Crush Traps are highly dangerous mobile traps that slide towards the Spelunker when they are detected. They move at high speeds until they hit something solid, crushing anything caught between.
Characters will be killed instantly and items will be destroyed.
Mechanics
When the Spelunker is detected within a certain distance on any orthogonal axis, the trap will immediately slide in that direction, and will not stop until it hits a wall. They have very short idle periods after coming to a halt, and will begin moving again almost immediately if the player is still within its trigger zones.
The trap can detect the player even through solid blocks, and will often crush treasure and other enemies as it moves.
Although crush traps are completely predictable, their speed and range of movement makes them one of the greatest hazards you can encounter in the Temple, as they often require quick reflexes and elaborate manoeuvres to evade. Furthermore, they often generate amongst other traps and enemies that can cause enough of a distraction to catch a player unprepared for its merciless advance.
Unlike all other traps, crush traps are not restricted to any one location and can theoretically reach any open space on the level.
For this reason, it is always a high priority to clear the area of any nearby crush traps, as ignoring them means they will often end up in unexpected positions, complicating on otherwise simple passage through the level.
Crush traps don't actually cause contact damage, so even a trap that has caught a player and is shunting them towards a wall can be escaped by vaulting over it, as long as you move quickly enough.
Unfortunately, they can't melt in lava, meaning that there is some but few ways to destroy it.
Disarming
Crush Traps can be destroyed with explosives, like any other block.
To bomb them safely, it is best to do so from a diagonal angle or by planting a bomb on the other side of a one-tile-thick wall, as the radius of a bomb explosion is just about large enough to destroy two blocks if placed at the edge of the nearest tile.
Sticky bombs and the Pitcher's Mitt are recommended for this endeavour, as it makes the task of delivering a bomb to the target much simpler from a distance.
When dealing with problematic crush traps, it is important to stay in control and make very careful and considered movements, as if you were playing chess. Always try to predict where they're going to stop when they move, and then predict from there what their next move is going to be.
If you avoid a crush trap descending from above, remember that its next move is going to send it sideways towards you, so be prepared to dodge it twice and overlap yourself in response to its constantly shifting lines of attack. If there is one space in between you and the trap and you run past you'll die for sure. But if there are two spaces in between you, you can speed past them. Also be sure to look up and down with each change of floor, you never know if there's one just outside your field of vision waiting to crush you. Lastly if you're holding onto an edge and it just hits your legs or head you'll still die.
Bugs
- Sometimes Crush Traps will stun the Spelunker if they try to jump on top of them or make use of a Jetpack, it also happens sometimes when being too close to a Crush Trap even on the sides, dealing a point of damage and letting the Spelunker vulnerable (and potentially crushed).