Battle Princess Madelyn

About

Battle Princess Madelyn is a single player arcade platformer game with a fantasy theme. It was developed by Causal Bit Games Inc. and was released on December 5, 2018. It received negative reviews from critics and mostly positive reviews from players.

Join Battle Princess Madelyn and her ghostly canine companion, Fritzy, as they set out on a quest to save her family and rid the land of an evil wizard--in this retro arcade action packed epic!

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

+31

Skip User Reviews

80%

Audience ScoreBased on 74 reviews

story10 positive mentions

grinding2 negative mentions

Excellent homage to the classic Ghouls 'n Ghosts series with faithful retro pixel art and smooth, responsive controls.
Two distinct modes (arcade and story) offer varied gameplay experiences and increase replayability.
Outstanding soundtrack with options for orchestral or chip-tune music enhances the nostalgic atmosphere.

Level design is often confusing and poorly implemented, leading to excessive backtracking and unclear objectives.
Camera limitations cause many 'leap of faith' platforming moments, making progress frustrating and unfair at times.
Some technical and polish issues remain, including stiff controls in spots, unbalanced enemy respawning, lack of options for volume and controls customization, and occasional unclear visuals.

story
50 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
74%
6%
The story mode offers a nostalgic, heartfelt hero's journey with a dark, family-centered theme and well-written narrative, though some find its guidance and level design confusing and occasionally frustrating. It features quests and interactive NPCs but lacks clear mission tracking and smooth transitions, leading to a somewhat unfinished feel. Many players prefer the arcade mode for its straightforward, fun gameplay, while appreciating the story mode for adding depth and personality to the experience.
- “There's a strong family theme, and a dark-saccharine tone throughout the story mode in which NPCs often die, but always either return as a ghost or inhabit a new vessel, with the most prominent example being the heroine's own dog, whose ghost follows her everywhere and persistently makes himself useful.”
- “The story mode starts off by taking a page right out of The Princess Bride and then carries that 80s/90s nostalgia with you for the entire ride.”
- “There is a story mode which is a non-linear opportunity to experience the story of Princess Madelyn and discover lots of treasures and hidden secrets, and best of all collectible dolls.”
- “Story mode confusing: not sure where to go and what to do. I played a little, and it's clear that the player is forced to repeat several times the level.”
- “There's side missions where you have to find certain items for NPCs but there's no decent way to track those missions.”
- “The inability to tweak volume is a bit of a pain—and no real sense of guidance in story mode. I get lost, forget what I was looking for repeatedly. The game could really use a simple map and objective list/reminder.”
graphics
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
53%
11%
The game features vibrant, detailed pixel art graphics reminiscent of the SNES era, with crisp animations and customizable retro visual filters that fans of classic platformers will appreciate. While the art style is widely praised for its beauty and nostalgic charm, some users find certain graphical elements confusing, leading to gameplay clarity issues. Overall, the visuals are considered a standout aspect, showcasing clear care and passion in their design despite occasional technical and design inconsistencies.
- “Let's start with the good: excellent pixel graphics on par with the mid-late SNES era.”
- “Gorgeous visuals - you can see the love that's been injected, pixel by pixel, in every scene, enemy and boss encounter.”
- “The graphics are crisp and clean (with optional CRT filter).”
- “Design overall is beautiful, very beautiful indeed, and the soundtrack is great as well, but with so many technical flaws like unpolished mechanics, random visual effects that pollute the screen, and bad graphics, this looks like the first game made by this developer.”
- “Some graphics elements are very confusing, which sometimes creates uncertainty about what the player can interact with and what is background, for example some ladders or platforms are part of the backdrop.”
- “The graphic is really well made although sometimes there's a little confusion in the tiles and patterns: sometimes you can jump down, sometimes you can't; sometimes projectiles pass through, sometimes they don't — a problem also with hit detection that needs a little more polish.”
music
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
46%
43%
11%
The game's music is widely praised for its quality and variety, featuring both orchestral and chip-tune soundtracks that evoke nostalgia and enhance immersion. While the soundtrack is considered outstanding and a strong highlight, some users note issues with sound effect volume and balance, as well as a lack of separate audio controls, which slightly detracts from the overall audio experience.
- “Battle Princess Madelyn is a fantasy action game, just for the soundtrack you already must have this game. The music is amazing in this game, reminds me of the good times I had listening to 'Undertale' music. That game is so good I can easily place it alongside my favorite fantasy action games.”
- “There are two different soundtracks, orchestral and arcade, and it's impossible for me to recommend one over the other as both are very well made and a joy to listen to even outside of the game.”
- “Absolutely gorgeous 2D visuals, glorious orchestral soundtrack, and spot-on gameplay.”
- “Sadly, the sound effects are very quiet (at least as far as I could tell on my system) and there’s no option to adjust the music/effects volumes independently.”
- “Sound effects and story transitions feel incomplete; the soundtrack and attack sounds do not correlate well, with music often playing louder than attack sounds. Story cut-scenes end abruptly and shift suddenly to new locations, making it feel unfinished.”
- “Other details, like the inability to change key mappings or separately adjust music and volume controls, make this feel just a tiny bit unpolished.”
gameplay
27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
41%
48%
11%
The gameplay is a challenging yet enjoyable homage to classic side-scrolling platformers like Ghosts 'n Goblins, featuring tight controls, precise platforming, and a forgiving respawn system. While praised for its smooth mechanics and retro arcade feel, some reviewers note technical flaws, unclear mechanics, and screen clutter that detract from the overall experience. Nevertheless, its difficulty and design offer a fun, authentic retro gameplay with room for polish.
- “Has proper arcade-like gameplay even in story mode.”
- “Gameplay is similar to Ghosts 'n Goblins but more forgiving, with save/respawn mechanics that enhance the experience.”
- “The controls are tight, allowing precise jumps and movements to platform and avoid enemies and projectiles without mechanical hiccups.”
- “Design overall is beautiful, very beautiful indeed, and the soundtrack is great as well, but with so many technical flaws about unpolished mechanics, random visual effects that pollute the screen, bad graphics, etc., this looks like it was the first game made from this dev.”
- “This, coupled with the design of many stages, results in many instances of 'leap of faith' gameplay and tediously wearing down enemies beneath you because your projectiles vanish as soon as they reach the edge of the screen.”
- “You can tell that whoever did the visuals had some love for the game but the ones who came up with all other elements of gameplay design wanted to finish it as soon as possible.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The arcade mode significantly enhances the game's replayability, providing players with substantial replay value and encouraging repeated playthroughs.
- “Arcade mode also gives it tons of replayability.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding in the game is often tedious and slow, with challenging bosses and level designs that force repetitive and frustrating gameplay. Players frequently face awkward mechanics like projectiles disappearing off-screen, making combat feel like a slog.
- “A bit of a slog, the levels can be tedious and the bosses can be difficult to stop.”
- “This, coupled with the design of many stages results in many instances of 'leap of faith' gameplay and tediously wearing down enemies beneath you because your projectiles vanish as soon as they reach the edge of the screen.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game generally offers a stable experience but has minor bugs and animation glitches that slightly affect gameplay. Some of these issues have been addressed in updates, improving overall stability.
- “There are minor bugs and animation glitches that affect the gameplay experience.”
- “The game has some minor bugs and glitches, although it seems some have been fixed.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users find the humor in the game to be genuinely funny and appreciate it as a great homage to the G'n'G series.
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users find the emotional aspect of the game deeply moving, praised for its heartfelt story and beautiful music, which together create a powerful, immersive experience.
- “The story is heartfelt, the music is utterly beautiful and the controls are utterly, utterly pin sharp.”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere is consistently praised as immersive and well-crafted, creating an engaging and enjoyable environment for players.
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The reviews highlight the game's beautiful pixel art and character design, suggesting a visually appealing and well-crafted approach to character development. However, specific details on narrative or depth of character growth are not mentioned.

Skip Critic Reviews

30%Critics’ scoreBased on 5 critic reviews

Skip Game Offers

Buy Battle Princess Madelyn

Skip Videos

Videos

Skip Games Like Battle Princess Madelyn

74%1.6kreviews

Castle In The Darkness

2015

Role Playing

76%862reviews

Alwa's Awakening

2017

Arcade Platformer

83%766reviews

Odallus: The Dark Call

2015

Platformer

74%355reviews

AGGELOS

2018

Role Playing

88%7.4kreviews

Axiom Verge

2015

Platformer

+12

More games like Battle Princess Madelyn

Skip FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

Battle Princess Madelyn is a arcade platformer game with fantasy theme.

Battle Princess Madelyn is available on Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 4 and others.

Battle Princess Madelyn was released on December 5, 2018.

Battle Princess Madelyn was developed by Causal Bit Games Inc..

Battle Princess Madelyn has received negative reviews from players and negative reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its grinding.

Battle Princess Madelyn is a single player game.

Similar games include Castle In The Darkness, Alwa's Awakening, Odallus: The Dark Call, AGGELOS, Axiom Verge and others.

Battle Princess Madelyn

Platforms