Becastled

About

Becastled is a single player tactical real-time strategy game. It was developed by Mana Potion Studios and was released on February 8, 2021. It received positive reviews from players.

"Becastled" is a single-player real-time strategy game set in a fantasy world, where players build and defend their castles from sieges. The game boasts outstanding mechanics, impressive visuals, and a delightful soundtrack, but can be poorly optimized, buggy, and require lots of grinding. Explore the ancient conflict between light and dark while managing resources, training an army, and surviving relentless attacks in this highly replayable game.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

84%

Audience ScoreBased on 4,788 reviews

gameplay170 positive mentions

stability268 negative mentions

Fun and engaging gameplay with a unique blend of city building and tower defense mechanics.
Charming art style and relaxing soundtrack that enhances the overall experience.
Active development with regular updates and community engagement from the developers.

Significant pathfinding issues causing units to get stuck or not respond to commands, especially in larger armies.
Limited content and replayability, with many players reaching the endgame quickly and feeling bored.
Bugs and glitches that can disrupt gameplay, such as disappearing units and unresponsive builders.

gameplay
474 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
61%
3%
The gameplay of the game is characterized by its simple mechanics and charming art style, making it accessible and enjoyable for players. However, many reviews highlight issues such as bugs, shallow gameplay loops, and a lack of content, which can lead to repetitive experiences. While the core mechanics are fun and engaging, there is a consensus that the game requires further refinement and additional features to enhance long-term playability.
- “The game offers fun gameplay and can be challenging at first.”
- “Absolutely amazing game, from gameplay to visuals, however;”
- “This game is an excellent defend-the-base, research, and build style game with a ton of cool little mechanics and building options that really make it shine above the typical entry.”
- “The gameplay loop is unfortunately pretty shallow and you soon get to a point where you have more resources than you can spend.”
- “It's very frustrating how the military aspects feel so underdeveloped when they're one of the core gameplay experiences.”
- “The gameplay is pretty boring.”
graphics
300 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
51%
46%
3%
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their charming and unique art style, which is described as cute, colorful, and easy on the eyes. However, many players report performance issues, particularly lag and stuttering during late-game scenarios, even on lower settings, indicating that optimization is needed. Overall, while the visuals contribute positively to the game's atmosphere, technical issues detract from the experience.
- “Aside from that though the game concept and style is incredible, graphics are really well put together and the devs do really seem to try to be bettering the game. I've had the game since it was first out and a lot has changed and been improved since then and it is only getting better!”
- “The game has pretty visuals and a nice atmosphere all around, so I recommend it but know what you're getting for your money.”
- “The graphics are great for the $15 price point and the procedural generated levels make replayability good.”
- “I had to lower the settings drastically and it isn't my computer; I play plenty of games with demanding graphics.”
- “There's a major memory leak or something where the further you get in the game, the tighter Becastled wraps its fingers around your CPU, RAM, graphics card, basically everything, and the game runs at a crawl when it really shouldn't.”
- “But it is unplayable; I have the game with all the graphics set to the minimum, and it does not stop crashing every few minutes. I couldn't pass beyond the third day in my longest play run.”
stability
272 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
1%
99%
The game is widely reported to be very buggy, particularly in late-game scenarios where pathfinding issues and unit behavior can lead to frustrating gameplay experiences. Many players note that while the game has potential and is enjoyable in its current state, the numerous glitches and performance drops make it difficult to recommend, especially for those looking for a polished experience. Overall, it is acknowledged that the game is still in early access, and while developers are actively working on fixes, significant stability issues remain.
- “The game looks great, runs great, building mechanics and upgrades are nice, and the whole principle of the game is cool.”
- “Currently a fun if not buggy experience.”
- “Unplayable buggy at this stage.”
- “I can't recommend the game in its current state because of how buggy it can be.”
- “The game is extremely buggy, but that was a given since it is early access.”
optimization
120 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
8%
69%
23%
The game's optimization is a significant concern among players, with many reporting drastic performance drops in late-game scenarios, particularly as armies and cities grow larger. Despite having powerful hardware, users experience frame rate reductions from over 200 fps to below 40, especially after several hours of gameplay. Overall, while the game shows potential, it requires substantial optimization and bug fixes to improve performance and unit pathfinding.
- “Game is highly addictive even in its current state, needs a few tweaks and optimizations but mechanics are on point and graphics are good.”
- “Loving the updates hope this keeps going, the recent updates have been great and have made the game much better to play and the optimization is going well.”
- “Although I believe the game has enough foundation to be an entertaining indie title, I recommend passing it over until such time as the memory leak and performance glitches have been addressed.”
- “There's also the issue with performance degradation over time where your FPS will go from 200+ to less than 40 after you have a lot going on.”
- “A major problem, however, is the decrease in performance as your castle grows larger.”
- “Optimization in this game remains to be pretty rough; after a few hours of play (once you start getting to the point that your army consists of 150+ soldiers), it starts to beat the sh*t out of your CPU and eat all your RAM when it really shouldn't be, especially when games like Civ VI run far better maxed out with even more things going on at a time.”
story
104 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
66%
13%
The game's story aspect is largely criticized for its lack of depth and direction, with many players expressing a desire for a more structured narrative or campaign mode to enhance engagement. While some appreciate the basic gameplay mechanics, they feel that the absence of a compelling storyline or incremental goals leads to repetitive gameplay. Overall, players are hopeful for future updates that could introduce richer story elements and missions to improve the experience.
- “From a global map where each region represents a scenario (Dune 2), to a tutorial/campaign that gradually unlocks units and mechanics (Starcraft), to a lore-based campaign where each mission represents a certain story (Age of Empires), these can really drag a new player in and give them something to do besides replaying the same skirmish maps over and over.”
- “With future updates possibly holding a campaign and a more fleshed-out story, I can see this game becoming a brilliant city builder game.”
- “I like what little I have seen of the story; you play as the sun-worshiping people, so you have all of the sun up to build and train.”
- “It also doesn't really have a story or much direction beyond the tutorial.”
- “There is only basic skirmish mode, not story, no setups, no challenges, nothing at all.”
- “It's fun, but with no story, or really any progression, the only challenge is changing the difficulty which will become old after a while.”
music
92 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
59%
37%
4%
The music in the game has received generally positive feedback, with many players appreciating its relaxing and atmospheric qualities that complement the gameplay. While some noted that the soundtrack can become repetitive due to a limited number of tracks, others found it charming and fitting for the game's aesthetic. Overall, the music enhances the experience, making it enjoyable for both casual and dedicated players.
- “The music is superb, I don't know how I've gone 12 hours straight listening to just it!”
- “Absolutely beautiful soundtrack and all around a very enjoyable game.”
- “Calm medieval music chimes throughout the day and intensifies somewhat at night.”
- “I don't like the music so I turn that way down or off.”
- “Game lacks some sounds and music could be better but overall a fun siege defense game.”
- “The music is somewhat repetitive because of the limited number of background music tracks, but given the price of this game, I would say it is fair; cannot demand much.”
replayability
86 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
60%
7%
Becastled offers a mixed experience in terms of replayability, with some players enjoying the procedural generation of maps and varying difficulty levels that enhance replay value. However, many reviewers note a lack of content and variety, leading to a quick sense of repetition after a few hours of gameplay. While the game shows potential for increased replayability with future updates and bug fixes, current feedback suggests it may not sustain long-term engagement without additional content.
- “There are different levels of difficulty and multiple types of terrain generation which offer a high replayability.”
- “Relatively easy to learn, hard to master, with a lot of replayability coming from the unique terrains you are loaded into each game.”
- “Becastled is fun and I can see the replay value already.”
- “Lacks replayability and content though, you'll pretty quickly run out of a variety of buildings to construct and it quickly turns into just expanding your territory and building more of the same stuff.”
- “Unfortunately, it is quite light on content right now, so not a lot of replayability.”
- “Currently there is no replayability and the bugs are almost game breaking.”
grinding
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10%
10%
80%
Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a mixed experience; while it starts off engaging, it quickly becomes tedious and repetitive, especially in the late game where there is limited content after upgrading structures. Many reviewers note that excessive micromanagement and pathfinding issues contribute to the tedium, suggesting that improvements in these areas could enhance the overall enjoyment. Despite these concerns, some players appreciate the game's potential and believe that future updates could address these grinding issues.
- “It's a great base building game that's lots of fun and it's not too grindy.”
- “Not too grindy.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “Late game gets tedious fairly quickly because it becomes quite repetitive and, as of now, there isn't much to do after upgrading your fortress and buildings to stone level.”
- “Great game for the first few hours and then gets very tedious repeating the same thing over and over.”
- “As I began the review, there is a well-conceived, simple, yet fun game here, and these are all issues that I could easily see being fixed down the line given the early access status; however right now most of the fun is buried under issues that seem to strive to make every action as tedious as humanly possible.”
humor
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is often highlighted as a key feature, with players enjoying its funny graphics and comedic elements, particularly in the context of its early buggy days. While some bugs can be annoying, many are described as amusing rather than game-breaking, contributing to a lighthearted experience. Overall, the game is seen as a funny and easy medieval simulator, though some players note that it can become repetitive.
- “A funny and easy medieval simulator with some fights.”
- “Clean visuals, not so hard mechanics, and funny military combat.”
- “Now be warned there are bugs and quite a few of them, but if I'm honest, most of them are more funny and silly rather than game-breaking and can be fixed by reloading.”
atmosphere
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
29%
14%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its calming and enchanting qualities, characterized by cute graphics, vibrant visuals, and a unique fantasy world filled with glowing characters. The music complements the atmosphere well, although it may become repetitive over time. Overall, players find it easy to immerse themselves in the game's charming aesthetic, making it a delightful experience.
- “The glowing people set a tone for an interesting fantasy world and make for a unique atmosphere with cute graphics.”
- “Very calming, love the atmosphere!”
- “The music is great, but it got a little old after a while due to how limited it is. However, it nails the atmosphere and was exactly what I wanted/expected from this game.”
- “With a cute aesthetic and atmosphere, it's very easy to lose a few hours in each sitting.”
emotional
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by the deep care and dedication of the development team, particularly in light of their personal experiences as Ukrainian team members during recent life-altering events. This connection adds a heartfelt layer to the game's narrative and overall impact.
- “The dev team cares so much about this game; it is very heartwarming.”
- “All our team members are from Ukraine, and the last few weeks have been life-changing and heartbreaking for all of us.”
monetization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews suggest that some games may be perceived as cash grabs due to their simplistic design and potential for abandonment. However, there is a call for players to give these games a fair chance before labeling them negatively.
- “Maybe these types of games are easy to make and abandon for a cash grab?”
- “Give them a chance before giving them negative reviews, calling this a cash grab and what-not.”