True to form, I'm not as harsh on this game as many people are. I love a good Metroidvania, and while there's little reason to play this over many other options both modern and classic, I still love Castlevania and I had a good time. Yes, parts of it are a struggle but I enjoyed the survivalist feel that added to the game, and the immense feeling of relief upon finding the next save room. It still mostly felt like a comfy experience to me, despite how punishing it could get.
The DSS system is a cool hook, but I ended the game with only about half the cards, despite all the backtracking I did. As many others will point out, the drop rates for these are way too low, making the system much more difficult to engage in than it should be. I did find a personal favorite combo and get a lot of enjoyment out of it in the latter parts of the game. The built-in notices in the Advance Collection telling you if an enemy even drops a card or not, and if you already have the one for your current foe, are at least a blessing. On that note, the game essentially having an entire built-in DSS/enemy/item guide is cool as well, if almost feeling a little cheaty to consult too much.
Saves and warps are often spaced out in an awkward way that makes walk-backs to the nearest safe locale (or an area that you want to revisit and further explore) a pain in the ass, especially since certain rooms demand you take a circuitous route up and down instead of just being able to quickly get from one end to the other.
Final boss knocks off at least half a star on its own. Cool aesthetic design, truly awful game design. The second phase is all the fun of trying to swat a fly that never lands and keeps buzzing around the room.
My words probably say three stars, but my heart says three and a half, because Nathan is my himbo king who breaks rocks with his head, be nice to him.
The DSS system is a cool hook, but I ended the game with only about half the cards, despite all the backtracking I did. As many others will point out, the drop rates for these are way too low, making the system much more difficult to engage in than it should be. I did find a personal favorite combo and get a lot of enjoyment out of it in the latter parts of the game. The built-in notices in the Advance Collection telling you if an enemy even drops a card or not, and if you already have the one for your current foe, are at least a blessing. On that note, the game essentially having an entire built-in DSS/enemy/item guide is cool as well, if almost feeling a little cheaty to consult too much.
Saves and warps are often spaced out in an awkward way that makes walk-backs to the nearest safe locale (or an area that you want to revisit and further explore) a pain in the ass, especially since certain rooms demand you take a circuitous route up and down instead of just being able to quickly get from one end to the other.
Final boss knocks off at least half a star on its own. Cool aesthetic design, truly awful game design. The second phase is all the fun of trying to swat a fly that never lands and keeps buzzing around the room.
My words probably say three stars, but my heart says three and a half, because Nathan is my himbo king who breaks rocks with his head, be nice to him.