A Speedy Recovery for Kromlech
Perun Creative, the Czech indie studio known for its survival RPG Hobo: Tough Life, has staged a swift turnaround with its latest action-adventure RPG Kromlech after a difficult Early Access debut.
The game launched on March 5 and quickly faced heavy criticism, with player reviews on Steam dropping to “Mostly Negative” within hours. Despite the rocky start, the situation began to improve in less than a week. The developers released rapid updates and a major first patch that pushed the game’s rating up to “Mixed,” reflecting a noticeable shift in player sentiment.
Set in a dark fantasy world inspired by Iron Age Celtic culture, Kromlech follows the story of Cronach. He is a lone adventurer navigating a collapsing world. The game blends classic early 2000s RPG influences, similar to the Gothic series, with modern rogue-lite mechanics. Its standout feature is a crisis system that introduces time-sensitive decisions, shaping the world based on player actions.
At launch, players reported several major issues, including poor performance, an unusually large install size nearing 150GB, and long load screens triggered after each death due to a full world reload. These problems quickly became the focus of community feedback.
In response, the developers released a detailed update within 24 hours, directly addressing each concern. The fixes included reducing file size through a new rendering system and reworking the death mechanic to allow instant respawns. They also added a new tutorial level and rebalanced early gameplay.
This transparent and proactive approach has helped rebuild player trust. With more updates planned over the coming year, Kromlech now appears to be on a promising path forward.