Madcap Castle

これはゲームボーイ時代への頌歌であり、全体的に素晴らしいゲームです。

I had a lot of fun with the game. worth it. Pros: Nostalgia. Responsive controls. Amazing Art and Aesthetics! Fun stages and skills. Impressive visual effects, given the aesthetic limitations. There is no risk of the sun covering up what is being shown on the screen, or the batteries of your gameboy end up in the middle of the match. = D Cons: The plot is not the focus. Some stages are really unnecessarily difficult to finish. The game is not as optimized for less powerful PCs.

Madcap Castle is a precision platformer where you have to get to the exit but each room has requirements such as pushing all buttons and killing all enemies. Many different traps and enemies are placed in such a way that the rooms won’t be a simple A to B walk. You have one skill that changes halfway through each castle (a world with 15 puzzles including 1 boss). There are 10 castles with their own gimmicks. The gameboy style in terms of graphics and music is charming. There is a lot of content for the price paid. The skills, levels and bosses have creative ideas and it can feel great to clear levels/bosses sometimes. I like what the game is trying to do as it’s my kind of game. The big issue that ruins things is the way challenge is achieved. There is fair challenge where a game can be incredibly challenging but the controls are perfect, the enemy behaviour is predictable, the traps are consistent and you know what you’re supposed to do. Madcap Castle is extremely challenging while it fails at all those elements. It requires perfect precision (sometimes with an inch difference) while there are some things that are seriously wrong. To give some examples: -Enemies: rats can sometimes stop moving out of the blue, frogs have different jump strength, bats can dive deeper when they aim for you. Just to add some context, there will be rooms with many of them and you’re dead with one hit -Traps: moving lightning can get stuck in its direction, beams & spikes have weird timing where they might stop moving for a while and then move again later in weird inconsistent ways -Controls: not sure if intentional but you can’t jump when you’re too close to an edge while it feels like you should. There are certain moves with 3 skills where nowhere is explained how to activate them to clear certain levels (mini version high jump, invisibility high jump, different strengths of dash) -Skills: ones like teleportation and dash suck because there is no indicator where you’ll land. You’ll have to figure it out by gauging things. This is all well and good but it sucks when the rooms become so complex & long and you’ll have to retry entire rooms from scratch with one mistake -Checkpoints: as mentioned previously, it became very tedious dying every time and going through many steps again to get where you were. Often times it’s not challenge after a while but the annoyance of waiting for the traps to disappear and this waiting wastes so much time. Same with the bosses. After a while you figure what you need to do except for one step and you have to repeat all the steps so many times until you figure out that one step. A checkpoint system would have made things so much better -Other: there are some weird situations like the card skill (your attack) sometimes not hitting enemies even though visually you can see they should be hit. Or you’re killed by the impact of bombs because the impact stays for too long etc. I was dreading playing more of this after a while and I was more than glad to be done with it in a negative way. While I can see the love and attention the game got, I really urge you to not play this unless you’re a) too curious or b) the type that likes punishing challenge even if said challenge is not fair through systems that are not functioning properly. As mentioned though, the developers can clearly design creative puzzles with great ideas. So there is hope that their next game might get things right in terms of execution.

[h1] Simply amazing. [/h1] If you want a game with a great gameplay, Madcap Castle is your game, with mastery, the game puts you in challenger puzzles, but it can make you play for hours trying to solve a puzzle without losing the fun factor, even if the player must try a hundred times.

A small, simple plattformer styled like a Gameboy game. Every level completely fits on screen and you have to reach the exit on the right side from the entrance on the right. Every few levels you get a new spell to solve the following levels. The small space filled with instant death traps makes timing and precision necessary but the short distance to the goal shapes the game to a hard plattformer of small bits. This would be an amazing game for short breaks, however, the rooms usually are peppered with switches you have to press consecutively before the exit will open. Obviously this is to lenghten the individual levels but it often just forces you to cross the same Room twice or more. Even with this nuisance this game is a nice little intermezzo for everybody interested in precision platformers.

[h1][b] Reseña de Madcap Castle[/b][/h1] [h2]Resumen del Juego[/h2] Madcap Castle es un indie hecho en GameMaker que se va por la ruta clásica del [b]plataforma de rompecabezas[/b]: avanzar en solitario, resolver salas/obstáculos y demostrar que tu cerebro todavía funciona después de scrollear redes por 3 horas. La propuesta es simple y directa: plataformas + puzzles, sin distracciones multijugador ni “temporadas” que te pidan regresar por obligación. La primera impresión es la de un juego pequeño, de esos que viven (o mueren) por lo bien que estén armados sus niveles y por lo justo que sea su desafío. Y sí: tiene [b]13 logros[/b], lo cual alcanza para entretener a los cazadores de medallitas… o para recordar que tu autoestima depende de un pop-up. También es [b]compatible total con mando[/b] y tiene [b]Préstamo familiar[/b], así que al menos puedes compartir el sufrimiento con alguien más… aunque el contador de [b]0 jugadores actuales[/b] sugiere que la “comunidad” es un concepto más filosófico que real. [h2]Lo que te hace decir “ok” vs. lo que te hace decir “¿en serio?”[/h2] Lo Bueno: [b]Compatibilidad total con mando[/b]: para fallar saltos con dignidad desde el sofá. [b]13 logros en Steam[/b]: el mínimo vital para que tu perfil no se sienta abandonado. [b]Un jugador[/b]: sin depender de servers, amigos o de esa persona que “se conecta al rato”. [b]Préstamo familiar[/b]: ideal para pasarle el juego a alguien y que te confirme si el problema eras tú. Enfoque claro de [b]rompecabezas + plataformas[/b]: no intenta venderte humo de “experiencia revolucionaria”. Lo No Tan Bueno: [b]0 jugadores actuales[/b]: el castillo está más vacío que mi lista de deseos después de una mala demo. [b]Recomendaciones totales: N/A[/b]: básicamente estás comprando a ciegas… y Steam no te va a tomar la mano. Género muy específico: si no te gustan los [b]puzzles de plataforma[/b], aquí no hay “modo historia cinematográfico” que te rescate. Al ser indie de GameMaker, la vara de pulido suele ser inconsistente: si esperas producción AAA, te equivocaste de universo. [h2]Tabla de Evaluación[/h2] [table] [tr][th]Aspecto[/th][th]Puntuación (0-10)[/th][th]Comentario[/th][/tr] [tr][td]Jugabilidad[/td][td]6[/td][td]Funciona para lo que es: plataformas + rompecabezas, sin milagros.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Dificultad / IA[/td][td]6[/td][td]El reto depende más del diseño que de “IA”; cumple sin sorprender.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Contenido[/td][td]5[/td][td]Con 13 logros, suena a experiencia compacta más que a banquete.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Gráficos / Video[/td][td]5[/td][td]Indie de GameMaker: se espera funcionalidad antes que deslumbrar.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Historia[/td][td]4[/td][td]No es el gancho principal del género; si hay trama, no parece la estrella.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Ambientación[/td][td]5[/td][td]“Castillo loco” vende vibe, pero no hay señales de algo memorable.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Efectos (VFX)[/td][td]5[/td][td]Correctos para un puzzle-platformer indie, sin fuegos artificiales.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Música[/td][td]5[/td][td]Probablemente acompaña; difícil que cargue el juego por sí sola.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Voces[/td][td]3[/td][td]En este tipo de juego suelen ser inexistentes o mínimas.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Diversidad[/td][td]4[/td][td]No hay indicios de enfoque particular; neutro tirando a ausente.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Rendimiento[/td][td]6[/td][td]Por escala y motor, debería ir estable en la mayoría de PCs.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Rejugabilidad[/td][td]4[/td][td]Sin comunidad activa ni señales de extras, se siente de una sola vuelta.[/td][/tr] [tr][td][b]Total Puntuaciones (Aceptable)[/b][/td][td][b]4.8[/b][/td][td]Entre “cumple” y “se olvida rápido”: correcto, pero sin ruido.[/td][/tr] [/table] [h2]Conclusión (Aceptable)[/h2] Madcap Castle parece un indie honesto de rompecabezas y plataformas: directo, solitario, con mando bien soportado y un puñado de logros para que sientas progreso aunque estés atascado en el mismo salto 15 minutos. El problema no es lo que intenta ser, sino lo poco que grita “tienes que jugarme”. El detalle controversial: con [b]0 jugadores actuales[/b] y [b]recomendaciones N/A[/b], este juego se siente como entrar a una fiesta donde el DJ sí llegó… pero nadie más. ¿Puede ser bueno igual? Claro. ¿Te estás arriesgando? También. Si lo tuyo son los puzzles de plataforma y te atraen los indies compactos, puede valer la pena como experiencia breve. Si buscas comunidad, conversación, o validación colectiva para no sentirte estafado por tu propio criterio… aquí vienes a sufrir en silencio. [h3]Recomendación de Compra (Solo para fans del género)[/h3] Puntuación Total: 4.8/10 Número de jugadores activos al momento de hacer esta review: 0 Descuento máximo registrado: -70% Veredicto: [i]Aceptable, pero con vibra de “descubrimiento arqueológico”[/i] Si eres fan del plataforma de rompecabezas y te gusta explorar indies poco conocidos, dale una oportunidad (idealmente cuando te sientas aventurero). Si no, mejor sigue de largo: no es un desastre, pero tampoco está haciendo méritos para sacarte de tu backlog.

Игра звёзд с неба не хватает, да и особо не пытается. Чисто зайти по настольгировать вообще топ. Кароче 10 карликов волшебников из 10!

That's an amazing game created in Brazil! Awesome!

Ok if bought on a sale for 50 cents or so

[h1][b][u]If you are fan of Super Meat Boy and the genre, you should give this game a try.[/u][/b][/h1] [h1]PROS[/h1] [list] [*][b][u]This one is a "True Retro"[/u][/b] It's how I like to call these games where everything in the game is created to, supposedly, run on a old console. I can easely imagine my brothers and I fighting and crying to play this game in our old Game Boy, if this game had been released then. [*][b][u]Simple/easy to learn controls[/u][/b], with lots of mechanical twists. [*][b][u]Levels sequence really well designed[/u][/b] First, you want to find out what is the enxt spell. Then, you want to master them all. [*][b][u]Almost all levels have a regular pattern being followed after the respawn[/u][/b] I really loved to study and plan my actions (and failed misarebly due to make lack of skills). Also, I can imagine people Speedrunning it. [*][b][u]Good 8-bit music/sounds[/u][/b] [*][b][u]Good 8-bit graphcs[/u][/b] [/list] [h1]CONS[/h1] [list] [*][b][u]Some really hard/almost impossible levels seams to pop randomly from time-to-time[/u][/b] (Personally, I struggled a lot on the level 89) [*][b][u]Lack of a history through the levels[/u][/b] At the Intro, it tells why you are at the castle, but there is practically no follow up through the game. [*][b][u]Some features, that you might be used to have, are not there[/u][/b] Like some Options (volume, brightness, screen size, etc.) or a button to exit the game in a single click. Since it is designed to run like it was on a GameBoy, it is understandable, but still a little annoying. [/list]