When comparing Nidhogg vs Crawl, the Slant community recommends Crawl for most people. In the question“What are the best split-screen PS4 games?” Crawl is ranked 6th while Nidhogg is ranked 42nd. The most important reason people chose Crawl is:
Crawl has one lone hero enter a dungeon with objective to find the dungeon boss and strike it down. However, other players wish to take that glory as well, and will use all means possible to take the soul and spot in the story of the hero for themselves. Whoever players the hero, must struggle trough the dungeon, killing monsters and gaining money and experience to get new equipment and grow stronger. All the while other players will take control of monsters and traps to kill the hero. Monsters will make attempts cooperate to get the hero, but to get the soul one must strike the last blow and prepare defend themselves when roles change, one cannot be too cooperative with the temporary allies.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Despite simple graphics, there is quite a lot of depth to the gameplay
The gameplay consists of the player sword fighting an opponent in order to make it to the opposite side of the stage. Depth comes into play in that every move can be countered and so can evolve into a painstaking dual that can last quite a long time with players countering each other in a game of wits and will. There are also stances for each player where the sword can be held high or , which creates that many more moves that need to be predicted from their opponent.
Pro Surreal atmosphere that adds to the charm of the game
Even though the graphics are pretty basic each environment is different from the last which makes for a surreal experience due to how much the environments differ as well as how they are illustrated. In one moment you may be fighting in a cave the next you may be fighting by a giant colorful waterfall. All this and the end stage features a giant worm that eats the winner.
Pro Unique gameplay, blend of cooperation and betrayal
Crawl has one lone hero enter a dungeon with objective to find the dungeon boss and strike it down. However, other players wish to take that glory as well, and will use all means possible to take the soul and spot in the story of the hero for themselves. Whoever players the hero, must struggle trough the dungeon, killing monsters and gaining money and experience to get new equipment and grow stronger. All the while other players will take control of monsters and traps to kill the hero. Monsters will make attempts cooperate to get the hero, but to get the soul one must strike the last blow and prepare defend themselves when roles change, one cannot be too cooperative with the temporary allies.
Pro Local (couch ) 2-4 asymmetric multiplayer
Crawl has built in support for local 2-4 player asymmetric multiplayer with 3 out of the 4 playing co-op against the main player.
Pro Replay value
As the game is played, different monsters are unlocked and dungeons change for each playthrough with different bosses making the game stay interesting as time goes on. Available items change each play-trough as well, players cannot choose same play-style each time as different weapons require different tactics.
Pro Retro graphics
The art style of Crawl is reminiscent of 8bit games of yore and yet are still detailed enough to have very different designs for the different monsters in the game.
Cons
Con Learning gameplay is difficult
There is no tutorial in the game which makes learning all the ins and outs of Nidhogg difficult.
Con No online multiplayer
Obviously the game is designed around multiplayer play but sadly there is no online multiplayer included.