Basement Crawl

 PlayStation 4
Metascore
27

Generally unfavorable reviews - based on 16 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 16
  3. Negative: 15 out of 16
  1. Hardcore Gamer
    Feb 26, 2014
    50
    Basement Crawl is a reasonably-priced, well-made game lacking the features to make it a must-have. It simply doesn’t offer enough as a multiplayer-only game to fully recommend as a purchase to anyone other than folks who are dying for Bomberman on the PS4.
  2. PlayStation LifeStyle
    Feb 27, 2014
    45
    It’s a simplistic sort of time-killing fun that I would expect out of a cheap mobile game, but as a full featured PS4 title, it feels like there is content missing and a lack of polish.
  3. Everyeye.it
    Mar 14, 2014
    40
    This should be a grindhouse version of Bomberman, but the game is poor, tantalized by netcode and matchmaking problems, and in the end a very discouraging arcade.
  5. PlayStation Universe
    Mar 9, 2014
    40
    Basement Crawl tries hard to recapture the magic of Bomberman but has a hard time with its horror theme, lack of a real tutorial, and online connectivity issues. Overall, Basement Crawl can be a fun game but it's hard to justify a purchase when half of the game just doesn't want to work.
  6. Vandal
    Feb 28, 2014
    40
    The idea behind it –a dark Bomberman– was ok, but the lack of tutorials and the confusing design makes it hard to play and enjoy.
  7. IGN
    Mar 6, 2014
    30
    With just two modes, generic levels, a grating aesthetic, and an interface that damages the play experience, Basement Crawl would lack anything to keep us around even if it functioned soundly.
  8. GameSpot
    Feb 28, 2014
    30
    Basement Crawl is buggy at worst and unfinished at best.
  9. PSX Extreme
    Mar 5, 2014
    28
    Then there’s the issue of the game’s awful instability: It’s glitchy, buggy, and just poorly put together. When you combine everything, you get a monumentally disappointing experience that really isn’t worth the price of admission. Plain ol’ nostalgia will only get you so far, Bloober Team.
  10. Gaming Age
    Mar 11, 2014
    25
    It's possible that, one day in the future, Basement Crawl might be worth checking out, but at this point in time, I wouldn't bet on it.
  11. Playstation Official Magazine Australia
    Apr 27, 2014
    20
    Basement Crawl is aptly named – for that's where it belongs, packed away in a dusty box. [May 2014, p76]
    All this publication's reviews
  12. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    Apr 27, 2014
    20
    Depressing fare. [May 2014, p.83]
    All this publication's reviews
  13. DarkStation
    Mar 27, 2014
    20
    Basement Crawl has been out for just over a month and still suffers from crippling online issues. Not a good sign.
  14. Polygon
    Mar 7, 2014
    20
    Developer Bloober Team has promised to address some of the issues with the game, but as it stands, Basement Crawl is a trainwreck.
  15. Digitally Downloaded
    Mar 5, 2014
    20
    Even if Bloober Team manages to fix every single issue in the game, it's still a conceptual mess that just doesn't work.
  16. GamesRadar+
    Feb 28, 2014
    20
    A poorly executed Bomberman clone that is technically broken in almost every respect, Basement Crawl is shambling husk of an online multiplayer game. Avoid as if your life depended on it.
  17. Destructoid
    Feb 28, 2014
    20
    Basement Crawl is not only a broken, unfinished game -- it's also a poor one.

Awards & Rankings

96
#96 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2014

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
2.9

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 67 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 67
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 67
  3. Negative: 51 out of 67
  1. Sufferage
    Feb 26, 2014
    3
    I wasn't expecting a AAA title with a $10 pricetag, but even my mildest expectations were left completely unfulfilled. This game feels like anI wasn't expecting a AAA title with a $10 pricetag, but even my mildest expectations were left completely unfulfilled. This game feels like an early demo at best. There are literally no gameplay options whatsoever. Want to play longer than super quick 3 minute rounds? Tough luck. Would you rather play with a stock number of lives instead of time rounds? Sorry, kiddo. Hoping for more than 3 environments with only slight variations of each? You've come to the wrong place. The devs have made each battle play the exact one way they feel is best, and there's nothing you can do to change it.

    The stripped down nature of this game is even more apparent in the complete lack of any AI-controlled bots. I appreciate the fact that the devs were trying to introduce a game that encourages local multiplayer (because nowadays that's becoming harder and harder to come by), but how can you expect players to want to play a bomberman clone only one on one? Not having a single player mode is one thing, but not allowing two players to take the field with two other computer players is unacceptable. I played multiple rounds head to head against my roommate but after about 30 minutes we gave up. The rounds are WAY too short and due to the random placement of your players in can sometimes take half the battle just getting close enough to the other player to do some damage. This might be somewhat forgiveable if playing online was effectively done, but after spending TWO HOURS trying to get into a game without a single successful attempt, the only thing I want now is a refund.

    Even if I had been able to set up a game with multiple opponents, this still wouldn't overcome the fact that some of the controls and visuals are a mess. There are only 4 available characters to choose from, and their visual design combined with the zoomed out view of an already cluttered board can often make it very difficult to tell which way they are facing and/or if they are in the path of an impending explosion. On top of this, I noticed several instances where it would take multiple button presses for my character to throw bombs, particularly after spawning, and there were even times where one of my explosions would miss the opposing player entirely despite them being in direct path of the explosion (you can also see evidence of this in YouTube gameplay videos).

    One other thing that really bothers me: the music, or rather the lack thereof. I was all for a dark and horror-themed atmosphere going into this, but you don't need near-silence in order to achieve this. Save for a few spooky sounds in the backround, there's practically no music at all. How did the devs not think this was going to be an issue? Especially for a game that strives so hard for fast, replayable matches, the lack of any catchy tunes at all ramps up the boredom threshold very quickly.

    What's most frustrating is that as a big Bomberman fan I was really looking forward to this, and there are glimpses of what I loved about that franchise at the heart of Basement Crawl. They really could have made a very popular game with very little competition out there at the moment. Instead, what we have here feels like an extremely rushed and poorly constructed demo that doesn't even make the cheap pricetag seem justifiable. Hopefully they listen to the responses from players and make some serious improvements through future patches and updates, because otherwise Bloober Team is going to have a very hard time convincing gamers to buy their next game.    … Full Review »
  2. Hayabashi
    Feb 26, 2014
    2
    Lacking any tutorial based anything, and no real single player experience, Basement Crawl is a Bomberman clone that feels more like a badLacking any tutorial based anything, and no real single player experience, Basement Crawl is a Bomberman clone that feels more like a bad Twisted Metal side game than anything else. I experienced a lot of server lag, and the art makes it hard to see what is exactly going on.… Full Review »
  3. kris2fur
    Mar 1, 2014
    0
    This game is disgusting. It is so broken, I just came from a game where no one was in it , none of us could play. I waited the two minutesThis game is disgusting. It is so broken, I just came from a game where no one was in it , none of us could play. I waited the two minutes everyone got zeroes. This is unforgivable, this happened three times.

    The sound track is horrible.

    I cannot believe I payed 15 dollars for this.... how can a bomberman clone be so broken.
    I'm emailing sony about this.    … Full Review »
See all user reviews »