pretty sure he means the voice of his emotions, same guy voicing Sisiphus in Ultrakill.
Very soothing voice, great to listen to.
@@simplysmiley4670 does the narrator also do all of Harry's emotions?? That's fucking crazy I thought it was a bunch of voice actors
Don't let Yahtzee discourage you, even people who's first language is not English can enjoy the game:
1) You can farm monster for letters if you are bad at guessing skills
2) Puzzles have multiple solutions and are skippable if you really don't know
3) You can check your "vocabulary" = skill list, in battle and it pauses time. You can also use menu to make combat turn based!
if you fail the tutorial cryptmaster will mock you and guide you to how you refund on steam
I see you have watched LordMandalore's review. Evil joins tonight.
Lol thats so funny
I like how it specifies you should give the reason for refunding it as "the game is to hard".
@@Izithel Pretty sure that's a predefined option in the refun menu, so it's really just part of the propper process.
That is hilarious.
I can’t help but wonder if Cryptmaster might secretly be an edutainment game. That or one that someone might be able to conceivably convince a school board is an edutainment game so that kids (probably older ones) would be able to play it during their designated computer lab class much like Oregon Trail back in the day.
I mean, you can type "FART" and the party will collectively rip a heavy one that shakes the dungeon itself while giggling and the Cryptmaster will respond along the lines of "Are you giggling!?"
Oregon Trail taught me that any attempt to go west of the Mississippi river was doomed to failure due to dysentery, cholera, snakes, more cholera, extreme heat/cold, drowning in any body of water deeper than 3 inches, and hunting accidents.
you know a game is good when if you purposefully fail the Tutorial the Cryptmaster actually tells step by step you have to get a refund cause you clearly don't want to play it
The mental image of Yahtzee gleefully beating his four year in a word and tile game brings a big smile to my face
Its like... Of course he would lmao
Yahtzee pulling off 11 letter bingos through 5 overlaps in a game of Scrabble against his 4 year old is the kind of mental image I watch his videos for.
Now just need to wait another 4-8 years for the existential crisis when the kiddo can outdo the parent in this particular matter. It's an inevitability 😂
Wow, that core mechanic reveal was a hell of a twist. This like whenever college friends busted out a bizarre indie browser-based video game none of the rest of us had ever heard of.
i mean most people here probably discovered yahtzee in college
It's nice when creators make the sponsor segments entertaining enough in their own right to make me want to watch through them.
He reviewed Cryptmaster.
Oh what a happy day🎉
Nice reference to the Little Big Planet review at the end too!
All I can hear in my head when he describes the setup is *"RISE FROM YOUR GRAVE"*
The Cryptmaster actually says that line in almost the same tone as the original Altered Beast one when you're interacting with the riddle skulls.
"What's that? You see a fish? Good for you, I suppose..."
YES! Cryptmaster is an absolute gem, I had a blast with it.
I played this at the Indicade at GDC and was really impressed by how creative and unique this game is while also being really fun.
6:08
Now there's a throwback. As he throws it back.
I had that Star Trek VCR game! I still remember the Klingon guy being like "You! The player who is moving now!" and we'd be all like "Meeeee!?"
"Yes, Captain Kuvock!"
4:00 you can change gameplay to turn-based, so you do not need to be so fast
Nice to know. I may end up getting it now.
Mandalore referred to this as "Mavis Beacon's Typing of the Dead", which is probably accurate for the combat. Though I do agree that maybe the combat could have benefitted from typing out the enemy's name on top of being able to type out special attacks.
That in mind, guessing an enemy's true name would be very fitting for a game about fairies and demons. Just putting that out there.
"A little tortured and out of place, like a King Charles Spaniel in a tumble dryer"
Thankyou! For letting more people Know about this game.
Elden Ring whispering "you'll be back" is such a mood.
You'll be back, soon, you'll see
You will heed the call of the Erdtree
You'll be back, time will tell
When you need the rush of legends felled
I didn't know Mavis Beacon moonlighted as a necromancer.
The number of times one gets to make a disembodied head lick an undisclosed item... and has the result be relevant... is astounding.
4:45 I really like his explanation on how fun can come from different sources
I learned about this game from a tweet demonstrating the Cryptmaster giving you step by step instructions on how to request a refund in Steam because the game is too obtuse for them to figure out how to type "Hit" at the beginning. That's gotta be a selling point by itself and I'm honestly surprised that didn't get caught while he was in the mindset of trying stupid words as well (trying to break things etc).
I didn't know before I played this game that what I really wanted was Wizardry IV meets Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing, with obligatory yet strangely compelling collectible card and fishing minigames, but it turns out that's exactly what I really wanted.
I see Yahtzee's point about the combat, but...I went in to the final boss underlevelled, and then backed off and did a lot of grinding. Perhaps too much grinding, because a lot of why he was a cakewalk many hours later was that I'd somehow gotten good at the combat, and understood how to use timer resets and buffs and knockback to my advantage, and had gotten pretty good at figuring out how to queue up the word I'd need when the timer cooldown was going to expire, and just remembering far more of the combat skills I'd learned. At some point in all those hours the combat went from frantically typing HIT POKE ZAP to stringing together fatal combos and thinking my way through the process.
I like the littlebigplanet review callback during the ad.
Feels weird that a googly eyed bum dance is a deep cut
Oh wow! Definitely did not anticipate this being a game that’s right up my alley-I ADORE word games and my typing speed ain’t too shabby either. Definitely gonna have to check this one out! :D
A retro PC inspired game with a sense of dry, witty humour for linguistic perverts? Is it bad I’m TOTALLY sold on this?
People who make it through their first, let alone their second, Yahtzee review are generally linguistic pervers with a dry, witty sense of humor. So no, it's not bad that you're totally sold on this. It is to be expected around these parts. Now bugger of and enjoy yourself.
How nice to see Yahtzee have the correct opinion on Cards Against Humanity.
You mean wrong*
I had never heard of this game before and now I can't wait to play it! "that's on full upfront display like an extremely interesting paragraph tattooed across a delightful pair of jugglies" made me burst out laughing.
I'm a comparative literature grad with 120 wpm. This is my game.
Yup, this is on point - although I must add, the game is woefully short in it's second half. The last two areas are just "oops, you already completed the objectives, what do you mean you're only halfway through the character upgrades?".
I really like the outro call back to the "eyes glued to bum" bit.
I can relate to that. Getting old is a bummer in that regard. Sometimes i just dont have the patience for the extra dificult game, and i postpone them for the future. For when i'm not as stressed from work and such. Aging is a real thing.
Imagine being so good at games you never look in the settings menu and never see the turn-based combat option. Or if it's not there, you can restart the game and pick it at the beginning.
To be fair, the game itself recommends you play it in real time. It outright lets you choose turn-based on your first boot of the game, though... No need to go into settings for that at first.
I love when Yah tries unique indie games.
Everyone has a good time.
Cryptmaster is a really good game, I assume it’s what non-nerds get out of solving crossword puzzles, but this game takes all that and makes it actually fun.
The people getting enjoyment out of crossword puzzles are *also* nerds, believe me. Cracking the Cryptic does the Times Cryptic Crossword fairly often, though it's mostly sudoku these days.
Crossword enjoyers may not be nerds in the "traditional" sense, but I promise you, my Granny who loved crosswords was _definitely_ a nerd! Just a history and literature nerd rather than a technology and games nerd like ourselves. She was amazing, miss her so much ❤
It's good, but I feel that it overstays its welcome. By the mid-game, the combat just gets really tedious (especially with the constant need for healing and hunting for bugs to fuel said healing), and while the characters and the world kept me going, I was feeling more burned out by the end of it than after playing some hundred plus hours long grindathon games.
I agree about the map and the music, but those minor gripes aside I absolutely loved my time with Cryptmaster. I'm almost bummed that I finished it as it's not really a game that lends itself to replaying until it's been a while so you can forget all the solutions
I, too, am into word puzzles, so this sounds right up my street. Big fan of games that make me specifically feel clever.
It has a lot of riddles as well. Some are pretty easy, while others can make you spend several minutes scratching your head, trying to find a solution. There's nothing quite like nailing a difficult riddle after figuring out the solution for yourself!
@@tyrus1235 oh I love a good riddle. Years of Redwall books & D&D adventures has prepared me for this!
I don't know why but hearing the gameplay makes me think a very verbose Scribblenauts where figuring out the words solves the puzzle. Also seeing the textboxes over the heads make me think of Wheel of Fortune and the Cryptmaster would be an awesome host for that.
In a sea of monotony cryptmaster is a door to float on till you run out of synonyms for stab.
What an absolutely fun game! The demo made me pick it up immediately.
You had me at "word puzzles" and K.O.'d me at "GCSE English smartass git". English lit and History A-levels aced, baby! Adding this baby to my Steam cart right after finishing this video (might even play it one day)
...so I guess Yahtzee misses, "Future Wars Buttocks" and this game unearthed amazing memories... I hope Gabriel is doing well.
He streams daily. He's good
@@wombatkins Really? You know where's he at?
@@stonebones7639 His channel is keepetclassy
@@stonebones7639 keeptetclassy
@@stonebones7639 Bit late but he's one half of the channel Keepetclassy with a close friend of his named Amber since before LDO ended. For awhile now, Gabe has been doing regular streams of DOS games after he downloaded a fullset and deleting the ones he doesn't like.
Love the call back to Yahtzee dancing around with googly eyes on his butt 🤣
6:08 *Gave me flashbacks.*
6:08 Did not expect such a deep cut reference, and in the ad read of all places, well played Yahtzee!
There is a turn based mode that I think makes the game *much* better.
So it’s Might and Magic with Typing of the Dead combat? Interesting
The VA of the titular Cryptmaster is actually the dev himself!
Oh god, the googly eyes on underpants are back!
I appreciate the throwback of the eyes on the boxers...still haunting.
Imitation is the greatest form of flattery so they say. I'm very glad to see Yahtz's fondness for the cryptmaster's voice acting; always one to truly appreciate a work of love
Word Puzzles, you say?
Knightmare, my beloved.
Not even surprised Yahtzee would be into this sorta game but surprised he actually would make a video on it. Good shit.
I paused at the description of the voice to look up the trailer to hear it.
Said "I might just buy this game"
Then the actual gameplay was described - I am going to buy this game right now
2:24 - I just bought that TNG VCR board game from a local thrift store - what a crazy coincidence it would appear in a Yahtzee video within the same week 🤣
I kept thinking this game would be right up Yahtzee's alley. Glad to see him finally covering it.
"Discombobulate" is such a beautiful word.
I've got this game, it's already a ton of fun and I intend to use it to teach my son typing and spelling... eventually. When he's old enough. It's far better than mavis beacon teaches typing.
Yooo, I love that the sponsor spot was at the end of the video. And that was a good sponsor spot.
I always love it when Yahtz finds a game with an interesting core mechanic that he likes. This doesn't sound quite on the level of a Lucas Pope game, but maybe it's around that ballpark. I'll definitely have a closer look.
I am now FACINATED to know what could possibly have been so bad about this Thumbnail...
Originally, they had one of those short text banners that gave away Yahtzee's opinion of the game. If you aren't sure what I'm referring to, go look at almost any video from WhatCulture gaming lol
that arrow 😭😭
Yup, Yahtzee has keep the format intact for more that a decade so im not worried but i did recoil at the mere sight of it
Normally only Unpacked has them =P
What arrow?
@@Lyoko1309A white arrow in the thumbnail with the "It's better than expected". They have changed the thumbnail now
I don't understand what arrow
i loved the "you're skulking again. stop it." thought it was hilarious.
Great review!. I Loved the game and quickly become a group activity with friends sharing riddles and trying to guess the words :D
oh hey this is the House of the De--Dungeon of the Unalive game spiritual successor
Atmosfear mentioned!!!
Given how long Yahtzee lived in Australia for, I'm surprided he didn't use a picture of the game under its original title - Nightmare.
Thank you Yahtzee for putting into words what I couldn't about the Cryptmaster's VO. So thematically potent he can say just about anything it feels clever, entertaining. Masterwork
Ah, it's nice to hear the voice of Lord Dreadgrave again 😊
The demo showed a lot of jank but the execution of the premise is that diamond in the rough for typing games that actually engages your brain and isn't just a glorified QTE mechanic slapped on a reverse bullet hell shooter
A bit weird title screen but alright
Looks like he changed it
@@Jai137 ye
"If you are not into word puzzles this game is going to leave you behind and dissapear over the horizon like a deadbit vampire in a face of garlic scented bill for child support".
This joke got me cackling.
I think he could have easily summarized the combat by saying "it's just Typing of the Dead"
What's up with that text in the thumbnail? Playing the algorithm?
Was just a test to see if some extra personality in the thumbnail landed. It did not lol. We swapped it back. Don't worry, we're not getting into red circles and crap territory!
Honestly, the text just ruined the composition of the thumbnail. It was so clearly added in later that any "personality" it might have lent was offset by how out of place it looked.
Still, happy to see that you're so responsive to feedback! That's why we support you!
@@SecondWindGroup Thank god. Imagine if we started having Yahtzee making faces and pointing red circled box arts?
@@SecondWindGroup Thank you. Bad flashbacks to when some previous channel tried adding extra to the titles to make it seem more personal, but these works hold up well on their own without the gimmicks. I think. I guess it's hard for me to say because I'm a fan already, I know reaching new people is important too.
Something he didn't mention is if you fail the tutorial/intro the cryptmaster literally walks you through how to refund the game on steam.
it's funny how you pictured defeating a big (although non-fig) wasp with an onomatopeia resembling the least perplexing parts of the song "Rattlesnake"
it truly gizzards my wizard
Okay, the Word Nerd/Mavis Beacon-graduate qualifications are EXACTLY enticing to me, lol. Along with the old-school look.
Grafting a puzzle game onto an RPG is hard work. That's why these what-if mash-ups rarely happen/pan out. Higher concepts like this one often have to be folded into the core gameplay. Actually, that tends to make them MORE inventive and less rote. Hi-Fi Rush is a case for integration, and on the complete opposite end, The Witness is an example of understanding your main objective and playing to that.
I knew he'd love it
I think this is supposed to be a game to actually learn typing. Like a more interesting version of "Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing."
Like typing of the dead, which was house of the dead 2 where you typed words to kill the zombies
Yooooo big throwback to Dungeon Master! Dungeon Master 2 was a huge part of my childhood. Cletus with a pair of Voraxes was good times!
Was just about to say that the text giving Yahtzee's opinion away was one of many items on the list of "Things absolutely fucking nobody asked for", but they've changed it now. Lol Chasing that old algorithm.
I get you gotta do, but, damn.
Wow I looked up the voice actor he praises so highly. His name's Lee Williams and he used to be a "heroin chic" model, and was considered for the role of Tom Riddle in the Harry Potter movies.
There is an option to make the combat turn based rather than real-time, which seems like it would be more enjoyable to me, even though the real-time combat is marked as "recommended".
"deadbeat vampire running from a garlic scented bill for child support" is an exquisite analogy that made me chuckle greatly
I'm sure the game is very good... But now I just feel nostalgic for Boglins
Oh, finally, a villain protag with some first Dungeon Keeper level malicious narration.
0:57 FUCKING THANK YOU. My soulslike fatigue was IMMEDIATE cuz I don't find constant, crushing defeat to be a very good motivator. Other games let me learn a boss's patterns and forge a path to victory WITHOUT killing me over and over and making me shlep back to the arena. That's just hostile game design, IMHO. The only difference is it hit a sweet spot that activated some people's latent desires for masochism...
You: "This game's too hard, it won't let me study its patterns."
The summon in your back pocket: "Am I a joke to you?"
I never got into the Soulsbourne games to begin with so i'm glad Yahtzee is having the same complaints i've had from day one.
@@DTfan43
For me the patterns are just annoying, but the real problem is that bosses do way too much damage.
Even with a prepared level 150 character and using summons, these god damn fights cross the line hard into “this is actually just bullshit” territory.
@@MrMetalforever5 How many Scadutree fragments do you have? If that answer is zero you have no right to complain.
@@MrMetalforever5 And if you aren't talking about the DLC, there are still so many other things you can be doing to make fights easier. It's like a carpenter complaining that his wood won't cut, meanwhile he's trying to use a plastic knife when there's a perfectly good saw right next to him.
Never seen a thumbnail change as I was watching the video. I’m glad you guys did though.
What a recombobulative delight that review was. It harkened back to the ol’ House of the Dead : Overkill review, another of my favs.
I normally skip the ad parts of a video, but this one's great! I don't remember what the were selling, but it was great!