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Castle In The Darkness |OT| - Metroidvania by Nicalis / artist of Binding of Isaac

duckroll

Member
Fuck that garbage bonus heart piece in Ruth's. I can get it to every single time. No problems. But it's the way back that gets me killed. It's so demotivating and lame.
 
Fuck that garbage bonus heart piece in Ruth's. I can get it to every single time. No problems. But it's the way back that gets me killed. It's so demotivating and lame.
Haha. I just got pass that on my first try like 5 min ago.
I'm not sure if the hand disappearing was intended though.
 

Zomba13

Member
Decided to get this after watching half of the Giant Bomb quick look. Great game. I'm in the castle at the moment. I think I've missed some secret areas and what not from earlier because I was expecting to get access to the warp statues by now so I could travel back. I need to go back to the clock tower and the House of Ruth.
 
Decided to get this after watching half of the Giant Bomb quick look. Great game. I'm in the castle at the moment. I think I've missed some secret areas and what not from earlier because I was expecting to get access to the warp statues by now so I could travel back. I need to go back to the clock tower and the House of Ruth.
Hopefully not too much of a spoiler, but keep progressing until you get the double jump.
Most (if not all) of the exploration is locked until you get that upgrade.

After that, go wild with backtracking.
 

Neoweee

Member
I like it, but it can be really annoying sometimes. Too many "gotcha!" moments of spikes being right after a screen transition, or appear when I hit a switch, etc.

I wish I had gone through to backtrack right after getting the double jump. Instead, I progressed up this really annoying tower, and am at a boss with a completely absurd healthpool. If I leave to explore, I'll have to make it back up here, which I don't want to do. So, instead, I'll just bang my head against the boss for a bit.

That's kind of what I liked about Demons' Souls and Dark Souls 2 over DkS1. I like fast travel points being all over the place, because it lets me do things I want to do without fighting through areas I've already completed.

Still, it was worth the $5. Very good compared to many of the NES games it is inspired by. The design is quite a bit more modern, other than the lack of a map.
 

Neoweee

Member
I wouldn't bother fighting the crab unless you have X-sword.

This is the floating Knight guy. It's been a while since the last warp point.

He could have a weakness, but it isn't against the items I have now, and his health pool is like 7x what previous bosses had.
 

Neoweee

Member
Oh, I see. In that case, it shouldn't matter if you leave, since it's easy to get back up to him. But you should be able to beat him using the
Executioner's Axe.

It just takes so, so many hits. I have the axe, I can do it with some practice, but my god that is a ton of hits. Is there a reliable move to dodge the storm of swords?
 

Neoweee

Member
Wait, maybe you're talking about the guy with the floating shield, not the guy at the top of the Crystal Tower? In that case, you'll find it a lot easier if you go back and get the Explosion Fire magic. That's in the
House of Ruth.

Yeah, floating shield guy. It's been a while since the teleporter. I got the spell in the lower part of the House of Ruth, but I know there's more to do with the double jump.
 

duckroll

Member
Cleared the Crystal Tower, cleared the Torture Chambers, beat the game to see the normal ending first, 97% complete rate. I'm missing one Lost Page (the one under the Sorcerer's Quarters, I can NEVER make that jump under the switch... ##*%$&(#), the bonus heart piece in the chest in Ruth's House (once again, &#^$*(#&^$(@^#*(^@(*%&#*$&#), and I'm missing a weapon (probably the one I didn't buy from the merchant in the Grand Hall). I think that's all. Got all the Matt's Keys too, so I should probably go visit the dev room. THIS GAME WILL NOT DESTROY MY SPIRIT!!!!
 

Kyolux

Member
I tried a bit of Sorcerer's Quarter last night before going to bed.

Is that the jump in the hole at the start of the Sorcerer's Quarter section? I've tried that jump 6-7 times and always fail at it.

Also tried the different paths further, I felt despair at the difficulty of all the paths, but it doesn't seem impossible either. Just didn't know which to focus on first.
 

morikaze

Banned
I'm in the Sorceror's area of the castle and i'm afraid i'm stuck. I managed to get in with some pixel perfect jumping and now I can't leave from the save room and the jumps in the rooms ahead seem almost impossible leading me to think that maybe there are some items I missed around the castle. I haven't used the warps yet to check many old areas. I'm hoping that there isn't some gliding or jump assisting item besides the wing boots that i'm supposed to have before I get in here, otherwise I think i'm stuck. It would be a lot nicer if I just have to jump harder.
 

morikaze

Banned
Do you by any chance have the Heavy Armor equipped?

I do! ... let me try to take that off. I managed to get past the two large spike pits before the next save point using double jump to damage bouncing off of fireballs but I think this will solve it thanks. Didn't realize the heavy armor literally weighed you down like the description says, nice touch.
 

loganclaws

Plane Escape Torment
Great game, I 100% yesterday and tempted to go through new game +. You see changes right away and get some cool gear at the beginning of the game.
 

monlo

Member
Is this game actually an open map like a metroidvania? Or is it more like a mega man style linear stage progression?
 
Spent about seven hours on the game tonight. Loved it initially hence the gaming marathon but now it's getting just too damn hard. Retro hard. I'm in Windy Ruins and I'm completely stuck and unable to progress. Here's an outline of my predicament:

So there's a save point and then several rooms to clear that leads to the giant eye boss that fires projectiles at you. It's in the sequence with the chest that has the Torch. There's a save point then those several screens. By the time you get to the giant eye boss the enemies and hazards have depleted your health so you have like two bars remaining and then of course it's instakill at the boss. Also I had the Moon Bow equipped and my arrows fired at the boss did zero damage. Help anyone?

For reference I've been using a guide and backtracking to get additional HP boosts and items and so on. The game is pretty fucking awesome but my God is it hard. I haven't played a game this hard since I owned a NES back in the nineties but I guess that was the developer's objective? Shovel Knight I'd class as challenging. This my God is just hard.

Is there a specific upgrade I'm missing? Do I need more HP or something?
 
So just a follow up. Reading the Steam discussion forums it seems on my way to Windy Ruins I somehow missed The Cave of the Great White Ape, The Sunken Temple and the Torture Chambers. So like three levels together with all of their health and armor upgrades. I also only have the Tunic still when I'm guessing I need better armor than that.

Does anyone know how to get to the Torture Chambers. It's that dark place where you need the Torch right? Where is that?
 

Kyolux

Member
Spent about seven hours on the game tonight. Loved it initially hence the gaming marathon but now it's getting just too damn hard. Retro hard. I'm in Windy Ruins and I'm completely stuck and unable to progress. Here's an outline of my predicament:

So there's a save point and then several rooms to clear that leads to the giant eye boss that fires projectiles at you. It's in the sequence with the chest that has the Torch. There's a save point then those several screens. By the time you get to the giant eye boss the enemies and hazards have depleted your health so you have like two bars remaining and then of course it's instakill at the boss. Also I had the Moon Bow equipped and my arrows fired at the boss did zero damage. Help anyone?

For reference I've been using a guide and backtracking to get additional HP boosts and items and so on. The game is pretty fucking awesome but my God is it hard. I haven't played a game this hard since I owned a NES back in the nineties but I guess that was the developer's objective? Shovel Knight I'd class as challenging. This my God is just hard.

Is there a specific upgrade I'm missing? Do I need more HP or something?

Go get the dream armor (buy the 20k dreamstone and go sleep at the inn) and gungnir (13k, the seller is in the section before windy ruins).. if you need money, farm the purple boxer that opens its mouth to shoot a crescent beam, that's what I did, and it didn't take too long to get enough money for both (I was at 17k to start with, though).

With these two things, it's cake.
 
Go get the dream armor (buy the 20k dreamstone and go sleep at the inn) and gungnir (13k, the seller is in the section before windy ruins).. if you need money, farm the purple boxer that opens its mouth to shoot a crescent beam, that's what I did, and it didn't take too long to get enough money for both (I was at 17k to start with, though).

With these two things, it's cake.

Thank you! Followed your advice and got the Dream Armor. I also backtracked massively (outlined in my earlier post) to the levels I missed on the way to Windy Ruins. I boosted my HP gauge by a factor of 10 so when I hit Windy Ruins again I'll have massively boosted armor and health. The task now is to get that super sword you mentioned so I can tear through the enemies on the way to that boss. I think that might be enough for today (played for hours now). Love this game but it's seriously hard. The challenge however is what makes it addictive.

It's a beyond impressive effort for just one developer. Close to Shovel Knight in quality.
 

Kyolux

Member
Thank you! Followed your advice and got the Dream Armor. I also backtracked massively (outlined in my earlier post) to the levels I missed on the way to Windy Ruins. I boosted my HP gauge by a factor of 10 so when I hit Windy Ruins again I'll have massively boosted armor and health. The task now is to get that super sword you mentioned so I can tear through the enemies on the way to that boss. I think that might be enough for today (played for hours now). Love this game but it's seriously hard. The challenge however is what makes it addictive.

It's a beyond impressive effort for just one developer. Close to Shovel Knight in quality.

I agree, but I feel the game feels more like a light-la mulana than Shovel Knight, which had a much more smaller team. Also some Battle Kid vibes too, and there's even a reference to that game I believe, as there's a corpse or skeleton that's named Timmy at some point. Unless that references something else?

Anyway, you mentioned The Cave of the Great White Ape? I'm not sure I've went there, the name doesn't really ring a bell, is that the ice cave?
 
I don't mind the various easter eggs in the game, but the ones about Internet memes turned me off a bit. Those felt really out of place.
 
I agree, but I feel the game feels more like a light-la mulana than Shovel Knight, which had a much more smaller team. Also some Battle Kid vibes too, and there's even a reference to that game I believe, as there's a corpse or skeleton that's named Timmy at some point. Unless that references something else?

Anyway, you mentioned The Cave of the Great White Ape? I'm not sure I've went there, the name doesn't really ring a bell, is that the ice cave?

Yeah it's just the ice cave that you access via the The Cave of Serpents. The short ice level where you have to fireball the frozen enemies. If you've been to the ice cave then you would have been there. I can't believe how many levels I missed on the way to Windy Ruins. I was thinking last night after I finished my marathon play session (God I love this game) about why I found the level so difficult but if you compare the stats I had at the time compared to the stats I probably should have had:

First run. Attack (Moon Bow): 4. Defense (Green Tunic): 4. HP: 26.
Second run: Attack (Gungnir): 10. Defense (Dream Armor: 7). HP: 38.

It's just no wonder I found the level impossible. Missing all those levels complete with their HP upgrades made me extremely weak for a level that late in the game. I should have known when I saw the save file showing 30% completion at Windy Ruins which is quite late in the game. The save file now shows 60%. Anyway it's an amazing game. So much better than I thought it would be. It's the first game of its kind I've enjoyed since Shovel Knight. I know the games as you say are quite different but the platforming mechanics and RPG-style upgrades are very similar.

Just love these kind of games. Reminds me of my childhood when I played Wonderboy in Monster World.
 

Kyolux

Member
Yeah it's just the ice cave that you access via the The Cave of Serpents. The short ice level where you have to fireball the frozen enemies. If you've been to the ice cave then you would have been there. I can't believe how many levels I missed on the way to Windy Ruins. I was thinking last night after I finished my marathon play session (God I love this game) about why I found the level so difficult but if you compare the stats I had at the time compared to the stats I probably should have had:

First run. Attack (Moon Bow): 4. Defense (Green Tunic): 4. HP: 26.
Second run: Attack (Gungnir): 10. Defense (Dream Armor: 7). HP: 38.

It's just no wonder I found the level impossible. Missing all those levels complete with their HP upgrades made me extremely weak for a level that late in the game. I should have known when I saw the save file showing 30% completion at Windy Ruins which is quite late in the game. The save file now shows 60%. Anyway it's an amazing game. So much better than I thought it would be. It's the first game of its kind I've enjoyed since Shovel Knight. I know the games as you say are quite different but the platforming mechanics and RPG-style upgrades are very similar.

Just love these kind of games. Reminds me of my childhood when I played Wonderboy in Monster World.

Did you start the Sorcerer's quarter? It has me raging, ugh! I went back to do the Torture Chamber, but I stopped playing before I managed to make my way back.

As for Wonderboy in Monster World, look out for Monster Boy (creator of the original Monster World is working on it), which should release this year (or early next year), formerly on Kickstarter as Flying Hamster II if you like those kind of games.
 
I'm watching the (short) end credits and still baffled basically one guy made this incredible game.

Makes it sad when you realize AAA companies like Konami won't try out another sprite-based sidescrolling Metroidvania for PC or PSN/XBL.
 

Kyolux

Member
I'm watching the (short) end credits and still baffled basically one guy made this incredible game.

Makes it sad when you realize AAA companies like Konami won't try out another sprite-based sidescrolling Metroidvania for PC or PSN/XBL.

I rather enjoy the one-man one-vision thing. Put too many cooks in the kitchen..

The downside is that not a lot of people out there wants to do this alone, since it takes years of development... Kudos to guys like him that push through.
 
Just started playing this and wow you die a lot. Getting the asshole mario vibes where im rushing a fast respawn into the next room and jumping into spikes by not paying attention lol. That being said, game is good retro fun and fair in its difficult so far.
 

Zomba13

Member
So I've got the double jump and have been back tracking and exploring. Found some weird secret/easter egg things like Balrog from Cave Story and a weird space man like thing (maybe a robot or an angel?) that flew away.

Anyway, I'm loving everything about this game and is probably the best game I've played this year.
 
So for the hell of it going to list some top features.

Best Music:
Sunken Temple. So damn good. Has that retro Mega Man charm to it.
Runner up (and very close second) has to be the Argos Forest one.

Best Area:
I really liked the initial zone Alexandria.
It set up the game perfectly and had some nice areas to it.
Sunken Temple is the runner up, with the TMNT electric seaweed. :)

Most useful attack:
Explosion Fire Magic.
Destroys every boss. Unbalanced ? Probably.
 
Finished for the first time. 64%, 5:21. 230 deaths.

Game is terrific. Boss hp in the sorcerer tower is kinda bullshit tho.

Absolutely fascinating that so few people worked on this game.
 
I finally finished it 100%. (At least the first run through.)

I think a lot of complaints people have about the bosses being too hard is just because they don't have armor / weapons / magic they could, which makes it far easier.

As far as the one hit kill spikes, I get that. But I liken it to the Medusa heads knocking you back and off the screen for a death in the original Castlevania. Still a one hit kill, only this time it really isn't a surprise. The dungeon with the most spikes isn't even that hard, Aben Hawkins and the 1001 Spikes makes that dungeon look like very easy mode.

I guess if you beat all the Demos in the secrets menu you unlock more, and there is an item you only unlock by beating new game + w/o dying.

I plan on doing a new game plus run eventually.

Also, Matt Kap, the main person behind the game, says to let Nicalis know if you guys want the game on other consoles. I suggest shooting them a message or tweet.
 

JazzmanZ

Member
So uh how do I make the game run my Wired Xbox 360 controller? It seems to only respond to left and right movement but not jump or attack.
 
Did you start the Sorcerer's quarter? It has me raging, ugh! I went back to do the Torture Chamber, but I stopped playing before I managed to make my way back.

As for Wonderboy in Monster World, look out for Monster Boy (creator of the original Monster World is working on it), which should release this year (or early next year), formerly on Kickstarter as Flying Hamster II if you like those kind of games.

Monster Boy is definitely on my radar. Massive fan of the Monster World series so I seriously can't wait to hear more about that one. I have the thread subscribed just in case any news comes out.

As for the Sorcerer's Quarter it too had me raging at my control pad. There are two paths (one leading to the crab boss and one leading to the finale) and both are equally infuriating. Whilst Windy Ruins could simply be completed by just getting some upgrades Sorcerer's Quarter is hardcore spike-laden retro platforming action and whilst I managed to reach both bosses and the "thank fucking God" warp point just before the final boss the level was that frustrating it kind of changed my opinion on the game.

I still think Castle in the Darkness is one hell of an achievement particularly for just one developer and a good game overall. However Sorcerer's Quarter was the point where I decided the difficulty is ramped up way too high. I've been hearing complaints that the level design and spike placement is "mean" and I think that's the perfect way to describe it. It feels like the levels are designed to kill you rapidly in every screen. Save points help but sometimes they're intentionally spaced way too far apart so you're dying repeatedly via trial and error before successfully completing an area.

Shovel Knight is challenging. This game is just hard. Some of the endgame bosses are just impossible even with a maxed out character (crab boss in Sorcerer's Quarter, Guardian at the top of the Crystal Tower). So yeah I think ultimately I'm done with the game. I stopped enjoying it at some point around the endgame. It was fun while it lasted but the difficulty spiked way too high for the remainder of the game to be enjoyable.

On a more positive note the developer is planning DLC and content updates so I'm excited for those.
 

Kyolux

Member
Monster Boy is definitely on my radar. Massive fan of the Monster World series so I seriously can't wait to hear more about that one. I have the thread subscribed just in case any news comes out.

As for the Sorcerer's Quarter it too had me raging at my control pad. There are two paths (one leading to the crab boss and one leading to the finale) and both are equally infuriating. Whilst Windy Ruins could simply be completed by just getting some upgrades Sorcerer's Quarter is hardcore spike-laden retro platforming action and whilst I managed to reach both bosses and the "thank fucking God" warp point just before the final boss the level was that frustrating it kind of changed my opinion on the game.

I still think Castle in the Darkness is one hell of an achievement particularly for just one developer and a good game overall. However Sorcerer's Quarter was the point where I decided the difficulty is ramped up way too high. I've been hearing complaints that the level design and spike placement is "mean" and I think that's the perfect way to describe it. It feels like the levels are designed to kill you rapidly in every screen. Save points help but sometimes they're intentionally spaced way too far apart so you're dying repeatedly via trial and error before successfully completing an area.

Shovel Knight is challenging. This game is just hard. Some of the endgame bosses are just impossible even with a maxed out character (crab boss in Sorcerer's Quarter, Guardian at the top of the Crystal Tower). So yeah I think ultimately I'm done with the game. I stopped enjoying it at some point around the endgame. It was fun while it lasted but the difficulty spiked way too high for the remainder of the game to be enjoyable.

On a more positive note the developer is planning DLC and content updates so I'm excited for those.

I actually got 100% (+ the 3 Matt keys) and I'm 84% in NG+, it isn't all that bad once you got the hang of it. The guardian you just gotta use the gale cutter, and for the giant crab, just use x-sword.
 
Anyone else experienced getting stuck in a door loop, where once you walk through a door the game starts instantly sending you back and forth through it without the chance to do anything else? I had one before at the entrance to the House of Ruth which I was able to escape by, like, jumping at the right moment, but now after backtracking to the beginning I've got one at the door to the clock tower and if I can't figure out how to break it I can't get back to the warp point and continue the game. :/
 

Burt

Member
Picked this up during its 50% off the other day, and damn, it's a lot of fun. Love the game's pace and overall feel. I get a chuckle out of the game timer every time I start. Then I feel bad about my total playtime and how quick I could actually get to where ever I am if I just didn't suck.

"37 minutes? That can't be right."

*5 minutes later*

"YOU'VE DIED 102 TIMES"

"Oh, right."
 

manueldelalas

Time Traveler
Finished the game with 99%. I don't have a clue what I'm missing, I have all weapons, armor, magic, items and relics; even the developer keys.

I have the boss achievement and the item achievements. I have 45 HP, apparently you can go up to 50, but some bosses didn't give me hearts... FUUUUUUUUUUUCK.

I'm now doing the house of sin in the prologue.

So far, this is my 2015 GOTY, AWESOME game.

EDIT: I'm an idiot. I forgot to open the HUGE BLUE treasure in the beginning of the crystal tower... New game + now.

EDIT2: Finished 100% in NG+ in 3 hours and then unlocked the book of monsters (AAAAAAAAAAAAARGHHH!!!) in my third run.

I'm done with this game, please make another one.
 

beelzebozo

Jealous Bastard
what a fabulous game. deserves a lot of attention and love. the spikes, though frustrating, do make it super rewarding when you manage to get something done.

is there any better feeling than getting a double jump in a game like this?
 
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