Maldita Castilla EX – Cursed Castile Review – Xbox One

For as influential and revered as Ghouls And Ghosts (or Ghosts And Goblins if you’re nasty) has been over the past two decades, it’s surprising how few homages and imitations of that classic title have been developed in all that time. Maldita Castilla aims for homage, and in several cases matches it’s inspiration beat for beat. If it’s been a while since you’ve played a challenging 2D side-scroller, and you’ve had the itch for a good one, this might just be the game you’ve been waiting for.

Maldita Castilla is a throwback 16-bit era homage side-scroller, complete with Sega Genesis sound chip effects and beautiful pixelated visuals. It’s a game that rips out conventional horror and fantasy mythology and replaces all of that with Spanish folklore. Made by the small team at Locomalito, you can feel not only the love for old arcade games, but their culture as well. It all makes for an interesting and refreshing game play experience. Even the main plot is unique, at least as far as video games are concerned: when the fears of a witch form a key that open the gates of the underworld, it’s left up to you and a small band of knights to save the day. Interesting, compelling stuff.

A game of this type is only as good as it’s controls, and that’s where Maldita shines. Controls are snappy and responsive and leave little to no room for human error. Basically, when you screw up… it’s on you. Additionally, the graphics are just the right level of retro while at the same time being modern in approach and design. The sound design cut right to my childhood, as sound effects sounded almost pitch-prefect to those heard on arcade boards and via the Genesis. Great stuff overall, and the game itself is difficult, yet fun and compelling. It’s just difficult enough to keep you playing, while at the same time reminding you of classic games.

While that difficulty can be challenging and rewarding, it can also be off-putting. There are sections and bosses in the game that will definitely try your patience, so be wary if high difficulty spikes turn you off in gaming. Additionally, there are a few moments (since there is the occasional branching path) where the game does a poor job communicating where you can go, and what you can do. Thankfully, these are few and far between.

On the whole, Maldita Castilla is a great game that encourages long play sessions. There are more than a couple throw-your-controller-in-anger moments, but like other difficulty-driven games out there, conquering those moments inspires a deeps sense of accomplishment. If your personal tastes in gaming lines up perfect in this title’s Venn-diagram, get your hands on it and dive in- you’ll have a great time.

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Author: Mike Murphy
Mike Murphy is a freelance writer/artist based in Portland, Or. In addition to handling game reviews, he also writes comics, novels, and short stories. For more information feel free to check out chibicomicspdx.tumblr.com or twitter.com/chibi_mike.

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