Lord of the Dark Castle
- April 19, 2015
- Craze Creative Studios
Get on Steam"Lord of the Dark Castle" is a challenging 2D platformer game set in a dark, spooky castle. As the brave adventurer, players must navigate through treacherous environments, defeat dangerous enemies, and solve puzzles to reach the ultimate goal of defeating the dark lord. With pixel art graphics and retro-inspired gameplay, this game provides a tough but rewarding experience for players looking for a classic challenge.
Reviews
- The game offers a fun and engaging experience that requires some tactical thinking, making it enjoyable for players who appreciate strategy.
- It's a cheap indie game that provides a decent amount of entertainment and replayability for its price, especially for fans of retro-style roguelikes.
- The game has a flexible class system and allows for character advancement, which adds depth to the gameplay.
- The controls are often unresponsive and janky, leading to a frustrating gameplay experience.
- Many players find the game to be overly difficult and reliant on luck, with instant deaths from traps and powerful enemies that can ruin runs without warning.
- The game suffers from numerous bugs and glitches, which can disrupt gameplay and diminish overall enjoyment.
- gameplay4 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The gameplay features intriguing rules and mechanics that offer significant replayability, but it is marred by frustrating elements and a simplistic user interface that detracts from the overall experience. While some players appreciate the depth, others find certain mechanics counterproductive, leading to a less enjoyable gameplay experience.
“Unassuming at first, this game has an interesting set of rules and mechanics that lend to lots of replayability.”
“There are so many stupid mechanics that you can't counter, and they instantly ruin your run that you thought was really well started.”
“For gameplay purposes, the user interface for this game is mostly just 2D static images, making it feel like a browser game.”
“I really want to like the gameplay; however, there are some elements that create a rather frustrating experience and make the game feel less fun to play, which I hope the developer fixes.”
- story3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The game's story conveys a moral about perseverance and the unpredictability of life, but it lacks depth and coherent plot structure. Instead of a well-designed narrative, it relies on repetitive procedural generation, which detracts from the overall storytelling experience. While there are challenges and replayability, players seeking a rich story may be disappointed.
“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.”
“The game features no proper level design or game/story flow/plot, as they opted to try to use samey repetitive procedural generation algorithms as a substitute for adding such content to the game, to avoid doing the important job of level/map design.”
“There's no deep story, but there is some challenge with variable difficulty choices and there's adequate replay for the price if this is the type of genre you enjoy.”
- replayability3 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- -67 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game offers a solid level of replayability due to its engaging rules and mechanics, though some players find it can become frustrating. While technically providing unlimited replayability and additional achievements, many players feel satisfied after a certain amount of playtime, typically around 13 hours.
“Unassuming at first, this game has an interesting set of rules and mechanics that lend to lots of replayability.”
“Technically unlimited replayability and more in-game achievements to unlock if I really wanted to, but I'm satisfied with my win and ready to move on at around 13 hours of play.”
“Replayability: frustrating but yes.”
“The game lacks enough variety to keep me coming back for more.”
“Once you finish the main story, there's little incentive to replay.”
- graphics3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- -33 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are criticized for their low quality and lack of customization options, including the inability to change resolution or adjust settings. Overall, the graphics received a score of 7 out of 10, indicating a moderate level of satisfaction despite the limitations.
“Graphics & sound: 7 out of a possible 10”
“There's no option to change the resolution for the game or customize the graphics settings.”
“There's no way for gamers to try to improve the low-quality graphics.”
“Graphics & sound: 7 out of a possible 10.”
- music2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The music in the trailer is praised for its soothing quality, providing a relaxing experience that resonates with listeners and enhances the overall atmosphere.
“The trailer video has nice music.”
“I relaxed for 5 minutes listening to this music, long enough to realize that I would be okay.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game has been reported to have significant stability issues, with users experiencing frequent glitches that detract from the overall experience.
“Experienced some terrible glitches.”
“Drawbacks: cheesy and a few glitches.”
- humor1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is often perceived as unintentional, with players finding amusement in the frequent bugs and freezes that disrupt gameplay for several seconds. This aspect of humor seems to stem more from frustration than intentional comedic design.
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that several developers, including Craze Creative Studios and others, are criticized for unethical monetization practices, such as exploiting and repackaging others' work on Steam for quick profits, often through linked or alternate accounts.
“Craze Creative Studios, Trinity Project, Droid Riot, Free Animals, etc. have shown a repeat pattern of unethically dumping other people's work onto Steam as a cheap, nasty cash grab through this account or through closely linked/alternate accounts.”
