Castlevania Dominus Collection

96%
Game Brain Score Based on 543 reviews
  • music
  • gameplay
  • graphics
Castlevania Dominus Collection Game Cover
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The Castlevania Dominus Collection includes Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow and Portrait of Ruin, where players can explore the gothic-horror world in 2D graphics and face dangerous enemies. Dawn of Sorrow features a unique weapon-creation system through soul-combining, while Portrait of Ruin allows players to switch between two heroes, Jonathan and Charlotte. Additionally, Haunted Castle Revisited is introduced, offering both the original and redesigned versions of the first Castlevania arcade game. These games come with new features such as rewind, quick saves, and exclusive art.

  • Nintendo Switch
  • PC
  • Play​station 5
  • Windows
  • Xbox Series X|S
  • Play​Station
  • Xbox
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

96%
Audience ScoreBased on 543 reviews
music positive mentions
grinding negative mentions
  • The collection includes three of the best Castlevania games, providing a nostalgic experience for fans.
  • Quality of life features such as save states, rewind functionality, and the ability to use button prompts for magic seals enhance gameplay.
  • The inclusion of Haunted Castle and its remake adds extra value to the collection, making it a must-have for fans of the series.
  • The lack of customizable keyboard controls and options for full-screen mode detracts from the overall experience.
  • Some players have reported performance issues, such as lag and crashes, particularly on certain hardware setups.
  • The translation changes in the games have introduced some typos and inconsistencies, which may frustrate long-time fans.
  • music47 mentions

    The music in the collection is widely praised, with many reviewers highlighting it as a standout feature that rivals the best in the franchise. The soundtracks are described as heavenly and iconic, with some wishing for more tracks, while others appreciate the remastered quality and the inclusion of a music player for easy access. Overall, the music enhances the gaming experience, contributing significantly to the nostalgic and artistic value of the collection.

    • “For my tastes, the music in Ecclesia also charts in the top 3, very likely to take the top spot right next to Symphony of the Night.”
    • “The soundtrack, which was already great, now sounds even better as that grainy, noisy sound typical of games on the DS was removed.”
    • “Gorgeous, high-quality pixel art, divine music, big maps to explore with plenty to do; the value of this collection is astounding.”
    • “The music is heavenly, but I do wish there were a few more tracks within the game.”
    • “Sometimes the music and sound effects will even cut out for a few seconds as the screen freezes.”
    • “I'm not big on the endgame and the soundtrack is... just okay.”
  • gameplay41 mentions

    The gameplay in the reviewed Castlevania titles is characterized by unique mechanics, such as the dual character control in "Portrait of Ruin" and the reworked magic seal system in "Dawn of Sorrow," which now utilizes button commands instead of touch screen drawing. While the games maintain a strong arcade feel and offer improvements like a rewind function, some players find the touch screen mechanics intrusive, though they are generally well-implemented in the PC version. Overall, the gameplay is praised for its smoothness and distinct character mechanics, despite some criticisms regarding the size of the gameplay window and certain mechanics.

    • “The gameplay changes (rewind function, button press QTE instead of timed trackpad scribble for the magic seals in Dawn of Sorrow) are a breath of fresh air; the shiny new version of Haunted Castle also included is just a delight.”
    • “It looks breathtaking with fantastically detailed pixel sprites and the gameplay is fine-tuned to perfection.”
    • “The segmented world and stamina mechanic are interesting additions to the Metroidvania formula that I'm surprised almost no other game in the genre expanded upon these ideas.”
    • “The biggest point of contention was the infamous magic seal mechanic where you had to draw symbols on the DS touch screen in order to kill a boss for good; otherwise, they regain some of their health and you have to try again.”
    • “Sadly, the mechanic is kept in this collection, but you can opt to use buttons instead of drawing the seal. It doesn’t help, and the mechanic is still terrible.”
    • “But the issues are pretty detrimental to the gameplay.”
  • graphics34 mentions

    The graphics in this collection have received high praise for their stunning visuals and a return to a gritty aesthetic, particularly in "Order of Ecclesia," which many consider the peak of the franchise's art style. While some users appreciate the anime aesthetic, others feel it clashes with the overall gothic horror theme. However, the lack of graphical settings and options for filtering has been noted as a downside, leaving some players with hyper-pixelated visuals that detract from the experience.

    • “Order of Ecclesia excels in gothic horror, and I fully believe it is the strongest art style the franchise has had and where Castlevania peaked.”
    • “The visuals are absolutely stunning, moving away from the anime art style and returning to a more gritty look.”
    • “Three of the best Metroidvania games ever released bundled together with crisp graphical fidelity, uncompressed audio, near zero input delay, and a brand new remaster of the Japanese Castlevania 1 arcade release.”
    • “The visuals are the same as Dawn of Sorrow, so if you weren't a fan before, you won't be now.”
    • “A big downside, unfortunately, is that it doesn't have graphical settings as far as I can tell, so I can't put it in borderless window as of typing this review.”
    • “No in-game graphics screen filter options, so you have to look at hyper-pixelated visuals which I don't think was the intention, despite what some would have you believe.”
  • story33 mentions

    The story in "Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia" is praised for its emotional depth and character development, particularly highlighting the protagonists Shanoa and Albus. While some players find the narrative engaging and comparable to previous entries, others criticize its brevity and occasional lack of clarity, especially regarding character motivations and plot continuity. Overall, the story is considered one of the stronger aspects of the game, despite some frustrations with side quests and linear progression.

    • “The story in Ecclesia is one of the most emotionally resonant in the series, and as an older brother myself, Albus remains one of my favorite Castlevania side characters to this day, with Shanoa being my favorite protagonist possibly not just in Castlevania, but from any Metroidvania I've played.”
    • “Order of Ecclesia has some of the best story and best boss fights in the series.”
    • “The story, while simple and sparse, is still up there in the upper echelons of the series and explores the idea of fighting Dracula's army without the Vampire Killer in a way that made the experience stand out from most of the other games in the series.”
    • “The only two issues I take with the game are that the story is too short, and attribute points discourage glyph experimentation.”
    • “One criticism that is understandable is that, within the context of the story, Shanoa does not have emotions.”
    • “I do have some gripes about the plot of Portrait, namely the way the game poorly explains why Jonathan can't use the Vampire Killer whip.”
  • grinding18 mentions

    Players have mixed feelings about grinding in the game, with some finding it tedious and frustrating, particularly in optional quests and certain dungeons. While grinding can enhance gameplay and allow for character builds, many feel it requires excessive time investment, especially for achieving 100% completion. However, features like the rewind function are praised for making the grinding process more manageable and enjoyable.

    • “The optional quests are grindy and frustrating.”
    • “The only reason I don't rate this higher is that luck is a bugged stat and grinding to 100% can take a silly amount of time.”
    • “Though that magic seal can suck my pp, and the grinding is even worse, by nerfing the drop rate, and some are required to craft some of the best weapons in the game, but it still doesn't harm the experience.”
  • optimization17 mentions

    Overall, the optimization of the game has received mixed feedback. While many users report smooth performance and improved quality of life features compared to previous collections, some players have experienced significant performance issues, including low frame rates and the need for hardware adjustments. There is hope for future patches to address these concerns, but the current state remains inconsistent for some users.

    • “Lightning fast performance with excellent quality of life features to clean up the touch screen requirements.”
    • “No major issues detected, nice performance overall!”
    • “From my experiences, the games run smoothly and the touch-screen implementations are not intrusive.”
    • “I want to play this so bad, but this is my message to them: we really shouldn't have to throttle our hardware to meet a 2024 released game's specs for nominal performance to take place.”
    • “There's no way to adjust the performance settings for the game, so I'm not sure how to fix it yet.”
    • “Hopefully the performance issues can be fixed.”
  • stability6 mentions

    Overall, the stability of the game collection is praised, with users reporting minimal bugs and no major visual glitches at launch. While some minor audio issues and occasional screen freezes were noted, the games generally run smoothly without input delay, enhancing the overall experience.

    • “Please, Konami, and thanks for the amazing collection! The games are great; I just finished 'Order' and so far everything looks great. The games run smoothly, and the rewind feature has saved me a couple of times since I don't have the time to watch a screen and reset at save points.”
    • “So far, 'Dawn of Sorrow' runs great. The quality of life features are excellent and it's way better than playing it on a Nintendo DS.”
    • “Sometimes the music and sound effects will even cut out for a few seconds as the screen freezes.”
    • “I have yet to see any visual glitches, stuttering, and frame dips, which are all common when playing these games on an emulator.”
    • “3: Stability - minimal bugs at launch: no visual glitches noticed, if memory serves on how this is supposed to look.”
  • emotional4 mentions

    The emotional depth of "Ecclesia" is highlighted by its resonant storytelling and well-developed characters, particularly Albus and Shanoa, who evoke strong connections with players. Many users express a deep appreciation for the narrative and character dynamics, making it one of the standout experiences in the series.

    • “The story in Ecclesia is one of the most emotionally resonant in the series, and as an older brother myself, Albus remains one of my favorite Castlevania side characters to this day, with Shanoa being my favorite protagonist, possibly not just in Castlevania, but from any Metroidvania I've played.”
  • humor3 mentions

    The humor in the game is highlighted by the amusing chaos that ensues when rapidly switching characters, each shouting their name, and the intentionally poor default controls that add a layer of absurdity. Additionally, the ironic preservation of older Konami titles contributes to the overall comedic experience.

    • “The character you’re switching to shouts their name, leading to a funny cacophony as you rapidly switch between them.”
    • “The default controls are absurdly bad to the point where it's genuinely funny.”
    • “A perfect example of how to preserve older video games from Konami of all companies, which is quite amusing.”
  • monetization1 mentions

    The game's monetization strategy appears to be unconventional, as it was released on Steam and other platforms without prior advertising, suggesting a surprise launch that may impact its visibility and sales.

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