Uploaded May 2022 | Updated September 2026, 8 hours ago

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Raw footage: youtu.be/J5xZHEZqVXY

This level is fascinating to say the least. Levels known to be poorly made tend to pique my interest, which is why I’ve beaten Sword Dance, Galatic Fragility and Death Note. Although these generally loathed levels can sometimes be strangely fun (Sword Dance being the prime example), I unfortunately didn’t have the best time playing Castling. Obviously, I never expected to have fun with this level, which made the experience slightly more bearable — I knew what I was getting myself into.

Let’s move on to the actual level, shall we? In a nutshell, Castling is a medium demon with a dozen chokepoints that bump it up to extreme demon difficulty. These chokepoints are frustrating enough on their own, but the fact that the hardest ones are located in the second half of the level is the cherry on top. Second half heavy levels tend to have one major issue: playing from 0% is exceptionally boring. Ironically, this poor balancing also comes with a quality: the illusion of consistency — getting far all the time can be somewhat fun, especially if the level is fast-paced.

Moreover, I’d like to explain what makes each of the aforementioned chokepoints so difficult:
- Luckily, the hardest timing of the level is located at 4%, which makes it tolerable — it is quite annoying nonetheless. While it may not seem hard at all on a video, this jump is actually frame perfect on 144fps due to an invisible spike making it absurdly hard.
- The blue orb timing at 24% is insanely difficult, partly because you cannot see the orb until you have to hit it. That being said, it gets incredibly consistent over time.
- The ball timing at 35% however does not get consistent in the slightest.
- The dual ship at 39% is quite janky and confusing, which makes it very easy to mess up despite the timings themselves being relatively easy.
- The wave timing at 63% is already very difficult on its own, but the fact that it is located in a click-dense part makes it completely reliant on muscle memory.
- The timing at 69% is incredibly unintuitive.
- The blue orb spam at 70% is significantly harder than it looks since you also have to avoid some invisible saws. As a result, the click pattern required to get past this part is insanely awkward and hard to get used to.
- The wave input at 74% is extremely difficult to time properly because of the placement of the spikes.
- The yellow orb timing at 78% is straight up too precise.
- The jump at 91% is a nightmare. Not only is it absurdly difficult, but you can barely see it coming, which makes it mostly luck-based.
- The last wave is extremely awkward. It may not look too hard on a video, but it is full of invisible hitboxes that makes it very easy to die.
- The last jump is not intuitive at all, I unfortunately died there once.

Despite all of these chokepoints, this level is definitely not the worst thing in the world — it was actually quite fun from time to time, and I absolutely adore the song. I’m not sure I would recommend playing Castling, but I can see why some people enjoy playing it.

Lastly, I think this level is alright in terms of decoration, although it is inconsistent quality-wise. For instance, I think the last wave looks quite nice while the ship part at 79% could use a lot of work. I appreciate the unique structuring in some parts, as well as the fade and enter effects. I have nothing else to say though, as this isn’t the most creative level visually.

Attempts: 2,717
Enjoyment: 3/10

Easiest part: 0-58 (excluding 4%)
Hardest parts: 4%, 58-100%
Difficulty: Extreme Demon (harder than Uprise, easier than aftermath)

Song: Europa
Artist: Blackhole12
Link: newgrounds.com/audio/listen/600642