A Stone-Cold Platformer Remake?
In an era of remakes, remasters and reimaginings, it stands to reason that eventually those games given the makeover treatment will become more and more obscure. I’ve acutely noticed this of late, and Castle of Heart: Retold continues that trend.
What surprised me is that the original Castle of Heart debuted on the Nintendo Switch a mere seven years ago, back in 2018. Perhaps the opportunity to release the platformer on more consoles gave way to a retelling, albeit with a few improvements, of the original game.
Cosmetic Upgrades, Clunky Core
The upgrades mostly fall into the cosmetic category, boasting better looking animations, character models, lighting and more. There’s also a remixed soundtrack, (allegedly) better controls and rebalanced combat. Sadly, overall these enhancements don’t really impress in the current age of video games.
But let’s slow down a little, and introduce Castle of Heart: Retold to those (which included myself pre review) who aren’t familiar with the game or its original incarnation. Put simply, it’s a platformer played from a side-scrolling perspective. You play as the heroic knight Svaran, who sets out to free his land from the tyrannical rule of the god Chernobog and his evil sorcerer underling.
Slashing, Chasing, and Clunky Controls
Your fight against evil will see Svaran journey across twenty levels, set across four different biomes. There’s very little to do bar make it to the end of each stage, apart from there being four Mokosh crystals to collect in each level. These are fairly well hidden, but a telltale purple sparkle will give you a clue that one is nearby.
At the end of each set of levels, you’ll be thrown into a boss fight which is usually preceded by some trash talk. These are pretty unambitious affairs and something of an anticlimax (especially the final boss) in all honesty.
Combat in Castle of Heart: Retold is fairly basic and repetitive. Svaran can slash with X, which also charges a more powerful attack that can be used to knock down, and sometimes kill, multiple enemies in one strike. He can dual wield melee weapons to do more damage, or pick up a secondary ranged weapon to make use of environmental damage (such as dropping heavy things on the heads of enemies) and taking out airborne pests that swoop in and attack you.
There is also a choice of three different bombs Svaran can chuck at his enemies, which will either set them ablaze, freeze or poison them. Be cautious though, as they can do exactly the same damage to you if you take a wrong step.
As you would expect from a platformer, Castle of Heart: Retold involves a fair bit of jumping about. Whether it’s hopping across collapsing platforms, swinging on ropes or avoiding spike pit traps, the hulking great knight needs to be nimble.
The most enjoyable segments are the “chase” scenes, where Svaran is usually sliding downhill needing to avoid spike walls, gaping chasms and the giant boulder which is in pursuit. Svaran needs to be fleet of foot but this is where things start to fall apart somewhat.
The controls are clunky and Svaran feels overly heavy to control. A scenario which perfectly illustrates this is when you end up trying to take out flying enemies without a ranged weapon. You’ll do well not to take damage as you attempt to jump and slash to take them out before they swoop and do you damage.
The Petrification Curse
The narrative which links the levels in Castle of Heart: Retold is pretty generic to be blunt, drawing upon Slavic legend in telling a tale of a battle against a powerful sorcerer. It’s a classic good versus evil story, but sadly the dialogue and cut scenes do little to stimulate the imagination.
Still, what is more interesting is the fact Svaran is cursed, meaning that his body will slowly turn to stone. The only way to combat this is to keep killing enemies and collect what I can only describe as some sort of magical essence.
As a mechanic this actually works really well, keeping a sense of pace and urgency as well as offering a decent challenge for the player. If Svaran’s health bar depletes, his heart will begin to petrify and he will also lose the ability to chuck projectiles and dual wield weapons. This makes recovery difficult, as enemies become harder to defeat thanks to Svaran’s enfeebled state.
A Repetitive Platformer That Lacks Innovation
Castle of Heart: Retold is no walk in the park, but not entirely at home in the “hard as nails” category either. It took me a few hours to complete and despite some tricky sections, I never became properly stuck. I didn’t feel an urge to go back and try to find the three Mokosh crystals I had missed during my playthrough however. Once the credits rolled I was very much done.
Castle of Heart: Retold rounds off a few rough edges from the original. However, it remains a run of the mill platformer which, despite the intriguing affliction Svaran carries, does little else to innovate or differentiate.
Important Links
Remade and Refined – Castle of Heart: Retold is Brutal! – https://www.thexboxhub.com/remade-and-refined-castle-of-heart-retold-is-brutal/
A Switch Classic Reimagined – Castle of Heart: Retold is More Than Just a Fresh Coat – https://www.thexboxhub.com/a-switch-classic-reimagined-castle-of-heart-retold-is-more-than-just-a-fresh-coat/
Buy from the Xbox Store – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/castle-of-heart-retold/9NHZXL1Z90MR/0010
