Every so often, a game comes along which injects pure joy into the lives of those who play it. One such game, Super Crazy Rhythm Castle, is currently available for free on Epic Games Store and I urge you to go and give it a try.
Super Crazy Rhythm Castle might be, and I don’t say this lightly, the most fun I’ve had playing a video game in a very long time. I have laughed so hard I’ve been reduced to tears and been physically incapable of continuing before getting a grip, I’ve thrown a soccer ball at my fiancés head (in-game, of course, I’m not a total monster) in order to stop him from scoring more points than me, and I’ve raced along the river in a musically charged boat.
Essentially, Rhythm Castle is Guitar Hero with the added side-problem of puzzles needing to be solved. While you’re trying to play the music in time with the moving colored blocks, you also need to stop some bizarre baby creatures from screaming by kicking gems into their faces (seriously!), or use weed killer to prevent vines from covering the moving platform of notes.
The ‘Super Crazy’ part is taken very literally in Rhythm Castle, and everywhere you go there’s something new, hilarious, and at times highly frustrating to overcome. For instance, at one point the king (who you’re trying to beat musically, at least I think that’s the end goal of the game) decides that simply throwing music challenges at you isn’t enough. To amuse himself, and make things harder on you, he decides that the platform on which you stand needs to spin around in circles.
Now, I know my left from my right. I’ve gone approximately three decades knowing how to use my hands, and yet when the notes begin spinning around in circles, it’s hard to remember which side is which and whether I’m even the right way up. That level has a warning for those who suffer from motion sickness. If that doesn’t reflect the frustration you may feel while playing it, then nothing will.
The music in Rhythm Castle is hugely varied, and there’s something for everyone. In the first six songs, I heard everything from Hippo and Frog (which is what reduced me to tears, and I’m still not quite sure why) to Heavy Metal, which is exactly as it sounds. In between, you’re treated to this absolute earworm that is still stuck in my head days later and is now a permanent addition to my soundtrack of life:
There’s even an area where you can take game cartridges, which are found through the rest of the game, to play old video game soundtracks. I won’t spoil what’s to come if you choose to play, but you’re in for a wild ride of both nostalgia and mild panic.
Anyway, like I said, Super Crazy Rhythm Castle is currently available for free on Epic Games Store. If you’ve got some friends who you want to drag on an absolutely bizarre ride through music, then you’ve got nothing to lose by downloading it. I’m not sure I would have ever played if it hadn’t come up for nothing, but I’m forever going to be thankful that I’ve experienced the crazy joy that it brings.
Published: Sep 15, 2024 09:30 am