Review: Castaway – Destructoid

If there’s one thing I value in both games and sentences, it’s brevity. Johan Vinet, the solo developer behind Castawaymust share a similar appreciation. The founder of Canari Games (MOON) recently released his latest work, and it’s a spicy little parody of The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening and other portable devices that deliver on their small promises.

Anyone who has ever played a portable computer Zelda game will find a welcome familiarity in the opening scene of Castaway. When we first get control of our plucky little hero, he finds himself on a deserted beach. Unlike Link, however, he ended up there after his spaceship fell from the sky. Not only was his ship destroyed, but a couple of rampaging pterodactyls saw fit to steal his most important belongings and—please cover John Wick’s eyes for this one—his beloved dog.

Though our hero’s road to revenge is far more G-rated than Wick’s, he’ll still have to pick up a weapon and navigate puzzle-filled paths to reclaim his gear and his pup. The top-down action that ensues serves as a charming homage to Nintendo’s action-RPG series. Castaway is brilliantly colorful and perfectly emulates the Game Boy Color aesthetic of titles like this Oracle of the seasons And Oracle of the Ages — and offers a taste of adventure just strong enough to make the hour-long running time satisfying.

All in all, Martin will pick up three key items during his journey. It all starts with a sword, of course; perfect for taking on the creepy crawlies that come at you in various forms. There’s the standard four-legged enemy, a slightly stronger version that splits into little baby creatures, and a stone-encased one. For the latter, you’ll need your second key item: the pickaxe. A trusty hookshot rounds things out, and by the time you have that, you’ll be able to solve every mystery this small but mighty island can throw at you.

Beyond a modest handful of enemy types, there are a few bosses to contend with before the credits roll. For the most part, they act as echoes of enemies we’ve all fought in the past. There’s a dark serpent that reveals its weak spot after slashing both of your heads. There’s a sea monster – which may or may not be the same serpent, only submerged this time – and so on. The bosses are the perfect summation of what is essentially a light sampler platter of ideas, all begging for some form of expansion.

While some may be wary of the idea of ​​an hour-long game, Castaway explores just the right amount of concepts before it ends. It wouldn’t be so easy to overlook if there were no other options, but there’s a bit more to delve into than just the main game. In addition to toggling between different difficulty settings – including an “Unfair” mode where you only take one hit before dying – there’s a Speedrun mode for those who want to roll through as quickly as possible.

The real meat is in The Tower. This is the other side of the coin to Castaway‘s quest, where players are given two hearts and tasked with getting as far as possible up an increasingly difficult tower. Those who have mastered similar games shouldn’t have too much trouble, but it’s a great way to keep the action moving. You can also spend more time on all of your items, in case you felt like the hookshot came a little too late to make the most of it.

When it all comes together, Castaway feels just substantial enough to recommend. Many will still find it too short, but it’s not all bad if your only real complaint is that you want more. I love projects like this and would love to see more of them in the future. You can really tell when a developer channels something they love and goes out of their way to put their own spin on it and show everyone what they can do with a specific set of tools. If this proves successful, I really hope Vinet gets a chance to revisit the world, or at least one along those lines. But for now, I can at least rest easy knowing I got my dog ​​back before he could even miss me.

_{(This review is based on a publisher-provided version of the game.)}