This is the first game I've bought on GOG, and this is my first review. I completed it and even got all the trophies after 40 hours of gameplay aprox.. As a Castlevania fan, I could say THIS fills the hole we have in our hearts, however it has its flaws.
Pros:
- It FEELS as a truly Metroidvania experience. Variation on stages, interesting bosses, exploring...
- The soundtrack, at the hands of Michiru Yamane, is 100% amazing and it has subtle details that will remind you to old tracks of the saga. The song of the first stage feels as if its telling you "Hello, missed us?". It's superb.
- The shard system, which took their roots from the Sorrow sub-saga of Castlevania, is incredible. There is a wide variation of them, different uses, you can FEEL the upgrades (not like in Dawn of Sorrow) if you apply them, it is very well done.
- The crafting system is cool and engaging as well. The sidequests are engaging to do these.
- Three different endings, but the hints to advance avoiding the bad endings are not so cryptic.
Cons:
- Having played old Castlevania's, you can start to feel at a point that it is monotonous. I understand SotN is the pinacle of the franchise and that others took elements of it... This game did, of course, but sometimes it's way too literal.
- The models of the characters sometimes can feel a bit odd... A character could be crying or having an extreme emotion and the model, in the cutscene, stands still.
- Not great graphics overall... not a big deal to me but you may be interested in this. Besides, there are a couple of enemy models that start to bug and distort after they die, a very VERY ugly visual detail.
- Near the end of the game, you can see there is a lack of creativity with the enemies.
- Let's not talk about the Kickstarter goals being cut (search "Bloodstained Roguelike mode" and you will understand)...
Overall, it is an entertaining experience, but it could be better polished. Waiting for more updates! I hope they come... I hope...
