Cracked Crusaders: A tale of three unlikely heroes, dungeons and sheep

Cracked Crusaders puts a unique view on action platformers, featuring multiple dungeons and customizable characters to swap between.

Cracked Crusaders is a humorous adventure game on Android and iOS created by Webbysoft. It features the story of three characters: Milton, the Shepard, Dory the duck, and Holly the dog (Dory has dialogue, by the way).

Unexpectedly, in their cozy little town of Lach Valley, some dungeon crawling creatures abducted their flock of sheep. From there, the trio decided that they would do whatever it takes to save their sheep.

Then, the wondrous wizard, Lumbario appears from underground with an enthusiastic “What’s up, guys!” and decides to guide the crew on their journey. In the game, Lumbario gives you tips and tricks before entering each dungeon.

You can freely swap between the three characters and even change their appearance, such as their fur/skin tones. And just for the visuals, each time you start the game, the character you’re currently using will be shown on the start screen in a panic.

The lovely colors of the 2D platformer bring the game to life, with some solid music in the background to coincide with the environment. The game starts off easy enough, with you exploring each dungeon with the goal of finding the area’s boss (Dungeon Masters).

Interestingly, although there is no map like in many platformers, you can unlock one but searching the area for a treasure chest. Each location has a chest with a map in it, which will tell you where the boss is located.

Early on, bosses don’t fight you when you find their lairs. They just sit there and whimper in fear as you poke them with a wooden sword to their death (this after putting up signs talking smack throughout the areas).

As you progress, more enemies will show up of different types and the Dungeon Masters will become stronger and will fight. One of the challenging things is that you’ll lose a life each time you take a hit from an enemy.

And you start out with only three, although early levels are easier to deal with. This is where it’s good to stock up on gear.

Each time you complete a dungeon, you can earn up to three stars. As you accumulate them, they can be used to purchase better weapons (look, we love the ol’ wooden sword, but who doesn’t want an upgrade, right?).

You can also use stars to purchase consumable items that can give you a boost in health among other things. You can even purchase a gun unleash the led on any foes who get in your way (although quite expensive early on at 50 stars).

The gameplay is plenty enjoyable as you get a fast-paced, arcade-style game. There are over 100 levels to help keep the game fresh, and the ability to unlock better gear keeps your interest as well.

It’s also quite satisfying. When you complete a dungeon, and you know you earned three stars, you gain satisfaction by knowing that you’re getting closer to unlocking some better weapons.

The overall gameplay in Cracked Crusaders is fun, as seamlessly hopping from one platform to the other, and smashing on the heads of enemies along the way is good fun.

The story of Milton, Dory, and Holly going from your classic village trio to kick-butt warriors, and pretty cool as well (and funny). Being able to switch characters is fun as well, mostly for the aesthetics, as doing so doesn’t have an effect on gameplay or anything.