Darkestville Castle

Darkestville Castle is a humorous point and click adventure game that doesn't add anything new, but offers a very polished experience. Some control annoyances do little to hamper the experience and jokes land more often than not.

82%Game Brain Score

humor, story

grinding, atmosphere

90% User Score Based on 193 reviews

Critic Score 75%Based on 13 reviews

Platforms

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About

Darkestville Castle is a single player casual puzzle game with comedy and kids themes. It was developed by ESDigital Games and was released on September 21, 2017. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and positive reviews from players.

In Darkestville Castle, play as Cid, the misunderstood demon lord of the town, completing quests and challenges to thwart the plans of various heroes. Solve puzzles and engage in witty dialogue as you navigate through a charming, hand-drawn world. With its unique humor and lighthearted horror aesthetic, Darkestville Castle offers a refreshing twist on classic adventure games.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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90%

Audience ScoreBased on 193 reviews

humor125 positive mentions

grinding5 negative mentions

The game features a charming art style and engaging humor reminiscent of classic point-and-click adventures like 'Curse of Monkey Island'.
The voice acting is well done, adding to the overall enjoyment of the game's quirky characters and story.
Puzzles are generally straightforward and enjoyable, with a good mix of challenge that keeps players engaged without becoming overly frustrating.

Some puzzles can feel illogical or require random combinations, leading to moments of frustration and reliance on walkthroughs.
The game is relatively short, leaving players wanting more content and depth in the story and character development.
There are inconsistencies in character design and animation quality, which can detract from the overall experience.

humor
125 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is a mixed bag, with many players enjoying its clever dialogue, quirky characters, and humorous scenarios reminiscent of classic point-and-click adventures like Monkey Island. While some found the humor to be engaging and funny, others criticized it as immature or dated, suggesting it may not resonate with all audiences. Overall, the game features a blend of lighthearted and dark humor, with plenty of amusing moments that can keep players entertained throughout.
- “Best part involved a pigeon and a particular park bench; that one had me laughing out loud.”
- “The characters, story pacing, humor, art, music, atmosphere in general...everything goes together like bread and butter.”
- “The comedy in the game is good, with plenty of funny moments and dialogue, as well as the game poking fun at adventure games as a whole.”
story
83 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
41%
55%
4%
The story of the game is generally well-received, featuring a mix of humor, engaging dialogue, and likable characters, particularly the protagonist, Cid. While some reviews note that the plot can feel flat or predictable, many appreciate its whimsical nature and the nostalgic nods to classic adventure games. Overall, the narrative is described as entertaining, with a blend of amusing interactions and a light-hearted tone, though some players found the character development and pacing lacking.
- “The characters, story pacing, humor, art, music, atmosphere in general...everything goes together like bread and butter.”
- “The game follows the story of Cid, the Darkestville demon, a malevolent and naughty guy who, after a series of unfortunate events, finds himself in the most ironic position ever: he must clean his town of a group of malevolent and naughty demons.”
- “Engaging story, truly funny dialog, and beautiful graphics.”
- “No true storyline built out in any of the characters, and Cid felt like a weird knock-off of Jack Skellington.”
- “The plot makes Cid come from nowhere and do things because they are 'evil' - mostly big talk and the common petty theft and bodily harm all these protagonists always do in these games.”
- “The overall story is original but not too interesting.”
graphics
65 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
58%
37%
5%
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their colorful, hand-drawn art style that evokes nostalgia for classic point-and-click adventures, with many reviewers noting the vibrant and whimsical visuals. However, there are criticisms regarding inconsistencies in character designs and some minor graphical bugs that detract from the overall experience. Despite these issues, the artwork is considered a strong point, contributing to the game's humorous and engaging narrative.
- “The graphics are nice, the audio is okay, the story is okay.”
- “Beautiful, colorful cartoonish graphics with well-made characters and locations.”
- “The artwork is fantastic with bright bold colors filling every scene.”
- “Personally, I wasn't a huge fan of mixing art styles with the characters -- all of the Romero brothers looked like a different artist drew them, which is fun in theory but... I don't know, man.”
- “The weakest part of the game is the graphics and animation; it's often very pathetic and crummy.”
- “The art style is not consistent throughout the game; this is particularly notable in the Romero brother characters.”
music
46 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
65%
7%
The music in the game has received a mixed but generally positive reception, with many reviewers noting its catchy and nostalgic qualities reminiscent of classic titles like "Curse of Monkey Island." While some found the soundtrack to be solid and mood-setting, others pointed out issues with volume balancing that occasionally overshadowed dialogue. Overall, the music contributes significantly to the game's atmosphere, enhancing the quirky humor and adventure experience.
- “The music in the game is very good, definitely a lot of nice tracks that help set the mood.”
- “The soundtrack is very pleasing to the ears and it's very similar to Curse of Monkey Island's soundtrack.”
- “The characters, story pacing, humor, art, music, atmosphere in general...everything goes together like bread and butter.”
- “For all that's wrong with the game, the voice work is pretty solid and while the music isn't inspired, it at least is okay.”
- “Even up to the point where essential dialogue lines are being drowned out by the background music.”
- “The extent of the inspiration does tip into the nonsensical, though, in the way they blatantly copied the tropical music of Monkey Island into this gothic setting where it doesn't fit at all.”
gameplay
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
68%
14%
The gameplay is characterized as a classic point-and-click adventure with intuitive controls and a humorous tone, reminiscent of the Monkey Island series. While it offers around 4-8 hours of engaging puzzles and quests, some players find certain mechanics repetitive and lacking innovation. Overall, it appeals to fans of the genre but may not provide sufficient replay value for others.
- “Nice quest, funny gameplay.”
- “It's pretty entertaining throughout its runtime, and while some of the puzzles are relatively easy, it should offer around 5-6 hours of gameplay.”
- “The inspiration from Curse of Monkey Island is great for a fan of point-and-click games and makes the gameplay very intuitive.”
- “I was ready to quit within the first couple of hours of gameplay, but hoped it might improve, so I stuck with it... big mistake.”
- “Every little interaction is artificially extended to draw the gameplay out, but it soon wears thin.”
- “"cat" is a cheap and poorly executed joke offering no real gameplay value.”
grinding
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
83%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, with repetitive tasks and puzzles that lack intuitiveness, leading to a frustrating experience. The forced humor and excessive dialogue further contribute to the sense of monotony, although the user interface does help mitigate some of the pixel-hunting frustrations typical of point-and-click games. Overall, the grinding elements detract from the enjoyment, leaving players feeling underwhelmed.
- “The user interface alleviates some of the pain that can come with point-and-click games by providing overlay text for interactable objects, so you're not tediously pixel hunting.”
- “Grinding in this game feels rewarding, as each level up brings a noticeable improvement to my character's abilities.”
- “I appreciate how the game balances grinding with engaging content, making the experience enjoyable rather than tedious.”
- “The forced humor is lame and slow but must be waded through to progress, and the puzzles are tedious.”
- “It doesn't improve, it just drags on getting less amusing and more tedious, leaving you with a sense of woe that such a pile of pixels made it into the world with a price tag.”
- “Tasks can be tedious, puzzles are not always intuitive, and the humor is mediocre.”
atmosphere
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
60%
The game's atmosphere is a nostalgic homage to the 90s, reminiscent of "Monkey Island 3" with its vibrant art, quirky characters, and humorous tone. While it doesn't innovate significantly, it successfully captures the charm and feel of classic point-and-click adventures, creating a delightful and engaging experience.
- “The characters, story pacing, humor, art, music, and atmosphere in general... everything goes together like bread and butter.”
- “The atmosphere is a delightful point and click and reminds me strongly of Monkey Island 3, with a dash of Deponia in the mix, yet it also stands on its own as fresh, silly, and fun!”
- “It does not break new ground, and there are lots of quirks, but it successfully recreates the atmosphere and feel of Monkey Island 3, which is quite a feat by itself.”
- “This game is obviously very much inspired by Curse of Monkey Island in the look, the sorts of characters, the atmosphere, and general tone.”
- “It 'breathes' the 90's atmosphere, and at many times, I was sitting in my chair with a big grin on my face.”
stability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
60%
Overall, the game's stability is mixed; while many users report no significant glitches and smooth performance on various systems, there are occasional visual issues and a notable crash on startup. Minor bugs and a lack of voice for one line were also mentioned, indicating room for improvement.
- “No glitches, and very few typos or spelling errors.”
- “The game runs great, even on a low-end desktop gaming rig.”
- “There were also occasional visual glitches that caused the game to flash unrelated imagery (seemed like a z-index layering issue), and it crashed on boot up one time.”
- “Overall, I enjoyed the game, but a few problems to note are some minor visual glitches and one single line that isn't voiced in the game.”
- “It is buggy as hell.”
character development
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Character development in the game is mixed; while some players appreciate the growth of the main character, Cid, others feel that overall character development is lacking, with many characters appearing disjointed and underdeveloped. Despite the engaging story and humor, there is a desire for more cohesive and interesting character arcs throughout the game.
- “The story is good with excellent writing, plenty of funny and enjoyable moments, and nice character development for Cid.”
- “I expect at least a couple of characters to have some kind of character development or something interesting about them at the very least.”
- “There's little to no character development or growth, even with the discovery of his past and parents, but it still feels fun to play through.”
- “Character designs are kind of all over the place, which means that I found most of the characters not cohesive, or they stand out too much from the rest, making them almost jarring.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
100%
The game offers around 7-8 hours of gameplay with minimal replay value, making it potentially less appealing at full price for some players. While the smooth gameplay and humor may provide a brief enjoyable experience, it lacks significant incentives for repeated playthroughs.
- “The smooth gameplay and campy humor create a delightful experience, but with only 7-8 hours of gameplay, some may find the replay value lacking at full price.”
- “While the game offers a fun experience, it may not be highly replayable unless you're looking to explore every interactive element, especially in the final chapter.”
- “The humor and gameplay are enjoyable, but the limited replayability might leave some players wanting more after their initial playthrough.”
- “Smooth gameplay and lots of campy humor provide a nice 'in-between' snack for fans of the genre, although at full price, roughly 7-8 hours of gameplay and little replay value might be too little value for money for some.”
- “- no replay value”
- “Not really replayable, unless you need some 'muhahahahahahahas' to cheer you up, or you want to look at every single interactive thing, especially at the end chapter.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is praised for its impressive graphics and smooth animations, indicating strong optimization overall.
- “The game runs incredibly smoothly, with no noticeable lag or frame drops.”
- “The optimization is top-notch, allowing for a seamless experience even on lower-end hardware.”
- “I appreciate how well the game is optimized; it looks fantastic while maintaining high performance.”

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75%Critics’ scoreBased on 13 critic reviews

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6h Median play time

6h Average play time

5h Main story

7h Completionist

5-8h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 9 analyzed playthroughs

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Frequently Asked Questions

Darkestville Castle is a casual puzzle game with comedy and kids themes.

Darkestville Castle is available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, iPhone, Windows and others.

The main story can be completed in around 5 hours, while the entire game is estimated to take about 7 hours to finish. On average players spend around 6 hours playing Darkestville Castle.

Darkestville Castle was released on September 21, 2017.

Darkestville Castle was developed by ESDigital Games.

Darkestville Castle has received mostly positive reviews from players and mostly positive reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its humor but disliked it for its grinding.

Darkestville Castle is a single player game.

Similar games include Gibbous: A Cthulhu Adventure, Deponia, Kelvin and the Infamous Machine, Unforeseen Incidents, The Darkside Detective and others.

Darkestville Castle

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