REVIEW / Enigmatic Journey (PC)

After years of gaming, I’ve reached a point where I can sense within the first few minutes whether a game will resonate with me. It’s not entirely about personal taste—I’ve often ventured outside my comfort zone and ended up enjoying those titles. It’s more of an instinctive reaction, and it’s one I trust. This gut feeling usually doesn’t steer me wrong. That’s why I believe you don’t need to complete a game to offer a fair review. Games tend to reveal their core gameplay loops early on, so if you’re not engaged within the first hour, chances are, your experience won’t change much later on. This brings me to my latest encounter with Cryptical Path on PC. By the end of the tutorial, I was hooked. I’ll delve into the reasons why, but let’s just say this might already be my favorite game of 2025, and we’re only in January.

In Cryptical Path, you assume the role of The Architect. You’ve been summoned to the Hexium—a prison entirely under your command—because things have gone awry. An impostor, claiming to be in charge, is not thrilled by your arrival. Adding to the chaos, it’s released the prisoners and transformed them. To avert an utter disaster, you’ll need to utilize your full range of abilities. As if the situation wasn’t complicated enough, there’s another entity running around with powers that mirror yours.

An intriguing aspect of Cryptical Path is that it’s a roguelite, but not in the usual sense. Rather than navigating a pre-made map, you’ll craft one as you play. As The Architect, you build The Hexium and control its contents. This means each room you enter, along with the creatures within, are placed by you. However, The Doppelganger’s influence means you won’t always know what’s lying in wait. You wield significant power, but your control isn’t absolute, which makes managing your dominion all the more challenging.

As you navigate the game, not everything will fall into place easily. Constructing rooms is crucial yet costly. Your influence only stretches so far before you start feeling adverse effects, termed as control points. Every room demands a specific number of these to create, and slipping below available points incurs curses. These can be minor irritants at first but can escalate quickly if ignored. Consequently, strategic planning is advisable.

At its core, Cryptical Path might seem like just another roguelite platformer. However, the mechanics inject enough innovation to keep things engaging. The real charm, though, lies in its style. It’s evident that a lot of love and attention went into crafting this game, and that passion is infectious.

Playing Cryptical Path feels like stepping into a 90s cartoon, capturing all the best parts. Imagine if Adult Swim developed a video game from one of its popular series. It strikes the perfect balance, edgy and mature enough for older gamers while retaining the allure for a younger audience. If it were a TV show, I’d binge every episode. It’s well-scripted, filled with dynamic characters, and above all, immensely entertaining.

One crucial tip for enjoying Cryptical Path is mastering the controls. Although many games suggest using a controller, on PC it’s often optional. Here, I strongly recommend it. While playable with a mouse and keyboard, a controller greatly enhances precision. This doesn’t detract from the game—just a helpful suggestion.

It’s been a while since I struggled to pinpoint flaws in a game. With Cryptical Path, I’m genuinely hard-pressed to find negatives. Fans of platformers and roguelites owe it to themselves to download this game. It doesn’t revolutionize the genre, but the execution is flawless.

All in all, Cryptical Path is exemplary and deserves a console release soon. PS4, Xbox, and Switch players will surely embrace it. The Architect is my new favorite character, and I sincerely hope this is just the beginning of a long-lasting franchise. Brilliant effort all around!