Captain Claw

[NecroLord]

https://captainclaw.net/en/downloads.html

Perhaps some of you are already familiar with this game, especially since many of you guys are undoubtedly polish. This game has quite a following in Poland (or, so I have heard), and for good reason. It is really awesome.
It is abandonware, but above you have a link where you can download it and also a lot of custom levels for the game.
So, what say you about this game?
Yay or nay?

 

[Sad He-Man]

Yay

 

[Kabas]

Beautiful game.
Very difficult tho

 

[Vlajdermen]

Favourite game of Filippo Gaetano Lupini Martini e Claw

 

[luj1]

One of the hardest games I have ever played. The same devs made Blood!

I fondly remember the voice overs and memorable level design with countless secrets. You could also chose from a list of custom levels.

 

[destinae vomitus]

Monolith wanted this to be a family-friendly game suitable for younger audiences, so naturally they made it more difficult than Blood.

 

[NecroLord]

Most valuable pieces of treasure are those golden skulls with gemstones in their eye sockets. Really rare, usually only found in secret and hard to reach areas (only with those catnip powerups).
Yeah, it can be a difficult game, but really fun.
Great soundtrack too.

 

[Dedicated_Dark]

Love this game, it's so damn snappy.

 

[Reinhardt]

my older sister loved this game. "про кота"

 

[Gahbreeil]

Beautiful game.
Very difficult tho

On what difficulty? Have you played Mario, at least?

Yay.

 

[Axel_am]

Talk about a blast from the past. A big Yay from me on this one. Especially about the sound design.
I remember it being really hard. Just noticed you can also get it from the gplay store. However it seems to be a poor port tho.

 

[Maxie]

 

[catfood]

It's an amazing game. I've been playing it on and off for 25 years now. I have always had it installed on every PC that I ever owned.

The modding community is still going strong and there are a ton of custom maps out there. However most of the fan maps are even harder than the official ones so if you find the base game hard then get ready for a world of hurt.

Talk about a blast from the past. A big Yay from me on this one. Especially about the sound design.

Yes, the sound design bears mentioning. There was a lot of effort put into this area. For example there are about a dozen or so different types of treasure types that you can collect and each and every one has its own distinct "cling" sound. The ambient sound also alters depending on where you are in a level. For example in the third level if you are underground the sound starts to reverberate, and if you are high in the clouds the sound gets muffled and wind sounds can be heard playing on top of it.

 

[ciox]

Haven't played in quite a while but I saw a lot of entertaining custom levels on youtube tbh, creative secrets and use of the existing assets. You wouldn't think so but the game seems to have a decent mapping scene.

 

[Angnomynous Wasp Scholar]

Make a 12hr retrospective on it pls

 

[NecroLord]

Haven't played in quite a while but I saw a lot of entertaining custom levels on youtube tbh, creative secrets and use of the existing assets. You wouldn't think so but the game seems to have a decent mapping scene.

Indeed.
A lot of great custom levels.
Some took me close to one hour to finish. Others are really short. Some are gimmicky and even hilarious.

 

[Gandalf]

Thanks for mentioning this title. I remember this game, but I have not played it, sadly. Same thing with Lew Leon. Maybe I'll give it a try today!

 

[Darth Roxor]

related

 

[luj1]

Talk about a blast from the past. A big Yay from me on this one. Especially about the sound design.

Yes, the sound design bears mentioning. There was a lot of effort put into this area. For example there are about a dozen or so different types of treasure types that you can collect and each and every one has its own distinct "cling" sound.

That is crazy, I remember the musket sound was super satisfying to hear. They really did an amazing job with foley effects. Loved the voice overs too. Sound plays a big role in the design of this game.

The ambient sound also alters depending on where you are in a level. For example in the third level if you are underground the sound starts to reverberate, and if you are high in the clouds the sound gets muffled and wind sounds can be heard playing on top of it.

I remember that, that is clever.

 

[Dr Skeleton]

Probably my favorite 2d platformer of all time, I replay it every few years.

I've played it so many times it doesn't seem as difficult as it once was, that is until I get to some of the optional treasure paths in the later levels, then you get a one time high jump item with short time limit, disappearing platforms, arrows shooting from different points and at different intervals and probably one or two seagulls placed just perfectly to fuck your shit up mid-jump, and you have to reach a portal by timing a jump between death spikes mid-way through the sequence, you slip and die somewhere 3/4 way through and feel like the game is trolling you


The 2000 Techland Polish release they have on https://captainclaw.net is not the first version available in Poland, I think? My CD is different, I don't remember if there was a box at all, just a fancy CD case and a manual, so maybe mine was a later one from a cheap magazine+game set? I'll need to have a look and compare the dates if there are any, it gets a bit hazy after 20+ years.

 

[JarlFrank]

I played this as a kid, really enjoyed it. Difficulty didn't feel too bad for the first half but it really ramps up as you go through the levels. Especially the last two areas are brutal. I died to the bosses a lot too.

Should give it a playthrough again, haven't played it in 20 years.

 

[NecroLord]

My favorite levels are 3 - "The Foothpath", 8 - "The Shipyards" and 10 - "The Cliffs". Really awesome.
The last two levels are particularly nasty, with loads of traps and just very difficult all-round.
Level 11 has you fighting a boss by the name of Red Tail. Can be a rough battle.
The final level and the final boss are rather difficult. You will lose several lives, that's for sure.

 

[Darth Roxor]

Hesus, I started playing it, having never done so before, and I'm getting Rayman 1 flashbacks as far as 'the floor collapses revealing spikes below' goes.

 

[catfood]

My favorite levels are 3 - "The Foothpath", 8 - "The Shipyards" and 10 - "The Cliffs". Really awesome.
The last two levels are particularly nasty, with loads of traps and just very difficult all-round.
Level 11 has you fighting a boss by the name of Red Tail. Can be a rough battle.
The final level and the final boss are rather difficult. You will lose several lives, that's for sure.

The current version that is on the Claw Recluse website is actually easier than the original unpatched version was. For instance you started out with fewer lives and some enemies dealt more damage. Certain bosses were also nerfed such as Wolfington and I believe the last boss as well.

 

[NecroLord]

My favorite levels are 3 - "The Foothpath", 8 - "The Shipyards" and 10 - "The Cliffs". Really awesome.
The last two levels are particularly nasty, with loads of traps and just very difficult all-round.
Level 11 has you fighting a boss by the name of Red Tail. Can be a rough battle.
The final level and the final boss are rather difficult. You will lose several lives, that's for sure.

The current version that is on the Claw Recluse website is actually easier than the original unpatched version was. For instance you started out with fewer lives and some enemies dealt more damage. Certain bosses were also nerfed such as Wolfington and I believe the last boss as well.

Really? How are they easier?
I must be playing an older version.