Alchemist's Castle

A very short and lightweight metroidvania where you play as the alchemist’s apprentice, uncovering bits of story through scattered journal entries while progressing through a small interconnected map. Your main tool is explosives, and you do unlock a few abilities over the roughly three-hour playtime, but they don’t really add much depth or meaningfully change how you approach the world. Exploration is straightforward, and while there is a final boss with some light puzzle elements, the encounter itself feels oddly simple and over quickly. The biggest issue is how shallow everything feels, from the abilities to the lore, which never really develops into anything memorable. It’s not bad for a very cheap, short experience, but it’s more of a brief diversion than a proper metroidvania.

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Alchemist's Castle is a decent metroidvania even for today's standard. The artwork is nice, level design is very retro, very reminiscent of the old 16-bit era of games. Character movement is decent and the overall story seems ok, although I haven't completed it. Most people won't recommend this game considering the genre is very convoluted with much better games, but it's perfect for a chill afternoon playthrough to kill some extra time as it seems really short. The design can be off-putting to someone as it's rather simplified and very barebone,, but it's just how this game is designed. If you have some spare time and you're looking to refresh your platforming skills this one might be right up your alley. 6.5/10

Alchemist’s Castle is a side-scrolling action adventure developed and published by Kabuk Games that builds its identity around exploration, environmental discovery, and classic Metroidvania design principles. Inspired by older generations of platform adventures, the game avoids modern excess and instead focuses on delivering a smaller, tightly designed experience where progression comes from curiosity, experimentation, and unlocking new abilities. It embraces retro philosophy confidently, creating a game that feels intentionally built for players who appreciate exploration-driven gameplay over cinematic spectacle. The story begins with a fallen mentor whose pursuit of forbidden power transforms him into a danger to the world around him. Once admired for wisdom and knowledge, the alchemist’s discovery of the Philosopher’s Stone slowly corrupts him, replacing noble intentions with greed and destruction. Players take control of his former apprentice, entering the mysterious castle to uncover secrets, stop the growing corruption, and confront the consequences of unchecked ambition. The narrative remains relatively straightforward throughout the adventure, but that simplicity allows ga…

I'm not sure how this one landed in my library and I was skeptical when I first launched it. It is a very simple game that kept me engaged for a few hours. At a little over $1 it's hard to complain.

A retro style metroidvania... it is a $0.99 game for a very good reason. Not for me.