Castle of Heart

Castle of Heart looks great and offers a stern challenge to those who don't mind repeatedly playing the same level over and over before finally beating it and moving on. There's definitely some fun to be had finding the best route through each stage and delicately picking off enemies, but the constantly-depleting health bar and frustrating combat will have many players giving up and moving onto games which are less harmful to their general well being.

Castle of Heart is a linear but good looking and fun 2.5D action platformer on Nintendo Switch that is worth a try. The game has been improved considerably from the version that was originally released by 7Levels on Nintendo Switch, and while you can certainly feel the Castlevania influence, the game has more to do with Super Castlevania IV than with Symphoni of the Night, so be ready!

Castle of Heart is an entertaining action platformer that has been released exclusively for the Nintendo Switch. The graphics are good, and there's minimal voice acting, which is understandable for an indie release since voice acting would considerably raise the cost of releasing a video game. I liked being able to get weapons from enemies since this helped me to get through some sticky situations, especially when I used the environments to defeat enemies.

Castle of Heart is a good 2D platformer and action game with age-old difficulty and a well-done setting. A classic sword and witchcraft story in a medieval fantasy world, that while not inventing anything new, it does the best it can to be an indie. The game is not without flaws, but neither is it without virtues and possibilities. Recommended.

Clumsy platforming and unbalanced combat are the main weaknesses of this dark fantasy 2.5D platformer.

An average adventure that fails to excite or entice.

Castle of Heart is a good example on why one shouldn't judge a book by its cover: while its visuals look rather appealing, the game's experience quickly becomes an ordeal once the gameplay begins. Due to poor level design, controls that feel very clunky (though in line with the game's premise) and a difficulty level that is frustrating but not challenging, Castle of Heart missed a good opportunity to be an enjoyable experience.

In addition to its insignificant art direction, Castle of Heart can be really frustrating. Indeed, you spend most of your time making your way by fleeing from tenacious enemies and lethal projectiles. Actually, this game is not worth your time. Run, you fools !

I can therefore recommend Castle of Heart only to those who are up for an extreme challenge or who have something to prove to their punk children (or punk parents). It's a beautiful game and the development is almost flawless, but the rewards don't come often enough to help you past the game's brutal difficulty.

With recommended retail price of $14.99USD/EUR, Castle of Heart targets those gamers who seek a more classic experience and 7Level Studios does deliver but just be warned that it does become a little repetitive and the portable mode is a little cluttered.