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
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  1. Play Magazine
    90
    The tools of the demon-hunting trade define Curse. [Nov p.84]
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  2. Kombo
    86
    While Curse of Darkness is certainly not on the same level as previous titles in the series, the game offers a great action experience through exceptional boss fights and an engaging story.
  3. Gamer's Hell
    85
    An instantly accessible, thoroughly entertaining, and worthy addition to the busy hack-and-slash genre.
  5. RPG Fan
    82
    The satisfying combat will appeal to the casual gamer while the Devil raising and rare drops will keep perfectionists entertained.
  6. PGNx Media
    80
    Curse of Darkness nails the gameplay mechanics and packages it with a pretty solid presentation.
  7. GamePro
    80
    Yet as innovative and inviting as the Forgemaster system and customization facets are, Curse is slightly hexed by a repetitive play scheme: enter room, kill enemies, exit room, repeat.
  8. IGN
    78
    Its nicely implemented Innocent Devil scheme and its varied, and useful, assortment of weapons are great, but its environments are lackluster.
  9. TeamXbox
    76
    Boss battles are fun, but the overall experience doesn't bring anything new to the genre of gaming.
  10. Game Informer
    75
    Castlevania fans will definitely be pleased with the direction this series is going in. It's a shame that it feels so dated. [Nov 2005, p.151]
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  11. Electronic Gaming Monthly
    75
    Curse is thus leagues better than its PS2 predecessor, but it still doesn't reach the legendary status of its 2D forerunners, mainly because of a lack of Metroid-style open-ended level progression.
  12. Next Level Gaming
    75
    Basically you have to sit through a lot of meaningless running around and little fights in order to get to the good stuff once you've gotten past the first castle.
  13. Just RPG
    75
    Suffers from some problems, including minor camera trouble and some dated graphics. Still, these aren't major enough problems for me to not recommend the game.

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

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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 »
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