When it comes to platform games, it seems that the harder they are, the better they do with gaming enthusiasts. Maldita Castilla EX: Cursed Castile is no exception to that rule. Developed by Locamalito as a tribute to games such as Shinobi and other fascinating titles from the early ’80s, Maldita takes you to the medieval era where you fight weird and wonderful legends, mythical creatures and more.
The game centers around you playing as Don Ramiro, a brave knight of the King of Spain (called in-game as Castille), tasked with bringing down these evil creatures that have invaded the land. The story, however vague, seems to play a secondary role to the actual gameplay experience, or so I felt. The story continues as to why these creatures have spawned in the plains and castles of Spain. The grief and sorrows of a young witch were turned into the key that unlocked the gates to Hell, and so with that, these demons flooded the world.
The game takes on a unique visual representation of games of old, and it felt like a good pair of worn-in shoes when I started playing it. However, I feel that these games aren’t best suited for the controllers of today like they were on platforms like the NES. With the Xbox One controller, I felt that the character wouldn’t do exactly what I expected. For instance, in the forth level, where you get to the turtles in the river, jumping on them was rage-inducing because landing on one in some cases would end with you sliding down into the water and dying. Beyond that, I have to warn you, this game is extremely difficult, but I would suggest you take things slow because rushing will only end up with you having to start over. But as a good representation of the old days, those titles were difficult as well. You will play for hours, trying and failing to bring down a spinning metal man until you take a deep breath and focus on what you actually need to do.
However, as one of the 8-bit platform titles I’ve started playing in the last few days, I have to admit that I do enjoy Maldita Castilla, even though I felt like throwing my controller through the display at times. Music and sound are as authentic as the style, and the game really conveys a unique experience. It follows games like Mighty No. 9 and others this generation that pushes the player to stop and think, in a world where “faster is better”.
The game features six levels, each introducing a new enemy type—you’ll learn to hate those harpies—and ends in a boss fight in between. Some of these levels have two or more additional smaller boss fights. Each level is broken down into sections that allow you to save your progress. However, annoyingly so, if you were to reach one of these said “checkpoints”, your progress would not completely save until you’ve completed the entire level, which adds to the frustration. I would like an update where the progress is saved, without having to do the entire level over when you’ve reached some milestone. So expect to leave the game minimized, thanks to the wonderful resume feature built into the Xbox One. This makes the game playable and lowers the difficulty by compensating for the odd save system.
The game has previously received critical acclaim, and rightfully so. In my opinion, it is definitely one of the most unique games out on the console right now, and even with my mental breakdowns after dying over 300 times in this game, I have to admit this is a work of gaming magic.
Summary
Maldita Castilla EX: Cursed Castile won’t blow your socks off in the visuals department. The game hearkens back to a time when visuals played second fiddle to actual story—see the first Final Fantasy—and gameplay was so important that it could make or break a game. Maldita Castilla masterfully fulfills its goal of offering us an experience that few of us can remember. Gamers who mastered the precise movement in games such as these will feel right at home, and players who enjoy fast-paced titles, will enjoy the game forcing them to take a breather.
Maldita Castilla is fun, enjoyable and one of those games that will really give you something to work towards, and when you do defeat that boss in the game, you feel like you actually achieved something worthy of that achievement, even if they don’t give you one.
Dreyer was a regular ICXM contributor between 2016–2017, publishing 139 articles across opinion pieces, game reviews, Windows and PC, and Xbox news. Their work focused on hands-on reviews, platform commentary, and breaking-news reporting during the Xbox One X launch year and Microsoft’s wider Play Anywhere / UWP gaming initiative. They post on X as @dreyer_smit.