Castle of Heart: Retold

So, this game was very much not for me. Hopefully this review saves someone else from buying a game expecting one thing and getting… cardio. Castle of Heart originally launched on Switch back in 2018, and has since been resurrected, polished, and released to other platforms. If you enjoy classic action platformers where everything is about speed, pressure, and grabbing power-ups like your life depends on it (because it literally does), you might be right at home here. I was not. TIME (aka Hurry Up or Turn to Rock) There is no visible countdown timer like old-school Mario, but do not be fooled. Your health is constantly draining unless you keep collecting items or killing enemies. Stop moving? Admire scenery? Blink too long? Congratulations, you are now dead. The entire game is basically yelling “GO GO GO” while I just wanted to look around and exist for five seconds. I prefer games that let me explore and soak in the atmosphere, not ones that treat relaxation as a punishable offense. COLLECTING (or Else) You collect floating stones to heal and slow the curse, and they are absolutely everywhere. It feels like grabbing coins in Mario, except if you miss too many, you die. No pr…

The game is mid at best. It has nice graphics and scenery. The gameplay is alright. You jump and run and hit and shoot your enemies. Standard platform fare. The difficulty is balanced enough with the exception of the badly designed boss fights. Especially the Bear fight is really annoying. The music in the game is just unbearable though. There are four locals consisting of 5 stages each and only four looping music themes that play throughout each locale's stages. The music gets very, very repetitive and it's downright bad and unfiting to the game's setting. I recommend the game for a few hours of fun at that friendly price but keep your expectations in check. Edit: What a pointless and awful ending....

Solid dark fantasy action platformer that kept me engaged from start to finish. The Slavic mythology theme gives it a distinct atmosphere, and I enjoyed the gloomy environments and creature designs. Playing as a cursed warrior whose stone body slowly turns to dust adds tension and makes combat feel more urgent. The action can be challenging, especially during platforming sections and tougher enemy encounters, but it feels rewarding once you get the timing down. At times the difficulty spikes can be a bit frustrating.

Not sure about the initial reviews on this one... I've completed a couple stages, and this game is actually really well done. It's simple... not trying to do anything too special. It's a linear platformer with interesting combat and some platforming challenges. I like the combat primarily, the sword swings feel like they have weight... you have a roll, you can jump attack, you have special attacks... it all feels really well done for a side scroller. The environments are beautiful, and I really like the effects. The platforming sections are interesting.. for example there was one where you are sliding down a roof and so it becomes kind of a reaction based race where you are ducking and jumping as well as attacking timed things. Overall I am enjoying this one. I mean I won't break it out for 8 hours at a shot, but I surely will fill in some time between other games by going through a level of this one. Definitely deserves better than its present mixed rating, if I'm honest.

I just love the game. Greta game play. Not to hard. Just relax and play. Perfect for me :)

This is a very nice platformer with beautiful graphics.