You’re stuck. It’s okay. Most people who pick up Castle of the Cursed—the breakout indie metroidvania from the small team at Nerd Monkeys—find themselves staring at the game over screen within the first twenty minutes. It’s brutal. The game doesn’t care about your feelings, and it certainly doesn't care if you've played Castlevania or Hollow Knight before. This is a different beast entirely.
Honestly, the "cursed" part of the title isn't just flavor text. It’s a literal description of how the mechanics work. You play as a character wandering through a decaying fortress where the very ground you stand on feels like it’s trying to trip you up. The movement is deliberate. It's chunky. If you’re looking for the fluid, high-speed dashing of modern platformers, you’re going to be disappointed. But if you want a game that rewards patience and actual observation, you’ve found it.
The Reality of the Difficulty Curve
Everyone talks about how hard this game is. It’s the primary thing you’ll see in Steam reviews or Discord chats. But here’s the thing: it’s not "unfair" hard. It’s "pay attention" hard. The developers at Nerd Monkeys designed the game to be a throwback to the 8-bit era, specifically the 1986 classic Castlevania. If you go in swinging wildly, you’re dead. Period.
The enemies in Castle of the Cursed have very specific, telegraphed patterns. The problem is that the window to react is tiny. You have to learn the pixels. You have to know exactly where your hit-box ends. It's sort of like a rhythmic dance, except the music is terrifying and the floor is covered in spikes.
Why the Controls Feel "Heavy"
One of the biggest complaints players have when they first jump into Castle of the Cursed is the jump height and the attack speed. It feels sluggish. You press a button, and there’s a micro-delay. Is it lag? No. It’s intentional. The game uses a "commitment" system. Once you start a jump or a swing, you are locked into that trajectory.
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This is the core of the challenge. You can’t correct your mistakes mid-air. You have to commit to every single movement you make. It’s a design philosophy that has largely disappeared from modern gaming, where we’re used to "coyote time" and air-dashing. Here, gravity is a real enemy. If you miss a platform, you’re going down. Probably into a pit of skeletons.
Dealing with the Curse Mechanic
Let’s talk about the actual curse. Throughout the game, your character accumulates "Curse Points." This isn't just a gimmick. As your curse level rises, the environment changes. Some enemies get faster. Others gain new attacks. It’s a dynamic difficulty system that punishes you for staying in the castle too long without finding a purification shrine.
Most players try to rush to the boss. Don't do that. You need to map out the shrines first. Think of them as your lifelines. Without them, the game eventually becomes mathematically impossible to survive because your health pool will shrink while the enemy damage output scales up. It's a brutal feedback loop.
Secrets Most Players Miss
There are walls you can break. Obviously. It’s a metroidvania. But Castle of the Cursed hides things in the background art too. Look for flickering torches or slightly off-color bricks that aren't just in the walls, but in the ceilings.
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- There is a hidden "Holy Relic" in the early gardens section.
- Most people walk right past it.
- You have to crouch-walk through a narrow gap behind a waterfall.
- This relic reduces the rate at which you accumulate Curse Points.
- It’s basically the "Easy Mode" item, but the game never tells you it exists.
The lore is also hidden in these tucked-away corners. You won't get long cutscenes. Instead, you get brief snippets of text on crumbling tablets. They tell a story of a kingdom that tried to use the castle as a shield against an invading army, only to realize the castle itself was a predatory entity. It's grim. It's dark. It fits the aesthetic perfectly.
Navigating the Boss Fights
The bosses are the highlights. Each one is a puzzle. Take the "Great Skeleton Knight" in the lower halls. Most players try to jump over him. That’s a mistake. His vertical reach is huge. Instead, you have to bait his overhead smash, which has a long recovery time, and then strike his feet. It’s tedious, but it’s the only safe way.
The game is full of these "knowledge checks." If you know the trick, the boss is easy. If you don't, you'll die fifty times. It reminds me of the old-school philosophy found in games like Ghosts 'n Goblins. It’s about mastery through repetition.
Why the Graphics Matter
The pixel art isn't just for nostalgia. It serves a functional purpose. The high-contrast colors allow you to distinguish between a "hazard" and a "background" even when the screen is crowded. In a game this difficult, visual clarity is everything. Nerd Monkeys did a great job ensuring that when you die, you know exactly why. You can't blame the art style for a missed jump.
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Actionable Steps for New Players
If you’re struggling to make progress in Castle of the Cursed, stop playing it like a modern action game. Change your mindset. Use these specific tactics to get through the first three zones without losing your mind:
- Stop jumping constantly. In this game, jumping is a vulnerability. Stay on the ground as much as possible to maintain control over your movement.
- Farm the first area. Spend thirty minutes just killing the basic zombies. Collect the gold. Upgrade your primary weapon at the first merchant you find near the entrance. The base weapon is intentionally weak.
- Watch the background. If you see a crow sitting on a ledge, it’s usually pointing toward a secret path or a hidden item. The birds aren't just decoration.
- Learn the 'Reset' trick. If your curse level is too high and you’re nowhere near a shrine, exit to the main menu and reload. It resets enemy positions (though not your curse level), which can give you a clear path to run back to a safe zone.
- Listen to the audio. Every enemy has a unique sound cue before they attack. Even if they are off-screen, you can hear a "clink" or a "hiss" that tells you to dodge or block.
The game is a test of grit. It’s not meant to be finished in a single sitting. It’s a labyrinth designed to be mapped out in your head. Once you understand the rhythm of the castle, the "curse" starts to feel less like a burden and more like a challenge to be overcome.
Master the movement first. The combat will follow. Don't let the retro aesthetic fool you into thinking this is a simple game; it’s one of the most mechanically demanding indies released in the last few years. Take it slow, watch the torches, and always keep an eye on your curse meter.