[Playing…] Damn Castilla

Not long ago I commented in this section Curse of Issyos, a free game created by Locomalito, an independent developer whose list of games is increasing in size, quality and importance year after year.

For many, Locomalito's best work is Damn Castile, a game that I will comment on today and that is especially dedicated to fans of the saga Ghost and Goblins and lovers of platforms and action.

Whoever wants to try the game can download it from here, and if you want to see the other titles by this Spanish author, take a look here.

The story of the game tells us how The Kingdom of Castile has been besieged by infernal beings who are wreaking chaos. The King will entrust his best knights with the mission of restoring peace and we (controlling Don Ramiro) will make sure that happens.

Our character to control is Don Ramiro (whose appearance seems like a mix between Sir Arthur and El Cid) and as soon as the game starts we will see that the resemblance to Ghost and Goblins It will start from the first moment, when we find ourselves throwing swords at the living dead that will stalk us, although this game also has a more chivalric touch, since there are many references to Castilian folklore and chivalry novels.

Graphically The game is very similar to what was seen in the arcades in the early 90s and on 16-bit consoles, with somewhat stubborn and very nice characters (even the headless body without hands that runs like crazy trying to crash into us is funny). Locomalito's regular musician, Gryzor87, does his best to add sounds and melodies that complete the time travel and give the right atmosphere to the adventure.

As we progress we will discover chests that will give us improvements, such as the fairy helper (will shoot at enemies) the boots (will make us jump more) or the shield (will protect us from a blow) keys (open doors) points or weapons, of which we have 4 different ones: The sword (flies in a straight line), the ax (makes a semicircular parabola, but is stronger) the hooks (they have a boomerang effect, but have little range) and the balls (which are slow but are also more effective due to their large size).

As soon as we start to get into the game by going through the various levels (towns, swamps, forests) and fighting increasingly rare enemies (including the robotic version of Don Quixote) we will see that after defeating the supposed final enemy, the game shows us the bad ending because we have not gotten Moura's tears (some rectangular jewels). Replaying the game and finding the jewels is an option that the bravest should take as an obligation, not only to prove capable of finishing the game, but because if they do, the door to the last level will be unlocked (hell) where our skill as players will be tested before showing us the true ending.

Fortunately, Locomalito has taken pity on us and the game has infinite continuations. Although it is also true that if we continue many times a messenger of death will appear telling us that we have lost our soul.

As a final joke, the game includes a lot of elements that do not modify the gameplay at all but are funny, they are something like little secrets, such as finding the village of the gamusinos, the lady of the lake or the book of chivalric novels. These items only function as personal achievements, for those who want to delve even deeper into the game.

Damn Castile It is a very good direct game, fast, fun and with reliable controls (Don Ramiro is much more agile and capable than Sir Arthur when it comes to jumping between platforms) so it is not surprising that despite its origin as a homebrew it has reached commercial consoles such as Xbox One. The console version is known as Damn Castilla EX and it has some additions to the original, such as two extra levels.

I recommend this game to anyone who enjoys platforms, action or has wasted their money, time and patience on the games in the series. Ghost and Goblins and the like.