Castle of Deceit is one of those NES games that sounds cool in theory—you're a wizard trapped in a cursed castle—but man, does it test your patience. You get one spell to work with, and the levels drag on forever with cheap enemy placements and awkward jumps. I remember thinking, "Okay, maybe I just need to get used to it," but nope—it stays brutal the whole way through.

Critics tore it apart back in the day, and honestly? They weren’t wrong. The idea had potential, but the execution feels like it was designed to punish you more than challenge you. If you're into masochistic retro platformers, maybe give it a shot, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.