Castaway Troops REVIEW - Castaway meets Snake?

Developer: Likwid Games
Publisher: Likwid Games
Format: PC (browser/flash)

Well, this game came out of nowhere. I had no idea that this was coming out nor any idea how much it makes me happy to play another Castaway game. Like every Castaway game in the series, it's similar to the rest only in how it's completely different from the others. The unique twist on this game in this ever so unique series is heavily inspired by the classic game of Snake. You heard me right. Castaway Troops is like Snake.

Gameplay is really the part of the game that makes Castaway Troops so similar to Snake. The iconic Castaway protagonist is always marching along, and all you really do is make sure he doesn't hit anything, as everything else is automatic. You can move in any direction out of up, dow, left, and right given that the direction isn't the total opposite of the current direction your marching. Without the 180 degree turnarounds, you're forced to move in a particular manner akin to that in none other than the game Snake. It can take some getting used to.

Your goal in each level is to kill all of the enemies that spawn. Attacking is automatic, so most of the time that isn't problematic. The thing that can really screw you over is how almost all deaths are one-hit kills. Run into anything, and you die. As levels progress they can throw in things like lakes, trees, or even lava! While there are enemies that shoot at you and can even to elemental damage, it's almost never enough to kill you, so instant deaths are the only real ones.

The gameplay can really be simplified into "don't run into walls as you kill things", but this can become a challenge as it can be easy at times to screw up amongst the mess of enemies and coins you have to chase.

Killing enemies will result in them exploding into something. They mostly explode into a mass of coins, but can also explode into things like gems or eggs. All of these things are really simple. Coins obviously buy you stuff, a gem deals the effects of that element to every enemy on the level, and the eggs catch whatever monster dropped it, spawning a little minion that follows you. Each one of these things are useful to various degrees.

Enemies come in baby and adult forms, and progressively get more dangerous. Some enemies run fast, others spit to attack. Some shoot lasers, and others just walk around. Each one works slightly differently and are always satisfying to kill, as well as keep as a pet. When they're a pet they really just do what they'd do as an enemy, except they'd also follow you. Pretty simple.

Weapons and armor can be bought with coins, and thankfully this game has a lot of them. Sadly, this game pulls a Devious Dungeon on us and doesn't let us see any weapon or armor set we don't own except for the one we can buy next, forcing the player to go through all of them. Also like Devious Dungeon, all of the weapons and armor sets work relatively the same. They all look awesome, and getting each next one is fun, so it's not too bad that they don't change up the play style or anything.

Aesthetics are superb. Visuals utilize the staple art style that the series has had since the second game, which is of course beautifully hand-drawn art with gorgeous colors and swell animation. The music is also amazing. The amazing orchestra done for the gameplay segments is downright enchanting, wondrous, and beautiful. Truly fitting for this game, just like the piece done for the level select screen, which has a more booming orchestra portraying grandeur and mystery amazingly.

One thing worth mentioning is that the longer this game is played, the more glitches will show up. Some aren't too bad, but some can be game breaking or just flat-out frustrating. It'd be really nice to see some patches for these, as they can truly crash the quality of the experience later in the game.

This game isn't that long, with each level lasting around 30-50 seconds. There are five worlds with five levels in each, totaling at twenty-five levels. It can take a while to actually beat a level, but once you're on a roll the only thing that can stop you are glitches. Despite it's size this game is actually a decently fun play.

Overall this is a decently fun play. It's got solid gameplay, amazing aesthetics, and interesting enemies, armor sets, and weapons. It's only problem is the streamlined means of unlocking weapons as well as it's plethora of glitches. Other than that it's golden, especially to fans of the Castaway series!

Play Castaway Troops HERE