Castello is a Castlevania-inspired platformer game by Skaith, released in August, 2026.
Castello is a platformer game by Skaith and a self described homage to the old castlevania games with non-linear progression, sub-optimal controls and enough enemies to turn your gothic adventure into a special kind of fun. It was released in August, 2026.
First of all, graphics and animations are just perfect. The entire visual design of the game world makes you feel like you’re playing a Castlevania game from back in day.
The music supports this claim and the gameplay mechanics push the player’s experience even further in this direction. Many of us still remember how unreasonably hard at times those classic platformers felt 30 or 40 years ago, and retro game lovers will be right at home.
On the other hand, if you’re more interested in exploring this gothic world and uncovering parts of its story at your own pace — your experience may vary.
The way you navigate up or down the stairs may be authentic, yet it’s hard to appreciate when you’re stuck on their steps unable to hit the enemy back.
Ghosts may appear right in front of you, or, if you’re especially unlucky, — one tile below or above. Now imagine not one, but three of them closing in from every direction…
Checkpoint poles with their magical flames definitely save the day!
I wish the game had a couple different difficulty modes with optional enemies and improved gameplay mechanics, but Skaith, the dev of the game, has reasonably explained that they are almost out of tokens and there’s no room for big changes.
Thankfully, the number of enemies was significantly reduced on many screens across the entire game world with a more recent update. This move majorly improves the difficulty curve of the platformer. The video version of this review covers the initial, harder version.
I think a player who’s a fan of challenging metroidvania platformers of the past will absolutely love the game, while those who prefer slower paced gameplay should take their time and prepare to get patient.
Even though I wasn’t a huge fan of Castello’s controls and related gameplay mechanics I loved the atmosphere of every pixel and soundbite of the game, so I’ll give it an Avarian thumbs up.
And who knows, now that it this unfair world of suffering has become a little less dark, I might even have a chance of saving it.
Play the game on Lexaloffle Pico-8 BBS.
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