Fact: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is one of my favorite games ever. Ever since I exhaustively completed it in every way possible during my formative years, I've been aimlessly looking for a true successor. A few games got close, but ultimately were missing something I couldn't put my finger on. Astalon is the closest game to scratch that itch so far.

It's more of a "metroid" than "vania" game, and it shares some similarities with the Igavania sub-subgenre. It doesn't feature the complexity or sheer number of gameplay systems as SOTN, but it absolutely nails the exploration aspect - you're always finding new shortcuts, secret rooms and new abilities to help you traverse the map and reach previously inaccessible spots.

One of its core mechanics is that everytime you die, you get sent back to the first room in the game (albeit with all your upgrades, items and map progress carried over). It's a testament to how well connected the tower is, because you're almost always able to find yourself back at your previous death spot with very little effort.

Unfortunately, this can sometimes lead to some repetitive bouts, especially during the latter harder (and cartographically isolated) sections of the game. Still, the game is never unfair with the player and greatly rewards pattern learning, memory and exploration.