Castles is an adorable match-three puzzler, but a fairly challenging one – this is certainly not aimed at the casual market. The first 15 levels are quite easy, but the difficulty does spike quite considerably after that, and completing all 50 levels will be a challenge in itself! Want to see if this is a good game for you? Then read our Castles review!
In Castles, you control the builder using the left stick, and he will move the blocks by pulling or pushing them in the direction you want to align the blocks to make them disappear. Each level requires you to clear a set number of symbols or colored blocks, and when you have achieved all objectives, the tower grows by one floor. Every ten levels is a boss battle and beating that boss level earns you a ,much-needed checkpoint. As I mentioned in the intro, the levels get incredibly tough very fast, and the ten level checkpoint gap will sometimes feel as though you are being punished for failing.
Castles has a few game modes for you to have fun with. The Story Mode is interesting as you play as a builder who tries to build the tallest tower possible at the King’s request, but the enemies are not going to let you succeed. Blocks will drop from the sky and as you progress they will drop at a faster pace until it gets to a point where you can’t handle them anymore. If your 5 x 5 grid overfills then it’s game over, and you will have to restart at the last checkpoint you reached.
You can also try Endless mode which encourages you to last for as long as you can (there are even three trophies dedicated to Endless mode)! There’s a tricky Gold trophy to reward you if you manage to last for 7 minutes in Endless mode. Are you good enough to add it to your collection?
If you have a buddy at home, you can have fun with some couch co-op. Overall the game is highly addictive, but completing the full 50 levels poses a serious challenge. Castles will fool you into thinking this is an easy game, and but once those blocks start to drop you’ll learn about its true nature!
Want the best news? Castles has 24 trophies including a Platinum! This really surprised me since I certainly wasn’t expecting it. Castles must be the first match-three game to get the platinum trophy treatment! And no, it will certainly not be an easy one to obtain!
I had a lot of fun with the game for my Castles review on PlayStation 4, and I highly recommend that you get this one if you’re looking for a challenging puzzle game. The fact that it includes a full trophy count will certainly catch the attention of trophy hunters out there!
Disclaimer
This review is based on a PS4 copy of Castles provided by BADLAND GAMES.
