''Krater'' is a

role-playing video game Role-playing video games, also known as CRPG (computer/console role-playing games), comprise a broad video game genre generally defined by a detailed story and character advancement (often through increasing characters' levels or other skills) ...

for

Microsoft Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

. It was released in 2012 via the

Steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...

digital distribution platform.

Fatshark Fatshark AB is a Swedish video game development studio based in Stockholm. It develops its own games and has also acted as a subcontractor for several AAA (video game industry), AAA titles for PC and consoles. History Fatshark originated fro ...

developed the game following the studio's moderate success after developing '' Lead and Gold: Gangs of the Wild West'' and other titles.

Gameplay

Krater is a squad-based real-time strategy role-playing game. The player controls a team of gas masked survivalists in a post-apocalyptic

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. Players venture in a post-apocalyptic world scoured by a nuclear war. Players can command up to three characters, but reserve members may be purchased. The combat system of the game is fashioned similar to

Blizzard A blizzard is a severe Winter storm, snowstorm characterized by strong sustained winds and low visibility, lasting for a prolonged period of time—typically at least three or four hours. A ground blizzard is a weather condition where snow th ...

's '' Diablo'' series. The player control's a team of three characters from a range of four different classes and their "mutated" variants. The classes are "Bruiser" which takes the role of a

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; ...

. A "Medikus" which takes the traditional role of a

healer Healer may refer to: Conventional medicine *Doctor of Medicine *Health professional Alternative medicine * Faith healer * Folk healer * Healer (alternative medicine), someone who purports to aid recovery from ill health * Spiritual healer F ...

. A "Slayer" which is generally used for short range DPS, or damage dealers and a "Regulator" which is generally a longer ranged DPS. The mutated variants of these classes offer differing, yet similar skills. The player can also have a team of reserve characters. The player's team always attack together, but individual members can be reassigned to attack other targets. Each member can have up to two fixed skills and are only cool-down dependable. There is no traditional levelling system in the game and is only dependable on stat-enhancing character mods called "implants". The game also features

permanent death Permadeath or permanent death is a game mechanic in both tabletop games and video games in which player characters who lose all of their health are considered dead and cannot be used anymore. Depending on the situation, this could require the p ...

s of party members. Once a member dies, they must be replaced with a new recruit. The crafting system in the game is dependable on acquiring blueprints and gathering materials for the construction of the item. Players find blueprints by either looting dungeons or purchasing from vendors.

Reception

''Krater'' received mixed reviews from critics upon release. On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, the game holds a score of 52/100 based on 36 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Reviews praised the game for its unique storytelling and setting, easy learning curve, and its crafting and character development. However, reviewers also stated that the game needed improvement with balancing in combat, uninteresting quest design, and too few skills and customization.

References

{{Reflist

External links

''Krater'' official website''Krater''
at

''Krater''
on Fatshark's homepage Role-playing video games Action role-playing video games MacOS games Post-apocalyptic video games Video games developed in Sweden Video games set in Sweden Windows games 2012 video games Fatshark games