Return to Dark Castle
| Return to Dark Castle | |
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| Developer(s) | Z Sculpt Entertainment, Delta Tao Software |
| Publisher(s) | Merge Interactive |
| Designer(s) | Zack Morris and Zackary Black |
| Platform(s) | Mac OS X |
| Release | March 14, 2008 |
| Genre(s) | Platform game |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
Return to Dark Castle is a 2008 platform game for the Macintosh. It is the third game in the Dark Castle series, following the original Dark Castle (1986) and its sequel Beyond Dark Castle (1987), and the first to be developed by Z Sculpt. Development on the game, begun in 1996, was notoriously protracted, and the game was often labeled vaporware.Return to Dark Castle was originally scheduled to be released in Winter 2000, but was not released until March 14, 2008. It brought colour to the original black and white graphics, and integrated the gameplay and levels of both the original games.
In February 2011, Super Happy Fun released an updated version of the game on the Mac App Store that included all 30 original Dark Castle and Beyond Dark Castle levels and added 50 new levels.
The player fights his way through various areas, inside and around the Dark Castle, in an attempt to defeat the Black Knight. The player's character, named Bryant by default, is the nephew of Duncan, the protagonist of the earlier Dark Castle games. In the game's intro, we learn that Duncan never returned from his quest to the Dark Castle. Bryant now approaches the castle in an attempt to succeed where Duncan had apparently failed. Bryant must collect 10 orbs hidden around the castle (similar to the orbs from Beyond Dark Castle) before he can confront the Black Knight.
If Bryant defeats the Black Knight on any difficulty other than advanced, the Black Knight chides him for wanting an ending but expending too little effort. If Bryant defeats the Black Knight on advanced difficulty, the Black Knight's armor is knocked off, revealing Duncan, now old and with gray hair and beard. Duncan and Bryant are forced to flee the castle, as the Black Knight's armor had imprisoned Duncan, and now threatens to imprison them anew. Duncan and Bryant descend a rope to the Black Knight's Pier, and there board a ship to visit an unnamed destination that Duncan always wanted to see.
The previous games each had 15 levels, and Return to Dark Castle contains all the levels from these first two games, plus over 50 new levels. The new areas are a mixture of single-screen levels in the style of the first two games, and larger horizontally and vertically scrolling levels. The levels contain 25 orbs, 10 of which are required in order to complete the game. Many of the new levels contain secret areas which can be accessed by activating hidden doors and switches.
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