Castle in the Darkness

Castle In The Darkness for iOS and PC is a retro-styled, conventional 2D platformer inspired by such legendary titles as MegaMan, Metroid or Castlevania. The game was developed by an independent gamemaker Matt Kap – as a member of the Nicalis studio, he worked mainly on such games as 1001 Spikes or The Binding of Isaac.

Plot

The player is taken to the Kingdom of Alexandria, whose inhabitants lived in peace for many years, free from any wars or conflicts. However, one time during a full moon, half a century after the victory over the ancient evil, the country fell victim to an attack again. Legions of monsters have occupied the land and an evil wizard kidnapped a beautiful princess, bringing the king to his knees. The player assumes the role of a daredevil whose goals are to rescue the princess and bring peace back to Alexandria.

Mechanics

Castle In The Darkness for iOS and PC is a conventional, old-school platformer. The game is strongly evocative of the hayday of Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). What is typical for the genre, the game offers an extensive, open world, as well as hundreds of different monsters and bosses. The player also discovers different secrets and gathers collectibles that improve the protagonist's power in different ways, making it easier for the player to achieve success. The creators included a lot of references to the classics – all the fans of old-school platformers will surely appreciate it.

Technical aspects

The visuals were created using a pixel-art graphic style, so Castle In The Darkness resembles games of the late 1980s and the early 1990s. The soundtrack offers a similar tone, as it comprises melodious rock instrumentals in an 8-bit arrangement. Although it is evidently an old-school game, the creator did not forget about adequate pacing and fluency of the experience, apart from providing the game with modern-day, intuitive controls.

Last updated on 02 February 2015