Review: Castaway Calls Back to Legend of Zelda GBC Games

The original Game Boy Color (GBC) The Legend of Zelda games had this wonderful aesthetic due to the combination of the color palette and gameplay design. Castaway, a new indie game from Johan Vinet, Topher Anselmo, and ShipMates, channels that. However, while it is a sweet and enjoyable affair, it also often feels a little too short, with some awkward swordplay and one mode feeling more fulfilling than the other.

Castaway begins with Martin and other individuals on a space ship. As they are flying over a planet, some sort of laser shoots them down. We see four escape pods head to the surface. Martin is washed up on shore, much as Link is in The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening. Upon heading south to his fallen pod, he see pterodactyls steal his equipment and dog. With only his sword in his hands and left behind, players need to retrieve everything taken from him.

So the Martin’s Adventure portion of Castaway is absolutely fantastic, albeit too short, and my favorite part of the game. This part features numerous difficulty options, including pacifist, invincible, or speedrun ones. Your goal is to go through a (small) island with a few (brief) dungeons, all of which feature the same sorts of enemies, to retrieve your equipment. It’s so much fun! The handful of boss fights are entertaining. Each piece of equipment has a real sense of purpose and is used well. 

The one failing here is that combat doesn’t feel as responsive as it could and should be. In a The Legend of Zelda GBC game, you know exactly what Link’s sword range is and the enemy hitboxes are easy to discern, but that isn’t so in Castaway. I often felt like I needed to have Martin at the exact right angle for the swing to catch some foes, which could be an issue with the enemies that would suddenly rush or break up into faster, smaller versions of themselves. It wasn’t so much of an issue when it came to bosses or ones that involved swinging the sword to reflect projectiles. Only ones with true melee got to be an issue.

Which means the bulk of Castaway doesn’t always feel as enjoyable, as the Tower you unlock by completing the hour-long Martin’s Adventure campaign involves 50 levels of just defeating enemies. There are no puzzles there, as there are in the initial adventure. You just fight foes, collect the coins they drop, and then spend those coins on randomized buffs such as extra heart containers, shields, increased sword power, or health refills. 

I think I’d take less of an issue with Castaway being so short if other elements of the game didn’t leave it feeling a bit incomplete. For example, having it specifically note “Martin’s Adventure” on the campaign portion, the introduction showing an enemy attack, and there being marked other survivors makes it feel like there should have been more people or viewpoints involved. We get these tools for Martin, and it feels like there should have been more opportunities to use them in-practice on the island. In Martin’s Adventure, it abruptly concludes after hitting a certain milestone, then opening up the Tower mode and leaving it as the only option. 

I appreciated what Johan Vinet accomplished with Castaway, as it really does capture the same vibes as a GBC Legend of Zelda game would, but just wish there was more to it. The adventure mode feels like it cuts off way too quickly, with no resolution. The Tower is entertaining, but focuses on the weakest part of the experience and strips away the light puzzle solving and boss fights. It feels like Castaway is a teaser for something bigger. What’s here is fun, but strangely unfulfilling.

Castaway is available on the Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC.