Haunted Dungeons: Hyakki Castle Reviews

Haunted Dungeons: Hyakki Castle is ranked in the 20th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
7 / 10.0
Oct 19, 2018

If I had to describe Haunted Dungeons: Hyakki Castle in one word, that word would be, “fumbly.” There's a lot of fumbling, mostly with the controls, some with the menus and UI, and some with getting around the maps with their samey walls and lack of landmarks. Real-time, horror-tinted dungeon crawling is a neat idea, and with the customization, skills, and cool monsters, there is fun to be had here. Multiple difficulty levels and post-game content also gives plenty of challenge for the genre hardcores. But this is a game that leaves me wanting more from it, but in a way that means the promise from the concept doesn't match the experience in my hands.

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70%
Oct 19, 2018

Haunted Dungeons: Hyakki Castle is not a perfect game as it does have its flaws, not to mention that the split-screen gameplay mechanic might prove to be uncomfortable for some players. But if you're looking for a dungeon crawler on PlayStation 4 that will provide you with a hearty challenge, then Haunted Dungeons: Hyakki Castle will definitely do that.

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2 / 5.0
Oct 17, 2018

Hyakki Castle promises an interesting premise but can deliver on little else besides some pretty loading screen concept art.

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4.5 / 10.0
Oct 3, 2018

Haunted Dungeons: Hyakki Castle is a unique exploration RPG on Switch that doesn't live up to its concept.

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7.5 / 10.0
Oct 1, 2018

While I wish there was a greater variety of Yokai, at least their attack patterns and behaviors differs a bit so they aren't merely cosmetic variations slapped on the same base. Save points tend to be fair in their spacing and the choices you make for upgrading your characters open the door to some variety depending on the skills you choose, further encouraging replayability. If you've been looking for something a bit different on the Switch, for a variety of reasons Haunted Dungeons: Hyakki Castle sets itself apart as unique, even if its style and pacing may not be for everyone.

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5 / 10.0
Sep 28, 2018

Only gamers who specifically love dungeon crawling and the 1600s Japan setting should keep an eye out for this game during a 50% or higher price drop. Others will likely be frustrated by long and repetitive combat in a generally very repetitive game.

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7.5 / 10.0
Sep 18, 2018

In many ways, Haunted Dungeons: Hyakki Castle is a pretty traditional dungeon crawler with its grid-based movement, first person perspective and numbers-heavy combat on the back end. Where it breaks the mold a bit is in how it allows you to split your party up for its real-time combat and Japanese-infused aesthetic. This is a genre that sometimes can get a little stodgy, and does not generally bring a lot of innovation to the table, so despite some annoying difficulty spikes and some lackluster overall presentation values, Haunted Dungeons: Hyakki Castle still makes for an interesting addition to the genre.

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60 / 100
Sep 17, 2018

Haunted Dungeons: Hyakki Castle has a lot of interesting elements. Unfortunately, it's most talked about feature, team splitting, could have used more work and it felt like there needed to be more to it besides switching on some floor panels.

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7 / 10
Sep 15, 2018

Haunted Dungeons: Hyakki Castle may not be the greatest game ever made but that doesn't stand on its way of being a welcome RPG to arrive on the Nintendo Switch. Thanks to creative gameplay, a great variety of characters and a good dose of Japanese and Western themes, the game's qualities stand out against its rather uninspired level design and unimpressive soundtrack.

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5 / 10
Sep 14, 2018

Haunted Dungeons: Hyakki Castle certainly has some interesting elements - most notably its team-splitting mechanic and use of classical Japanese folklore - but thanks to the rigidity of its first-person dungeon crawling design it soon loses steam and you're left exploring a vast castle full of dangerous yokai and unimaginative level design. It takes plenty of inspiration from those that came before it, but does little to innovate on its own merit.

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60 / 100
Sep 14, 2018

Despite the different setting, interesting environmental puzzles and the creative party-splitting mechanic, Haunted Dungeons: Hyakki Castle fails in several basic aspects, with repetitive and tedious combat, weak story and a total inability to keep you interested in the game.

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6 / 10.0
Sep 13, 2018

Like most games, how good of a time you have with Haunted Dungeons: Hyakki Castle will ultimately depend on what you bring to the experience yourself. If you're hoping for the next great dungeon crawler, then you most likely will be disappointed.

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6.5 / 10.0
Sep 10, 2018

While overly ambitious, Haunted Dungeons: Hyakki Castle is an enjoyable enough dungeon crawl, but could easily be ignored if you aren't absolutely in love with the genre.

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Sep 3, 2018

Hyakki Castle puts up a welcome challenge and offers players something rooted in a very authentic Japanese (Shinto) spirituality. It's an artifact of the country and comes from the same place that the likes of Okami, Nioh and God Wars does. It's truly amazing that the Nintendo Switch has had three of those four released on it in the span of just a couple of weeks.

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Sep 2, 2018

Haunted Dungeons: Hyakki Castle may have interesting and satisfying dungeon crawling survival gameplay but its presentational aspects definitely take a lot of fun out of the equation.

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80 / 100
Sep 2, 2018

Haunted Dungeons: Hyakki Castle is a clever twist on the traditional dungeon crawler, with a focus on the split-team function. Learning to work with separate teams can be tough at first, but it's well worth the effort. The combat is otherwise simplistic and easy to pick up, making it easy to jump in for hours at a time.

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6 / 10.0
Jun 12, 2018

If you like strategy games and are really into ancient Japanese legends, Haunted Dungeon: Hyakki Castle takes art and story from the Edo period to create a unique strategy game. While it was not entirely my speed (it does put the crawl in "dungeon crawl"), it is a break from the frantic pacing of many dungeon crawlers with a central mechanic adds creative possibilities to puzzle solving and combat.

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7 / 10.0
Dec 28, 2017

Hyakki Castle probably wouldn't be great for newbies to the dungeon-crawling scene, but if you already know you like the movement and combat system then it's definitely something to try. It has its mechanical issues, and requires a lot of fiddling to figure out at first, but is executed creatively and diversely enough to still be engaging. It just needs a little extra touch to become the beacon that it wants to be.

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3 / 10
Dec 20, 2017

It is really depressing to play a game like Hyakki Castle. It has some things that could have made it a good game in a vastly underrepresented genre. It got the atmosphere just right, which is one of the most difficult things to nail perfectly. However, it is dragged down by many things that while independently does not ruin a game, it destroys the game when combined. Bad mouse and keyboard controls would not ruin a game, but the painful process of making gamepads work with the game does as it is almost mandatory to use a gamepad to enjoy the game at all, and do not even get started on the hunger system that makes exploring, which is one of the core pillars of enjoyment in the genre heavily, punishable. In the end, while it is easy to want to like Hyakki Castle and see how it could have been a great game, it is too hard to not see that it isn't a good game.

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Unscored
Dec 6, 2017

If you're in for some meditative classic gaming, Hyakki Castle is for you. It's a game that knows exactly what it is, and it has no interest in punishing you or making you feel like you don't get it. It's a friendly, old-style game that wants you to succeed, and that seems to be less and less present now. It also has cat people in it.

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