Word-based puzzlers are probably familiar territory for thinky game fanatics by now, whether that be from letter guess-a-thons like Wordle and Hangman, the vocabulary flex of Bananagrams, or the thoughtful language translations of Chants Of Senaar. But even those who are well-versed in word hunts and spelling bees can rest assured that you’ve definitely never played anything like Cryptmaster before.
Developed by Paul Hart and Lee Williams with Akupara Games on publishing duty, Cryptmaster’s dark fantasy setup follows four adventurers who trek to the overworld after the titular (and delightful) necromancer resurrects them to help with his mysteriously nefarious plans. It’s all delivered through an old-school, grid-based, dungeon-crawling RPG where you interact with the world by typing. Yes, typing. Or speaking if you prefer to toggle that option. In combat that might mean you’re typing “HIT” to make one of your four undead party members attack, or “SOOTHE” to grant healing, or “FRENZY” to do some real eye-twitching damage.
There are more exciting commands that I won’t spoil because even finding the right words to use is a puzzle unto itself. While combat is about thoughtfully choosing the right words for the occasion and stacking them to do maximum damage, the rest of Cryptmaster draws countless other wordy mini-games into its devilish gravitational pull for a spellbinding romp that’ll have you asking questions like, “What four-letter word can destroy religious altars? Burn? No. Bash? Bash. That’s it!”
Throughout the ascent to the land of the living, the party encounters riddles, bardic rap battles, and even talking to NPCs feels like a deductive guess-the-word puzzle. Approaching a chest won’t immediately dish out loot, for example. Instead, the Cryptmaster wickedly opens it and lets you guess what’s inside. You can ask him to “SMELL” or “EAT” or “LISTEN” to whatever’s there, and then use his answers to decipher what’s in the box - but rather than gaining the items locked within, the letters making up that object get distributed between the party to fill out blank, Hangman-style words. Finding a rat, for instance, will fill in the potential Rs, As, and Ts into the mysterious words, so “CRACK” looks like “_ R A _ _” - until you gain enough letters to make an informed guess, at which point you permanently unlock “CRACK” as a combat command. Letter loot, if you will.
Defeating enemies, fishing, and more also fulfil the same goal, meaning all these little obstacles are webbed together in the game’s progression, making each small step, every guess and every keyboard tap, feel worthwhile. Each character has so many unlockable commands, you’ll be chasing the unknown for the full 10-ish hour playtime.
You might have played Hangman enough times to fill a dictionary or heard some of the riddles before - “the more you take away from me, the bigger I get” kinda stuff - but Cryptmaster’s most ingenious trick is cumulative. All of these wordy mini-games stack on top of each other and connect in joyous ways. Everywhere you turn, there’s another micro challenge waiting to greet you with an open page. Word games on word games. The reward for finding chests? Words. Want to squash critters? Use words. Want to save your game? Well, find the right word.
(And for all the thinky game enjoyers who are worried about not being able to recall a dictionary on command, Cryptmaster has a nice set of options that enable hints and whatnot. The Cryptmaster himself will even step in to help you with riddles.)
Cryptmaster treats language with the same reverence and excitement that most RPGs treat loot, gold, and murder. Chasing new letters is just as moreish as scooping a bundle of XP. Unlocking a new word opens up even more possibilities than a legendary sword ever would. The result is a game that strings you along with these micro-challenges but keeps you entranced for the long haul with its deeper progression. Ultimately, Cryptmaster is a game about the possibility of words, what they’re capable of, and how we can stretch language in the most creative ways.
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