Castaway is a Misunderstood Gem

Published on Aug 19, 2024

Last night, after being charmed by the piece of key art accompanying this post, and swayed by an $8 price tag, I grabbed Castaway on Switch. I've actually been looking forward to the game for about a month now, since seeing a preview on NintendoLife, and I was hopeful it would live up to the charm exuded by its art, screenshots, and trailer.

I'm going to preface the rest of this by pointing out that all of the game's marketing materials are very clear that this is a small, short game. The headline on its Switch eShop page reads, "A short & charming action-adventure game!" A section of the following paragraph reads, "Beat the 3 bosses in the concise and delightful 'Story Mode' to unlock the thrilling and addictive 'Survivor Mode.'" Sounds great, love it. Always down for a short game. For eight bucks, I wouldn't expect much more.

The game starts you in Story Mode, an extremely pretty, GBA-styled, Zelda-like adventure that is obviously inspired by Link's Awakening. You crash land on an island, wake up on the beach, grab your sword, and start your adventure. Just before grabbing your sword, you watch three pterodactyls carry off your two other tools—a pick-axe and a hookshot—as well as your little dog. This sets your expectations accordingly for the journey ahead.

Sword in hand, I dove in, and found exactly what I'd read on the tin. The Story Mode island is designed to point you just where you need to go, with little need for exploration, as each path is gated by obstacles that can only be overcome by one of your 3 items.

I had a great time with Story Mode, which lasted me about 30 minutes. The controls felt good for this type of game, the visuals are gorgeously chunky, and the music is fun and boppy. Before I knew it, I had acquired all of my tools, overcome every challenge, and was reunited with my little dog, an occasion for which you are rewarded with this adorable image:

Now, you may be thinking, "30 minutes? That sounds extremely short, even in terms of what is generally considered a 'short' game." And it seems like this is something of a sticking point for folks, if Steam reviews can be used as any kind of benchmark (average Steam reviews are currently Mixed at time of publication). And yes, 30 minutes is short, especially if you're expecting this to be a pure Zelda-like. But I was perfectly happy with my 30 minutes in Story Mode, and I think the reason why is a matter of perspective.

So the game starts you in what its store page calls "Story Mode," which, again, it specifically calls short, concise, and calls out the fact that it only contains 3 dungeons with 3 bosses. On the game's main menu, this is called "The Island," and right below it is a locked game mode called "The Tower." The game's store pages also made mention of this as a challenge dungeon which sees you leveling up different attributes as you try to climb to the top of the tower, floor by floor. You unlock The Tower by completing The Island, a.k.a. Story Mode.

Which is why, not too far into my adventure around the island, I stopped and thought, "Oh neat, this is the tutorial."

And I was right! Venturing around the island has you very quickly learning the ins and outs of gameplay, and learning to use each of your tools as you recover them one by one. Once you unlock The Tower, the game starts you off with all three of your tools because, well, you found them on The Island.

I think this is where some players are experiencing some kind of disconnect, that I think the game was trying its best to avoid, where they're assuming that Story Mode = An Entire Zelda Game, and that The Tower is just some side challenge they can ignore in favor of the story.

This isn't necessarily an unfair assumption to make, seeing as this is how a lot of games work, and especially games positioning themselves as Zelda-likes, which Castaway absolutely is. But it's also doing something different, and is trying to be as up-front about that as possible.

I don't think this is entirely players' fault; when you see something vaguely Zelda-shaped, you're going to come to it with certain expectations. But I also don't think it's the game's fault, because it was clearly trying pretty hard to let people know, "hey, this thing is short, and it's also something different."

Judging by the developer's social media posts, it sounds like they knew this game was going to be a hard sell for what it is, and that's a shame! The 30-minute story mode also falls well within Steam's 2-hour refund limit. It would really suck to see a game punished for showing admirable restraint for a change. I've played other Zelda-likes this year that tried to punch above their weight class and just did not have it. Maybe I'll write about Master Key next. But back to Castaway for now:

Meeting the game where it was coming from, I really enjoyed the idea of a tiny, Zelda-ish adventure as a tutorial/prologue/setup for a different type of game with plenty of replayability. The Island also features a number of different difficulty modes to accommodate different kinds of players, as well as a speedrun mode with an in-game timer. Taken all together, that's plenty of game for eight dollars! I'm more than happy to spend some more time with The Tower, and then move on to something else feeling like I've gotten my money's worth.

I think expecting a truly Zelda-sized adventure for the price of a sandwich—especially from an indie dev—is ludicrous, and speaks to a larger issue of gamers expecting to receive maximum gameplay for minimal cost. But that's an issue too big for this post.

Suffice to say that I'm seeing a lot of complaints in Steam reviews that boil down to, "there isn't a lot to chew on." Okay! True! Did there need to be? It's eight dollars, it's not going to be your next live-service forever-game. Spend an afternoon having some fun and move on with your life. If it's not for you, it's not for you, but gee whiz!

Taken as it is, Castaway is a lovely little game that looks great, feels great, plays great, and is trying something novel with its presentation. I think that's cool! If you think that sounds cool too, you should toss a few coins its way and give it a try.