Category:

Walkthrough

Duration: 25:31

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PLAY THE DEMO:
https://gotm.io/vega-games/cursed-gem-demo
https://aikoncwd.ovh/cursedgem_demo/

BUY THE GAME:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1194480/Cursed_Gem/

FOLLOW THE CREATORS:
https://twitter.com/aikoncwd?lang=en (Developer)
https://soundcloud.com/horrorpen (Composer)

Cursed Gem is a retro-pixel platformer played with a keyboard. The demo can be played in a browser on gotm.io. It can be downloaded to Windows, Mac, and Linux from the developer’s directory (second link above). The full game features over ten levels with more than eighty rooms to explore. It offers a choice of difficulty modes, twelve skins to customise your player character, and fifty-five achievements to unlock. It is available to buy now on Steam.

Playing Cursed Gem feels like walking a tight-rope at times. The player character must navigate a fixed and narrow path with great balance and precision to reach the end of each level. One wrong move, one mistimed movement, and he must start over from the beginning, or at least from the last saved checkpoint. Cursed Gem is tough but not entirely unfair. There are plenty of places to save your progress, which puts it in the realm of the casual as well as the hardcore gamer.

The name of the game relates to the cave that you are tasked with exploring. Oliver, the player character, ventures inside in the hopes of finding a giant precious diamond with which he can propose to his girlfriend. It’s definitely one of the stranger set-ups for a platforming game. Things get stranger when Oliver discovers the cave is cursed. He cannot die and, with no seeming means of escape, is doomed to stay there forever. This is a shame because he was hoping to be back home within two hours.

Cursed Gem takes inspiration from a variety of videogames. The minimalist pixel-art style is similar to mining game Terraria. The spiky death traps and wall-sliding ability are suggestive of Super Meat Boy. And the tightly constructed level design resembles indie platformer Celeste. The sound effects make one think of Super Mario and early classic Nintendo games. While the hub-world music has a fun and funky jungle theme, evoking the sounds of tropical fantasy adventure games from the nineties and early 2000s – Rayman, Crash Bandicoot, Jak and Daxter, and so on.

The game’s title could be a reference to Bloodborne, specifically the cursed gems which grant the player perks at a price. Like Bloodborne and the earlier Dark Souls, this is a game where you will die time and time again. So it's a good thing the cave is fun to explore, as well as challenging. In other words, not the worst place to spend an eternity.

This demo walkthrough was published with the permission of the developer. It includes all 100 gems and all secrets for levels 1 to 3, including the tutorial level. Thanks for watching.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/arcadecurious

CHAPTERS

0:00 Introduction
1:47 Tutorial
4:54 Prologue
7:32 Level I
12:04 Level II
16:59 Level III
25:01 End

EXPLORATION TIPS

- Save your progress regularly by pressing the up button near a checkpoint.
- Look for an opening before making a risky move.
- Jump only as high as necessary.

Level I

- Spike pit: Hold shift while jumping from the island to the ladder. (8:52)
- Stone block: Gently nudge the block from one platform to the next. (9:10)
- Secret area: Approach from the lower right to avoid hitting the spikes. (10:14)
- Final gem: Jump when your back foot is at the very edge of the platform. (11:33)

Level II

- Shuriken island: Collect the gems on the left first. (12:22)
- Fire shaft: Use the plants as markers. (12:40)
- Pop-up spikes: Jump just as the spikes fold inwards, or just before. (13:33)
- Fire corridor: Keep your jumps short. Jump over a low fireball to reach the far-left platform. (14:21)
- Secret area: Push hard right to reach the flower. (15:53)

Level III

- Shuriken cycle: Make two short jumps to climb the steps. (17:55)
- Flashing platforms: Pay attention to the sequence. Pause on the non-flashing platform. (18:57)
- Bouncing shurikens: Cling to the top of the wall. Hold left and jump. (19:45)
- Fire pits: Make a short jump over the first pit, a long jump over the second. (20:53)
- Parallel fire: Make a short jump on the protruding platform before moving forward. (21:02)
- Spike islands: Stand by the bat, hold shift and run hard right. Slowly slide down the wall until the clinging hand is just below the spikes, then leap over them. Repeat on the other island. (21:53)
- Moving platform: Drop down when the shurikens are in the upper half of their cycle. (22:05)
- Spike corridor: Use the gems as markers. For the final row of spikes, run left as soon as the spikes pop up. Keep running until you clear the screen. (23:18)
- Secret area: Follow the fly. (24:35)