Slightly Modernized Classic ‘The Eternal Castle [REMASTERED]’ Brings 1987 to 2019

I’m just gonna come right out and say it: CGA is awesome! Yeah okay, that’s obviously a bit of an exaggeration, but there is still something undeniably intriguing about its limited color palette and resolution. Even more so when games like The Eternal Castle [REMASTERED], originally released back in 1987, come along to really push the limits of what can be done. Oh, and don’t let that ‘remastered’ bit fool ya: this is not some nonsensical ‘upscaled HD’ thing, and thank goodness for that.

As for exactly what it is, however… well… based on the trailer (below) alone, a cinematic stroke of brilliance, not entirely unlike Another World (aka. Out of This World in the US). Plot? Uh, yeah. About that. As far as I can tell, from the rather cryptic block of all-caps text on the game’s Steam page, it’s a rather suicidal rescue mission to bring back a unit sent back to Earth… tasked with acquiring absolutely vital resources. Something along those lines anyway.

Enjoy the atmosphere or speedrun through a post-AI fallout packed with challenges
Meditate, Predict, and Wake up, in the eternal dream with Adam or Eve
Fight your way through the Ancient Ruins
Shoot your way through the Forgotten City
Sneak by monsters in the Unholy Lab
Enter the Eternal Castle

That said, while I’m not entirely certain as to what’s going on in this reborn classic if I know one thing, it’s that this is easily one of the best implementations of early 80s-era desktop graphics I’ve come across. Even if the resolution has likely been messed with (widescreen monitors weren’t around in 1987, for starters). Which brings me to – just how much has really changed, in this “ambitious attempt to modernize an old classic in order to keep its memory alive”?

Ah, if only I knew. If only it mattered. Because it (kinda) doesn’t. A blast from the past has been modernized, while still retaining its brilliant aesthetic design. Whether that means it also has the clunky gameplay that plagued oh so many otherwise enjoyable games from the early 1980s remains to be seen. At the time of writing, I certainly like what I see, in The Eternal Castle [REMASTERED].

The Eternal Castle [REMASTERED] is available on Steam, carrying a $9.99 price tag.

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