Darkestville Castle

 PC
Darkestville Castle Image
Metascore
68

Mixed or average reviews - based on 6 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 20 Ratings

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  • Summary: Like any decent demon Cid spends his nights performing all kind of evil deeds to the peaceful people of Darkestville. Little does he know that his old arch enemy is about to change his life forever.

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6
  1. COGconnected
    Oct 6, 2017
    75
    When all is said and done, Darkestville Castle adeptly invites the player to think outside the box. There’s a good story, great dialogue, and an interesting world to discover. On the downside, there’s no real choice involved, and it transitions into an experience where solving problems is a matter of clicking everything on-screen—no elaborate navigation necessary. However, if you enjoy Point and Click and clever humor, I don’t see a downside to this new adventure.
  2. Riot Pixels
    Nov 17, 2017
    70
    Short and light on the puzzles, Darkestville Castle will hardly surprise point-and-click veterans. On the flipside, it has a quirky world filled with quirky, witty characters.
  3. Adventure Gamers
    Dec 11, 2017
    70
    Though the gameplay isn’t particularly inspired, Darkestville Castle is a winner thanks to its prank-prone principal character, delightful cartoon environments, and witty humour.
  4. Game World Navigator Magazine
    Mar 2, 2018
    69
    A few jokes really nail it, including the ones that lampshade adventure game tropes. Still, it’s very hit-and-miss, and while the Darkestville Castle can be entertaining, it’s not something to write home about. [Issue#226, p.58]
    All this publication's reviews
  5. The Overpowered Noobs
    Oct 16, 2017
    60
    Even those who don’t normally play point-and-clicks can enjoy Darkestville Castle, but only the die-hard devotees of the genre will be able to persevere past the inevitable and frequent bouts of frustration from struggling through convoluted puzzles. An intriguing story and captivating art style round off this puzzling puzzler.
  6. DarkStation
    Nov 7, 2017
    60
    Darkestville Castle is an admirable take on the point-and-click genre. It provides a unique perspective on the idea of morality in games in the form of a compelling protagonist. Cid immediately impresses thanks to some strong writing and voice acting. However, the game is bogged down by inconsistent storytelling, unintuitive puzzles and pacing issues throughout its runtime, making the merits much more difficult to appreciate. The genre veterans undeterred by Darkestville Castle’s rougher edges will find a charming story about demons and trickery worth experiencing. For everyone else, there are easier and more consistent adventure games deserving your time.

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6
  1. draik
    Sep 27, 2017
    10
    Fresh air to adventure genre. Darkestville castle has a lot of fun moment and really beautiful art. In-game atmosphere and plot steel you onFresh air to adventure genre. Darkestville castle has a lot of fun moment and really beautiful art. In-game atmosphere and plot steel you on many hours. Each character has own unique style. Puzzles in game take your time to think & solve but it's what you expect from adventure game.
    Give it a try!    … Expand
  2. DoneFor
    Jan 4, 2021
    10
    The game is filled with humor, satire and irony. Allusions to current trends and problems. Narratively entices and does not let go until theThe game is filled with humor, satire and irony. Allusions to current trends and problems. Narratively entices and does not let go until the end. The story, atmosphere and dialogue deserve 12/10.
    Only now, in terms of gameplay and puzzles, the game is weak. Sometimes you look for non-obvious answers for a very long time.    … Expand
  4. Unlikeminded
    Dec 14, 2018
    9
    This game is another one of many examples how the metacritc User Score often is much more reliable than what the so called critics have toThis game is another one of many examples how the metacritc User Score often is much more reliable than what the so called critics have to say. Darkestville Castle is an absolute gem in the classic point'n'click adventure genre and it's a shame that the game isn't getting more attention.

    Alas, this is a fate that has befallen the whole genre lately (not counting interactive movie games of course) but to think that some of those "professional" critics reviews on the left could also impact sales negatively is a real shame because a lot of the points most of them make aren't true at all:

    For example one writes Darkestville Castle would be too easy, while another one complains about puzzles being too difficult (or convoluted as he puts it) - Luckily, the truth lies in the middle but those contradictions alone go to show how reliable those opinions often are. And yet another one complains about short length which couldn't be farther away from the truth either. I was very positively surprised by the length of this game but some critics apparently expect similar playing time out of an adventure than out of a multiplayer shooter ... Once more the user score is reflecting the quality of a game much more accurately than the Critic Rewievs.

    Anyway, I for one absolutely adored this game. It took me back to the time of the big Lucas Arts adventures, especially reminding me of Monkey Island 3.

    Pros:

    - Excellent humor, a lot of funny jokes and references
    - Plenty of whimsical or weird characters, each with their own hilarious quirks
    - The puzzles are excellently balanced! They are neither "too easy" nor "convoluted" but strike the perfect balance between difficulty and logic instead, which isn't an easy feat to accomplish.
    - As long as you pay attention to dialogue, item descriptions and other details you'll hardly ever get stuck or will have to try to combine everything with everything. Instead the solutions make sense while still not being too easy on the nose. I absolutely loved the clever puzzle design of Darkestville Castle.
    - Perfect art style with beautiful and detailed 2D backgrounds. All of this fits the theme of the game perfectly.
    - The whole game just oozes charme everywhere and there are funny characters and hilarious encounters around every corner.
    - Game length of at the very least 9 - 10 hours is absolutely great. Especially for an adventure like this where players don't get stuck with boring mini games or completely illogical, nonsensical puzzles to articially stretch playing time.
    - Great, easy to use UI, no pixel hunting (thanks to hotspot function)

    (The few and minor) Cons:

    - The overall story isn't bad at all but also nothing to write home about. Imo a game like this rather lives through its unique, offbeat world and characters anyway though while the story is mostly just a device to move the plot forward. Exactly the same goes for the Monkey Island series and similar Point'n'Click adventures that are considered classics nowadays.
    - Only autosave. I like being able to save by myself too so I can go back in case I get distracted and miss dialogue or something in that vein. Also, if a gamebreaking bug should occur it’s also always safer to be able to load an older save state instead of being forced to rely on a single autosave spot. Luckily the latter was no issue at all with DC.
    - The voice acting usually is top notch but I recall two or three minor side charcters where I thought they could've been cast more fittingly.
    - A few lines are missing from the audio (I caught about three or four of those instances where a single sentence from a conversation was missing and I had to rely on the subtitles instead).

    Both the last two (tbh really small) issues probably just have to do with the fact that adventure games only have a small budget compared to other genres. Considering this and all the pros listed Darkestville Castle is a hidden gem and easily one of my favorite classical Point'n'Click adventures I played over the course of the last few years.

    Very recommended, not only for fans of the genre!    … Expand
  5. OldProphet
    Oct 1, 2017
    9
    This is amazing old school point & click adventure game with the lots of humor, ridiculous characters and crazy dialogs. Darkestville CastleThis is amazing old school point & click adventure game with the lots of humor, ridiculous characters and crazy dialogs. Darkestville Castle is interesting as you play a prankster that Darkestville more or less tolerates. If you love point and click games, you would no doubt love this game.… Expand
  6. RonRicco
    Sep 26, 2017
    9
    This game is kind of adventures I played a lot when I was a kid. Darkestvilleville Castle puzzles are really difficult and it makes you thinkThis game is kind of adventures I played a lot when I was a kid. Darkestvilleville Castle puzzles are really difficult and it makes you think like a lot. If you don’t mind lazy animation, it plays exactly like a classic adventure videogame filled with a hilarious humor! I’d recommend it for both old-school gamers and newbies as they should learn what real adventure game should feel like!… Expand
  7. Zofuz
    Sep 25, 2017
    8
    Charmingly weird and somehow exciting piece of point-and-click genre.
    Since adventure games of Golden Age are slowly coming back as    Charmingly weird and somehow exciting piece of point-and-click genre.
    Since adventure games of Golden Age are slowly coming back as remasters, that was quite a nice experience to check out this brand new indie title. Although, it lacks a lot in visuals and animation, still it definitely was made by true fans of adventure classics with a great care to narrative and characters. I’m pretty sure it would be fun for everyone who enjoyed e.g. Monkey Island series back then in the late 90s.    … Expand

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