Castle of no Escape 2
- November 22, 2015
- Xitilon
- 2h median play time
Get on Steam
Get on itch.io Store"Castle of no Escape 2" is a challenging rogue-lite game where players explore a curse-ed castle filled with deadly monsters and treacherous hazards. With 216 randomly generated rooms, players must collect artifacts and strategize carefully to defeat the castle's demonic owner. With a variety of characters to choose from and a unique battle system, each playthrough offers a new and thrilling experience. Just remember, there are no save points, so choose wisely and good luck!
Nintendo Switch
PC
Playstation 4
Windows
Xbox One
PlayStation
Xbox
Reviews
- Castle of No Escape 2 captures the nostalgic charm of retro gaming with its NES-inspired graphics and gameplay, providing a fun and challenging experience.
- The game features a variety of levels and unique enemies, ensuring that gameplay remains fresh and engaging throughout multiple runs.
- Players appreciate the depth of mechanics and the rewarding feeling of exploration, as well as the ability to unlock different characters with unique abilities.
- The steep difficulty curve can be frustrating for newcomers, with some players feeling that the game punishes them unfairly due to random generation and unavoidable damage situations.
- The combat system is criticized for being unbalanced and lacking polish, leading to issues with controls and input response that detract from the overall experience.
- The soundtrack can become repetitive, and the game may lack replay value once levels are completed, as there are limited incentives to revisit them.
- gameplay38 mentions
- 37 % positive mentions
- 55 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Castle of No Escape 2" is characterized by its retro-inspired mechanics and challenging difficulty, appealing to fans of classic dungeon-crawling adventures. Players must navigate a steep learning curve with minimal guidance, which can lead to frustration due to RNG elements and punishing mechanics like ambushes and instant deaths. While the game offers unique character abilities and a nostalgic charm, its lack of polish and repetitive elements may detract from the overall experience for some players.
“The gameplay progression is worth mentioning: the more story-driven items you collect, the more difficult it becomes to find health and armor to face Nikolai.”
“I very much appreciate a game that allows the player to observe and discover mechanics on their own, rather than the game spoon-feeding every detail and strategy to the player.”
“If you want a great retro time with fun and very replayable gameplay that is challenging but enjoyable, give this game a chance.”
“The game also offers you little instruction (even in the manual); you'll have to figure out a lot of the game's mechanics for yourself, which can be hard to do since the game is so RNG-based.”
“Between bad input response (using the analog sticks of a controller is virtually impossible), unavoidable damage, lack of any innovation or new mechanics, and a setup that gets repetitive extremely quickly, this game is not worth playing.”
“Castle of No Escape 2 delivers retro-inspired gameplay and a variety of challenges, but its steep difficulty curve and lack of polished presentation may deter some players.”
- music26 mentions
- 35 % positive mentions
- 46 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with some players enjoying the retro 16-bit and chiptune styles, while others find it repetitive and lacking in variety. Many appreciate the soundtrack's ability to enhance the gameplay experience, but there are complaints about the limited number of tracks and the loudness of certain pieces, which can be overwhelming. Overall, while the music has its fans, it is often seen as a weak point that could benefit from more variety and quality.
“I relaxed for 5 minutes listening to this music, long enough to realize that I would be okay.”
“The pixel art is very nice and looks great, the music is enjoyable too!”
“That main theme from starting the game to the main menu music really gets you pumped to play this retro roguelike!”
“Loud 8-bit music is really intolerable and it is impossible to tune it down before it destroys our nerves and eardrums.”
“Also, there is only one piece of music during normal gameplay that loops, and it's not even that good or memorable.”
“The music is pretty bad though, the first time I heard it I thought the game was glitching, so I watched a YouTube video of someone else playing the game to see - but that's actually the way the music sounds.”
- replayability12 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
Overall, "Castle of No Escape 2" offers a mix of high replayability due to its procedurally generated dungeons, multiple characters, and challenging gameplay, appealing to players seeking a retro experience. However, some users note that once levels are completed, the incentive to replay may diminish, suggesting that additional features could enhance its replay value.
“With 6 characters, procedurally generated dungeons, plenty of loot, armor crafting, and a very challenging boss, we got plenty of replayability.”
“Castle of No Escape 2 is an excellent and authentic feeling retro game with a great style and a lot of replayability.”
“Maps are always random, so it has tons of replayability, and it's actually a challenge to beat.”
“Despite its variety of levels, Castle of No Escape 2 may have limited replay value for some players, as once levels are completed, there may be little incentive to revisit them.”
“The soundtrack is repetitive and contributes to the limited replay value.”
“Additional features or modes could increase replayability.”
- graphics9 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The game's graphics are praised for their faithful NES-style aesthetic, including a charming color palette and pixel art that evoke nostalgia. While the retro visuals and soundtrack are enjoyable, some reviewers note a lack of polish in the presentation, with rough animations and simplistic designs that may affect immersion. Overall, the graphics successfully capture the retro vibe, though they may not meet the standards of modern titles.
“I want to emphasize 'NES-styled' because the entire aesthetic is very faithful to the original console: font, color palette, in-game attached instruction manual.”
“Even the flickering graphics when sprites are overlapped is a nice touch too.”
“A challenging and endlessly fun roguelike similar to The Binding of Isaac but with satisfying NES graphics and soundtrack.”
“7/16 graphics”
“While the game captures the retro aesthetic effectively, its presentation may lack polish compared to modern titles.”
“Issues such as rough animations or simplistic visuals could detract from the overall immersion.”
- story6 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The story emphasizes resilience and the unpredictability of life, highlighting personal growth through challenges. Players note that the narrative is intertwined with gameplay progression, as collecting story-driven items increases difficulty, particularly in facing enemies. However, some users express dissatisfaction, indicating a lack of depth or engagement in the overall story.
“Moral of the story: you never know what life has in store for you, and if I had given up when all odds were against me, I wouldn't be where I am today.”
“Worth mentioning is the gameplay progression: the more story-driven items you collect, the more difficult it becomes to find health and armor to face Nikolai.”
“🔲 no story”
“🔲 bad story”
“1/16 story”
- grinding3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and cryptic, though it can be beneficial for item farming. The design allows for quick progression by collecting visible items in rooms, enabling players to bypass much of the combat grind.
“Too tedious and cryptic to enjoy.”
“Since one of the main goals of the game is to collect a set of special items off the ground that are instantly visible when you enter a room, you can swiftly progress through the game while avoiding a lot of the grindy combat by running through the room, nabbing the item, and running away.”
- stability3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is criticized for being highly buggy, particularly due to an enemy that can freeze players instantly and move unpredictably, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences. Overall, users recommend avoiding the game in favor of more stable alternatives.
“It is not a good game, buggy as all hell and very simple, don't waste money on this when you can buy Binding of Isaac instead.”
“And then there is that enemy that freezes you in place, and I think an enemy that can permanently freeze you should not move randomly in rooms with enemies in it, nor instantly freeze you when you enter a room and then walk up to you and do damage.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere effectively captures the nostalgic feel of classic NES titles, creating an addictive experience for players. Additionally, the combat elements evoke memories of old TSR games and the strategic ambiance of Battle Chess, enhancing the overall immersive quality.
“Even though I haven't finished this game yet, I can tell you that it captures that NES game atmosphere perfectly and can be very addicting to play sometimes.”
“The combat atmosphere was reminiscent of an old TSR game or the ancient battle chess game Archon.”
- humor1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is highlighted by clever and unexpected elements, such as the amusing concept of "bookstuck," where players encounter temporary curses related to books, eliciting genuine laughter.
“For some reason, books are a plentiful source of temporary curses (bookstuck!), which made me laugh.”
