Tcheco in the Castle of Lucio Switch Review – Oh, My

Tcheco in the Castle of Lucio is one of those games that runs in the same vein as I Wanna Be The Guy and Syobon Action, but it is a bit more lenient in regards to its accessibility. Tcheco in the Castle of Lucio is a bizarre gauntlet of one-screen puzzle platform areas that range from the simplest of jumps to head-scratching confusion.

But is Tcheco in the Castle of Lucio worth your hard-earned cash? Or should you challenge yourself elsewhere?

The story is as simple as they get, because it is quite literally in the name. You must help Tcheco to escape the mysterious castle of Lucio and find his way to safety. There is not a whole lot more to it than that, and for a game of this caliber, I would expect nothing more.

It is a bit strange, as the majority of the game is pretty nonsensical, but it entertains throughout and keeps you engaged with its goofy comedy and silly puzzles.

Tcheco is an 8-bit puzzle platformer that feels a lot like it borrowed ideas from I Wanna Be The Guy. The game is not nearly as brutal, but you are essentially going through a gauntlet of one-screen rooms where you need to jump your way to victory.

Some times the puzzles are obscure and do not make a whole lot of sense, but because the rooms are only one screen, figuring out what you need to do in order to proceed does come rather quickly. Unfortunately, you only get one life per round, so if you get a game over, it returns you back to the start of the game. This can be incredibly frustrating when trying to figure out puzzles or platform gimmicks in latter rooms, dying, and then having to start back from room one.

But since this is a game like some of those other brutal platformers, learning how to do each room, learning better strategies, and casual progression are so important. Most rooms require some kind of key to open up a doorway or black hole to get you to the next room, but there are the occasional unique boss fights that will challenge you tremendously.

The game does not require any major control schemes, either. It is simply move and jump, and every puzzle room can be solved with these two actions. Learning to dodge and make precision jumps will help you as you make your way to the end of the 65-room castle.

The music and sound are very reminiscent of the old Famicom/NES days, and it is honestly quite nostalgic to hear, even if it was for the first time. Something about the various sounds and songs reminded me of those old days playing the original NES. The team did a very good job bringing back that old-school feel, and it does not simply stop there.

Because the visuals are also straight off of an NES cartridge. Although some of the designs are a bit unpleasant, the looks of the game matches perfectly with the sound. Tcheco in the Castle of Lucio would seriously fit perfectly on anyone’s NES console, and it would not feel out of place at all.

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I do think that some of the design decisions were a bit off, though. Some of the platforms are hard to decipher, and the ones that just appear out of thin air give little-to-no room for flexibility. Unfortunately, this too is a remnant of the old-school days, although it is not something I personally like and think should exist in this day and age.

The game will run you a solid $4.99 on the eShop, and that is a rather good price for the package you are getting. Tcheco can potentially provide hours and hours of gameplay if you are dedicated to clearing it to completion. There is a lot to be enjoyed here, and I do believe that this is the right price for the game.

Tcheco in the Castle of Lucio is a bizarre puzzle platformer that will entertain you for many hours, especially if you decide to completely tackle this game. It does its best to look and feel like an original NES game, and it does so in spades, even to the point of being problematic. If you are looking for something silly to entertain, then look no further. Let Tcheco take you on a journey!

Tcheco in the Castle of Lucio Review provided by Nintendo Link
Publisher: Fantastico Studio
Release Date: June 20, 2020
Price: $4.99, £4.49, €4.99
Game Size: 139 MB