“Romancelvania” is developed by indie studio The Deep End Games. This is quite an oddball of a game, that isn’t one that you come across very often. There are some games that don’t need to be masterpieces or even push the boundaries of games, some just want to entertain you a little. This romantic side-scrolling action dating sim does just that while parodying a classic franchise that helped create its own genre, the “Castlevania” franchise. The game raised over $200,000 through Kickstarter and for what we got with that money, is about what you’d expect.
In “Romancelvania”, you play as a male or female version of Dracula named “Drac,” who has been stripped of their powers and placed in a reality TV show. Reluctantly recruited by the Grim Reaper to star in a “reality dating show,” Drac’s mission is to find the world’s most eligible monsters, get them to move into their party mansion, and restore their former glory by killing everything in their path along the way. Featuring about a dozen monsters that you can romance, such as Vess, Fenton, Nefret, Leira, Robert, Medusa, Lulu, Sol, and of course the most notable one P.S. Elle, the woman made up essentially pumpkins… including her very noticeable breasts.
While the dating sim elements in “Romancelvania” are not as elaborate as some may have hoped, you still get the chance to go on dates with the potential suitors. However, these dates often feel like breaks in between the combat gameplay, which to be honest, could have been a lot better. The game features standard “metroidvania” gameplay and violence, with adult language and sexual themes, of course. When you take on the task of spoofing a classic genre and still want the project to be a success, the gameplay should equally match the source material it’s based on, at the very least make it feel very polished, which this didn’t feel like to me.
The upgrade system, though I found it to be pretty cool, is similar to the Horadric Cube in “Diablo 2,” where you can add weapons and crystals together to fuse into something new. Back to the dating side of things, you do have a lot of conversations with the cast (some more-so than others) to learn more about them and what they like and don’t like. Similar to a lockpicking mechanic, you’ll eventually get the opportunity to help your date become less tense by offering a massage. Succeeding in this task will unlock new conversations and potential date options, which is pretty funny and charming, these comedic elements are where this title shines the most for me.
“Romancelvania” features large and ridiculous boss fights, such as Cthulhu or a giant blob made of spaghetti and meatballs which just goes to show how silly this all is. The writing in “Romancelvania” is funny and self-aware, knowing not to take itself too seriously. However, the gameplay could use some improvement, as I said the combat is janky and attacks don’t always connect as well as you’d expect. Drac’s signature weapon is “The Impaler,” a long spear and is a fairly solid main weapon. Overall, “Romancelvania” is a comedy game that you play for laughs and to have a good time with friends or your significant other, if you enjoy some sexual tension of course. It’s not a game that takes itself too seriously, and the writing is sure to make you chuckle. But yeah, that gameplay could be better, and the dating sim elements are not as elaborate as some players may have hoped. For a twenty-five-dollar title, it feels a bit steep for what you get, although when on sale, this certainly would be worth a pickup for a bit of a good time.
7/10
For more information about Romancelvania, please visit http://romancelvania.com/.
Related: Nick Navarro Reviews
Gaming since I was given an original Nintendo as a kid. I love great storytelling and unique ingenuity. When both collide in a single game, I'm a happy gamer. Twitter/IG @NickNavarro87
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