A bit of a backstory so you know where I'm coming from:
As some of you know I'm a bit of a 'vania fan - with my faves being the obvious two Symphony of the Night and Castlevania IV - though Rondo of blood is close up there too. I didn't really care for Lords of Shadow mainly as I wasn't a fan of it's direction for the series.
Needless to say I was a pretty skeptical regarding this game and whilst it certainly has it's flaws - I'm generally pleased with it's direction for the series and it's core gameplay. One more thing to note, I've played the game for around 3 hours so use this as an early indication of my thoughts.
I'll start with it's positives. It's biggest positive is it's core gameplay, platforming is challenging and engaging with just the right amount of mobility to keep the game fluid and fun to navigate and the core combat manouvres - dodging, attacking, sub weapons and magic feel fluid and are a nice throwback to the games of old.
The games style is a mix of Castlevania IV and Rondo of blood - with an emphasis on pushing forward, but with room to explore. It does keep some metroidvania elements with areas not accessible until the correct upgrade has been unlocked but it's always pushing you in the right direction. The challenge level is good too - It's not an automated game which means you can and will fail, but the checkpoints are generous to keep from frustration.
Negatives now... First and foremost the controls can be a little unwieldy - the circle pad moves your character and the d-pad selects magic, I can't help but feel the other way around would have been a better option. Combat is the next problem - whilst the combat options are fun, the game doesn't really ask you to make of all of your abilities - your whip and dodge are pretty much all you need - with magic and parry moves a distraction at best... Next - QT-f'ing-E's the break up the game's flow and add absolutely nothing to the game. Which is a real shame...
Finally, presentation is the last issue. Castlevania games are all fondly remembered for their excellent audio, art and graphic design and this game simply doesn't maintain that tradition. Music is relatively forgettable and the graphics are solid but really nothing special - the cutscenes have a nice comic effect and I'd love to have seen that carried into the game. Plus the framerate is pretty poor, whilst it doesn't drop it works against the fluid nature the game is going for... Course all of this isn't helped by the awful hardware either.
Overall though, so far it's fun and well worth a look of you liked the old 2D Castlevania's as this will likely be as close as we will ever get again - it's got some nice ideas and core gameplay - all of which I hope get refined for a sequel...
As some of you know I'm a bit of a 'vania fan - with my faves being the obvious two Symphony of the Night and Castlevania IV - though Rondo of blood is close up there too. I didn't really care for Lords of Shadow mainly as I wasn't a fan of it's direction for the series.
Needless to say I was a pretty skeptical regarding this game and whilst it certainly has it's flaws - I'm generally pleased with it's direction for the series and it's core gameplay. One more thing to note, I've played the game for around 3 hours so use this as an early indication of my thoughts.
I'll start with it's positives. It's biggest positive is it's core gameplay, platforming is challenging and engaging with just the right amount of mobility to keep the game fluid and fun to navigate and the core combat manouvres - dodging, attacking, sub weapons and magic feel fluid and are a nice throwback to the games of old.
The games style is a mix of Castlevania IV and Rondo of blood - with an emphasis on pushing forward, but with room to explore. It does keep some metroidvania elements with areas not accessible until the correct upgrade has been unlocked but it's always pushing you in the right direction. The challenge level is good too - It's not an automated game which means you can and will fail, but the checkpoints are generous to keep from frustration.
Negatives now... First and foremost the controls can be a little unwieldy - the circle pad moves your character and the d-pad selects magic, I can't help but feel the other way around would have been a better option. Combat is the next problem - whilst the combat options are fun, the game doesn't really ask you to make of all of your abilities - your whip and dodge are pretty much all you need - with magic and parry moves a distraction at best... Next - QT-f'ing-E's the break up the game's flow and add absolutely nothing to the game. Which is a real shame...
Finally, presentation is the last issue. Castlevania games are all fondly remembered for their excellent audio, art and graphic design and this game simply doesn't maintain that tradition. Music is relatively forgettable and the graphics are solid but really nothing special - the cutscenes have a nice comic effect and I'd love to have seen that carried into the game. Plus the framerate is pretty poor, whilst it doesn't drop it works against the fluid nature the game is going for... Course all of this isn't helped by the awful hardware either.
Overall though, so far it's fun and well worth a look of you liked the old 2D Castlevania's as this will likely be as close as we will ever get again - it's got some nice ideas and core gameplay - all of which I hope get refined for a sequel...
Comment