Castaway - Switch Review

Steve Whiting -

Castaway is the latest project from solo developer Johan Vinet who, under the studio name Canari Games, had a moderate hit on their hands with 2023’s Lunark. Marketed as a ‘bite-size game’ Castaway comes with a beautiful, colourful retro aesthetic and will draw the attention of any retro fans. It’s always good to take a trip back to the good old days!

The Good

It’s obvious to see what has inspired Castaway - The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening - both in terms of its aesthetic and its island setting. There’s hardly any plot details but your character wakes up on a beach, much like Link does in the 1993 masterpiece. Pretty much EVERYTHING is a loyal representation of what made Link’s Awakening such a classic. The enemies, items, weapons and even the sound effects are faithfully mimicked. If you shut your eyes and listen to the soundtrack you could be playing Link’s Awakening, Oracle of Ages or Oracle of Seasons.

There’s also an added gameplay mode in Castaway which is similar to the Pit of 100 Trials featured in Paper Mario; The Thousand Year Door and used in many Zelda games of the last 20 years. You begin on Level 1 and have to fight your way level-by-level, defeating enemies and gaining coins which can be used as a currency to either increase your max health, defence, power up your weapons or heal your character. This feature was a welcome and unexpected gameplay mode that adds a bit of depth to the experience.

Lastly I mentioned the plot in Castaway was pretty thin on the ground, but at the end of the main story you get reunited with your dog; something we can all enjoy!

TL;DR

  • A faithful The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening homage
  • The Tower mode adds depth to the experience
  • Dogs, we all love dogs!

The Bad

It’s hard to pick much that’s wrong with Castaway. That’s because it’s a very tight game where the controls are responsive and it looks and sounds great. But also because Castaway is VERY short. Johan Vinet has been at pains to manage people’s expectations but Castaway was shorter then I had expected despite readying myself for a brief experience. I completed the main game (called ‘The Island’) in less than an hour. Some additional meta secrets would have been great, but as it is there are just four additional heart containers to find and nothing else, which is a shame.

There are also 3 tiny ‘dungeons’ in Castaway, which each take about 5 or 10 minutes to get through including the boss. What was slightly disappointing is that there was no visual artistic difference between them. They were all basically different configurations of the same rocks and lava. Some variety in colours and/or materials would have been welcome.

TL;DR

  • A very short game, even shorter than I expected
  • Dungeons all look the same

Final Score: 7/10

For a brief moment, I felt like I was six years old playing The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening again, and for that Johan Vinet deserves immense credit. But when I say brief moment… You’re talking less than an hour of gameplay on offer for the main game, though The Tower provides some replayability.

Castaway will of course be priced accordingly and that’s fine, but if you’re looking for something more substantial to get your teeth into there are plenty of other options out there!

Thank you for checking out our Castaway Switch review, thank you to Canari Games for providing the review code and thank you to our Patreon Backers for their ongoing support: