Castle Flipper
- May 26, 2021
- ▲ Pyramid Games
- 6h median play time
"Castle Flipper is a single-player shooter game with delightful mechanics, spectacular visuals, and fabulous music, but can be very grindy and buggy. As a medieval builder, you clean, repair, build, and decorate castles across various locations, with the goal of creating your own kingdom. Completing quests allows you to explore new places and renovate different architectural styles."
Reviews
- Engaging and relaxing gameplay with a charming medieval theme.
- Good graphics and music that enhance the overall experience.
- Active developers who respond to feedback and are working on updates.
- Limited content with only a few quests that can be completed quickly.
- Building mechanics are clunky and frustrating, especially for castles.
- The game feels unfinished and lacks replayability after completing the main missions.
- story630 mentions
- 13 % positive mentions
- 83 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The game's story is primarily conveyed through a series of short quests that involve cleaning, repairing, and building in a medieval setting, with some humorous notes providing background lore. However, players find the narrative lacking depth and feel that the limited number of quests (around 10-12) leads to a quick conclusion, leaving little to engage with afterward. While the quests are enjoyable and offer some replay value, many reviewers express a desire for more content and a more cohesive storyline to enhance the overall experience.
“The quests are cute and I like the little story through notes and background details.”
“Playing through the quests was very fun too, if you take the time to read the notes and hidden stories within their pages.”
“The notes you find during the quests add a whole other dimension to the game, and they're fantastic!”
“The game lacks content and there isn't enough quests to keep the player interested for very long.”
“After you complete the quests and build your castle there is literally nothing left to do but clean your tenants' houses and collect rent which obviously gets boring really fast.”
“Once the quests are done and you become king, there are no other quests to unlock.”
- gameplay142 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 75 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Castle Flipper" is characterized by a mix of engaging building mechanics and repetitive tasks, drawing comparisons to "House Flipper." While players appreciate the casual and relaxing nature of the game, many find the mechanics clunky and the overall experience lacking polish, leading to frustration with controls and limited content. Despite its potential and recent updates, the game still feels unfinished, with a need for further refinement to enhance player satisfaction.
“The mechanics of actually building your own castle are a bit clunky at first, but once you figure out how to maneuver the pieces to your advantage, it can be quite fun building your own castle.”
“Fun game! I love the style and gameplay; I enjoy creating homes for villagers.”
“Castle Flipper is an engaging, relaxing, and visually stunning game; however, it's important to note that, as it is a new game, bug fixes and tweaks to gameplay and items are ongoing.”
“The first element that breaks down, though, is the mechanics themselves.”
“Technical wise the game is perfect, but the gameplay is very repetitive and boring.”
“The initial free demo made this game seem like it had a lot of promise, but overall what you get is a bunch of pointless fluff wrapped in a clunky UI, with base quality that can be found better on the Unity Asset Store, trying to parade itself as a flipper/city builder.”
- graphics114 mentions
- 53 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players praising the beautiful visuals and medieval aesthetic, while others find them mediocre and clunky. Many users report technical issues, such as freezing when adjusting settings, but also note that the game runs well overall. Despite the varying opinions, the graphics are generally considered decent, with some standout elements that enhance the gameplay experience.
“The graphics are beautiful and the fact that I can ideally build whatever from the start is amazing!”
“I've also enjoyed the little graphical touches, such as seeing plants sway in the breeze; the changes to the sky as the day progresses; along with the varying weather.”
“The graphics are great, the building material and furniture manifest the medieval period, which is great if you want to venture upon another era.”
“Graphics wise, the game is pretty mediocre.”
“While the game will list a constant 60 fps even while stuttering, the graphical settings have zero effect on this.”
“Rife with spelling and grammar errors with what texts it does have, vague graphics options, and very 'proof of concept' first levels, this has amateur hour asset flip flavor all over it.”
- music76 mentions
- 53 % positive mentions
- 43 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its relaxing and atmospheric qualities, enhancing the overall experience for players. Many find the soundtrack enjoyable and fitting for the game's genre, although some note it can become repetitive over time. Players appreciate the option to adjust music volume settings, allowing for a customizable auditory experience while playing.
“I genuinely love the music and find the whole experience of playing this game to be relaxing.”
“The soundtrack is nice, or you can turn it off, put on your own playlist, and vibe while you game.”
“Castle Flipper seems to be more atmospheric than the House Flipper base game; the levels are often bigger and more exploration-focused; the music is more varied and quite pleasant.”
“Music always loud when the game starts despite saving settings from the previous round.”
“There isn't even options to change the volume of music and sound effects.”
“It calmly whispers a song out of tune.”
- stability76 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game is widely criticized for its instability, with numerous reports of bugs, glitches, and performance issues that create a frustrating experience. Players frequently encounter freezing, lag, and unfinished mechanics, leading many to feel that the game was rushed to release. Overall, the consensus is that significant improvements are needed to enhance stability and polish.
“The game is very buggy and needs a lot of work.”
“Had it been released as early access, I would have been a bit more understanding, but it feels like a buggy mess that would be better suited being called a beta.”
“First off, it is very buggy, and I lost all my progress after playing about 4 hours - had to start over from scratch.”
- grinding50 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of "Castle Flipper" to be tedious and often frustrating, particularly in the endgame where achievement hunting and building mechanics become repetitive and lack variety. While the initial missions are enjoyable and unlock a sandbox mode, many feel that the building tools are cumbersome and the overall experience can become monotonous, especially when managing tasks like cleaning and collecting rent. Despite these criticisms, some players still appreciate the chill nature of the game and hope for future content to alleviate the grind.
“Achievement hunting will require a lot of grinding; my playtime to achievements (at the time of this review, 93%) should be indicative of this.”
“The endgame is very grindy and empty (no NPCs at all).”
“Starting off is fine, the missions I enjoyed; however, when you are done with all of those and starting to actually focus on your own little kingdom to build, it suddenly becomes tedious.”
- optimization32 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 31 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has received significant criticism, with players reporting persistent stuttering and performance issues regardless of hardware specifications or graphical settings. Many users express frustration over the game's inability to run smoothly, even at high frame rates, and suggest that it requires substantial optimization improvements. While a few players note decent performance on the Unity engine, the overall consensus leans towards the game being poorly optimized and unplayable in its current state.
“Catching rats is not as easy as it seems, the monsters are running fast :-D the game is quite well optimized for running on the Unity engine.”
“Needs to be optimized better or something.”
“It needs to be optimized for sure.”
“The game is very poorly optimized; it stutters with every movement you make, even if I have constant FPS in the 200+ segment on ultra. You can see this clearly even in the dev streams.”
“While the game will list a constant 60 FPS even while stuttering, the graphical settings have zero effect on this.”
“If this is what the so-called 'full release' looks like, you're better off not frying your hardware and wasting your time on this until some third party makes an optimization patch for it.”
- humor20 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game features a humorous and cheeky narrative, with funny quests and amusing notes that enhance the storytelling experience. Players appreciate the tongue-in-cheek humor, particularly in the context of its middle ages setting, and find the object placements and mission scenarios to be comically absurd. Overall, the humor adds a delightful layer to the gameplay, making it enjoyable and engaging.
“There are day-night cycles in the game, and some missions are pretty cheeky and hilarious.”
“Funny little notes to go along with the quests/tasks you do.”
“It's a very humorous, tongue-in-cheek take on the middle ages, though the buildings and setting are pretty good.”
- replayability20 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 60 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's replayability is a mixed bag; while some players appreciate the ability to redo quests and anticipate future content updates, many express disappointment in the lack of substantial endgame content and overall replay value. Several reviews highlight that the game becomes boring quickly, with limited opportunities for replaying levels without starting anew, leading to a consensus that it falls short compared to similar titles like House Flipper.
“Replay value is already quite good as it's a reasonably short game with lots of potential even after the main quest line is finished; however, the future plans for the game mean that it's a game you'll likely be able to come back to now and then and find new things in.”
“This is where the game's replay value comes in, more than with the quests.”
“You can re-do your quests after you complete all the available ones, so there is replay value in it as well.”
“While it was fun at first, this game has little replayability and I cannot get back to playing it.”
“This game got boring very quickly; graphically it's not great and replayability is boring and non-existent.”
“The flipping elements aren't bad - actually they're pretty good - but there's just not enough content, and there's zero replayability (literally you cannot replay levels without starting a new game).”
- atmosphere16 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 31 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The atmosphere in Castle Flipper is generally praised for being immersive and relaxing, enhanced by varied and pleasant music, as well as attention to detail in sound effects like footstep variations on different flooring. Many players find it more atmospheric than its predecessor, House Flipper, due to larger, exploration-focused levels that effectively convey a medieval theme. While some elements may not be particularly memorable, the overall ambiance contributes significantly to the enjoyment of the game.
“Castle Flipper seems to be more atmospheric than the House Flipper base game; the levels are often bigger and more exploration-focused; the music is more varied and quite pleasant.”
“The atmosphere, the music, and the fact that your footsteps sound different on different flooring really enhance the experience.”
“Although none of it was very memorable, it did sell a medieval-themed atmosphere and I didn’t mute it to listen to Spotify instead, as I usually do with games like this.”
“Of course, I miss the NPCs here, but the atmosphere and the accuracy of the graphics are complemented by perfectly composed music.”
“The atmosphere, the music, and the fact that your footsteps sound different on different flooring.”
- monetization8 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy of the game has been criticized as a blatant cash grab, with many feeling it lacks originality and quality, merely capitalizing on the success of similar titles. Additionally, the requirement for content creators to have a minimum of 5,000 subscribers to receive promotional support has been deemed disrespectful, particularly towards smaller creators who have purchased the game and could provide valuable exposure. Overall, the game's approach to monetization has left a negative impression on the community, highlighting a need for better engagement and respect for all content creators.
“It is the definition of mashing a bunch of assets together to quickly create something for a cash grab.”
“Unfortunately, having played several hours of this game, I realize that they added 'flipper' to the name as just a cash grab on the popularity of House Flipper.”
“It has the potential to be a good game, but they just gave up and made a quick copy for cash grab.”
- emotional6 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by players' reflections on the interconnectedness of residential and commercial spaces, suggesting a sense of community and realism. Players express a deeper engagement with the game as they explore how recent changes impact their feelings and experiences within the game world.
“I started a new game and over the past few days have really dug in to see if the changes made me feel any differently about it.”