![]() As only a relatively small part of a much larger game, the Castlevania content is memorable and high-quality, but there’s really not that much of it to see. ![]() The only drawback of this DLC is that it’s, well… just DLC. Meanwhile, stepping into a biome to hear a new rendition of 'Vampire Killer' or 'Bloody Tears' is magical, and it’s even better when you realize that changing the music to 8-bit brings back the original tracks in all their chiptune glory. Whether you’re gazing up at the weird towers of the castle silhouetted against a massive blue moon or staring down Death’s grinning visage as he pulls out his huge scythe, there’s a palpable sense that the environments and enemies here are truly distinct from the things you encounter in the rest of the game. In terms of presentation, Return to Castlevania does a great job of adapting iconic Castlevania visuals in a way that tracks with the Dead Cells universe, feeling like a fitting fusion of the two. It feels like the meat of the content in this DLC is inspired by Symphony of the Night (duh) and Rondo of Blood, but there are still plenty of references to the broader Castlevania series everywhere. Talk to Maria about her cat, and she’ll tell you that its name is Byakko, but it depends on who you ask, referring to its many appearances throughout the series. Enter into a new biome and you'll see its name briefly flash up on a title card in the same way that levels did in Rondo of Blood. Walk into the passage between biomes, and you’ll find that the Collector has been replaced by Shanoa, the star of Order of Ecclesia. Perhaps the biggest delight of Return to Castlevania is that the developers were keen to pack this DLC with as many references and easter eggs as possible. ![]() Then, of course, there are the cosmetic armors, which let you dress up as characters such as Simon or Alucard. ![]() Staple sub-weapons like the Holy Water and Throwing Axe are of course up for grabs, along with interesting new weapons like Death’s Scythe or Medusa’s Head. While slicing and whipping your way through the likes of Werewolves and Armor Knights, enemies will occasionally drop blueprints-not unlike the two Sorrow games-that you can later invest cells into to grant yourself access to some useful weapons and skills. Though it only takes a couple of hours (depending on the difficulty level and your skill) to make the ascent and send ol’ Drac back to sleep for another hundred years, there’s a decent amount of content here to unlock and take with you into the rest of the game. Still, Dracula has brought some friends, too, and you’ll have to battle through the likes of Medusa and Death itself to get your shot at taking on the ageless villain. Obviously, the goal here is to ascend the castle and defeat the freshly resurrected King of the Night himself, aided by allies like Maria Renard and Alucard. You can interact with the new content right off the bat by simply talking to Richter Belmont in the Prisoner’s Quarters, and following the stairs to a new door that will take you to the outskirts of Dracula’s castle. Though this new update from partner developer Evil Empire - a studio made up of "ex-Motion Twin team members and new recruits" - technically only adds a few hours of additional content to the base Dead Cells experience, every inch of it is clearly crafted with love and care for Konami's spooky, vampire-slaying franchise. And all of it feels like it’s been leading up to the new Return to Castlevania DLC. Motion Twin has produced wave after wave of updates, some free and some paid, which have packed the already awesome base game with a dizzying amount of new biomes, weapons, cosmetics, and more. Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Undocked)įew games have enjoyed post-launch support as robust and high-quality as Dead Cells has received for the past six(!) years.
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