Castle Story

About

"Castle Story is a strategy game where you command friendly creatures, Bricktrons, to explore, gather resources, and build structures in a voxel-based world. Defend against mysterious creatures, Corruptrons, using catapults and traps. Multiplayer options include Conquest, Co-Op Invasion, and sandbox modes for building with friends."

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

53%

Audience ScoreBased on 4,930 reviews

story110 positive mentions

stability344 negative mentions

The game has a charming art style and cute characters, making it visually appealing.
Building mechanics allow for creativity and customization, enabling players to design unique castles.
The game offers multiple modes, including sandbox, invasion, and conquest, providing varied gameplay experiences.

The AI is poorly designed, often leading to frustrating pathfinding issues and unresponsive behavior.
The game has been abandoned by the developers, resulting in a lack of updates and unresolved bugs.
The population cap of 15 Bricktrons limits gameplay and makes it difficult to manage larger defenses effectively.

story
590 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
76%
6%
The reviews for *Castle Story* overwhelmingly highlight a significant absence of narrative content, with many players expressing disappointment that a game titled "Castle Story" lacks any meaningful story or campaign mode. While the game offers engaging building and strategy mechanics, it is criticized for being more of a sandbox experience without a cohesive plot or lore, leaving players feeling that the title is misleading. Overall, the consensus is that the game has potential but is hindered by its lack of story-driven content.
- “Come round young children, I shall regale you with the tale of Castle Story, a castle building, brick brawling, rock rumbling game.”
- “Castle Story is a game that allows you to express creativity by building, use tactics by defending, and just all around have a good time.”
- “Castle Story is a fun little game where you build, design, and defend your castle(s) from other players and corruptrons.”
- “For a game called 'castle story', there doesn't appear to be a story mode.”
- “The game is called castle story, has no narrative; it's mainly a broken sandbox with no need for castles, you simply build a wall there's no need for anything more!”
- “Castle story is an empty, lifeless shell of what your hard earned money actually paid to see.”
gameplay
574 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
67%
9%
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players appreciating its charming graphics and creative building mechanics, while others criticize its clunky controls, poor AI, and numerous bugs that hinder the overall experience. While some find the gameplay engaging and fun, especially in multiplayer or sandbox modes, many express frustration over repetitive tasks, limited content, and a lack of intuitive mechanics, leading to a sense of unfinished or abandoned development. Overall, the game shows potential but requires significant improvements to its core mechanics and optimization to enhance player enjoyment.
- “I really enjoy this game because it is calm and it doesn't require hours of gameplay to get good at, and it has great graphics with an even better soundtrack.”
- “The core gameplay involves harvesting resources, constructing a base, and defending against waves of hostile creatures called corruptrons.”
- “Castle story has exceptional world interaction mechanics; terraforming and building work really well.”
- “The mechanics of capturing flags (purple stones) are not satisfying.”
- “Overall the mechanics of the game are not clear and do not work well together.”
- “Gameplay gets stale very quickly.”
stability
349 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
1%
99%
The game's stability is a significant concern among users, with many describing it as "buggy," "unpolished," and "abandoned." Players report frequent crashes, AI issues, and performance lags, particularly in multiplayer modes, leading to a frustrating experience. Despite its potential, the lack of updates and persistent glitches have left many feeling that the game is not worth the investment in its current state.
- “This game runs great on any Linux distro I've thrown at it, both with NVIDIA and AMD graphics, and on my one dual-booting PC, it runs better on Linux than Windows.”
- “Runs great in the beginning.”
- “I'd recommend coming back in a year's time to look at this game; it might be bug-free with okay AI.”
- “Buggy and no longer supported.”
- “This game is a buggy mess and will never be actually finished.”
- “The game is buggy to an extent beyond playable.”
graphics
292 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
54%
4%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their charming, colorful, and cartoonish art style, which many players find visually appealing and fitting for the game's whimsical tone. However, despite the attractive visuals, several users report performance issues, including lag and graphical glitches, which detract from the overall experience. While the graphics are considered a strong point, the game's execution and mechanics have left some players feeling frustrated.
- “The game features a charming voxel art style that gives it a unique and visually appealing look.”
- “The game's graphics are colorful and cartoon-like, with a charming aesthetic that fits the game's whimsical tone.”
- “I love the art style and the gameplay; it can be challenging at times.”
- “When I first saw this game online (like 3 years ago) I really liked it, the style, the idea of a game itself with cartoonish graphics, etc. however when I launched the game I was met with a lot of bugs, like a whole lot of them.”
- “It looks like they are no longer developing the game so I guess this is supposed to be the finished article, can't really recommend anyone getting it, it was a good idea, with nice graphics but poorly executed.”
- “The main issue is lag; now before I updated this review, I stated the lag has gotten better, I now retract that comment, and say it's much worse, worse than it has ever been, and that's over the last couple of updates that I have noticed this.”
optimization
217 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
11%
59%
30%
The game's optimization is widely criticized, with numerous reports of severe performance issues, including stuttering, frame drops, and bugs that hinder gameplay. Many players note that even on high-end systems, the game struggles to maintain smooth performance, particularly when managing larger groups or complex builds. Despite some improvements over time, the consensus is that significant optimization work is still needed to enhance the overall experience.
- “The developers have clearly put endless hours into what originally looked like a fairly doable task, but turned out as a development nightmare (performance, AI, pathfinding, UI).”
- “The game has come a long way but still has performance issues and questionable gameplay design choices to skirt technical issues (such as unit limiting for performance).”
- “While it has bugs and needs optimization fixes, the game exceeds the masterpiece category for an early access game.”
- “The game is cool, honestly, but the optimization is very lame; because of this, when building large houses, FPS drops even on the most powerful builds.”
- “The game is poorly optimized as well, constantly dropping frames every 15-30 seconds for a second or two, which is initially annoying but quickly becomes a deal breaker.”
- “This game is unfinished, with lots of bugs and needs a new quality of life patch, because the UI is a bit poor, the bricktrons sometimes don't do their job even when they have stockpiles empty, and the performance goes down very quickly when things scale up.”
music
72 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
36%
7%
The music in the game is widely praised for its relaxing, beautiful, and ambient qualities, contributing significantly to the overall atmosphere. However, many players note issues with the music's frequency and variety, often experiencing long silences between tracks, which detracts from the experience. Despite these concerns, the soundtrack is considered a highlight, enhancing the game's charm and enjoyment.
- “The soundtrack is undeniably fantastic!”
- “The sound design is also well-done, with a relaxing soundtrack and satisfying sound effects that enhance the game's atmosphere.”
- “The music is amazing to listen to and the game is just extremely fun to play, fighting off waves after waves of enemies in the single player whilst also getting to build a castle of my own design is extremely fun and I would very much recommend picking up this game to give it a try.”
- “While sound effects play regularly, the actual music will play for a short time and then stop.”
- “There may be several minutes of silence between the short songs that play.”
- “Not only is the music and sound effects bad, but the options don't work (as most of the things in the game) so even set at 0% the music still plays.”
humor
54 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
94%
6%
The humor in the game is often highlighted as a strong point, with players enjoying the quirky characters and amusing physics-based interactions. Many reviews mention the game's funny graphics and music, as well as the comedic situations that arise from character behaviors and glitches. However, some players express frustration with the game's unfinished state, suggesting that while the humor is present, it may not be enough to sustain long-term enjoyment.
- “Not only is this game fun, it's also very funny because of the characters in general.”
- “The amount of things you can do to each other with a physics-based destruction system and building system that takes care and precision is hilarious, and downright addictive.”
- “The team has done an incredible job making these characters lovable and funny while retaining a smooth animation and an art style that makes the game so much more appealing.”
- “The people who made this game waste a lifetime sneak-peeking new content which will be on hold until you die and making unfunny jokes and memes on Twitter.”
- “I always laugh when I see 'game development is too slow,' but honestly, it's not funny; it's sad.”
- “But it can pause the game very briefly, and that is why I have stated the game isn't quite there just yet, but it's so close it's not funny.”
grinding
52 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
6%
8%
87%
The grinding aspect of the game is widely criticized for being excessively tedious and time-consuming, with players often feeling that they need "a second life" to manage the repetitive tasks required for progress. Many reviews highlight the lack of efficient mechanics, poor UI, and the overwhelming complexity of tasks, which detracts from the overall enjoyment and potential of the game. While some players appreciate certain features, the consensus is that the grinding experience is frustrating and detracts significantly from gameplay.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “Now building is a little unique; you have to build your structures one brick at a time (you can click and drag so it's not tedious), which means you can end up with a stronghold that can take multiple hits of explosive barrels or one.”
- “The game is beyond tedious and is purposely made overly complex to give an illusion it is something it is not.”
- “Had great potential but gameplay is tediously grindy and was abandoned by the devs.”
- “More than anything this game is tedious and boring af.”
replayability
27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
59%
11%
Overall, the game exhibits a mix of strong replayability and significant concerns regarding its current state. Many players appreciate the variety of game modes, maps, and creative gameplay elements that enhance replay value, while others express frustration over the game's development progress and occasional lack of content. Despite these issues, the potential for replayability remains a highlight for many users.
- “I've sunk hours into this game and still enjoy it; it has two solid PvE game modes to enjoy and lots of maps for replayability.”
- “Castle Story: fun, strategic, dynamic... it has a lot of replay value with the multiple game modes, the variety of maps, and the different play styles.”
- “Castle Story is one of the best games of all time, mostly because of the world editor, replayability, and it being a true sandbox game.”
- “No replay value”
- “The game is rather empty with no replayability and 1 map for each mode... which there are two of.”
- “With the problems, and low replay value, I can't recommend this game.”
monetization
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization aspect of Castle Story has been heavily criticized, with many users labeling it a blatant cash grab. Reviewers express concerns about the game's lack of content and quality compared to its advertising, suggesting that the developers are more focused on profit than delivering a finished product. Overall, players feel misled and believe the game is not worth its current price, especially given its early access status and perceived lack of developer commitment.
- “Kinda fearing a cash grab with this game.”
- “This has all the markings of a cash grab, and is not worth the money in its current (most likely permanent) form.”
- “Beside being an alpha, it's a poor excuse for making a quick cash grab from the community.”
emotional
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by its ability to evoke strong feelings for the characters and the overall experience, with players expressing a mix of joy and frustration. While many appreciate the heartfelt design and potential for creativity, some users feel that technical issues and awkward controls detract from the emotional connection, leading to moments of disappointment. Overall, the game has the capacity to inspire deep emotional engagement, but its execution can hinder that experience.
- “Amazing game that has you feeling emotional about the little guys.”
- “The building design could allow for some really creative people to build just about whatever they desire; it has the potential to be a really good and heartfelt game.”
- “Tears welled up in his eyes when he realized what exactly was at stake.”
atmosphere
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
71%
29%
The game's atmosphere is praised for its relaxing soundtrack, satisfying sound effects, and charming art style, which together create a playful and immersive experience. The cute characters and dynamic day-night cycle further enhance the ambiance, while unique mechanics like the "lights out" mode add depth and challenge to the atmosphere. Overall, players find the atmosphere effective for stress relief and engaging gameplay.
- “The sound design is also well-done, with a relaxing soundtrack and satisfying sound effects that enhance the game's atmosphere.”
- “It is very good for relieving stress with the little cute characters and the beautiful atmosphere.”
- “The characters are cute and the day and night cycle is very atmospheric.”