While most of the games that I play for both review and in general look “traditional” in a sense, there are times where I step out of my comfort zone and step into the more “artistic and abstract” side of indie gaming. One such game that really nails the “artistic and abstract” tags is The Eternal Castle [REMASTERED] for the Nintendo Switch. How good is this remaster? Yea, about that….
Totally psychedelic
Game’s developmental story itself is abstract- The thing is that there is no original game. Like none at all. One of the developers, game director Leonard Menchiari, has stated that this was a remake of a game that he played long ago as a kid in the 80’s. He would always play it on the family PC but one day the metal part of the floppy disk got stuck in the disk drive, causing the PC not to boot up correctly. Not wanting to tell his dad that he broke the computer he did what any kid would do; not say anything. The PC was sent in to be fix and the metal part removed and thrown away. The disk could have been saved and repaired, but the disk was tossed out as well. Years later Menchiari and two other developers, Daniele Vicinanzo and Giulio Perrone, came together to create the “game they dreamed of playing when they were kids”. There was even a whole viral marketing campaign where files and images of the “original” game were uploaded onto the classic Prince of Persia forum. Many tried to get the game to run but quit after many tries. One user decided to dig deeper and found files belonging to Prince of Persia, Star Commander 2, Doom also notice that the images were created using Photoshop. The only problem is that each piece of software was released after 1987. So how did the files and images get into a game that supposedly released years earlier?
Now if the whole story of “original” The Eternal Castle game is real or not actually doesn’t really matter, to me at least. If anything, the fact that the developers had crafted such a “meta” story for The Eternal Castle [REMASTERED] has me even more curious about this game and wanting to play it. You really have to give them credit for that.
DOS-esqe graphics- A bit of a warning to the photosensitive: if bright flashing/strobing light effects bother you, them you might just want to skip the game. Now the graphics for The Eternal Castle [REMASTERED] are pretty psychedelic looking. Taking inspiration from PC games of the ’80s, The Eternal Castle [REMASTERED] has a very limited color pallet using blues, magenta, black and red on different levels. These colors are used in a way that are harsh to the eyes yet are really stunning and eerie. There are times when the developers should have put gameplay before aesthetics but that doesn’t take away from how cool looking each of the areas are.
80’s synth soundtrack- As years go by, trends from past decades tend to come back around for a second wave. For video games, especially indie games, it seems that the 80’s has made its way back to the minds of developers. As with the aforementioned DOS-esqe graphics, The Eternal Castle [REMASTERED] has a soundtrack that is comparable to most 80’s action/sci-fi movies ie there’s a ton of synth. It’s very atmospheric and changes depending the area the player is in. From a foreboding dilapidated mansion in a graveyard to a city under siege the music and sound design gives some life to the locations.
Action gameplay- While I did mention that I felt that the developers focused more on style than substance with The Eternal Castle [REMASTERED] in terms of visuals, both style and substance was combined for the gameplay. While it may look simple at first, when the action picks up it feels like 80’s action scene. From hand to hand combat and dodging enemies in an confined space to a rooftop chase while being chased by an attack helicopter, is really action packed.
Bad acid trip
Colorful eyesore- As I mentioned in the beginning this isn’t a game that people who are photo sensitive/ epileptic should play. The developers went all in on the style and atheistics of the graphics and while unique, can be bit of an eye shore. The clashing blues, purples, blacks, reds and various other colors against mostly black backdrops causes this eye shore, for me at least. Then there are points in the game where the screen is giving off a flashing/strobing effect and while cool looking, to be honest is a bit straining to look at. The developers went all in on the style and atheistics of the graphics
Can’t figure out the story- If The Eternal Castle [REMASTERED] has a story, I can’t figure out what it is as it doesn’t really explain anything. From my understanding is that you have crashed landed on Earth or an Earth-like planet. Several components of your ship have flew off to different areas and in order to complete your mission, again the game doesn’t really explain what that is, and go home. I understand that minimalistic storytelling, a la Dark Souls, is very popular device to use, however in Dark Souls everything you encounter has some type of lore attached to it and links to the over arching story. The Eternal Castle [REMASTERED] doesn’t really have that, you just plow through each stage till you react the final stage. I feel that this is another case of the developers putting style before substance. Speaking of…….
Style before substance- There’s no denying that The Eternal Castle [REMASTERED] is a very cool looking and sounding game. I just feel that the developers put style before substance. The story is so minimal that Dark Souls player would have a hard time finding any story to it. The graphics, while cool looking, can be a bit of a hindrance at times, not to mention a bit of an eyesore, especially for those with sensitive eyes
I’ll be honest The Eternal Castle [REMASTERED] while filled with style, cool action moments and a nice synth soundtrack, isn’t really my kind of game. While I was born in the mid 80’s (1986) most of my formative years were spent in the 90’s. So I don’t have any attachment to PC games like The Eternal Castle [REMASTERED]. Again it has a lot of style and flash, but incidentally that flash can be an eyesore sometimes. I did enjoy the whole “story” behind the creation of the game itself, but was confused as to what was the story in game. Regardless I enjoyed my time with The Eternal Castle [REMASTERED]. Would I recommend it? Sure, if you’re into wandering off the beaten path of most mainstream games and want something different. For $14.99, I’d say that’s a fair price for admission. If you’re curious about it and don’t want to wade through the eShop to find it, just head over to the game’s Nintendo store page and give it a look see.
