When times get difficult, it’s fun to try something new and today I have Crawlco Block Knockers. A hentai puzzle-action hybrid game by the great CosmiKankei that’s different from the ones that came before. To clarify, you can find a plethora of hentai puzzle games on Steam. Several of them are low quality, lack any sort of gameplay, and utilize stolen assets. To be completely honest with you, when I received the code for Crawlco my expectations were extremely low. However, that impression only lasted a couple minutes before I saw the Steam page. A beautiful 90’s aesthetic art style and challenging puzzles with promising gameplay. A timeless lesson rears its head as I read, you can never judge a book by its cover. Crawlco aims to separate itself from the lower quality counterparts in plenty of ways. There’s only really one question that remains – is it worth checking out?
The story is quick and to the point. There’s a warehouse that’s in extreme need of capable hands. Not only do you have to organize blocks accordingly, but you also have to kill any annoying bugs lying around. You’re certainly not getting paid enough for what you’re doing. But in any case, it’s not all bad, you solve all the puzzles and the whole world opens up to you. However, the definition of whole world here is simply the revealing pictures of beautiful damsels. With your hopefully lewd mind, this is enough to warrant the energy spent. Let’s clean this place up and get the girls. Welcome to Crawlco Block Knockers.
As swift as a game you would find in the arcade, Crawlco puts you right on the front lines. There’s little information about why this warehouse is here and where the pictures come from. Normally I’d be mad at the omission in the lore early on, but it’s just that kind of game. No need to overcomplicate things, you know why you’re here for this title. Let’s get you right into the action, train you, and see if you can score some nice body shots. It’s simple and, after playing as many visual novels as I have for reviews, I welcomed this change of pace. Which makes the gameplay all the more satisfying when I hit start. The fluid movement and block-moving mechanics all seem so natural. Furthermore, when I see the backdrop and listen to the funky beats, I realize that I’m not playing an ordinary puzzle game.
The developers talk on their Steam page about how their inspirations are that of older arcade games with the intent of being an in-between game. To clarify, this means it’s a game where you don’t really have to focus on the who, where, what, when and why’s. It’s just gameplay with lewd rewards, and it sounds so simplistic but allows for the developer to focus on the gameplay that’s going to keep people in. Crawlco allows for all major playstyles from casuals to hardcore with options like turning off enemies for stages. In addition, there’s also an option to skip stages should you have enough stars built up. Now you may think this is too casual, but oh how wrong you are. The difficulty curve is one of the more promising regardless of how you play. Stage mechanics and piece spawning RNG wish to introduce themselves to you.
Let’s talk about the gameplay specifically. It’s the standard match three setup whether column or row, but L shape is also valid. Nothing too complex so far, heck even sprinkle in the RNG from earlier. Positioning yourself and the blocks is crucial, now try to unravel this sweet picture while being attacked! Spoiler, it’s not that fun for a casual like myself. Even if you turn them off it doesn’t make things easier. The stages themselves add layers of complexity whether it’s the format the picture is in to something as torturous as a spinning ball of death. The boss fights are a bigger pain, but for a bigger reward as well. They will destroy your blocks, erase any clear progress and eat your lives like cereal. It’s almost heartless, I despise it at first. However, now looking back, I like it.
The only problem I can say that I might have with Crawlco Block Knockers is with the art on certain girls. However, as a person who sinks too much time into playing visual novels, my value in art is skewed. I’m sure you will find a lot more pleasure seeing these girls in various states of undress. To clarify once more, it’s still hot. The rest of the game delivers on just being the fun puzzle hybrid that completely crushes my expectations. The amount of challenge is refreshing and allowing both casual and hardcore gamers to indulge in it is fantastic. The soundtrack is a joy to listen to as I crush my brain trying to figure out where to put my next set of blue blocks. If this were in an arcade, I’d lose several dollars playing it.
Crawlco Block Knockers feels like the definitive hentai puzzle game that a lot of people were waiting for. It’s simple to understand, challenging to master and incredibly rewarding when it’s done. I deeply enjoyed the handful of hours spent for this impressions piece. Furthermore, when it’s only $3.99, I have no other option than to recommend you check it out. My congratulations go out to CosmiKankei and Shady Corner Games on the release. I’m looking forward to the next one.
