"Wanderburg" played: This castle is constantly hungry
A castle on wheels sounds like a good gag at first. In the game, it turns into a roguelite where I constantly try out new combinations of weapons, abilities, and chassis.
A castle belongs on a hill, protected by thick walls and a moat as deep as possible. "Wanderburg" has little interest in that. Here, castles roll through the landscape, devouring everything that gets in front of their gates. What starts as a manageable fortress grows into an increasingly absurd war machine.
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Eat first, grow later
At the beginning, my castle is still quite small. I steer it freely using the keyboard through a limited level, eating my way across the landscape. Fields disappear under the wheels, sheep along with them, and even farmers aren't safe from it.
With larger targets, this method quickly reaches its limits. Fortunately, my castle is armed from the start: a cannon automatically fires at enemies within range and clears them out of the way.
Defeated enemies drop loot that I collect as I drive by. This results in new upgrades. The game offers me three random options to choose from each time. Sometimes a new weapon is added, sometimes I strengthen an existing one or add an additional effect to my build. For me, this randomness is a big part of the appeal because it means my castle develops slightly differently in every attempt at best.
If I defeat a boss, my castle itself finally grows. It becomes visibly larger and takes up more and more space on the screen. The small defensive tower thus transforms over time into a massive fortress.
More weapons, more punch
By the time the later weapons arrive, "Wanderburg" throws all restraint overboard. In addition to archers and mines, mage towers, rockets, and a battering ram also land on my fortress. Historical accuracy clocks out early here.
Some of the weapons fire automatically, while I trigger other abilities myself and then have to wait for their cooldown. Some weapons work better at a distance, while others unfold their effect directly on the enemy.
For example, I have to head straight for an enemy with the battering ram, while archers are already dealing damage during the approach. The electric mage combines both systems in a different way: he attacks automatically and can stun enemies with his active ability. Such combinations give my build more depth than just ever-increasing damage values.
What I enjoy most is when several weapons work together meaningfully and my castle becomes a completely exaggerated arsenal.
I keep the colossus on course
My most important task remains steering. I keep my distance, look for favorable angles, and grab loot without rushing directly into the next group of enemies. When things get tight, I ignite the nitro and give my castle significantly more thrust for a moment.
More armor makes the castle more robust but costs maneuverability. If I focus on speed, I zip across the map much more agilely, but I can take less damage. The unwieldy bulwark can thus almost become a racing castle.
For later runs, I unlock further chassis and can push these differences even further. This includes, for example, the spider castle, which already stands out completely from the norm visually with its long legs and also feels different to drive.
Chaos needs variety
As the castle grows, it quickly becomes confusing. Projectiles, effects, and enemies overlap while I am supposed to collect loot and keep the colossus on course at the same time. In hectic moments, I therefore don't always immediately recognize where the greatest danger lurks. The chaos is part of the appeal.
Despite different enemy types, the runs often follow the same pattern: keep distance, let firepower work, collect loot, and move on. New enemies should force me to change my driving style more often.
Even with upgrades, I quickly reach for familiar solutions. Certain weapons and effects work so reliably that I have hardly any reason to vary my build more. As a result, the random selection currently provides less variety than I had expected.
I want another round
What sticks with me is above all the desire to experiment. I want to try out more chassis, screw even more absurd weapons onto my castle, and see what other nonsense the game has in store.
At the moment, that is quite enough for me to press "Play" again.
"Wanderburg" was released in Early Access on Steam on September 8th. The roguelite is being developed by the German studio Randwerk.
My interests are varied, I just like to enjoy life. Always on the lookout for news about darts, gaming, films and series.
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