Castaway is Really, Really, Really Short. And That Isn't OK

Castaway looks and plays pretty much exactly like Link's Awakening and is very cute and charming. That very obvious inspiration is what caught our attention - especially since it was going to be on Xbox - and we were excited to play it. The only problem is that the trailer that everyone sees and goes "Wow! It's just like Zelda!" is literally everything the game has to offer. Castaway is only about 30-minutes long. It is the intro area of Link's Awakening and that's about it. What a bummer.

Well, it isn't really "it", but it might as well be. Once you beat the very brief initial mode - by beating 3 dungeons and collecting heart pieces and tools including a hook shot - you unlock a roguelike tower mode where you have to climb up 50 floors that get increasingly difficult. This mode can, and will, take you hours to complete because it's freaking hard, but it isn't especially fun.

The opening 30-minutes really does feel like an indie spin on a 2D Zelda game. It's great. But maybe it's only great because it doesn't overstay its welcome. While trying to play through the tower you discover all sorts of little nitpicky issues with the gameplay that just cause frustration by the time you're done with it (likely before you get to floor 50 ...). 

The hit detection is wonky and you'll miss attacks you should be hitting and won't understand why. There isn't any invincibility frames so if you get into a bad situation - like missing an attack you were 99.9% sure would hit - you just get instantly clobbered by enemies and have to start all over again. And the progression to level up your health and weapons in the tower is painfully slow and feels a little unfair - and then you die and have to start over again. 

Castaway looks like a dream game for Zelda fans wanting something new, but it's too short and too clunky and will leave you feeling pretty disappointed. To be fair, the developer has been very open about how short it is, and the game is priced at a very reasonable $7.99 but, again, it's hard not to still be disappointed. I'd say skip it.

Here's our video mini-review -