Now that the Gamescom craze is over, it is indeed a time of reflection and contemplation. When Gamescom rolls around, most of the attention is snatched up by the AAA space, with trailers for sequels, new updates on big hitting franchises and the promise of the next blockbuster title to fill our screens. That much can’t be said for a smaller indie titles, such as Cralon, which is decidedly different and typical for Gothic creator and game designer Björn Pankratz.
The reception has been largely positive, with few critique points in between, so we’ve taken it upon ourselves to dig through comments, previews and reactions, to figure out how the Cralon Gamescom showcase was received by fans of all things moody, dark and surreal.
Cralon First Impressions
Honestly, it’s hard to tell if players are really excited about this one or not.
Pithead studios does its best to be present in the social media space, but it remains such a small team and many fans still have not forgotten the Gothic 3 debacle or even more recent, the uninspired sequel to the mostly loved sci-fi RPG Elex.
Many viewers praised how relatively polished the reveal footage looked, especially considering the team at Pithead studios is that small. The art style is haunting and oppressive, since the whole game is set underground, with Pankratz calling the game’s biggest inspirations Arkane’s Arx Fatalis and immersive sim oldfather Ultima Underworld.
The game is also strongly influenced by the Ruhr area of Germany, a region notorious for its coal mining back in the day. This isn’t the first time the ex Gothic devs have pulled this card, since even Gothic’s ore was heavily influenced by that industry. This time it’s coal though, replacing the ore of the amazing RPG from way back when.
It’s no surprise Pankratz is drawing so heavily from this area, since he is a classic “Ruhrpottler” (the name for the people living in the region) himself.
This makes for a very authentic feel, but as with Gothic the question remains; how many people around the world can be lured with this, considering it would only put a smile on people’s faces from that particular area? That much remains to be seen.
Some Cracks Need to Addressing
Sadly, the reveal didn’t just end in thunderous applause. Criticism emerged pretty instantly around the clunky combat and the performance shown.
We can only imagine Björn Pankratz reading these comments, since the combat was almost universally criticized in pretty much any struggling Piranha Bytes title of the past.
Some fans also critiqued the fact that Cralon is a first person game. The combat was described as stale and uninspired, but there is no confirmation as to if those animations are only placeholders and will change with the full release, however.
Performance also raised some eyebrows. Ironically, Cralon will probably rely on its atmosphere and world-building quite heavily, so having a seemingly low frame rate, with a heavy amount of smeary motion blur on top, will really put a damper on an otherwise pretty great looking Unreal Engine 5 game.
Final Thoughts – Will Cralon Be a Hit?
Cralon hasn’t stolen the hearts of Gamescom attendees thus far, but it sure made an entrance regardless.
Pithead Studios entered the showcase as a small indie name with a few well-known faces leading it. The atmosphere struck a chord with the audience, but the combat and rough state of what was shown shouldn’t be ignored.
Cralon still has a long way to go in order to win the hearts of many a burned Gothic fan still bitter about the fact, that all we’re getting is a Gothic remake by Alkimia – not by Piranha Bytes.
It’s an uphill battle Pankratz and co are going to have to fight, but we’re confident that while the game will most likely not find international acclaim, it will still have its audience with exactly those people who came to love their type of games in the first place.
