There are only two minor flaws I can find with "Castle in the Darkness": there's no overworld map to look at, and a few of the boss/enemy designs are too reminiscent of other NES titles, which takes a bit away from the originality of this experience. Outside of that, this game is flawless. Some people may not like what it offers, but it sets out to achieve a specific goal: to be the best damn love-letter to NES action-platformers it can possibly be, and it excels on every level.

Stage design and gameplay takes queues from legendary titles like "Metroid", "Kid Icarus", "Zelda 2", "Castlevania 3", "Faxanadu", "Conquest of the Crystal Palace", and to some extent even "Goonies", but does away with all the things that makes revisiting some of those games awkward to play, and gleans all the best facets and blends them into what can only be described as a gaming experience that had me feeling so elated that if I had bothered to check, I may very well have found my pupils to be dilated. This game is such an incredible experience that it has to be bloody close to what it feels to be on a morphine drip - it certainly has as much addiction potential, and the withdrawal I felt when the game ended and I desperately searched for another game that could deliver a similar experience only to realize this is truly a one-of-a-kind peak-of-the-mountain experience, is likely just as depressing as it is to have the nurse take the IV out of your vein and tell you from now on you're only getting ibuprofen.

The soundtrack is undeniably stellar. It utilizes the chiptune soundsets, and while it may be easy to roll your eyes and go "Oh great, another one of these", it sets itself apart because it isn't just catchy music, it's interesting to listen to. Let me explain. A lot of chiptune music is designed by people who don't understand how musicians work when having to interact with each other, they're more or less laptop jockeys, so you get catchy pieces, but you don't get the interesting subtleties and instrument interactions that make listening to a quality live act more exciting. "Castle in the Darkness" is so superior to regular chiptune soundtracks because the guy that designed it (Matt Kap, who also single handedly developed the entire game) understands those live dynamics, so the chiptunes have intricate drum beats, creative bass fills, slight changes on melodies at various parts in the song (as a live vocalist would do to infuse something creative into that particular performance), so instead of being simple loops, they end up sounding like actual songs put through a chiptune converter. And they're great songs. It makes for much more engaging listening, and if you need to see a few ideas of what I'm talking about, google "Castle in the Darkness Bandcamp", and listen to a few tracks, specifically "We're Under Attack", "Path of Least Resistance", and there's even an homage to the classic "Final Fantasy" battle-theme bassline found in the track "Howling Wind". This is without a doubt one of the greatest modern-retro soundtracks ever created.

The gameplay is simple, but the controls are tight and precise. The weapon variety includes the entire gamut of NES platformers, as you can use a sword, a boomerang, a bow, or even throw an axe. All these weapons behave the way you'd expect them to as an NES inspired title (the boomerang acts like it did in Zelda, the axe like the axe from Castlevania), and there's even a magic system involved here. You don't have a mana pool, it's based on a charge system, like charging up an attack in "Metroid".

This game is absolutely loaded with bossfights, and each has their own unique concept that requires you to memorize their often simple pattern and then exploit opportunities when you can. If you get impatient, you're probably going to die (which is easy to do if you're in a rush, considering how much damage they deal to you), but spending 3 - 4 minutes on most boss fights and carefully evading what they throw at you, only to kill them in the end, is immensely satisfying. Almost every boss rewards you with a health power-up, which comes down into the screen the way the orbs would come down in Castlevania 3. These aren't significant on their own, as each HP power-up only counts as +1 health, but these really add up over the course of the game. There are even some health power-ups hidden behind breakable walls (a la Castlevania) or in entirely different rooms (like when you'd go into Morph Ball in a Metroid room and find a secret path into a hidden room). It's just loaded with secrets and reasons to search and remember places you can see but can't access without upgrades, so that you can come back later and see what's in store for you.

"Castle" is a difficult game, but not nearly as difficult as the games it draws inspiration from, or even other retro-inspired releases (ie. Super Meat Boy). Enemy tells are extremely obvious, you're rarely flooded with a barrage of attacks to dodge at once, and overall you just have more room to breath and compose yourself before getting ready to evade the next attack and unleash an assault on your enemies. You will still die, and die often, and most of these deaths are going to be incurred while seeking 100% completion, as the most difficult collectibles to obtain also demand the most precise platforming. Be aware, there are spikes in this game, and they do increase in number as you get deeper into the castle.

Zones change often and quickly enough that I always felt like I was moving forward. There is some backtracking involved, as that's part of the "Metroid" vibe this game carries with all its other inspirations, but each area is easy to remember, and there's also a Warp feature that makes it easier to get around the deeper you get into the game.

There's a story here, and while it isn't that compelling (largely because this wasn't a big focus of the 8-bit era "Castle" encapsulates so flawlessly), I still ended up feeling attached to the characters, and there are a couple twists along the way to keep things interesting. Somehow, in spite of the almost complete lack of exposition, there's an immense amount of emotion in the storytelling that makes it easy to bond with the important characters, and actually care about what's going to happen next.

As far as content goes, this game is absolutely loaded for what it costs. It took me about eight hours to get 100% completion, and upon completing the game with that status (it unlocks a new final boss!), you unlock a New Game Plus mode. This doesn't carry over items, but actually changes the layout of the world, not dramatically, but enough that it's a different and more challenging experience. There are also new secrets to find this time around, as well as a second playable character, with their own unique way of acquiring more power (trying to say as little as possible to prevent spoilers).

This is, without a doubt, the greatest 8-bit action-platformer I have ever played. "Cave Story" was great, and so was "Shovel Knight", but this game does everything as a perfect 10 and sometimes does things so well it feels like Matt Kap somehow found a way to crank things to a previously inconceivable 11, and it's completely awe inspiring to realize this was all done by one person.

Unbelievable. Now I'm just preparing myself for the inevitable feeling of disappointment I'm going to get from games I play over the next several months.

PROTIP: For added retro bliss, turn on the scanlines feature!

There are only two minor flaws I can find with "Castle in the Darkness": there's no overworld map to look at, and a few of the boss/enemy designs are too reminiscent of other NES titles, which takes a bit away from the originality of this experience. Outside of that, this game is flawless. Some people may not like what it offers, but it sets out to achieve a specific goal: to be the best damn love-letter to NES action-platformers it can possibly be, and it excels on every level. Stage design and gameplay takes queues from legendary titles like "Metroid", "Kid Icarus", "Zelda 2", "Castlevania 3", "Faxanadu", "Conquest of the Crystal Palace", and to some extent even "Goonies", but does away with all the things that makes revisiting some of those games awkward to play, and gleans all the best facets and blends them into what can only be described as a gaming experience that had me feeling so elated that if I had bothered to check, I may very well have found my pupils to be dilated. This game is such an incredible experience that it has to be bloody close to what it feels to be on a morphine drip - it certainly has as much addiction potential, and the withdrawal I felt when the game ended and I desperately searched for another game that could deliver a similar experience only to realize this is truly a one-of-a-kind peak-of-the-mountain experience, is likely just as depressing as it is to have the nurse take the IV out of your vein and tell you from now on you're only getting ibuprofen. The soundtrack is undeniably stellar. It utilizes the chiptune soundsets, and while it may be easy to roll your eyes and go "Oh great, another one of these", it sets itself apart because it isn't just catchy music, it's interesting to listen to. Let me explain. A lot of chiptune music is designed by people who don't understand how musicians work when having to interact with each other, they're more or less laptop jockeys, so you get catchy pieces, but you don't get the interesting subtleties and instrument interactions that make listening to a quality live act more exciting. "Castle in the Darkness" is so superior to regular chiptune soundtracks because the guy that designed it (Matt Kap, who also single handedly developed the entire game) understands those live dynamics, so the chiptunes have intricate drum beats, creative bass fills, slight changes on melodies at various parts in the song (as a live vocalist would do to infuse something creative into that particular performance), so instead of being simple loops, they end up sounding like actual songs put through a chiptune converter. And they're great songs. It makes for much more engaging listening, and if you need to see a few ideas of what I'm talking about, google "Castle in the Darkness Bandcamp", and listen to a few tracks, specifically "We're Under Attack", "Path of Least Resistance", and there's even an homage to the classic "Final Fantasy" battle-theme bassline found in the track "Howling Wind". This is without a doubt one of the greatest modern-retro soundtracks ever created. The gameplay is simple, but the controls are tight and precise. The weapon variety includes the entire gamut of NES platformers, as you can use a sword, a boomerang, a bow, or even throw an axe. All these weapons behave the way you'd expect them to as an NES inspired title (the boomerang acts like it did in Zelda, the axe like the axe from Castlevania), and there's even a magic system involved here. You don't have a mana pool, it's based on a charge system, like charging up an attack in "Metroid". This game is absolutely loaded with bossfights, and each has their own unique concept that requires you to memorize their often simple pattern and then exploit opportunities when you can. If you get impatient, you're probably going to die (which is easy to do if you're in a rush, considering how much damage they deal to you), but spending 3 - 4 minutes on most boss fights and carefully evading what they throw at you, only to kill them in the end, is immensely satisfying. Almost every boss rewards you with a health power-up, which comes down into the screen the way the orbs would come down in Castlevania 3. These aren't significant on their own, as each HP power-up only counts as +1 health, but these really add up over the course of the game. There are even some health power-ups hidden behind breakable walls (a la Castlevania) or in entirely different rooms (like when you'd go into Morph Ball in a Metroid room and find a secret path into a hidden room). It's just loaded with secrets and reasons to search and remember places you can see but can't access without upgrades, so that you can come back later and see what's in store for you. "Castle" is a difficult game, but not nearly as difficult as the games it draws inspiration from, or even other retro-inspired releases (ie. Super Meat Boy). Enemy tells are extremely obvious, you're rarely flooded with a barrage of attacks to dodge at once, and overall you just have more room to breath and compose yourself before getting ready to evade the next attack and unleash an assault on your enemies. You will still die, and die often, and most of these deaths are going to be incurred while seeking 100% completion, as the most difficult collectibles to obtain also demand the most precise platforming. Be aware, there are spikes in this game, and they do increase in number as you get deeper into the castle. Zones change often and quickly enough that I always felt like I was moving forward. There is some backtracking involved, as that's part of the "Metroid" vibe this game carries with all its other inspirations, but each area is easy to remember, and there's also a Warp feature that makes it easier to get around the deeper you get into the game. There's a story here, and while it isn't that compelling (largely because this wasn't a big focus of the 8-bit era "Castle" encapsulates so flawlessly), I still ended up feeling attached to the characters, and there are a couple twists along the way to keep things interesting. Somehow, in spite of the almost complete lack of exposition, there's an immense amount of emotion in the storytelling that makes it easy to bond with the important characters, and actually care about what's going to happen next. As far as content goes, this game is absolutely loaded for what it costs. It took me about eight hours to get 100% completion, and upon completing the game with that status (it unlocks a new final boss!), you unlock a New Game Plus mode. This doesn't carry over items, but actually changes the layout of the world, not dramatically, but enough that it's a different and more challenging experience. There are also new secrets to find this time around, as well as a second playable character, with their own unique way of acquiring more power (trying to say as little as possible to prevent spoilers). This is, without a doubt, the greatest 8-bit action-platformer I have ever played. "Cave Story" was great, and so was "Shovel Knight", but this game does everything as a perfect 10 and sometimes does things so well it feels like Matt Kap somehow found a way to crank things to a previously inconceivable 11, and it's completely awe inspiring to realize this was all done by one person. Unbelievable. Now I'm just preparing myself for the inevitable feeling of disappointment I'm going to get from games I play over the next several months. PROTIP: For added retro bliss, turn on the scanlines feature!