Kharon’s Crypt has players controlling a weakened spirit of death, only able to dizzy those he meets as he floats through his underground prison. To escape, and finally bring death to the cruel king that locked him down here, he’ll need to take over the monsters and warriors he finds in the dungeon, using their powers to slowly escape.
Kharon’s Crypt tells the story of a king that refused to die, using black magic to trap Kharon in an urn. Then, with the help of sorcerors and magicians, he sealed it deep inside of a dungeon, hoping to keep the spirit buried there and unable to bring about the king’s death. After ages have passed, though, the urn has broken, and Kharon is free. He’ll just need some help from players to navigate the dungeons that lie between him and his target.
Kharon has been weakened by spending time sealed away, and can only fly around and dizzy the creatures he stumbles across. Dizzied creatures can be possessed, which is the only way Kharon can interact with physical objects, although at times it can be handy to become incorporeal to pass through things while fleeing danger (as players can only become invulnerable for a few moments during the game).
Depending on the creatures possessed, players can do multiple things that will help them escape. Flying creatures can let players get over gaps, slimes can sneak through tight spaces, mimes can mimic treasure chests to get the drop on enemies, and stealing the body of anything with hands will let them fight other monsters that might hurt them, or manipulate mechanisms that will let them eventually get out of the dungeon.
Having hands means being able to equip various weapons. From swords to chakrams to bomb-like containers of spirits, players can use an array of tools when they inhabit a body with hands. However, they will drop many of these tools upon their body’s death, so they’ll have to grab a new one to pick them back up where they fell.
As a spirit of death, it’s important to restore Kharon’s powers along their journey. Players can do so by collecting the creature’s stolen entrails, which have been scattered throughout the dungeon. These will give the players more vitality and strength as they collect them.
Kharon’s Crypt is currently raising development funding for its Game Boy Color-style adventure on Kickstarter, with a demo for the game available on its website.
