➤ Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls, the review 🎮

The fact that you are reading the Castlevania review: Grimoire of Souls it represents in many ways an anomaly. The Konami mobile game, available in soft launch in 2019, had in fact been set aside and removed from the shops, it is not known why, only to rise from its ashes and become an exclusive for the platform Apple Arcade.

In short, we are talking about an event that is more unique than rare in the mobile and videogame panorama in general, which gives us the wonderful opportunity to try a real sequel to the classic episodes of Castlevania in premium format, without microtransactions, exclusively in single player (the cooperative mode has been removed) and equipped with the all-important support for controllers.

Story

Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls, the review — Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls, a dialogue from Alucard and Jonathan

Set before the events of Aria of Sorrow, the history Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls tells of the return of Alucard in his "human" version, the secret agent Genya Arikado. It's been a while since the last fight with Dracula, when the count and his cursed castle were sealed inside an eclipse, but apparently the vampire lord's threat has not yet been eradicated forever.

The vampire receives one day the letter from Lucy Westenra, head of Elgos, asking for his help: the magic books of Castlevania have begun to manifest an uncontrollable power and it is necessary for Alucard to enter the dimension of the grimoires to restore order. , eliminate the monsters that are causing chaos and prevent the dark creatures from crossing the barrier that separates them from our reality.

Characters

Alucard's expedition proves to be a success, even if in the book that traces his exploits the warrior is endowed with inferior skills than those he really possesses. This is the gimmick that the game's authors have come up with to justify the solid RPG-style progression system that allows players to characters of Grimoire of Souls to gradually improve their skills, unlock new ones and equip more powerful weapons and items.

We talked about characters, in the plural, not surprisingly: in addition to Alucard, in the Konami mobile game we will be able to control several historical protagonists of the series, from Simon Belmont (Castlevania) to Charlotte Aulin (Portrait of Ruin), from Maria Renard (Rondo of Blood) to Shanoa (Order of Ecclesia), and unlock other supporting ones. Each of them has different characteristics, capable of substantially changing the approach to action.

Gameplay

Unlike the excellent Contra Returns (review here), Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls presents levels of traditional mold rather than short challenges tailored to mobile gaming. This means that the deadlines for completing each stage are the standard ones, to the benefit of a gameplay which thus has the opportunity to develop but at the same time must give up the component Metroidvania typical of the franchise starting from Symphony of the Night (here the review of the mobile version).

La formula it is therefore closer to the classic chapters, strongly action-oriented thanks to the presence of numerous enemies, bosses and mini-bosses to defeat, but there is no shortage of secrets to discover within the scenarios, primarily walls that can be destroyed or difficult platforms to reach for finding hidden chests and obtaining extra resources.

As mentioned above, the various Alucard, Simon, Charlotte, Maria and Shanoa are different figures in terms of ability and repertoire, which significantly increases the variety of experience when you decide to tackle an internship as one character rather than another. It is possible to do it freely, but it is clear that continuing the progression of all the protagonists will limit the growth of those we prefer.

From this point of view, the elements porridge have evidently been rethought on the occasion of the arrival of the game on Apple Arcade, and although they are still present they do not concretely affect our ability to move forward in the campaign and overcome its challenges. The same goes for the credits, which apparently do not run out where there is a need to use them to continue the game after the game over.

Controls

Il control system of Grimoire of Souls presents a set of touch commands of discreet workmanship but with some criticalities that are evident during the most agitated situations. The virtual stick is in fact equipped with a sensitivity that is too low, not adjustable, and therefore happens to invade the screen with the left thumb, while maneuvers such as dodging, which require a slide, are often not received correctly.

Thankfully the game supports i controller Bluetooth, and this definitely changes the cards on the table. Using physical controls, the gameplay gains a lot in precision and reliability, becomes more affordable in boss fights (very well done, by the way) and, in general, transmits the sensations of a traditional Castlevania, even more so where you can enjoy the experience in front. to an iPad screen.

Structure and technique

The system at the base of Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls is therefore surprisingly solid and interesting, capable of offering situations that are perhaps not very original, but able to trigger the spark in the heads of fans of the Konami series. Well, to these successful aspects is added one structure quite generous, with over 60 levels divided into various chapters and a large number of extra challenges that can be accessed from the main hub.

From a technical point of view, the original graphics raster of the Castlevania episodes was taken as a reference for a transition to polygons that for once appears pleasant and harmonious thanks to the work of Ayami Kojima, with a good amount of animations and sufficiently varied scenarios, often able to bring traditional atmospheres to the screen of the series. Also excellent colonna sonora signed by Michiru Yamane, who accompanies the action in an inspired way.

Comment

Tested version iPad Digital Delivery App Store Price Free Resources4Gaming.com

8.4

Readers (9)

8.2

Your vote

Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls is a surprising and full-bodied title, characterized by a gameplay that draws on the classic episodes of the Konami series but without the overly synthetic approach often seen in similar productions. While giving up the metroidvania elements, it can count on the variety guaranteed by the large number of levels and the different unlockable characters, each with different abilities and characteristics. Unfortunately, the touch controls do not do justice to the experience, especially in the most excited phases, but it is possible to connect a Bluetooth controller and let yourself be pleasantly involved in the atmosphere of this new adventure in the world of Castlevania.