Castle Torgeath: Descent into Darkness

About

"Castle Torgeath: Descent into Darkness" is a first-person dungeon crawler set in a dark fantasy world. Players must navigate through the treacherous castle, fighting monsters, solving puzzles, and uncovering the mystery behind its fall. With permadeath and procedurally generated levels, each playthrough offers a unique challenge.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Castle Torgeath: Descent into Darkness screenshot

68%

Audience ScoreBased on 41 reviews

story4 positive mentions

atmosphere3 negative mentions

Castle Torgeath offers a nostalgic experience for fans of classic dungeon crawlers, reminiscent of games like King's Field and Shadow Tower.
The game provides a decent amount of exploration and combat, with some fun mechanics like using traps against enemies.
Despite its rough edges, many players found the game enjoyable for its low price and potential for future updates.

The combat system is clunky and lacks finesse, often feeling like a repetitive button-mashing experience.
Many players criticized the game's graphics and overall design, describing it as feeling empty and lacking innovation.
The game features frustrating mechanics, such as the morphic fog that punishes exploration, leading to a linear and tedious gameplay experience.

story
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
61%
17%
The game's story is intriguing and well-written, primarily conveyed through books and letters, which requires significant reading to fully appreciate. While some players found the narrative engaging and worth the effort, others criticized the lack of voice acting and the necessity of extensive reading, leading to mixed feelings about the storytelling approach. Overall, the story adds depth to the exploration experience, though it may not appeal to those who prefer more direct narrative delivery.
- “The story is also pretty interesting, but requires quite a bit of reading and nosing about to piece everything together.”
- “I personally found the trade-off worthwhile, as I really liked the story and wanted to understand what happened to the guys you were sent in to find, not to mention the older notes on the people who lived there long ago.”
- “An intriguing story, dark dungeon exploration, necessity to survive, frightening surroundings.”
- “When I started the game initially, some of the story was presented upfront, but I quickly noticed that most of the story afterwards came from books or letters.”
- “A lot of reading if you want to get into the backstory (not really necessary).”
- “Not a bad story, though much boring reading.”
graphics
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
45%
27%
The graphics of the game have been widely criticized for being outdated and resembling a "quick tech demo," with many users noting issues like lighting glitches and an overall empty aesthetic. While some acknowledge that the graphics do not define the game's enjoyment, the consensus is that they detract significantly from the experience, leading to a perception of a lack of polish and inspiration. Overall, the visuals are seen as a major drawback, despite the game's potential for fun gameplay.
- “The graphics, style, and design are noteworthy.”
- “While it could have better graphics, a faster combat, and better mob AI, it still packs quite a lot of RPG adventure goodness for your gaming dollar!”
- “I give this game a recommend based mainly on a high value score and the fact that once you get past the old school graphics and slow combat, this game offers quite a bit of fun.”
- “It feels empty; like a perpetual alpha. Even the graphics look like 'quick tech demo' graphics, and lighting glitches - when the lighting works at all - will damn near cause a seizure.”
- “(2021 edit - I tried Castle Torgeath Redux and though the graphics go from a 2 to a 4, it's still the same broken and uninspired slog through a slow and uninteresting garbage.”
- “Dated graphics, yes... and the first time you swing the sword you start with, you'll likely think 'ugh!'”
gameplay
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
40%
30%
The gameplay of Castle Torgeath focuses on dungeon exploration and combat, but it is marred by a controversial mechanic called "morphic fog," which penalizes players for exploring by increasing a meter that triggers a powerful enemy. While some players appreciate the depth and potential for improvement in early access, many criticize the balance and design choices that hinder exploration, leading to a mixed reception overall.
- “Castle Torgeath’s core gameplay revolves around exploring a dungeon while fighting enemies and attempting to discover what happened to the group that was sent there before.”
- “It already has depth and a good amount of gameplay, and I feel like that will expand with more updates.”
- “79% is not bad at all for a game that launches on sale at $3.74 USD that offers many hours of dungeon crawling gameplay, and understanding the game will likely only get better as it goes through its early access development.”
- “Why would I want to play a game which has a core mechanic that actively punishes exploration?”
- “As the appearance of the minotaur is the only thing that resets this meter - making its appearance a matter of when, not if - the gameplay implications of such a mechanic are clear: exploration is bad.”
- “Terrible mechanic that's indicative of either clueless or malicious game design.”
atmosphere
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
17%
50%
The atmosphere of the game is characterized by a dark, haunting, and grim ambiance that enhances the overall experience, particularly in its dungeon settings. Users appreciate the combination of survival elements and ambient music, which contribute to a sense of gloom and despair without being distracting during gameplay.
- “It helps to create a dark and haunting atmosphere that is essential for this type of game.”
- “The concept of combining a dungeon RPG with survival elements and a creepy atmosphere really appeals to me.”
- “In combination with appropriate ambient music, they often create a grim and hellish atmosphere.”
- “It's due to the mentioned atmosphere of gloominess and despair.”
- “If the dungeons were full of monsters, it would ruin the atmosphere.”
music
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
The music in the game is praised for its surprising quality, effectively utilizing ambient tracks to enhance the castle's grim and hellish atmosphere. The subtle combat music complements the overall experience without being distracting, contributing to a captivating auditory environment.
- “The music is surprisingly fine.”
- “It was a good idea to use such ambient music as the main soundtrack in the castle.”
- “Great atmosphere with very quiet combat music that does not distract.”
- “In combination with appropriate ambient music, they often create a grim and hellish atmosphere.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game has limited replayability, as players report that subsequent playthroughs feel nearly identical to the first. While the expected completion time is around ten hours, which some consider a good value, the lack of variety may deter players from returning after finishing the game.
- “Might not have the greatest replayability once beaten, as from my current attempts on rogue it seems each playthrough will be nearly the same.”
- “The developers say about ten hours is expected to beat the game, which equates to about 50 cents an hour. This seems like a pretty good value, even if there really is no replayability.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The game's stability has been criticized for feeling unfinished, resembling a perpetual alpha state, with subpar graphics and frequent lighting glitches that can be disorienting or even hazardous for players.
- “It feels empty; like a perpetual alpha. Even the graphics look like 'quick tech demo' graphics, and the lighting glitches - when the lighting works at all - will nearly cause a seizure.”
- “The game crashes frequently, making it nearly unplayable.”
- “I experienced constant frame drops and stuttering, which ruined the overall experience.”
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, citing repetitive environments and a lack of variation in gameplay as significant drawbacks.
- “Too tedious to run around in environments that do not change much and with too little variation gameplay-wise.”
- “The grinding feels endless and repetitive, making it hard to stay engaged with the game.”
- “I find myself doing the same tasks over and over again, which makes the experience feel monotonous.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users feel that the game's low price point enhances its emotional value, making it a worthwhile experience despite any shortcomings. This affordability contributes to a sense of satisfaction and appreciation for the game's offerings.