It’s bad enough to end up in the afterlife. It’s even worse to get banished immediately on arrival! Crypt Custodian, a charming top-down Metroidvania-meets-Zelda-like by veteran developer Kyle Thompson (Sheepo, Islets), is out today and launching via publisher Top Hat Studios, Inc. on Steam, Nintendo Switch, PS5, PS4, and the Xbox family. Grab your trusty broom and play as Pluto – a mischievous cat who has just died and landed in the Afterlife’s Palace. After a disastrous meeting with the Afterlife Guardian, Kendra, you end exiled and sentenced to be the afterworld’s janitor… FOREVER!
Hang out with other doomed ghosts, battle beasts, and explore a vast, expansive landscape filled with curious and fun denizens. Discover hidden secrets and seemingly infinite nooks, crannies, and curiosities. As you explore more of the Afterlife’s diverse realms, you start to hear rumours of a priceless treasure hidden deep within the palace: for those who have difficulty moving on, could there be… a way to still communicate with the living?
A Summer Reveal and Evolution
During this year’s Guerilla Collective showcase, publisher Top Hat Studios announced that Crypt Custodian, developed by Kyle Thompson, is set to launch in the summer. The game represents a significant leap forward in terms of presentation, mechanics, and complexity. This is compared to Thompson’s previously critically acclaimed titles. Building off of the successes of Sheepo and Islets, Crypt Custodian captures a similar sense of heartwarming storytelling filled with quirky characters and humour and mixes these with incredibly tight and responsive gameplay, rewarding unlockables, and beautiful lush worlds. The game will be available from 9am PST/12pm EST on consoles, and from 7am PST/10am EST on Steam.
Explore the afterlife
As you explore the afterlife, you’ll meet and befriend a charming cast of characters. Meet the other bad ghosts exiled outside of Afterlife Guardian Kendra’s grand Palace. Learn how they died, and what caused them to face eternal banishment as well! There’s a lot to learn from your animal friends – and lots of unlockables they’ll help you earn on top! Plus, head on over to the local haunt – The Sinner’s Inn – to chat with the ghosts you meet, buy items, and upgrade both your gear and your skills.
Along your way to confront Kendra, you’ll complete puzzles, battle epic bosses, and clean your way through ruined dungeons. This is in order to collect new upgrades and abilities. Customize your play style by mix-and-matching your upgrades with newly acquired abilities to expand your world. You can choose a whirling spirit boomerang that appears when enemies are defeated. Alternatively, you can select a little haunted helper that assists you in battle. Upgrades not only help with exploring the world, but also with expanding your combat style! The combat in Crypt Custodian involves fast-paced and intense action. It relies on dodging, quick movements, and strategic attacks.
The lush, vivid, and beautiful world of Crypt Custodian interconnects biomes that are varied and teeming with life and activity. Ranging from weeping forests, to an amusement park where the ride never ends, a neon crest where reality switches dimensions with every jump, and… someone’s neglected basement (don’t ask what’s been growing down there), you’ll traverse a vast landscape filled with secrets that hide in every corner. Form your own path and discover the afterlife’s many curiosities at your own pace.