- Crowsworn is a metroidvania very similar to Silksong.
- Ever since its reveal four years ago, fans of Hollow Knight have been looking forward to it, and the game’s finally close to release.
- While the game has many similarities, it features a darker world and an edgier aesthetic, as well as its own unique mechanics.
Hollow Knight was an amazing game, one which many fans, me included, were left saddened after finishing because there just wasn’t any other Metroidvania quite like it. While Silksong was on an indefinite production period and we knew nothing about when it’d come out, Mongoose Rodeo’s Crowsworn seemed to be the game to play until Silksong comes out.
Well, Silksong has already come out, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be playing Crowsworn anymore. It’s a grimmer and darker game than both HK and SS, one that’s inspired by games like Devil May Cry and Bloodborne. It earned over a million USD in its Kickstarter alone, and, after four full years, the full game’s finally coming out.
What Is Crowsworn?
I’ve been excited about Crowsworn since its demo came out. I couldn’t play it at the time, but having just finished Hollow Knight, I remember looking forward to the full release almost as much as I wanted Silksong to be out.
It’s a very similar game to Hollow Knight, not just in it being a metroidvania. It has similar hand-drawn sprites as HK, has fairly similar weapon mechanics, and if you’ve just finished playing Silksong, might just feel like a different game from the same franchise.
It’s Not Just A Silksong Clone
Of course, the similarities don’t mean it really is just a clone, though. Even if the hand-drawn animations look similar at first glance, the atmosphere and themes of the two games are very different: Crowsworn is a lot edgier.
Where you’ll find a ton of bugs in the HK and Silksong universes, there’s a stark lack of crows and ravens in Crowsworn, save for the character we control. Instead, you fight against horrid-looking, deformed creatures of flesh and filth — the latter term is even used to refer to them.
Even the items you get are different. You won’t find yourself donning the sewn-together faces of dead people on your body in Hollow Knight, nor would you be stabbing your palms and sacrificing your blood to get increased health. More than just a tad more gritty, I’d say.
The DMC and Bloodborne inspiration is very easy to see as well, especially with the focus on style and flashy moves. It features many similar mechanics, but overall, our corvid character has a multitude of unique spells at his disposal. Plus, he has a gun, one that can shoot demonic bullets.
The game even has very smooth, good-looking animated cutscenes that help with immersion, something that not a lot of Metroidvanias do nowadays.
Changes From The Demo
The demo went through most of the mechanics in a condensed one-hour playthrough. It introduced both the scythe and the gun weapons, showed some of the power-ups, and had two distinct bosses for you to fight.
We don’t really know what the main game will look like. The demo was more of a teaser; the developers will use no area from it in the main game. You can still expect the bosses and weapons to be there, just not everything you saw.
The trailer shows some of these newer things not seen in the demo, including a number of new abilities. It also shows a new choose-one-of-three option that makes you choose between tarot cards to gain buffs.
Crowsworn Release Date
It’s been a long time since the kickstarter, and two entire years have passed by since the last demo. Even Silksong came out last year, so do we know anything about when we can expect to play Crowsworn?
Well, not really. We don’t have an exact date, but the Xbox reveal trailer does mean that it’s just about ready to play. I’m pretty sure it’ll come out in 2026. Even if there’s a huge setback, I won’t expect it to be delayed any more than early 2027.
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Heya, I’m Asad (Irre) Kashif! I’ve been writing about anything and everything since as far back as I can remember. Professionally, I started writing five years ago, working both as a ghostwriter and writing under my own name. As a published author and a council member in Orpheus, my journey in the world of writing has been fulfilling and dynamic.
I still cherish the essays I wrote about my favorite PS2 games, and I’m thrilled to have transformed my passion for game journalism into a career. I’m a theory crafter for Genshin Impact (and now Wuthering Waves) and have a deep love for roguelites and roguelikes. While I prefer indie games for their distinct aesthetic and vibes, I do enjoy triple-A games occasionally. I’ve also been playing League since season 6, and I main Akali! I have a keen interest in discovering and playing more obscure games, as well as researching forgotten titles. Additionally, I am a front-end programmer who dabbles a bit in gamedev occasionally.
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