Castle of no Escape
Released Jun 2017
Explore the mysterious castle full of monsters and secrets in a quest to collect all the treasures (that will also protect you from the curses on your way) and crush the main boss. The game won't let you exit the castle, no matter how you try. Technically you can win, but there is no end.
66% positive · 160 reviews
Done
All announced content has been released
High confidence
Done
All announced content has been released
High confidence
Where to get it
Free on Steam
Evaluation
On August 23, 2025, the developer posted a heartfelt announcement marking the 10th anniversary of the series and explicitly closing the book on it. The post explains that Castle of no Escape 3 was attempted for six years but ultimately cancelled, and that the series will not continue — in the developer's own words, they made the games free "to put a period on the series." The announcement also shares the tragic news that Esdeer, the co-creator responsible for the game's art, music, story, and design, passed away in February 2022. The surviving developer concludes that without Esdeer, "it won't ever be the true Castle of no Escape," and lists many ideas for the series that will never come to pass. The source code was open-sourced under a non-commercial license, and the developer explicitly states they do not promise any further updates to the game on Steam. This is an unambiguous, direct statement that development of the series is finished.
Evidence
Developer announces the series is over, making the games free to 'put a period on the series.' Castle of no Escape 3 was cancelled after 6 years of failed prototypes. Co-creator Esdeer passed away in February 2022. Source code open-sourced; no further Steam updates promised.
Media
Details
Developer
Publisher
Xitilon
Achievements
25
Platform
Windows
Controller
partial support
Steam Deck
Not rated
Players
Single-player
About this game
"CRAWL THE DUNGEONS AT YOUR HOME TV!"
"ULTRA 8-BIT CASTLE ACTION"
"UNLEASH YOUR INNER NIKOLAI"
"MULTI STEREO GRAPHICS RESOLUTION!!!"
"SECTOR-EFFECTOR 1.21 GIGAWATT SUPERSOUND!!!"
THE GAME
Explore the mysterious castle full of monsters and secrets in a quest to collect all the treasures (that will also protect you from the curses on your way) and crush the main boss. The game won't let you exit the castle, no matter how you try. Technically you can win, but there is no end.
CONTROLS
Press Enter to start the game
Press 1, 2 or 3 to select a hero
Strength, Intelligence and Dexterity at the hero selection screen are the maximal values which that hero can get. Strength is both for life and attack power, intelligence is both for mana and spell power. Dexterity affects your attack and defence accuracy.
You lose the game when either of those parameters gets below zero!
ON THE MAP
Arrow keys to walk around
Z or Enter to perform action (attack, open chest, read book, buy potions, use the stairs, gaze into an orb, drink from a pool)
X or Space to cast spells in battle or to light a flare otherwise
1, 2 or 3 to select a potion to buy or a spell to use
Press M to turn background music on/off
ARTEFACTS AND CURSES
Opal VS Blindness - you forget the map and don't see any new rooms, flares become useless
Pearl VS Forgetfulness - you don't remember where have you been before
Ruby VS Lethargy - monsters get the first turn to attack
Diamond VS Weakness - you lose 1 strength point every 20 turns
Emerald VS Bad luck - your minimal attack power drop to 1 instead of 50% of strength value
Blue Fire VS Bookstuck - book sticks to your hands and you can't attack anyone in this state
Sign VS everything except Bookstuck
SPELLS
Web prevents the monster from attacking and lasts 0-3 turns. Costs 1 point of intelligence.
Fireball is obvious enough. Costs 2 points of intelligence.
IQ instantly kills your opponent if it's intelligence is less than yours. Otherwise, you lose. This spell doesn't spend anything.
PROGRAMS USED
Game Maker 8.1 Standard
sfxr/bfxr
FamiTracker
FruityLoops
Notepad (obviously, for Readme.txt)
MS Paint
CREDITS
Xitilon.HD408 - game design/adaptation, programming, sound generation
Esdeer aka BSOD - graphics, music, sound design, testing
Inspired by Leygref's Castle etc.
"ULTRA 8-BIT CASTLE ACTION"
"UNLEASH YOUR INNER NIKOLAI"
"MULTI STEREO GRAPHICS RESOLUTION!!!"
"SECTOR-EFFECTOR 1.21 GIGAWATT SUPERSOUND!!!"
THE GAME
Explore the mysterious castle full of monsters and secrets in a quest to collect all the treasures (that will also protect you from the curses on your way) and crush the main boss. The game won't let you exit the castle, no matter how you try. Technically you can win, but there is no end.
CONTROLS
Press Enter to start the game
Press 1, 2 or 3 to select a hero
Strength, Intelligence and Dexterity at the hero selection screen are the maximal values which that hero can get. Strength is both for life and attack power, intelligence is both for mana and spell power. Dexterity affects your attack and defence accuracy.
You lose the game when either of those parameters gets below zero!
ON THE MAP
Arrow keys to walk around
Z or Enter to perform action (attack, open chest, read book, buy potions, use the stairs, gaze into an orb, drink from a pool)
X or Space to cast spells in battle or to light a flare otherwise
1, 2 or 3 to select a potion to buy or a spell to use
Press M to turn background music on/off
ARTEFACTS AND CURSES
Opal VS Blindness - you forget the map and don't see any new rooms, flares become useless
Pearl VS Forgetfulness - you don't remember where have you been before
Ruby VS Lethargy - monsters get the first turn to attack
Diamond VS Weakness - you lose 1 strength point every 20 turns
Emerald VS Bad luck - your minimal attack power drop to 1 instead of 50% of strength value
Blue Fire VS Bookstuck - book sticks to your hands and you can't attack anyone in this state
Sign VS everything except Bookstuck
SPELLS
Web prevents the monster from attacking and lasts 0-3 turns. Costs 1 point of intelligence.
Fireball is obvious enough. Costs 2 points of intelligence.
IQ instantly kills your opponent if it's intelligence is less than yours. Otherwise, you lose. This spell doesn't spend anything.
PROGRAMS USED
Game Maker 8.1 Standard
sfxr/bfxr
FamiTracker
FruityLoops
Notepad (obviously, for Readme.txt)
MS Paint
CREDITS
Xitilon.HD408 - game design/adaptation, programming, sound generation
Esdeer aka BSOD - graphics, music, sound design, testing
Inspired by Leygref's Castle etc.
Are these done yet?
Last evaluated Jun 27, 2026
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