Castelian apparently began life as a computer game under a different name, which is incredibly self-evident from the game itself. The entire game oozes this eerie, uncanny charm, from the complete lack of music in the main stages to the alien physics to the bizarre stage names which range from “The Tower of Eyes” to “Swimmers Delight” (couldn’t figure out what that latter one meant). Another baffling feature that adds to the strangeness is your character’s idle animation - the little guy goes to sleep, which is relatively normal. What isn’t is that you can’t start moving again until he finishes a waking up animation. This got me killed on more than one occasion.
Castelian’s visuals are its standout feature, with the central towers rotating uncannily smoothly akin to that one section in Kirby’s Adventure, and our pudgy little protagonist animating very nicely, albeit at a detriment to the controls.
Overall I had a good time with the game, as it’s just short enough that the ending always feels within reach no matter how many times you die.