I don’t think anyone at Konami way back in 1986 could’ve ever foreseen the impact that Castlevania would have. Combined with Metroid it spawned a whole genre of games, and without it we wouldn’t have stone-cold classics like Hollow Knight, Dead Cells, Ori and the Blind Forest, or Axiom Verge. The Castlevania Anniversary Collection launched back in 2019 to give fans a taste of the early days for the series, and now it’s free to keep, giving you eight games for the grand price of nothing.
The Castlevania Anniversary Collection is a look at the fledgling years for a gaming series that’s still going strong today. Inside you’ll find Castlevania, Castlevania II Simon’s Quest, Castlevania III Dracula’s Curse, Super Castlevania IV, Castlevania The Adventure, Castlevania II Belmont’s Revenge, Castlevania Bloodlines, and Kid Dracula – the last of which had never before been released in English. While not all of them are worthy of being remembered as being among the best Metroidvania games, they’re all definitely worth playing if only to see the evolution of Castlevania as its own entity.
What’s also worth remembering if you’re planning on diving into this collection is that many of these games hail from an earlier era with a different design ethos to the one you’d find today. Games at the time were often inspired by arcades, so a lot of these Castlevania titles are incredibly brutal to play, with you dying frequently and fast. If you can handle that, and can keep your controller from smashing into a nearby wall, you might find yourself falling in love with them. Of course, it helps that you’re out there trying to give Dracula a thrashing – something he so richly deserves.
For those wanting a little more, this collection also includes the History of Castlevania – Book of the Crescent Moon. This eBook gives tons of details about the creation of Castlevania, from designers, developers, and artists who all worked on, or were inspired by, the legendary titles.
The Castlevania Anniversary Collection is free to keep on the Epic Games Store until Thursday November 21, along with puzzle title Snakebird Complete. Head over to the EGS site to learn more, and see if you want to step back in time with the Belmonts.
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