Castaway Review – Link’s Alternate Adventure

Even if briefly, Castaway invites us to relive a certain game that marked a childhood for the most experienced players.

There are studios that do not hesitate to imitate the old glories. And although at first this phrase may seem derogatory, the truth is that if the game in question is made with care and good taste, it can be something positive. This is what the study tries to do. Canary Islands Games to scam Shipwrecked. A limited version of Link’s Awakening for Game Boy that will surely take us back to those childhood moments. But for how long?

The lost and found office?

When you see some images, I’m sure everyone will think of this great title released by Nintendo in 1993. And it’s no wonder. This time, we will control Martin, a little hero who suffers an emergency landing on an isolated planet. We will wake up on a lonely island with only our sword, but without the rest of the gadgets… nor our pet. Our mission will be explore the islet in search of our belongings and our faithful friend.

Even if we start with just the sword, At Castaway we will be receiving the rest of the items soon. There will be a pickaxe to break the hardest stones and a hook to transport us to areas that would otherwise be inaccessible. To get these gadgets, we will have to delve into caves where a series of riddles await us accompanied by the typical final boss on guard.

Express route around the island

So far, everything seems to be going well. The sets are magnificent, the mastery is very good and these reminiscences of the past give us good vibrations. But it’s a pity that these dungeons are so easy to do. And it’s not easy anymore, but short. In half an hour we will have completed the base game, with a generic slap of reality to our incredulous faces. Fortunately, we will have more than the story mode.

Go up without an elevator

I’m not a big fan of adding extra game modes that artificially extend the game’s lifespan. In Castaway, this happens halfway, since If we complete the tour mode, we will see the true ending of the adventure. And this is where you have to think a little more strategically about combat, since Mismanagement of our powers or a bad fight can ruin our ascension.

This tour mode concerns a 50-story climb where we will have to eliminate all the enemies that will appear on each floor. Yes indeed, They will take away all the extra hearts we have earned and our weapon bonuses. Every time we kill a rival, he will throw money that we will convert into experience once we have enough coins. And through experience we will improve the power of our sword, pickaxe, hook, health, etc. With this help, we must reach the 51st floor, where the three great beasts live who have shaped the island to their liking.

Play the way you want. Play at your own pace.

If you don’t like this extra mode, there are still options in the main adventure. In addition to the standard difficulty, it has a pacifist mode with practically no enemies (especially useful for the little ones in the house), as well as another where the difficulty increases by a few integers. And if you want to play the game at full speed, nothing better than speedrunner mode.

Conclusion of the castaways

Canari Games invites us to live an adventure that will remind us of the Game Boy classic Link’s Awakening. The graphics, the gameplay, the music… everything is taken care of down to the smallest detail and transports us to that magical 1993. It’s a shame that it’s so short, since in half an hour we will have finished the main story. Then we have the Tour mode, where we will go up floor after floor until we reach the villain on duty. This aspect is not as original as the main adventure, although it will be important if we want to see the real ending. In the end, Castaway has its lights and shadows, but what I have no doubt about is that I will closely follow everything the studio can do following this project.

We thank Canari Games for the code provided to perform this analysis.