Wallachia: Reign of Dracula
- February 28, 2020
- Migami Games
Get on Steam"Wallachia: Reign of Dracula" is a retro-styled action platformer/shooter game with a unique soundtrack and professional voice actors, including Kira Buckland and Robert Belgrade. The game is based on the history of Vlad the Impaler, rather than typical vampire myths, and follows the protagonist Elcin Floarea's journey to take down Vlad Dracula and free Wallachia. Along with 7 action-packed levels, the game offers bonus content, mini games, and unlockable crossover content from Bloodstained Ritual of the Night.
Nintendo Switch
PC
Playstation 4
Windows
PlayStation
Reviews
- Great music and beautiful art direction that captures a retro vibe.
- Challenging but fair gameplay that rewards learning enemy patterns.
- Offers a unique blend of classic Castlevania and Contra gameplay with unlockable content.
- Controls can be unresponsive and inconsistent, leading to frustrating gameplay.
- Limited lives and the loss of power-ups upon getting hit can feel punishing and unnecessary.
- Technical issues such as crashes, poor UI design, and lack of sound controls detract from the experience.
- gameplay44 mentions
- 36 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Wallachia: Reign of Dracula" is a challenging blend of classic Castlevania aesthetics and Contra-style run-and-gun mechanics, offering a unique retro experience with beautiful art and excellent music. While many players appreciate the fair difficulty and engaging level design that encourages learning from mistakes, some criticize the trial-and-error nature and certain design choices that can feel frustrating. Overall, the game is praised for its solid controls and enjoyable mechanics, despite some players finding aspects of it slightly flawed or simplistic.
“A wonderful hybrid of classic Castlevania and Contra with great music, beautiful art direction, and challenging but fair gameplay.”
“The gameplay is fun, and even if the difficulty is high, you learn really quickly thanks to the well-made level design.”
“Now then, let's talk about what's to like about the game: the gameplay is very good. For the most part, it’s pretty hard but fair, making you take your time and study your enemies' movements and the lay of the land before advancing.”
“- Infuriating trial and error gameplay with almost zero room for mistakes.”
“UI, controls, movement, animations, combat, mechanics, level design, etc. it all just felt slightly subpar and uninteresting.”
“You will often slide (another wholly unnecessary mechanic, but 'muh rondo of blood') when attempting to do a jumping diagonal downward shot.”
- graphics44 mentions
- 36 % positive mentions
- 55 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their vibrant pixel art style, effectively capturing the essence of classic retro games with detailed environments and gothic scenery. However, there are criticisms regarding inconsistencies in character art and the quality of cutscenes, which detract from the overall visual experience. While many reviewers appreciate the nostalgic aesthetic reminiscent of 16-bit games, some feel that the focus on graphics may have come at the expense of other game elements, such as controls and interface design.
“The pixel graphic art style is really good; it definitely captures the feel of an old retro video game, while being quite detailed with a great use of vibrant colors and gothic scenery.”
“Overall, the best thing I can say about this game is that the graphics are gorgeous.”
“The game has a fantastic art style and sprite work along with a great original soundtrack.”
“The cutscenes' artworks are not as polished as the rest of the game.”
“But it really feels like they blew their whole budget on the graphic artists and everything else just didn't get the polish or QA it desperately deserved.”
“Only one little thing that did grind my gears was the inconsistency of the character art style.”
- music40 mentions
- 65 % positive mentions
- 28 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received widespread praise for its quality and fittingness to the gameplay, with many reviewers highlighting specific tracks as favorites. While some noted that it may not be as memorable as compositions from classic titles like Castlevania, the overall soundtrack is described as fantastic and well-designed, enhancing the nostalgic arcade experience. However, a few opinions suggest that certain pieces may be forgettable, indicating a mixed reception in terms of memorability.
“The music is very good and fits each level very well; my favorite song has to be the first track for the first level.”
“Amazing soundtrack and sound design.”
“Forgettable music.”
“Everything from the music, the graphics, the mechanics, to the fact that I want to bang my head against a wall when I die brings me back to when the SNES and Genesis days.”
“The atmosphere, music, and overall play-style really bring me back to arcade games/NES games.”
- story24 mentions
- 42 % positive mentions
- 46 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The story of "Wallachia: Reign of Dracula" is set in 1462, focusing on Prince Vlad Dracula's brutal reign and the plots against him, which some players find engaging and reminiscent of classic titles like Castlevania. While the cutscenes feature appealing artwork, the narrative is primarily conveyed through dialogue boxes and voice acting, which some reviewers found lacking in animation and depth. Overall, the atmosphere and presentation of the story are praised, though it has received mixed feedback regarding its execution and themes.
“On the positive side, the music is very good, the story and world are well presented, and the artwork is decent.”
“It's the year 1462. Prince Vlad Dracula is in his second reign and already he has gained a reputation of being a merciless ruler who has killed thousands, but many people plot against him from the ruler of the Ottoman Empire to his own brother Radu.”
“Also, having a real story, cutscenes, and voice acting (!!) along with everything else for such a small price makes this game a steal in my book.”
“Story: my least favorite part.”
“However, the cutscenes at the beginning and end feature a great brushstroke art style, but unfortunately, the rest of the story is told through dialogue boxes and text with overlaying voice acting and minimal character animation.”
“The story is very reminiscent of Castlevania (not surprising with a title like this).”
- atmosphere6 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is heavily influenced by classic titles like Castlevania, combining nostalgic elements with a Contra-style gameplay. Reviewers praise the immersive atmosphere, engaging music, and a compelling story that evoke memories of arcade and NES games.
“+ Cool atmosphere and story.”
“Castlevania atmosphere with Contra gameplay!”
“The atmosphere, music, and overall play-style really bring me back to arcade games and NES games.”
- stability4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant stability issues, including frequent crashes, freezes, and poor system responses, particularly when adjusting settings. Players also report unusually long loading times and difficulties playing in windowed mode at acceptable resolutions, contributing to an overall frustrating experience.
“Crashes, freezes, and terrible system responses when you manage settings (can't even play windowed mode at a good resolution) and strangely long loading times.”
“- it's sometimes buggy as hell.”
“Crashes, freezes, and terrible system responses when you manage settings (can't even play windowed mode at a good resolution) and strangely long loading times.”
- character development4 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Reviewers note that while the character designs evoke nostalgia for the PS1 era, they feel that the game misses significant opportunities for deeper character development, leaving players wanting more depth and growth in the characters.
“The character designs remind me of PS1-era games, which, in my humble opinion, is the renaissance era of gaming.”
“Missed character development opportunity.”
“The character designs remind me of PS1-era games, which, in my opinion, is the renaissance era of gaming.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game is widely criticized for its poor optimization, with multiple users expressing frustration over performance issues.
“What a poorly optimized game.”
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by the intense frustration players feel when enemies can inflict damage just by contact, creating a sense of vulnerability and tension that enhances the overall experience.
