definitely an PS2 classic but damn is this game tiring, the gameplay is well realized, the combat is really fun with a lot of variety considering the different weapon classes. the "Innocent Devil" system is incredibly cool, it's engaging to try out each helper and see their evolutions and abilities.
the soundtrack slaps as usual for the series, the story is surprisingly good for an Castlevania game, I liked the characters and even the dialogue, PS2 era games have that cheesy and exaggerated acting that I really enjoy and this game does it perfectly, the cutscene direction and mocap are really good too.
unfortunely the rest is marred down by a lot of slogness and repetition, there are some Castlevania games that are known for their piss poor map designs, the GBA titles such as Circle of the Moon or Harmony of Dissonance are the top contenders but Curse of Darkness might be the worst when it comes to this, each area is designed the same way, roads leading to doors with more roads that are filled with the same copy pasted enemies, different pathways that are there just to slow down the player, lots of time there is nothing in the end to properly reward the player for exploring these massive and repetitive areas, the incredibly slow movement speed that Hector has doesn't help either.
play Curse of Darkness in short bursts otherwise most players will probably bounce off on this in an hour or two, Igarashi and his team probably felt that the variety of helpers and weapons would compensate for the overall simplistic and boring exploration elements but this is not how I felt during my nearly 10 hour playtime, going for an more linear approach would have been better choice in terms of structure.
the soundtrack slaps as usual for the series, the story is surprisingly good for an Castlevania game, I liked the characters and even the dialogue, PS2 era games have that cheesy and exaggerated acting that I really enjoy and this game does it perfectly, the cutscene direction and mocap are really good too.
unfortunely the rest is marred down by a lot of slogness and repetition, there are some Castlevania games that are known for their piss poor map designs, the GBA titles such as Circle of the Moon or Harmony of Dissonance are the top contenders but Curse of Darkness might be the worst when it comes to this, each area is designed the same way, roads leading to doors with more roads that are filled with the same copy pasted enemies, different pathways that are there just to slow down the player, lots of time there is nothing in the end to properly reward the player for exploring these massive and repetitive areas, the incredibly slow movement speed that Hector has doesn't help either.
play Curse of Darkness in short bursts otherwise most players will probably bounce off on this in an hour or two, Igarashi and his team probably felt that the variety of helpers and weapons would compensate for the overall simplistic and boring exploration elements but this is not how I felt during my nearly 10 hour playtime, going for an more linear approach would have been better choice in terms of structure.