The Cursed Crusade

 PlayStation 3
The Cursed Crusade Image
Metascore
45

Generally unfavorable reviews - based on 17 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
5.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 30 Ratings

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  • Summary: The Cursed Crusade marries medieval Europe with adventure and dark fantasy.
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The Cursed Crusade - Co-Op Trailer

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 17
  3. Negative: 10 out of 17
  1. GamingXP
    Sep 26, 2011
    83
    When it's all said and done, The Cursed Crusade is a great hack'n'slash which has some treats like RPG elements, lots of weapons and the awesome co-op mode. A gem best enjoyed with a friend.
  2. Pelit (Finland)
    Nov 15, 2011
    70
    The curse of this crusade is hurry, which can be seen in almost every aspect of the game. The historical premise is interesting and the fundamentals of the fighting system are in order, but there is no finishing touch. Glitches, frustrating level design, dumb AI and screwed up damage modelling are sure signs of unnecessary haste. With proper finishing this crusade would have triumphed. [Nov 2011]
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  3. Vandal
    Oct 25, 2011
    57
    It has lost a good opportunity to become one of the surprises of the year because it has good ideas in its proposal, between a movie and a game. The story is typical, but able to engage us, but its gameplay is too lackluster and repetitive.
  4. Eurogamer
    Oct 7, 2011
    40
    It's just a waste of time. Too clumsy to satisfy any action gaming urge, and too wrapped up in its own turgid mythology to realise it's getting things so badly wrong, releasing it right before the onslaught of massive winter releases is a decision more audacious than any design choices in the game itself.
  5. PlayStation LifeStyle
    Nov 17, 2011
    40
    Ultimately, The Cursed Crusade suffers from something far worse than the characters within – the curse of boredom. By the end, I no longer cared about whether or not Denz finds his father, or if he and Estaban managed to break the curse, and only cared that I could turn the game off.
  6. TheSixthAxis
    Oct 19, 2011
    40
    The Cursed Crusade certainly had potential, and if Kylotonn spent more time on the flow and diversity of combat a number of the smaller issues such as the lack of a checkpoint system or stiff ranged gameplay could easily have been overlooked. However the studio decided to add variety through other means, unknowingly underpinning the rest of the game.
  7. PSM3 Magazine UK
    Dec 1, 2011
    23
    A real dog of a historical slasher. [Christmas 2011, p.107]
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See all 17 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 7
  3. Negative: 3 out of 7
  1. MatthewPP4L
    Nov 12, 2014
    7
    I highly disagree with the other ratings here. This game reminds me a LOT of Dragon's Dogma, with a simpler(is it?) combo system.

    That    I highly disagree with the other ratings here. This game reminds me a LOT of Dragon's Dogma, with a simpler(is it?) combo system.

    That being said it's not the BEST game I've played, but I enjoyed the combos, and the demon mode, and the cross bow was fun.

    This was game was def a good buy on sale, and I enjoyed it :)    … Expand
  2. will824
    Dec 18, 2016
    6
    The cursed crusade is one of those games you realize was put strong effort on and has great visuals with an attempt of good storytelling,The cursed crusade is one of those games you realize was put strong effort on and has great visuals with an attempt of good storytelling, nevertheless falls short on it.

    Nevertheless even with its flaws it is fun to play and definitely recommended if you accept its flaws. I cannot comment on Co-op or Online modes because I did not try them.

    Positive:
    - Visuals: The strongest point, quite good graphics for a simple title
    - Fighting and animation: Movements and animations feel authentic
    - Re-playability/Collectives: For the completionist people this might be a bonus

    Could have been better:
    - Storyline: feels shallow
    - Characters: personality overload, do not generate connection like weak jokes
    - Weapon systems: Great effort put on weapons combination, but it feels incomplete
    - Bugs: Graphics out of place and character gets stuck.    … Expand
  4. Angelus_72
    Sep 5, 2012
    6
    Certainly not the best game there is, but still a bit under-rated. Graphically unimpressive with a boring plotline. But if you can find thisCertainly not the best game there is, but still a bit under-rated. Graphically unimpressive with a boring plotline. But if you can find this game on a discount (which is easy considering its reviews) and you have a friend to play it with, it's certainly worth picking up if you don't mind the serious lack of difficulty, and you can appreciate Esteban for his comedic, yet stereotypic, value. It's a fun game, but I would suggest something among the lines of Demon's Souls, (or Dark Souls) or Dragon's Dogma instead.… Expand
  5. Gauntly
    Sep 14, 2014
    5
    This game is pretty tough to get along with. Almost everything about it needs a bit more fine tuning. The storyline, the character animation,This game is pretty tough to get along with. Almost everything about it needs a bit more fine tuning. The storyline, the character animation, the voice acting and just the overall quality of gameplay were quite lackluster. Despite this I've tried my best to appreciate the good qualities and it could be what you need if you are just looking for a bit of mindless sword fighting.

    The storyline is far from captivating even though it tries to capture struggle and redemption. You play as Denz de Bayle who teams up with a Spaniard named Esteban Noviembre in joining the Forth Crusade. Denz believes that joining the crusade will allow him to track down his father who never returned from Jerusalem during the previous crusade. Denz is heavily motivated to find his father because much of their family's belongings had been seized by Denz's uncle and Denz's father is the only who who can make things right again. During the search both Denz and Esteban are cursed and marked for Death so they try to find a way to rid themselves of this haunting.

    I must respect the writers for the effort that they put into such a storyline but I just can't feel very interested in how it all plays out in the game. This is where I feel like there is wasted potential. The concept of the storyline could have been fine if everything played out in a more dynamic and interesting way. You may find yourself skipping over cut scenes for this reason.

    The combat system definitely tries it's best to be dynamic but fighting can still progress in a slow and crude manner. The foremost form of fighting is just straight up sword fighting but you can also activated a "cursed-mode" where you harness the power of the curse to increase your strength and cast fire attacks. You are able us a variety of melee weapons ranging from maces and axes to swords and scythes. You have the option of using a bow, crossbow or the cursed-mode fire crossbow when you need to use ranged attacks. This may sound interesting at first but it's where there seems to be a bit more wasted potential. If the combat mechanics were tweaked to be more fluid then it could have added a lot more value to the weapons and abilities.

    This game supports both online and split-screen co-op. Good luck finding anybody who's playing online however, and unfortunately co-op may not even add a whole lot of value if you find the game to be unplayable in general. Co-op is available throughout the game and you are usually able to fight along with your friend but there are some cases where the characters must split-up and be on their own for a while.

    Again with more wasted potential. After looking at the story, the combat system and the co-op features it seems like this game really tried to have a lot of good ideas to create this epic adventure that you can share with a friend, but the overall tone of how this game is executed is very dry and you probably are not gonna find yourself on the edge of your seat from the action. Despite my complaints I still have a sense of respect for this game. It's just looks and feels very low budget which can be hard to get over at times.    … Expand
  6. JoseManuel10_
    May 19, 2022
    4
    The Cursed Crusade is an game developed by Kylotonn and published by DTP.

    + Execution Animation - Repetitive - Boring Story - Boring    The Cursed Crusade is an game developed by Kylotonn and published by DTP.

    + Execution Animation
    - Repetitive
    - Boring Story
    - Boring Action Set Pieces
    - Bugs    … Expand
  7. GrumpyReviewer
    Dec 28, 2011
    4
    This game is filled with good intentions. But, as we say in my country: "hell is filled with good intentions". And this is, literally, theThis game is filled with good intentions. But, as we say in my country: "hell is filled with good intentions". And this is, literally, the case here. The Cursed Crusade is a bad game with occasional fun. It's badly programmed, the art design is poor, the gameplay is clunky as hell and it feels, looks and plays like a rushed, lazy, dirty, unfinished product that I would be ashamed of putting my name on. It screams "low budget" from start to finish. That being said, it is not a broken game, which means you can have some fun with it if you have NOTHING else to play. This is a cursed game. Cursed to be forever on the 10 dollar bin shelves, until the stores decide to give it for free. In my honest opinion, they should just recall this game.… Expand
  8. ThatCriticalJew
    Dec 9, 2011
    3
    oh boy I knew I had to review this at some point. Well, here we go!

    Ah yes the Cursed Crusade, it seems more like it should be called the    oh boy I knew I had to review this at some point. Well, here we go!

    Ah yes the Cursed Crusade, it seems more like it should be called the cursed game. but before we get into what is so bad about this game, let's talk about the good aspects of the game.

    Story:

    I'm not going to waste words telling you the story. All I am going to tell you about the story, is that it's the cross between a history lesson and Dante's Inferno. Not really much else I need to say about it.

    Gameplay:

    I am going to talk about the best part of the game(combat) the combat system itself is pretty basic. First let's talk about the shooter sections.

    You will sometimes use a crossbow to kill enemies from a distance like a third person shooter. And like almost any third-person shooter, you can hide behind cover. Sad thing is that it will take about 2-3 hits to kill someone, which is slowed down because you're using a crossbow.

    The combat system mainly contains a mix of three-hit combos with different weapons and weapon styles. When the enemy is just about finished off you can use a finishing move that is acquainted with your current weapon style. The coolest thing about the weapons you use in the game, is the fact that if you use them too frequently, the weapons will break. This would be annoying at times, but I just finished talking about everything good.

    DESIGN:

    Oh boy. Where to begin.

    There is very little challenge here. The reason for this is not the game's controls or the way it plays, it's that the A.I is f*cking retarded. I'm serious. Most of the enemies will just stand motionless waiting for you to hit them saying (to quote one of the worst Family Guy episodes) "Wake up. We're fighting!" Your AI partner is actually smarter than your enemy, though sometimes share the same stupidity, but not as often. The bosses that you encounter are smarter than the common enemy of course, but still usually easy because of your AI partner who can revive you (who of which you must also revive.)

    There is also the fact that this is the second ugliest game I have seen this year.(Yes, it is true that graphics don't make the game, but the game should be appealing to look at anyway, especially if the game itself isn't good.) And if you want a medieval gorefest, you're not going to find this game enjoyable.

    Conclusion:

    The game is basically something that could have been better.(much like another game I will eventually get to.) The game is rushed, broken, and unfinished making it seem like the companies cared more about the money than the consumers paying for it.(this has been done many times before)

    What should you do if you want the game: Pass!    … Expand

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Awards & Rankings

65
#65 Most Shared PS3 Game of 2011