The Eternal Castle Remastered Reviews
Working as a throwback to games from a much earlier era that were the first to dabble in a cinematic adventure experience The Eternal Castle will probably feel quite familiar to fans of the likes of Out of this World or even earlier fare like Prince of Persia...
The Eternal Castle [Remastered] is nostalgia trip that’s mysterious, brutal, and sometimes even enjoyable. It’s a hard game to love, but an easy one to admire. It won’t be to everyone’s taste but it certainly stands out in a morass of bland Nintendo eShop releases.
The Eternal Castle [Remastered] is a mysterious cinematic platformer. The main character needs to find parts to repair their ship. In doing so, they will encounter ferocious beasts, find fascinating characters, and uncover the secrets of the world around them. Does The Eternal Castle [Remastered] stand the test of time? Find out in this Rapid Review.
This faux-remake does what it sets out to do eerily well. There's just the question of whether that goal was worth achieving.
Confusing marketing and a visual choice that impedes while in motion will probably alienate potential customers. The Eternal Castle [REMASTERED] is targeting a narrow audience, with a 2-bit CGA graphics gimmick. Some will enjoy it a great deal. Others, like myself, will develop eye strain, and end up reaching for FLASHBACK instead.
The Eternal Castle Remastered delivers a faithful MS-DOS inspired title. That means it comes with all the issues those games carried with them. If it was simply a visual representation with modern game mechanics, The Eternal Castle Remastered could have been an amazing title, but alas, the broken platforming, melee combat that sees you button mashing until you win an encounter and gunplay that leaves you running for your life more often then holding your ground all conspire to make The Eternal Castle Remastered feel desperately dated. The unique art design is visually appealing, and when the electronic music plays, it sounds incredible. Unfortunately though, it's not enough to save The Eternal Castle from being a below-average title.
If this was the “remastered” version of The Eternal Castle, I would hate to see what the original was like. The best thing about this was the marketing gimmick and the music.
Watch a video of someone playing The Eternal Castle [REMASTERED], and you'll love it. The faux-retro, 2-bit colour palette has been used to paint a dark, grungy, and deeply atmospheric post-apocalyptic Earth, whose style will surely be appreciated by - very - old-school PC gamers. A great art style can never replace great game design, however. The visuals make it hard to understand what's going on, leading to even more trial-and-error that's already needed, not to mentions that the controls are a bit of a mess. There are things to like here, but the ride isn't usually that exciting.
The Eternal Castle Remastered is a fascinating game that is sure to please nostalgic and new players alike.