The Eternal Castle [REMASTERED] is a relatively simple action/adventure game with an atmosphere unlike anything else I've played.

This game is the embodiment of the phrase "less is more" in terms of visuals, mechanics, plot and even length. The absence of any real detail on the world or characters combined with the ultra-minimalist depictions of a foreign and apocalyptic setting somehow kept me engaged and left me wanting to know more.

The game features a gorgeous, unique pixelized artstyle, limited to just four colors at a time. The animations are smooth and as vivid as you could expect given the limitations of the style. The primitive rendering of the world provided gives you just enough to paint a picture with your imagination.

Unfortunately, there are times in the game where the limited detail and color palette provide frustratingly little hint to the presence critical gameplay elements like instant-death traps. Once you know where a trap is, it's usually simple enough to avoid it the second time around, but it feels like a somewhat cheap trick rather than a real gameplay challenge.

What really brings The Eternal Castle to life is the soundtrack and soundscape. Paired with the minimalist visuals, the sounds take center stage and pull you into the world. The synth-heavy soundtrack instantly places you in the cinematic era of the supposed (but in reality non-existent) original game, though with fantastic production.

The controls are simple enough and work well enough, though I did have some frustration with the delayed response of certain actions like jumping and turning around, which appear to be in place in part for challenge and in part simply to allow for smooth animation transitions.

The game is challenging, but never unfair, other than the occasional cheap death-traps mentioned earlier. Combat is fast and can be challenging, but is simple in mechanics. The melee combat strikes a strange balance between satisfying and clunky, but I found it enjoyable. Ranged combat is even simpler, but less frequent due to limited ammo in all but one of the levels. Bosses provided a unique spin on things and a few even proved to be quite difficult.

The Eternal Castle is quite quick to finish - I expect most people will be able to beat it in around two or three hours, tops. The shortness of the game encourages replaying, and achievements should increase the longevity. I expect I will play through the game at least once more, as I enjoyed it quite a bit. I definitely encourage anyone who enjoys classic action games to give this a try - it's a worthwhile experience!