Castaway Review – Review – Nintendo World Report

It’s not uncommon for indie developers to take a well-known formula and put a new or different spin on it. In the case of Castaway, from the solo developer at Canari Games, the top-down Zelda format is put under the shrink ray to create something like Link’s Awakening in miniature form. Consisting of two parts, Castaway tasks players with completing a more traditional Zelda experience in The Island, which takes less than an hour to finish, and then The Tower, which takes the same mechanics into a multi-floor dungeon. If you go into it expecting a more bite-sized experience, Castaway certainly delivers on what it sets out to do.

When the hero’s spaceship is shot down, he and fragments of the ship crash land on a colorful island. The primary quest involves hunting down the hero’s hound, who is dog-napped by a band of pterodactyl-looking creatures. The same beasts steal away your hookshot and pickaxe, too, and so you set out to scour the tiny island so you can reunite with your beloved pooch and some familiar tools.

The slow walking speed of the hero makes your rolling move a necessity, for speedrunners in particular. The sword swing feels good, but the enemy variety does leave something to be desired. The puzzles you encounter often involve pushing pink-hued boulders to create a path for you to walk through. When you make your way into the first dungeon, it’s only a handful of screens before you encounter the boss, earn an extra heart for your life meter, and head back outside to see what paths are now open to you.

After completing The Island, you’ll unlock The Tower, which shrinks your heart meter down to two while leaving you with your trio of weapons/tools. Across 50 floors, you battle minor enemies, avoid spiked floors, and collect coins to level up and either boost your stats or refill your health. It only took a handful of tries for me to finish The Tower, but I’d consider myself a seasoned veteran of the genre; others may get more mileage out of it. Nonetheless, I ended up enjoying The Tower portion of Castaway even more than The Island, so it was a nice bonus to have after finishing what is essentially the game’s story mode. What adds more flavor to the package is a handful of settings for playing The Island, including Pacifist and Invincible modes for newer players and Unfair and Speedrun modes for more adept ones.

Visually, Castaway takes clear inspiration from Link’s Awakening and the two Oracle games, but there’s an effective use of color throughout The Island, especially. The soundtrack is appropriately light but epic, and the sound effects make the combat and exploration more enjoyable. The artwork of the static cutscenes that play when you reclaim an item is quite eye-catching, too.

Castaway offers a pleasant way to pass a few hours for those wanting a light Zelda experience or maybe for those who’ve never had one. Its roguelike mode is definitely a highlight if you’re looking for something a bit different, but it’s a good idea not to go into the game as a whole expecting more than a fun diversion. I’d love to see either a new setting for a sequel or new game modes added in the future as there’s a lot to like about the simple charm of this deserted island and its plucky hero.