A mysterious castle is known to appear from out of nowhere, cursing the surrounding land to eventual destruction. However, at its latest appearance, a wandering axe wielding warrior has stepped up to perhaps be the one to finally dispel this evil.

Diorama Dungeoncrawl: Master of the Living Castle is a 2019 older game by Tales of the Renegade Sector. It upholds his tradition of pulp sensibility and low-poly works that feel like NES/SNES era games shoved into a 3D space. It’s a bit of a divergence from the other games I played in that it lacks run and gun elements. With the exception of the sorcerer’s weird tank driving lieutenant, this game is solidly taking after fantasy games, so you only got an axe to fight with.

I’m not sure how I feel about the melee combat? The hurtbox of the axe is pretty narrow since your protagonist only swings it overhead like a nerd. There’s a few frames after a swing that leaves you vulnerable, so a missed strike will quickly get punished. A lot of the time I actually preferred running away from enemies, which is thankfully a valid tactic. This game’s got some platforming, and honestly, the 3D platforming is still solid (when I can actually manage it, at least).

Funnily enough, the only time I was happy with combat was against the bosses, who had bigger hitboxes that made fighting them feel less bothersome. I think boss fights have generally been Tales of the Renegade Sector’s strong suit, and it’s not different here. All the bosses feel different and are satisfying to fight, and with the ability to do stronger swings, I think this game averts my issue with Thunder Kid’s bosses feeling too bullet spongy.

I will say I haven’t been able to finish this game. Not because I dislike it, but because of my health problems. I don’t fully get what’s happening to me right now, but besides my legs being screwy, my hands are somewhat scuffed. I can type just fine and slower games are still alright by me, but anything faster’s got my sense of control all screwy. I pressed on through most of the game, but with the last stage enforcing some more precise platforming alongside all the action, my hands couldn’t handle it. In fact, I will say that my hand problems might be why I’m so mixed on the combat because I’m not playing in optimal conditions.

I think this game is alright, but I unfortunately can’t see it through. I will say that even if I didn’t have health issues, I think I’d still prefer Thunder Kid and Kill the Superweapon over this game because I vibe more with their run and gun sensibilities because that’s the kind of action I’m more used to. Good showcase of Tales of the Renegade Sector’s sensibilities, just not quite for me.

I… honestly don’t have a lot to say. I guess I’m more drawn toward story focused works for a reason because I have a lot more to yap about. I probably would have a lot more to say if I was more experienced with action games like how I am with RPGs, but it is how it is.

I will say in advance from this point that until my hands get better, if I spin something busy again I’ll shelve that game until I’m capable of properly physically playing it and treat it as a wildcard. Yeah sorry OXTO, I hope to properly play you one day.

And so, instead of rolling a familiar face of a past developer, I rolled a familiar face of the RPG Maker community: Ib, by kouri, which is a game I originally personally played… about 10 years ago. Huh, that’s not existentially terrifying! I should be saving the feelings of terror in the game itself!