Crypt Stalker came out on Switch a couple of days ago, and I was very happy for it! I enjoyed the game when it came out on Steam a while ago, and the Nintendo handheld is perfect for it (I mean you get the main game, 6 extra levels AND the demake made in the style of a Game Boy title for 2 bucks, just buy it already). Lords of Exile also came out last month, and I'm very happy to see that the classic Castlevania approach is slowly returning.

But I feel Crypt Stalker got it a tad bit better than Lords of Exile?

Now, I do believe both games have strong moments and weak moments, but at the end of the day I have to give it to Crypt Stalker because it doesn't feel like it added things for the sake of adding them. Lords of Exile left me quite meh in the end. Bosses there went from decent to stupid easy quite fast, and that level design was just... Just bland. Not many unfair moments, but so many moments of making me say aloud "what's the point of putting this here if it doesn't serve a purpose?!"

Now Crypt Stalker hooooly hell, I got killed sooo many times by terrible enemy placement, platforming sections that were not tested by humans at all, disgusting and I mean DISGUSTING checkpoints that don't make sense at all except the ones in the last level and some of the most slippery default movement speed I've seen in a huge while. Oh and several autoscrolling sections that are just plain awful.

Aaaaaand I still love Crypt Stalker more than Lords of Exile! WHY?! Well the answer, like I said, it's simple: it understands what it wants to be at all times. Lords of Exile has the same consistency of boiled butter with the weird and pointless unlockable skills, the completely useless """"""secrets"""""" (slots, you find slots that don't give you anything valuable) and the inconsistent time period (so it's medieval times, with ninjas, and robots sometimes I guess?).

Now this rambling was made mostly to reach one important point that links with Baldomero's Ballad and, honestly, all the games I want to do during the rest of my days: I don't want to add stuff for the sake of adding it. Crypt Stalker feels like something the main creator had a fun time making. Lords of Exile feels like something that got unfocused halfway through its development but had to release it regardless because it had a kickstarter behind its rear. My intentions with BsB are just making a Castlevania inspired game with just an extra dumb mode out of respect for a good friend of mine and that's it. No weird currency system, no dull skill unlocking, and no unfocused setting. Will it reach the attention of millions? Not really, it's not my intention, otherwise I would've gone for more trendy stuff than "this game has stairs and knockback". But like Crypt Stalker, as long as the things I create make someone remember them fondly I'll be happy about it.

Next time I'll probably do a showcase of enemy movements and patterns, so stay tuned as always! And go play Crypt Stalker, good game.

-Ray