I love me some metroidvania's so its kind of weird that ive never actually played through the actual two games that shape the genre, Castlevania or Metroid. So I decided to.... Play the GBA games. Go figure.

In general I don't hate Circle of the Moon, there's still a lot to like, exploration can be fun, the combat is meaty and the designs are interesting for the most part but overall it really feels like a game that all too often goes out of its way to waste time, either through its level design comprising mostly of looping staircases and mazes.... or through its card system that works entirely off the back of random loot drops.

Again, its not awful but its certainly a game that could have done with some better cleaner design.