I tried this game a few years back, but never got too far and didn't think too highly of it. After actually finishing it, Dawn of Sorrow is much better than I gave it credit for.

The pace and structure is fun and quick. Exploration is always rewarding and you don't get lost for too long. The only exception is one section near the end, where it just gets tedious to progress.

Presentation wise, it's pretty good. Music is consistently great, even better than Aria of Sorrow. The visuals are super stylized and appealing, although the switch to an anime aesthetic for the character portraits is a downgrade. There's also a certain "cool" factor Aria had that Dawn misses, but it's still good.

This is just a strong castlevania game. In some ways it feels like an improvement on Aria, but in many others it feels like a step back with strange mechanics and odd pacing decisions here and there.