Castle of Heart: Retold is a side-scrolling platform game developed and published by 7Levels, the team behind the recently released Kong: Survivor Instinct. The game is an enhanced version of the original Castle of Heart, which was released in 2018 for Nintendo Switch. Castle of Heart: Retold will be available on Steam from 3 October 2025.
A curse that must be overcome
In Castle of Heart: Retold, we play as Svaran, a Slavic warrior who has been turned to stone by a curse. This curse affects the entire gameplay, making it very fast-paced. There is no time to stop and think, or even catch your breath — you must always keep moving forward.
The game features a bar that indicates when the curse is about to strike. The effects begin to manifest with the loss of an arm. Although we can still fight with one arm, we must recover quickly to avoid being left defenceless. In order to counteract the curse, we must act quickly to regain health and continue defeating enemies.
This type of mechanic makes the side-scrolling action very frenetic. However, as we become more familiar with the controls, we can also take the time to explore, which allows us to find other weapons and collect Mokosh crystals to increase our maximum health (there are four in each level).
Combat
The combat system in Castle of Heart: Retold features two types of attack: a main attack and a charged attack. These can be performed at any time, even when cornered with only one arm. When the curse gives us a break, it is best to pick up a secondary weapon that can be used either for ranged attacks (a crossbow) or to deliver more powerful attacks with a secondary weapon such as a second sword or an axe.
The ability to roll to knock down enemies, charge up a stun attack and throw bombs is also essential.
You can also block enemy attacks, but in our experience of playing the game, we rarely used this ability, preferring a series of quicker attacks or attacks from behind instead (which are very effective against some enemies, including those with shields).
The combat is balanced and, even when multiple enemies attack at once, the battles are not too difficult. This helps to maintain a good balance in the game, as it is all about speed; otherwise, longer battles would eliminate the ‘urgency’ that is central to the gameplay.
In boss battles, the combat is longer, so we are aided by systems that recover health. Again, the difficulty is well balanced.
Platforming
While the platform sections don’t require pinpoint accuracy, the need to act quickly makes them quite adrenaline-fuelled. Some sections increase in difficulty because, as well as jumping from one platform to another, you also have to dodge various environmental obstacles, such as spikes, flames or honeycombs.
Some sections may require several attempts, especially if you get caught up in the rush and misjudge the timing slightly. Fortunately, even if you have to repeat a section, it never becomes frustrating thanks to the frequent checkpoints throughout the level.
The game is therefore not punishing, but well balanced.
We really enjoyed the sections where the adrenaline increased as we had to run to avoid being crushed by war machines or rolling logs.
The end of the curse
The fast-paced soundtrack fits perfectly with the game’s style, keeping us constantly on our toes. It also evolves with the action, increasing the rhythm when the situation becomes more intense.
Castle of Heart: Retold has polished graphics and visually satisfying lighting effects. There has been a clear improvement compared to the original Switch version.
Overall, it is excellently executed, with only a few minor flaws.
For example, the basic button layout is a bit awkward; we would have preferred to be able to roll using the B button instead of RT. In some sections, enemies are positioned above us on an elevated platform (you can see an example of this in the screenshots below), making it difficult to climb up and fight them. This means that we sometimes have to give up on defeating them or are forced to hit them while jumping. This problem does not arise if we have a ranged weapon, but shots are limited and crossbows are not found very often.
Castle of Heart: Retold offers excellent variety. The transition from one chapter to the next is accompanied by a change in setting and enemies. Environmental elements also change, introducing new obstacles to avoid and exploit in attacks. In our opinion, this variation makes the game more engaging, unpredictable and stimulating.
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