Most of negative reviews refer only to Dracula 4 which is first half of one game. After second part release it was merged into single package as Dracula 4+5 which makes some of the complaints about length and abrupt ending no longer accurate but unfortunately overall quality didn't improve. Both parts take about 4 hours to finish and D5 starts right where D4 ends. Game(s) is standalone and though there are few nods to Dracula 3, they seem just put there for sake of belonging to the same franchise. I quite liked puzzles, they felt mostly well balanced, not too easy not too hard. But as whole it's more on a casual side. Inventory-based actions are straightforward and there is very little freedom in exploration, so mostly just hopping from one riddle to another with occasional talking in between. Story is moderately interesting at best and gets more ridiculous with time, plot twists make no sense and all characters are incredibly dull. What's worst, despite being story about vampires and Dracula, it's hardly horror at all. Forget the gothic weirdness and grotesqueness of Dracula 1/2 or heavy atmosphere of Dracula 3. Here everything seems remarkably boring and non-threatening. And then there is this stupid mechanic with medicines that protagonist has to take from time to time. I have no idea why it's there but it feels utterly pointless, out of place and annoying, and could even potentially lock player from finishing the game. Considering it gets super cheap on sales might be worth these few cents if you really like puzzles (or bad vampire stories).
