Crowman & Wolfboy

Review

The Dark Forest, better known as the World of Shadows is full of weird and evil creatures. Their favourite entertainment is to dance amongst each other and look as eerie as they can be. That’s what shadows do! Not far from where the crazy dance is taking place, two shadows are sitting down, looking at a mysterious picture with an inscription reading, “The Happiest Place on Earth!” In a heartbeat, they decide to make a run for this better place. It won’t be easy to escape the shadows; Good luck Crowman and Wolfboy!

Crowman and Wolfboy is a platformer/ runner genre of game where you control the two creatures. Your goal is to reach the end of each level (thirty five in total) as fast as possible and without being caught by the shadows.

The first level is a nice, easy tutorial. The first skills you’ll learn for Crowman will be to jump and flap in mid-air. Wolfboy’s first skill is is the ability to climb. Pick up as many white orbs (small or large) as possible on each level to repel the incoming wall of shadows who want you back. Actually, if the wall touches your characters, you’ll restart the level. There are three large orbs to collect per level as well as one baby to save. Later on in the game you will come across large black orbs - these one will activate the wall of shadows. It could be a good idea to avoid them but sometimes it won’t be possible. As you progress through the game, you’ll collect additional skills for the pair. On some occasions you’ll probably be thinking, “how on earth I am going to reach those orbs,” especially early on in the game. Don’t worry, you’ll be able to come back to previous stages and use the new skills to collect them, which will give you slightly more re-playability. At the start of some levels, you’ll receive a warning to find a beacon. When you find and activate these beacons, further information on the storyline will be revealed.

There are plenty of obstacles to avoid in this game, and you can expect to die more than a few times.  The main obstacle is the wall of shadows. However, you will also come up against saws, spikes, robots and falling rocks, as well as shadow monsters hiding in rubbish bins and other places. Other items, such as rubbish bags, will slow you down too; not fun when you have the wall on your butt!

I personally really like the artwork, and the soundtrack is nice. Control-wise, they are responsive either with the keyboard or a gamepad. Personally, I prefer the gamepad.  The game is pretty short, though.