Introduction
Today we are going to look at a mod that is a fusion between Doom and Castlevania. It is called Castlevania Simon’s Destiny, what if, their game was made in 3D, and acted a bit like a first-person shooter? That is what this game is all about. I will not be doing a story section for this review, the plot is simple, get into the castle and kill Dracula.
What did I think before playing Castlevania Simon's Destiny?
This was a mod that I accidentally stumbled upon, you can freely download it. It seemed like instead of a gun, you will indeed be wielding a whip to slay the many enemies that are walking through the freshly made 3D castle of Dracula. I even noticed the sub weapons will be available. You can download this mod on Itch, that is also the page where we will go to look for more information.
The Itch page
https://batandy.itch.io/simonsdestiny
It is immediately made clear this is a fan project of Castlevania, it also says this is a standalone game. All that you need is GZdoom and the right WAD file. Which can easily be found online. You will not have guns like in Doom, instead you will have to whip your enemies into shape, also known as, killing them. I was very eager to see how far I could get in the first attempt.
Rating
I rated Castlevania Simon’s Destiny with a 8.2 before playing.
Castlevania in 3D? Sign me up!
Gameplay
The first thing people will think is that the gameplay is very much the same as Doom, yeah, throw that out of the window, right away! If you are looking for just another Doom clone or mod, then this is not what you are looking for, we are here to play Castlevania. This means you will only have your whip to attack enemies, and you can only wield one subweapon at a time. No insane gear, wielding ten weapons at the same time, nope, just a whip, and a subweapon.
You will have to collect hearts to actually use your subweapon, you know, like in the original game. You don’t have a lot of health as you explore the castle. Zombies will attack you, skeletons will throw bones. Medusa heads will kill you. There are many secrets to find in the Castle, there are different stages and beating this game is really hard.
If you think, ha, I can easily bust up those pesky zombies, then I am going to burst your bubble. Some of them are much stronger than you would expect, there will also be bosses, they have a lot of health, are fast, and will attack you relentlessly. You better make sure you found the right subweapon beforehand, your whip can be upgraded, but this only comes later.
Rating
I rated the gameplay of Castlevania Simon’s Destiny with a 8.9
Time to whip some enemies!
Sound and Graphics
Graphics
The graphics of this game are insane, you do have to keep in mind, this is mimicking a retro game, not the next Elder Scrolls. So, we have to look at what era it is trying to be, and for that era, this game is insanely good! If this had come out for real in that time, this game would have been a bestseller!
Sound
The soundtrack is spectacular, it is as if you are really exploring an evil castle. There are some, strange, weird things hidden in this castle, though. The whip effects are fun, hiya, come get some zombie!
Rating
I rated the sound and graphics of this game with a 9.0
If you like Castlevania, you will love this game!
What did I think after playing Castlevania Simon's Destiny?
This game does have a high difficulty, but if you enjoy playing it safe, you can save your game. And, there are also autosaves. This is useful for if you enjoy playing the level all the way from the beginning. Maybe you now know where some enemies are. Because they can hit a lot, be careful of flying enemies that sneak up on you.
There are many enemies that you will encounter, these are all recreated in the image of Castlevania, which is great. Even the bosses are right in tune with this game. These bosses can be very hard to beat, but it is also really euphoric when you do beat them!
Rating
I rated Castlevania Simon’s Destiny with an 8.9 after playing.
Can you get Simon through this 3D castle?
What are my personal thoughts about Castlevania Simon's Destiny?
I had fun with this game, a lot actually, I am even considering making a full play through with each video being one stage.
Rating
My personal Rating of Castlevania Simon’s Destiny is a 9.6
Damn, I really needed this game when I was younger.
Last Words
Pros
- Explore a grand castle with many stages in 3D
- Use your whip to whip enemies into shape
- Use different subweapons, find the one that suits your playstyle
- Find keys and secrets by checking all the nooks and crannies in this castle
- Fight against epic bosses, learn their patterns and strafe like never before
- Enjoy the amazing soundtracks while killing zombies
- This game is free to play
- You can save and there is even an autosave feature
Cons
- The difficulty can be high, but that is what saves are for
- Finding the right subweapon can be hard
If you enjoy Castlevania, then this game is a must play!
Final Rating
8.8
Please let me know what you think of Casltevania Simon’s Destiny in the comments!
I hope you enjoyed reading this review, I hope to see you in the next review!
If you liked reading this review, maybe you would like to share this review with your friends!
EMPERORU
Never know about this game, i thought it only 2d platformer, Looks good. Good 7/10
supersven
Maybe you can try it one day?
metalhead8489
i also didn't know a doomlike castlevania existed, looks nice
supersven
It also plays nice!
Kamlesh
Nice to see a mod review.
fano23
Seems pretty cool and different from original games
rezonono
Castlevania in FPS mode: a good idea!
DonCarlos
If this had been released by Konami themselves for the PS1, it would have been on the cover of everything and in the collection of every gamer that could get a copy.
supersven
I was thinking the same thing!
Nicole
Looks pretty fun for people who love this genre and I think it's cool that people still make dedicated fan projects for retro games!
supersven
These projects are always fun to play, and free!
long shade
Good review! Interesting game.
jon doe
wow this looks fun
Twigas_Hobbes
sounds interesting
thx for the review
... ...
seems cool
Helena
The music of this game is the best for me
Selig
Looked pretty hard to walk. But anything in the Castlevania realm has my interest! Great little mod
supersven
It was mostly testing the waters, learning the whips.
Myr
This is like Doom meets Castlevania. Soundtrack is really awesome.
Pawel K.
ols school game