Castellan

Castellan is a single-player, real-time roguelite castle defense game. You defend the last castle on the border as thirteen armies approach, aiming arrows, placing soldiers and timing spells yourself. Chapters take a few attempts, and each attempt earns mastery for permanent upgrades that help you return stronger.

Defend the castle

Hold the left mouse button and aim arrows at specific targets, such as healers behind the enemy line, distant rock throwers or supply chests falling from the sky. You can press F to enable auto fire and keep aiming. When the castle’s health runs low, Last Stand begins: you shoot faster, your soldiers move faster and kills earn more mastery.

Deploy your soldiers

Before each attempt, spend gold on chests. The soldier cards they contain make up your squad for that attempt. During battle, drag a card from your hand onto the field to place that soldier where you want; you can right-click a deployed soldier to pick it up and move it. Position footmen at gaps, archers behind them and a cleric close enough to heal both.

There are 33 soldiers across three roles: melee, ranged and healers. Their abilities include lightning that jumps between enemies, shots that slow, attacks that hit groups, bonus damage against flying enemies, finishing blows against wounded enemies and war drums that speed up nearby allies.

Cast spells

Chests also provide spells. You take four into battle and cast them with keys 1 to 4; each has limited charges. The nine spells are Entangling Roots, which holds a wave in place; Frost Field, which slows it; Fireball, which burns it; Poison Cloud, which eats through it; Repair Ritual, which repairs the castle; Sunburst, which punishes summoned enemies; Windshear, which pulls flying enemies to the ground; Rally Horn, which shields your army and revives the last soldier you lost; and Judgement, which damages the strongest enemy on the field.

Upgrade between attempts

Every attempt earns mastery, including failed ones. You spend it on 204 permanent upgrades across 11 tabs: Castle Defense, Arrows, Supply Drops, Soldiers, Economy, Remnants, Overall Power, Spells, Chests & Cards, Elite & Boss, and Advanced. Upgrades can strengthen walls and repairs, add arrows to each shot, grant critical hits or piercing arrows, and make soldiers stronger or faster. Others improve spells and chests, or provide special tools against elites and bosses.

Supply chests can fall during battle. Shoot one open to send its card straight into your hand. Enemies you kill also leave remnants that drift back to the castle. Upgraded remnants can repair walls, grant mastery and gold, or explode.

Each chapter has five quests. Completing them permanently raises your gold cap, letting you buy more chests and bring a larger army on your next attempt.

Face thirteen armies

The game has 13 chapters, each with its own army, elite, boss and rule to learn. Its 85 enemies require more than brute force. Goblin slingers shoot over the front line as goblins flood in; wolf clans leap over soldiers to land at the walls; swamp witches heal their army; and giants throw rocks from a distance at soldiers and the castle. Skeletons rise again unless their bone pile is broken, while vampires turn your soldiers against you.

Other threats include a bronze bull that turns red before charging, gates that open in the middle of the field, and wyverns that never land. A dragon only descends after her brood is dead. At the end of the road, the pact calls back every race and boss you thought you had defeated.