Romancelvania

Fun and goofy as hell in a Scooby Doo sort of way. The dating aspect of it doesn't go too deep, so if you're really only here for that then you might be disappointed.

I really like the idea of this game, and had a lot of fun playing it, though the execution isn't quite there. Each of the characters has a cool idea behind them, but for those introduced during episode 3 (particularly Fenton and Lulu, I felt), we don't get to spend enough time with them, quickly exhausting their dialogue. Van Helsing's character felt inconsistent, being fairly hostile / untrustworthy of Drac during dialogue, but far more open during the fast travel cutscenes. I think the fast travel cutscenes, which I loved, are a good example of my main issue with this game: what we see of the characters is great, but we don't see enough. I would like more of the 'visual novel' element of the game. Fenton got almost as much characterisation in the mid-credit cutscenes as in the game proper! The 'Golden Hour' dates are a great idea, and it was nice to chat with the characters then, but I want more of that throughout the rest of the game, not just confined to the end of the episodes. One of my favourite ideas was the random appearances of characters having a fight and Drac having to side with someone. I only saw that a few times, and never with any of the episode 3 characters. I had very few bugs and only one crash (a marvel, given my laptop, but I do agree that the performance needs some work), but I think the developers needed to put more time into the later chapters. Some of the boss fights seemed like a proof-of-concept for a different game, adding little to this one, and could easily have been cut. I'd also say that Dolce and the Dessert Desert were unnecessary (the plot adjustment to episode 5 would be fairly easy), and that this development time would have been better spent improving the rest of the game. For example, multiple characters reference characters that have been eliminated as though they're still hanging around on set. Why not change that dialogue? Better yet, why not have those characters actually hang around, ignoring Drac but moving place to place so it seems they are talking to other characters? They appear during the credits, and PS Elle remains the whole time as she's relevant to some later quests, so just have them all there. I have some other minor issues, like the fast travel / save points not being particularly convenient (except for the one right by the start of the DLC... which they haven't made), and femme Drac still making some male Drac sounds, but nothing that overly hindered my enjoyment of the game. Speaking of sounds, that is an area I thought they did brilliantly in. The voice acting is very good, and the soundtrack is fun to listen to. Also great is the character artwork, though this is slightly let down by how few drawings there are, though that in turn makes the final date scenes (about the only place to find new artwork) even better. Overall, I think the developers needed a better idea of what the game is, and to cut things that don't sufficiently add to that. I really hope they return and update it. It's not quite an "I recommend even though it has issues", more "I recommend, and it has issues".