Castlevania: Curse of Darkness

 Xbox
Metascore
74

Mixed or average reviews - based on 26 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 26
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 26
  3. Negative: 0 out of 26
Buy Now
Buy on
  1. Games Radar
    70
    Don't get us wrong: the latest Castlevania isn't a bad game, if you can swallow the endless combat repetition. It just falls well short of this series' legendary heritage, and can't hold a candle to the handheld "Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow" for the Nintendo DS.
  2. DarkStation
    70
    Konami's leap into 3D for the acclaimed Castlevania franchise is backed by a generally solid gameplay and combat, albeit marred by extreme repetitiveness.
  3. GameCritics
    70
    It's a piece of satisfyingly decrepit eye candy. The gameplay carries on the Castlevania tradition of whipping bastions of undead into submission.
  5. 1UP
    70
    It sounds cool on paper, but there's really no telling as to which weapon choices will result in which evolutions, so the entire feature becomes essentially useless to anyone but the truly hardcore who will play through several times.
  6. GameBiz
    70
    The 3D realm hasn't been kind to Castlevania graphically. A lot of gamers will be turned off by the slow start to the game.
  7. ZTGD
    70
    As a fan of the series, I hope that they can get the visual issues ironed out for the next 3D trip through Transylvania, so I can marvel at the gloomy interior of a haunted castle instead of wondering how the in hell in ended back up in this room again.
  8. Adrenaline Vault
    70
    The unbearably monotonous levels, by themselves, easily killed it for me.
  9. GameSpy
    70
    Starting with "Lament of Innocence," it seems like Konami is inching ever closer to creating the 3D Castlevania game that we've been waiting years to play. Curse of Darkness is an incremental step in the right direction.
  10. GamerFeed
    70
    It just gets a bit stale going through area after area, facing enemies that never really evolve to keep up with you.
  11. GameSpot
    67
    Despite a solid combat system and a decent presentation, this latest Castlevania is cursed with extremely monotonous levels that prevent it from being an engaging action adventure game.
  12. Console Gameworld
    67
    Konami needs to go back and re-think the direction of this series. A somewhat disappointing hardcore hack and slash game for fans of pure action.
  13. Official Xbox Magazine
    65
    All that backtracking might've floated back in the day, but now it just feels repetitive and tedious. [Holiday 2005, p.90]
    All this publication's reviews
  14. PALGN
    65
    All the elements of a great game are here except the level design. That, however, is a key element in a game with exploration based goals.
  15. Ferrago
    64
    An underwhelming experience.

Awards & Rankings

84
#84 Best Xbox Game of 2005
72
#72 Most Discussed Xbox Game of 2005
21
#21 Most Shared Xbox Game of 2005

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 21 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 21
  3. Negative: 5 out of 21
  1. Ryuji13
    Mar 4, 2021
    10
    A great take on the kind of story given to us by the Castlevania series over the year. It set up the devil forge master concept for theA great take on the kind of story given to us by the Castlevania series over the year. It set up the devil forge master concept for the animated series and gave interesting boss battles for early 3D action games. Definitely a cult classic with extreme levels of customization for your innocent devil party.… Full Review »
  2. ChrisB.
    Feb 24, 2007
    9
    This game was one of my favorite games for the xbox console. It had cool innocent devils that assisted you in battle, the graphics were good, This game was one of my favorite games for the xbox console. It had cool innocent devils that assisted you in battle, the graphics were good, and it held my attention throughout the game. Before I even knew it, I was delving right into it playing up to 4-5 hours a day as soon as I came home from work or school. Overall, I would recommend this to people who like games like Devil May Cry, or other strategy based games that allow a minimum of 20 hours.… Full Review »
  3. IamNlCK
    Jun 25, 2006
    7
    Cool game that proves that you don't have to get complex to make an enjoyable experience. Nice music. Cool new concept of having your Cool game that proves that you don't have to get complex to make an enjoyable experience. Nice music. Cool new concept of having your own monster side-kicks with different powers. The level designs almost seem lazy at some times...like you are running down random corridors that look exactly like the ones before it. That may have cut it in the SNES days, but I think by this point they should be more innovative. Also the storyline is getting pretty predictible. Someone named Belmont having a showdown with Dracula. Getting actual AI for the enemies wouldnt hurt either. Overall, probably worth a rental, for some mindless entertainment.… Full Review »
See all user reviews »