My first ever Castlevania! Yeah, this was pretty good! I think the RPG elements and upgrade system are fun to play around with, I particularly like how much choice you have in your weapons and souls (abilities) and how it feels like you can customise your build in a lot of meaningfully different ways. I went through with a Spear which was upgraded to a Trident by the end of the game and used the Killer Clown (long-range projectile) and Alastor (giant flying sword guy who hovers around me) souls throughout most of the game and was a total distance demon. Felt good.
I also like the world design, though this is almost a given in a Metroidvania. Lots of cool little nooks & crannies and the way the world loops back on itself, as always, is neat. However, my fundamental beef with Metroidvania remains in tact. It feels like these games kinda demand you play them to completion in a few consecutive sessions and never take time off or do something else, because god forbid you forget this one random ass progress gate that's actually key to the critical path but you can only get past once you get an upgrade 8 hours after you first see it. Noting these things down, remembering them and progressing because you paid attention to the game world is cool! But having to waste hours of your time backtracking through the same places just to find out where you actually need to go because you decided to take a break is not. Metroidvanias feel like they practically necessitate a walkthrough at times in my opinion and I just don't enjoy that, I think these games would hugely benefit from a system like the Sheikah Stone Visions in Ocarina Of Time 3D. If I've lost my way - don't tell me where to go, but give me a hint! Show me a brief snippet of gameplay that suggests a general idea of where I should be.
I very much appreciated Dawn Of Sorrow's variety in enemies, visuals and music! Though it has to be said that whilst every area gets a new coat of paint, they all play pretty much the same. I think some kind of change of pace a la the blackout sequence in Metroid Fusion would have gone a long way. The only areas that felt particularly different imo were Subterranean Hell (which was a kinda lame water level) and the Demon Guest House because of its sliding room puzzle (my favourite area in the game.)
So, yeah! I liked it well enough - I have some gripes but I'm also reminding myself that this is a game from 2005, ahaha. Video games have come a long way since then and I admit it is a bit hard - even as someone who isn't a huge Metroidvania fan to go back to a game like this knowing how much it's inspired the likes of, almost objectively superior games like Hollow Knight and Dark Souls. They, of course have the benefit of years of game development understanding and industry progress over Dawn Of Sorrow! But going back today is less like playing a really good game on its own merits, and more like looking at an interesting starting point for some of the better stuff of the past decade. It still holds up just fine, but said industry progress has rendered it a bit obsolete, I think. Were the story or worldbuilding a bit more interesting, that might not be the case - but this game's biggest strength is definitely its gameplay and that's been bettered since.
I also like the world design, though this is almost a given in a Metroidvania. Lots of cool little nooks & crannies and the way the world loops back on itself, as always, is neat. However, my fundamental beef with Metroidvania remains in tact. It feels like these games kinda demand you play them to completion in a few consecutive sessions and never take time off or do something else, because god forbid you forget this one random ass progress gate that's actually key to the critical path but you can only get past once you get an upgrade 8 hours after you first see it. Noting these things down, remembering them and progressing because you paid attention to the game world is cool! But having to waste hours of your time backtracking through the same places just to find out where you actually need to go because you decided to take a break is not. Metroidvanias feel like they practically necessitate a walkthrough at times in my opinion and I just don't enjoy that, I think these games would hugely benefit from a system like the Sheikah Stone Visions in Ocarina Of Time 3D. If I've lost my way - don't tell me where to go, but give me a hint! Show me a brief snippet of gameplay that suggests a general idea of where I should be.
I very much appreciated Dawn Of Sorrow's variety in enemies, visuals and music! Though it has to be said that whilst every area gets a new coat of paint, they all play pretty much the same. I think some kind of change of pace a la the blackout sequence in Metroid Fusion would have gone a long way. The only areas that felt particularly different imo were Subterranean Hell (which was a kinda lame water level) and the Demon Guest House because of its sliding room puzzle (my favourite area in the game.)
So, yeah! I liked it well enough - I have some gripes but I'm also reminding myself that this is a game from 2005, ahaha. Video games have come a long way since then and I admit it is a bit hard - even as someone who isn't a huge Metroidvania fan to go back to a game like this knowing how much it's inspired the likes of, almost objectively superior games like Hollow Knight and Dark Souls. They, of course have the benefit of years of game development understanding and industry progress over Dawn Of Sorrow! But going back today is less like playing a really good game on its own merits, and more like looking at an interesting starting point for some of the better stuff of the past decade. It still holds up just fine, but said industry progress has rendered it a bit obsolete, I think. Were the story or worldbuilding a bit more interesting, that might not be the case - but this game's biggest strength is definitely its gameplay and that's been bettered since.