Eng:
Excellent! This stealth game is a walking simulator with the ability to be killed with one shot, if you were noticed by guards. Mechanics are simple. We can only walk, jump and crouch, nothing more. But more, in principle, not necessary. The first Chapter is short, but it's enough to get acquainted with the world and mechanics of the game. There are secret passages and rooms where you can get 2 achievements. The graphics are very cute, the lighting is nice, textures are pleasing to the eye. The music is Gothic and not get bored. Enough settings here: graphics, sound/music and controls. For me it is very important that you can reassign the keys (including the mouse buttons) and set the invert mouse Y-axis (huge thanks for that!).
In short, the game is good in all respects, but there are a couple of points, which does slightly spoil the impression - the sound of the steps of the player (not natural, loud and annoying - needs to be changed!) and periodic glitch with the inability to pass through a doorway or climb up the stairs, being squatting (for a stealth game it is very important and certainly needs to be fixed). In any case - a very good start for an episodic game. Waiting for the next parts eagerly and I wish the authors all the best! Thanks guys!
P.S. I've thought about it and decided that personally I do not have here the function of interaction with the environment - put out the torch, throw a stone to distract, stun and hide the bodies of guards, use objects of the environment (doors, levers, etc.), read books, etc. But it will be a game named "Thief". And if the concept of the game is conceived in such a simplified format, then I'm willing to live with it.


Rus:
Отлично! Данная игра это stealth walking simulator с возможностью быть убитым одним выстрелом, если вас заметили охранники. Механика простая. Мы можем лишь ходить, прыгать и приседать, больше ничего. Но большего в принципе и не нужно. Первая глава короткая, но этого достаточно, чтобы ознакомится с миром и механикой игры. Есть секретные проходы и комнаты, где можно получить 2 ачивки. Графика очень симпатичная, освещение приятное, текстуры радуют глаз. Музыка готическая и не надоедает. Настроек достаточный минимум: графика, звук/музыка и управление. Для меня очень важно что можно переназначить клавиши управления (включая кнопки мыши) и задать инверт мыши по оси Y (огромное спасибо за это!).
Короче, игра хороша по всем параметрам, но есть пара моментов, которые совсем слегка портят впечатление - звук шагов игрока (не натуральный, громкий и назойливый - надо менять!) и периодический глюк с невозможность пройти в дверной проём или подняться вверх по лестнице, будучи вприсядку (для stealth игры это очень важно и несомненно должно быть исправлено). В любом случае - очень хороший старт для эпизодической игры. Жду следующих частей с нетерпением и желаю авторам всего наилучшего! Спасибо, ребята!
P.S. Я тут подумал и решил что лично мне не хватает здесь функции взаимодействия с окружающим миром - потушить факел, кинуть камень для отвлечения, оглушать и прятать тела охранников, самому использовать предметы окружения (двери, рычаги и пр.), читать книги и пр. Но это уже будет игра "Thief". И если концепция игры задумана именно в таком упрощённом формате - то я готов с этим смириться.

See written review below or watch it here: https://youtu.be/lAfeXTyxEw0

Review copy was provided by the developer.

Castle Heist: Chapter 1 is a short stealthy walking simulator game that introduces the plot of the Castle Heist series.

Once you start playing the game, you are immediately introduced to the story through a narrative text. At first, I felt like the voice acting of the narrative was being a bit over-acted, but after multiple playthroughs, it grew on me. The game plays as mostly a walking simulator, but with stealth aspects.

• the graphics look great overall
  
• music is decent throughout the game, and each area has its own (I especially liked the music that reminded me of the Pink Panther theme song)
  
• the stealth in Castle Heist is nice because you have to be careful, or guards will one-shot you on site in some areas

• very short to playthrough
  
• too easy (guards have very predictable paths, and they aren’t very attentive unless you're in their line of site or standing right next to them)
  
• some very minor bugs with textures/draw distances
  
• guards sometimes appear above or in the ground if you're paying attention to them

Each area has a map that you are given with notes, and marks on it of where you need to go next. If you rush through the objectives, you can finish the game in less than 15 minutes, but I suggest playing the game more like a walking simulator, and just taking your time, and exploring all the areas. Right now, there are a couple achievements you can unlock by exploring, but I would like to see more achievements added to encourage more exploration.

Right now, there isn’t any reason to replay the game, unless you missed the achievements, but I did wind up playing through it 4 times since it is such a short game. Chapter 1 is a good, but brief introduction into the Castle Heist plot, but as expected from an episodic series, you won’t get any closure, so I'm looking forward to chapter 2. If you’re looking for a game to simply play and finish, you won’t enjoy this game to its full potential. However, if you’re in the mood to take your time to explore a short, but sweet, stealthy walking simulator game for a reasonable price, it’s a decent purchase.

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You can also view this review on my website here.[www.azralynn.com]

That's a cool fan game but I'll stop here. A lot of things are not coherent or convaincing. It's still a lot of work but it should be maybe pushed.

Looking forward to the second chapter.... Too short to tell if it'll really work out

Very Good Game.

This Game is worth its money. Great and realistic graphics and great creator that has made an interesting and intense (in some ways) game. Animation is good and found no bugs or glitches which means gameplay was easily accesible
One thing I would change is maybe a variation in the animations so guards change their walking pattern from time to time to catch the player out but its just a suggestion.
Well done dev
10/10 Would hide behind a fence again.

NOTE: This game was given to me by the developer for review purposes. This did not influence my review in any way.

Castle Heist: Chapter 1 is an indie first-person 'pure stealth' game. You play the nephew of a member of the Cartographer's Guild who has spent his life planning a heist on the castle town of Redfort in order to steal a powerful artifact from the evil Alchemist.

Graphics - Graphics generally look nice and the game performs well. The trees in particular look very nice. There are a few weird clipping issues when you approach some objects and a fair bit of obvious popping in and out of objects in the distance, and although guard models are reasonably nice and animated well, they don't quite move across the ground properly, with feet sometimes floating or moving under the level of the ground. And for some reason your character always carries around a map in his hands, making it basically impossible for you to see anything useful when you look down. In the second area I fell off a cliff while trying to see what was down there because the map was in the way!

The game world is very sparsely populated with identical guards, and there are invisible walls preventing you from departing the action areas, but the models that are used are quite sharp and the game does generally look quite nice, if a little lifeless. When ascending stairs or navigating some of the more crowded areas (e.g. the market or kitchen) I found it was very easy to get stuck on game objects, requiring me to back away.

Sound - Sound effects are lacklustre, with loud footstep sounds that don't sound that good making any movement sound like you're scuffing your steel-cap boots through piles of gravel. There is also pretty terrible voice acting at the beginning and when you reach certain points in the game, with no way to skip it. I'd have preferred simple text instead.

The music is mostly okay, though, with a suitably medieval feel to it most of the time. I did wonder about the out-of-place jazz number in Redfort at night, though.

Gameplay - Castle Heist plays like a simple version of Thief without the combat. There are no sound or vision indicators telling you when guards might catch you, and it's not always obvious when you're hidden or not, but the basic stealth mechanic usually works well enough to make the game fun.

Controls are simple: WASD to move, shift to crouch (no option for toggle, unfortunately), and space to jump. Mouse looks around, and since there's no combat and no way to use anything, the mouse buttons don't do anything. Since crouching is the most useful action in the game and there's no toggle setting, I mapped it to a mouse button instead, making it easier to move while crouched for extended periods.

Pros:
+ Nice looking graphics with mostly very good models and textures (available from the Unity asset store)
+ Level design makes sense; the developer has made good use of the available assets
+ Stealth mostly works well
+ Mostly good atmospheric music (from Incompetech and Sleep Facing West), except for the weird jazz piece that is completely out of place
+ Two achievements (both hidden)

Cons:
- Poor sound effects and pretty bad voice acting; the footsteps in particular are annoying
- Movement and clipping issues, and objects not interacting with the game world properly (e.g. guards hovering or walking in the ground)
- There's no way to tell when someone can see or hear you until it's too late, making it more frustrating than it should be
- 'Always-on' map when you look down is a terrible design decision; it just gets in the way
- Lacks polish


I'm a big fan of stealth games, but they also frustrate me a lot when the stealth aspects are done poorly. Thankfully, that's not the case here.

Castle Heist: Chapter 1 is very short: probably a bit too short for the asking price, as it can be completed in less than an hour. It plays more like a tech. demo than a game, but it is just Chapter 1 at this stage.

Caste Heist has its glitches, but the developer has done a pretty good job of fashioning an interesting enough stealth mission from some generally very nice assets. It's not the best stealth game out there by a long shot, but it's a good start; I do want to see what happens next.

Recommended for anyone wanting a quick fix of stealth gameplay, who doesn't mind a few glitches.

Let me try my hand at my first ever walkthrough!


-Walk around the back of stuff to get to a house.
-Walk into a door. Literally. Not even the ablility to open the door yourself.
-Walk to a map. Same.
-Hear a bad quality voice* over reading a letter
-Walk to a Tavern door. Same.
-Walk to a well. Same. At least you are accompanied by out of place Jazz music though.
-Walk down some stairs and then to the back to hear two guards talking**(optional)
-Walk up some stairs.
-Walk up some more stairs.
-Down a whole bunch of more stairs to hear guards talking*** (optional 2)
-Stairs.
-Stairs.
-Stairs. Maybe a door. Same.
-Stairs.
Game complete.

*Bad quality voice actor, maybe even the Dev himself.
** Same voice as before but a slightly different voice for the other. But barely.
*** Same as above but at least the other voice is much higher this time.


All in all, a risable piece of ♥♥♥♥. Save your £1.50 or whatever and take it to your newsagents and get some sweets. Won't last as long (though it's close) but would definitely be more enjoyable.

stupid game

This is a very nice indie game with lovely graphics and a nice atmosphere. The guards are very predictable and very short-sighted, but that improves the feeling that you are actually a master sneaker trying to find your way into the hidden passages. In the end, it is a quite short experience, but it was definitely worth the 3€ it cost. Thanks for creating it!

I waited to see if the developer was going to bring any more episodes out and then I could play it all in one but after waiting 2 and a half years I gave up.
The game is ok I was a bit disapointed with the graphics as they dont look anything like the screen shot quality we see on the steam page also if you walk to close to a barrel or street furniture even a candle it will stop you.
And the music wasnt all that medieval so you didnt feel like you was in a medieval setting.
I will recommend the game as I hope they finish the game and if they polish this one I will happily play through it againplus it is at the right price of £2.00.
If you still want a medieval stealth fix I recommend Shadwen it is very good.