I was getting frustrated with Overload after a huge difficulty spike in the last few levels, so I decided to take a break from it and try out another game. Crumble is a simple game with a simple premise: keep rolling forwards. While it seems like a very basic speedrunning title, it has a few surprise lying in wait.
In Crumble, you play a ball flying through levels to return to your rocket ship. It’s a speedrunner game, similar to Action Henk, but it plays more like the later Sonic the Hedgehog games. You roll forward, jump, and use your tongue to swing across platforms in order to get to the end as quickly as possible.
The game doesn’t have any enemies in the traditional sense. But that doesn’t mean the game doesn’t have some surprises for you. You will loose rocks and terrain that will crumble as you try to cross them, cannons destroying the environment you’re trying to traverse, fans that blow you in various directions, and even living islands flying around each other. Hanging onto a living island with your tongue for dear life as it spins around is one of the most unique encounters I’ve had in a video game.
I’m only halfway through this game and I’m loving every second of it. You will end up replaying moments over and over, but it has a quick reset so you can get right into the action right away. People who want to dedicate more time can practise each level over and over until they get a perfect time. Some of the times on the current leaderboards seem impossible to me. I don’t want to assume they’ve been hacked, however, as I’ve seen speedrunners perform some amazing times in games not designed around their play style.
It’s a nice break from a more advanced game like Overload, and I’m happy I’ve given myself some time to breathe before I go back and attempt to finish the game once and for all.
