Code provided with thanks to Plan of Attack.
Cathedral: Crow’s Curse – Preview Impressions
Some games immediately click. Others take a little while to warm up. And then there are the ones where you can clearly see the potential… even if one particular mechanic keeps tripping you up.
That’s where I landed with Cathedral: Crow’s Curse. After spending time with the demo, I walked away feeling intrigued, impressed in places, and slightly bruised in others.
Returning to a Familiar World
Crow’s Curse is set in the same universe as Cathedral, acting as a prequel, but it very much feels like its own adventure. You step into the boots of a new protagonist exploring a cursed, interconnected world filled with goblins, strange guardians and more than a few unsettling creatures.
The demo doesn’t overload you with exposition. Instead, it throws you gently into its gloomy setting, walks you through the core mechanics and then lets you explore. It’s very much a “go on then, see what you can uncover” approach. And honestly? I like that.
There’s a clear adventure game (or Metroidvania as the cool kids call it) structure at play here, a large map, blocked paths, ability-gated progression and that satisfying moment when you unlock a new skill that opens previously unreachable areas. Early on, it’s something as simple as gaining better vertical access to climb higher terrain, but it sets the tone nicely.
The map is easily accessible with a single button press, which reduces unnecessary frustration when backtracking. Save points are placed fairly generously, so you’re rarely repeating huge chunks after defeat. That foundation is strong.
A World That Doesn’t Want You There
Visually, the game leans into detailed pixel art with a darker edge. The environments feel oppressive without being unreadable. There’s fantasy woven throughout, eerie forests, looming architecture, and lurking creatures, but it doesn’t feel whimsical. This world is cursed.
Character animations are impressively fluid. Enemies shuffle, creep and lunge in ways that feel deliberate. Your protagonist moves with weight, especially during combat. There’s intent behind every step and swing.
I particularly enjoyed finding artefacts scattered throughout the world. These act as upgrades, boosting certain attributes or granting bonuses, like magnetising nearby crystals (the in-game currency). Each artefact can be improved further via its own small upgrade tree, which adds a welcome layer of build customisation.
Combat
Let’s talk about the big one.
Combat in Crow’s Curse seems inspired by more demanding action titles, particularly souls-likes. You have light attacks that chain into a finisher after successive hits. You can engage in stealth, creeping behind enemies for a satisfying one-hit takedown. That stealth element is genuinely enjoyable and rewards patience.
Then there’s the parry system. Now, I’ll hold my hands up as I’ve done many times. I’m not always best friends with parry-heavy systems. Sometimes they click. Sometimes they don’t. Here… it didn’t happen.
The idea is familiar: press the shoulder button at precisely the right moment to stagger an enemy, opening them up for punishment. Some enemies, particularly shielded ones, almost require this to be dealt with efficiently.
In practice, I struggled with the timing window. It felt tight, perhaps intentionally so, but I couldn’t consistently land it. Occasionally, I’d pull it off, but it felt more like luck than mastery. And because the game leans into this mechanic fairly heavily, missing those parries can snowball into frustrating situations quickly.
There’s also a stagger state for the player. If you’re hit repeatedly, you become staggered, and the only way out is to execute a successful parry. Which, if you’re already struggling with the timing, can feel like a spiral.
Deaths mean losing a percentage of your collected crystals. That’s part of the Souls-inspired design, and I understand why it’s there. But it added to the frustration rather than encouraging risk-taking.
I found myself adapting, relying more on evading and stealth to thin enemy numbers before engaging directly. It sometimes worked, but it felt slightly like I was working around the intended system rather than embracing it.
I do wonder whether clearer visual indicators or a slightly more forgiving window might help newcomers settle into it.
Final Thoughts
Despite my issues with parrying, I want to stress this: there’s a lot to like here.
Exploration is engaging. The world design is thoughtful. The upgrade systems encourage experimentation.
The tone is cohesive, the controls feel responsive outside of my parry woes, and there’s obvious care poured into the world-building. This is very much aimed at players who enjoy skill-based combat and don’t mind learning enemy patterns the hard way.
For those who thrive on precise timing and high-stakes encounters, Crow’s Curse may land beautifully.
For players like me, who prefer a slightly more forgiving combat rhythm, it might take some adjustment.
Either way, it’s firmly on my radar. With a bit of tuning (or perhaps just more practice on my part), this could shape up into something really strong.
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