Certainly one of the most iconic classic series among many on the old-school NES was Castlevania. For a few generations Konami absolutely tore it up with a string of great titles spanning multiple systems… until they just stopped. Ever since there have been a number of efforts, both more direct and indirect, to try to resurrect the series in spirit if not in name, but most of those attempts have tended to be middling at best with only a few exceptions. For people who are familiar with those classics, loading up Chronicles of the Wolf should absolutely give you some serious vibes of that revered series, but you’ll want to keep your expectations in check to avoid at least a bit of disappointment.

In terms of both its visuals and audio, there’s absolutely a great mix of classic flavor with some modern refinement. It’s somehow reminiscent of titles from days gone by, while still doing its own thing, which I can respect. I’d say that the control scheme also does a fair job of honoring the olden days, but that’s actually an area where I’d argue they should have simply gone with something more modern and sensible, as what worked back in the days of D-Pads and limited buttons now feels unnecessarily cumbersome. You’ll need to make smart use of both your primary and secondary weapons of choice, each of which has their own strengths and weaknesses, and the implementation of the secondary weapons in particular feels pretty authentically old-school, so that was appreciated.

In terms of play overall, it’s unfortunately a bit of a rough series of ups and downs, feeling unbalanced with spots that have odd difficulty spikes followed by areas that, by comparison, feel like a cakewalk. I found the first boss fight to be particularly obnoxious, with my primary weapon not having much range or the ability to attack upwards, and success in the end requiring a bit of secondary weapon spamming and simply grinding it out. From there I didn’t typically have many issues though, so I do worry about less seasoned gamers simply being discouraged needlessly. Another contributor to the degree of challenge can be how sporadically save points are placed, at times feeling appropriately paced, and others like you’re needing to stretch a bit. I think choosing one direction or another could be fine, the complaint is more that it feels inconsistent, so that’s odd.

In terms of an overall impression, I’d say my feelings are a bit mixed. On the one hand, it has a classic sort of feel that’s not so commonly found on the eShop, so that’s appreciated. On the other, more often than not the average moments in the game are just good, but not great either. It absolutely does a fair job of going through the general motions, but it’s just missing that spark of excitement that takes it to the next level. If you’re a true Castlevania fan I’d imagine there’s enough here to like to be worthwhile, but be sure to tamp down your expectations for something that’s just decent, not by any means a revelation.