Review: Castlevania: Harmony of Despair

To preface this, previous to HoD I hadn't played a Castlevania game since Super Castlevania IV, so I was expecting something in that ilk. I was also expecting some nice HD upgrade like Street Fighter received; that is not the case. When you first start off you'll probably be really confused. The game doesn't do much to acclimate you to how the game works, which is admittedly a lot different than previous iterations.

When you start a level you are in a zoomed out view which shows you much of the map around you, from there you can zoom in so you can see what you are doing, or zoom out all the way and see the entire map. Now you'd think that with the option to see the whole map and even move around while in that view that it would be easy to find your way around. That isn't always the case since the levels in HoD can be fairly confusing, especially if you are new to the game and are trying to play single player.

This is one of the most disappointing aspects of the game for me. HoD is not meant to be played alone. The option is there sure, but you won't have much fun or luck making it through the level and downing a boss. You'll also encounter many areas that are made for multi-player and are just plain undoable solo. There are also shortcuts built into every level that can only be utilized by one of the characters.

As different as this game is presented to you, all the enemies, items and characters are familiar territory. Also reminiscent is the difficulty level. HoD is hard, even with a full team of six people you'll be struggling to finish normal mode. The game only has six levels, and if you manage to finish them there's a hard mode with assumedly better gear. I say assumedly because I haven't managed to down Dracula in normal mode yet... his third form is a bitch!

The music is the standard Castlevania affair, gothy metal that goes well with the fast pace of the multi-player environment, but nothing that really stands out. Now the real draw of HoD is the grinding and loot. As you fight your way through the levels, you'll find chests everywhere containing either items or gold. The game has a slight rpgish feel to it, but you don't level up. Your characters stats increase by equipping better weapons/armor. You can also upgrade the spells or abilities your character uses by using them frequently, or find new spells to use. You have the ability to buy new equipment, but you'll buy the best stuff the vendor has to offer fairly quickly and find yourself grinding, hoping for an upgrade to randomly drop.

The characters you can play as includes Alucard, Soma Cruz, Jonathan Morris, Shanoa and Charlotte Aulin. Each character plays a bit differently and has certain gear or spells only they can use. The gear you have is universal between all of them for the most part though which is nice since you just need to find one of an item and can equip it to all of your characters if they're able to use it. The controls work well enough but the characters all feel a bit slow and there seems to be a small delay when you try to jump or use an ability. It works well enough to get through the game, but it doesn't feel really fluid.

The whole game feels a bit unfinished. The visuals are on par with an earlier Gameboy game maybe and the whole experience just doesn't feel very polished. If your a big Castlevania fan and don't mind only playing multi-player then you might enjoy this. I have to admit that the loot-driven gameplay is kind of addicting, but for anyone who isn't a big Castlevania fan you probably won't find a whole lot of value for your fifteen bucks.