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One life and score points in a dungeon RPG crawler game you say? Is this a game from the 90s? Nope, because the game in question just happens to be Hit the Crow´s “Sunken“! Which would be a new old-school hardcore game packed with fresh modern elements (you can get your hands on
the early access version via Steam for 5,99 Euros). And I had the chance to test it all out in the game myself (I have played the alpha demo for quite sometime now). However, before I mention anything else about “Sunken” I would like to point out that I’m not a big fan of “hardcore” element in games. And why is that? Well, it´s mainly because I hate losing. Especially since all my progress will get lost if I die and because my Internet is more unstable than an elephant on a unicycle.

There are very little room for mistakes in “Sunken”.

Even so. I´m still glad that I decided to give “Sunken” a fair chance, because I had a blast while playing the game. For starters, being an early access alpha, it was quite impressive. The game laid out quick and plainly what it was about because the first thing I did was to pick up gear then just jump into to the fray during my initial gameplay, which goes well with the game’s concept, survive, kill and get the highest score. This is kind off what I did through the whole alpha gameplay, but I also got a glimpse off the new elements I mentioned earlier. One of them was the crafting. You can pick up recipes from drops or chests then craft items, ability scrolls and gear with material you find or salvage from items.

Fire can be either your friend or your worst enemy in “Sunken”.

And while playing “Sunken” I couldn´t help to feel a lot of “Diablo 2” vibes. You know, the whole “eternal darkness and demonic” atmosphere and the intense hack-and-slash moments? Not to mention the “hardcore” part of D2, because there is a hardcore mode in D2 which gives you ONE life only. So if you die, then it´s game over (your character will be lost forever in D2 hardcore if you die). However, in “Sunken” you get to keep your skills and abilities when you die. You do lose all your levels, gear and progress if you die though. Nevertheless, that´s a price that I´m willing to pay, as “Sunken” offers some really awesome and fun gameplay content. And I have you know that the game looks pretty good too (“Sunken” runs on the Unity Engine).

Diablo 1 is that you?

So let´s just say that I´m pretty curious to see what the final version of “Sunken” will be like (the early access game launched on Steam on the 31st of January this year). I have based all my thoughts and opinions on the alpha demo of the game though. So this would be my list over cons and pros based on the alpha version of “Sunken”:

Pros:
+ I really liked the whole concept of the game. Old-school hardcore and score point with new game elements from today’s generation
+ The crafting system was awesome and has a lot of potential
+ Sunken´s maps had a truly dark and brutal atmosphere about it. Much like the maps from Diablo 1 & 2, which I enjoyed a lot
+ Another thing which I really liked was “Sunken´s” skill system. Because you have to either find skill books to consume to gain fresh skills, or find recipes to craft brand-new ones. In this way, it feels much more self-rewarding than just gaining new skills with leveling up.

Cons:
This is more like what I wish to see in the full game than cons, because this is alpha of the game so it’s a bit hard to judge the game when it’s not even completed yet.

– It would be really nice if Hit the Crow´s could add more verities of music to the game.
– “Sunken” could need something more to fill it up with to lengthen the play time, like more game modes and challenges.
– A pvp system would be nice for sure. As people always like to challenge other players