Romancelvania

About

"Romancelvania" is a single-player fantasy platformer game featuring a good plot and plenty of humor. As lovelorn Drac, enter a monster reality-dating show in Transylvania to find a romantic partner while exploring and battling absurd baddies. With a weaving story, 12 fully-voiced supernatural contestants, and various customization options, player's decisions shape Drac's abilities and the story's outcome in an unpredictable, interconnected world.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

77%

Audience ScoreBased on 60 reviews

humor36 positive mentions

stability6 negative mentions

The writing and dialogue are hilarious and engaging, providing a unique blend of humor and charm.
The game features a diverse cast of characters with depth, making interactions enjoyable and rewarding.
The art style and level design are visually appealing, creating a fun and immersive environment.

The combat mechanics are clunky and unrefined, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences.
The lack of a map and navigation aids makes exploration tedious and confusing.
The game suffers from numerous bugs and performance issues, detracting from the overall experience.

humor
36 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is widely praised for its hilarious dialogue, charming characters, and clever writing, often blending absurdity with heartwarming moments. While many players appreciate the unique comedic style and witty gags, some feel that the humor can be hit-or-miss, with occasional reliance on references rather than original jokes. Overall, the game offers a fun and entertaining experience for those who enjoy a mix of adult humor and lighthearted storytelling.
- “The dialogue is hilarious and awesome.”
- “The characters are hilarious and the scenes, story, and dialogue are full of wicked, witty gags.”
- “This game is a hilarious send-up of both Castlevania and dating shows.”
gameplay
35 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
77%
9%
The gameplay in "Romancelvania" has received mixed reviews, with many players noting its clunky mechanics and lack of polish, particularly in platforming and combat. While some appreciate the humor and character development, they feel that the gameplay often feels cumbersome and chaotic, detracting from the overall experience. However, as players progress and unlock new abilities, the gameplay does improve, suggesting potential for a more enjoyable experience with further development.
- “The gameplay is fun, the music is amazing, and the dialog is hilarious and serious when it needs to be.”
- “Solid gameplay and the combat gets better (as with most metroidvania games) as you unlock powers.”
- “After you build Drac up, the gameplay feels better; you better understand how to develop strategies to handle the enemies, and the cast is the star of the show that keeps me playing even when I do find the gameplay less enjoyable.”
- “It's true that this game has clunky platforming and combat mechanics.”
- “At this point in time, I would say the narrative carries the gameplay in Romancelvania, which is unfortunate because it's not that the gameplay is wrong; it just feels very clunky.”
- “Billed as a cross between a dating sim and a Castlevania spoof, it really does neither of those mechanics well.”
story
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
40%
15%
The story and dialogue in the game are widely praised for their humor and engaging characters, making it a standout feature despite the lackluster combat mechanics. Players appreciate the witty writing and interesting plot, although some find the dialogue choices limiting and the quest lines in need of refinement. Overall, the narrative experience is enjoyable and serves as the primary draw for those who prefer story-driven gameplay.
- “The best part of the game is the story and dialogue.”
- “The characters are hilarious and the scenes, story, and dialogue are full of wicked, witty gags.”
- “Very fun and interesting characters, it's simple easy to learn combat, and just a fun game with a very funny story.”
- “Later when trying to be not interested in other characters, my only dialogue choices were sometimes forced to 'flirty,' 'sexy' or 'friendly.' When you get to your first real date, conversation options are removed entirely and you simply watch a 3D cutscene of the characters talking.”
- “It felt odd that the dessert desert stage was out of left field and didn't appear to add to the story beyond 'candy unicorn.'”
- “I will say it could use some more polishing on the quest lines.”
music
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
55%
18%
27%
The music in the game is generally praised as world-class, with standout themes that enhance the atmosphere and gameplay. However, some users feel that while certain tracks are memorable and engaging, others can be forgettable or serve merely as background noise. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a significant highlight, blending modern elements with classic influences.
- “Art looks great, SFX are awesome, and music is world class.”
- “The gameplay is fun, the music is amazing, and the dialog is hilarious and serious when it needs to be.”
- “Music is really nice with a modern twist.”
- “The music fluctuates between awesome and forgettable.”
- “The music and atmosphere in the gallery was genuinely creepy, the marble skin being stripped from the marble men to reveal flesh underneath was so good!”
- “I also spent a few years working on post-punk versions of all of the CV soundtracks, so you could say I'm a bit of a Vania fan.”
graphics
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
40%
30%
The graphics in the game receive mixed reviews, with 2D character portraits praised for their quality and ability to convey emotion, while the 3D models are criticized for inconsistent quality and sometimes awkward design. The overall visual aesthetic is described as quirky and creative, though some players find it unappealing and reminiscent of lower-quality titles. Additionally, players noted the need to adjust graphic settings for better visibility in certain environments.
- “I think the 2D character portraits are the best artwork in this game and convey characters much better than their 3D models do. However, not all of the 3D models are bad; their quality is just far less consistent than the 2D portrait quality.”
- “Based on what I knew about the game, it met my expectations and sometimes exceeded them with the clever voice performances, cheeky writing, amazing OST, and quirky visuals.”
- “The visuals in this game are clearly creative and reflect the love of the developers.”
- “The visual aesthetic is awful and reminds me of the worst parts of Bloodstained.”
- “The models can look downright hilariously goofy, but not in a charming way, just in a graphic design error kind of way.”
- “Every aspect of the game - from the platforming, the romance, the graphics, the combat, and metroidvania aspects - is underwhelming at best, and outright awful at worst.”
stability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, the stability of the game is characterized by a mix of minor glitches and bugs, which are typical for Bethesda titles at launch. While some players report no significant issues, others experience frustrating bugs that affect gameplay, though none are deemed game-breaking. The development team is noted for being responsive, indicating a commitment to addressing these stability concerns.
- “It describes how difficult it is to judge Bethesda games at launch due to how buggy they usually are - is a given issue an actual bug, a design flaw, or something that just didn't get finished in time?”
- “Unfortunately, as of this writing, there are still a few glitches that need ironing out, but again, nothing deal-breaking.”
- “I'll say this first: this game sounds like a good game, but right now, it's buggy/janky as hell.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is praised for its heartwarming and humorous elements, effectively blending charm with nuanced themes of consent and personal power. Reviewers highlight the emotional depth of the characters, particularly noting the protagonist's journey, making it a memorable experience despite its brevity.
- “It is heartwarming and funny in a way that the charm keeps coming.”
- “It's brief but surprisingly nuanced in touching upon the way consent and personal power can color an interaction.”
- “Come for the funny pumpkin moments and stay for Drac's sweet emotional journey.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
100%
Overall, while the game impresses with its voice performances, writing, and visuals, players have reported performance issues and occasional stuttering, even on capable hardware.
- “Based on what I knew about the game, it met my expectations and sometimes exceeded them with the clever voice performances, cheeky writing, amazing OST, and quirky visuals.”
- “There are performance issues and stuttering at times, even on a reasonable machine.”
- “The game suffers from significant optimization problems, leading to frequent frame drops.”
- “Despite having a capable system, I experience lag and long loading times that ruin the experience.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players express frustration with the grinding aspect of the game, noting that outdated 3D models and tedious level designs detract from the experience, making the time spent grinding feel less rewarding.
- “I would have been quite annoyed to have my coin grinding time wasted.”
- “Yes, some of the 3D models are quite terrible (more in line with the PS2/PS3 than current gen) and, yes, the level designs can be a bit tedious.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
100%
The game offers notable replayability due to the ability to alter relationship choices, though the extent of content variation based on these choices remains uncertain. Additionally, the dating mechanics contribute to a high replay value, encouraging players to explore different romantic paths.
- “Given the nature of the dating aspect, the replay value of Romancelvania is pretty high.”
- “It seems like there might be some replay value since you can change your relationship choices, but I've yet to see how much the content changes with your choices.”
- “Also, given the nature of the dating aspect, the replay value of Romancelvania is pretty high.”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere is described as genuinely creepy, enhanced by unsettling music and striking visuals, such as the transformation of marble men revealing flesh beneath their skin. This combination effectively immerses players in a haunting experience.
- “The music and atmosphere in the gallery was genuinely creepy; the marble skin being stripped from the marble men to reveal flesh underneath was so good!”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
200%
Character development features some interesting and thoughtfully designed characters, though the humor may not resonate with everyone, resulting in mixed reactions to their overall depth and engagement.
- “The character designs have some interesting elements and thought put into them.”
- “The humor, while overall missing for me, did have moments that got a legit chuckle out of me.”