The Castle Doctrine is a massively-multiplayer game of burglary and home defense. It's 1991, and things are bad. You're a guy with a house and family. Other players are coming to take what's yours. Build security to stop them. Study their houses, buy tools, and break in to take what's theirs. Everything you do is permanent
Honestly, as a game The Castle Doctrine has some very interesting parts. As a puzzler it will always keep you on your toes, you will even struggle to beat your own traps unless, like me, you write down the exact way to beat them. It's incredibly interesting to plan your house out and make it as impermeable as possible. What turns me off of The Castle...
The Castle Doctrine is a poorly balanced structure built on an unstable foundation.
The Castle Doctrine is certainly an experience unlike any other, but I also find it hard to recommend since it's so obtuse and seems to want to put new players at a huge disadvantage, increasing the skill gap between the best and the worst. Intense research and work must be put forth to succeed, but there's no real motivation except bigger and better...
My cranium is red raw from tearing strands of hair from my scalp in frustration and I'm sure plenty of others will be bald within an hour of playing The Castle Doctrine. It's a shame that this is the case because there are some interesting options available to players, but the cutthroat design choices are a step too far.
A a grim, unsatisfying and morally dubious exercise in frustration and empathy suppression.
