I like Castlevania, would I like this game?

[Dark Meta Knight]

It obviously is very different, but I do like platformers like Castlevania, and the bosses and enemies look similar to how Castlevania's are. (Rewarding for being more skilled by having short, hard to find weak moments.)

[Puzzlemint]

Almost certainly.

[Lunatix]

You will love it.

[Tune]

Totally depends. Do you like the classic Castlevania, or the more Medroidvania like ones?

Volgarr is more like the classic ones, as it is balls to the wall hard and gives you a very tight moveset.

[Dark Meta Knight]

Originally posted by Tune:

Totally depends. Do you like the classic Castlevania, or the more Medroidvania like ones?

Volgarr is more like the classic ones, as it is balls to the wall hard and gives you a very tight moveset.

Well, I like the ones like Portrait of Rune, Order of Eclasia, Circle of the Moon etc. best.
So I think those are the metroidvania ones.

But I'd assume you mean the "true" classics: Like the original Castlevania, the NES ones, things like that.
Sadly I haven't played those, the oldest I've played is I think Circle of the Moon.

[Lunatix]

Look gameplay or try super ghouls n ghost and super castlevania iv, if you like these games you should buy volgarr.

[Dark Meta Knight]

I've decided that I'm going to get the game, thanks to a review on youtube. (ProJared) and the posts here.
Seems like just my sort of game. :)

[Airk]

the difference between this game and those is that they had progression, where as you can easily spend an hour repeating the same 2 minute stretch in this game.
VERY different games.
this game is closer to supermeatboy or IwannabetheGuy, but with a sword and spear.
i prefer the platformers where you get to progress through them without having to repeat the same area 100X in futility.
ive played G&G and several of the castlevania games all the way through multiple times, you dont get stuck in those like you do in this.

[Dark Meta Knight]

Originally posted by Coathanger:

the difference between this game and those is that they had progression, where as you can easily spend an hour repeating the same 2 minute stretch in this game.
VERY different games.
this game is closer to supermeatboy or IwannabetheGuy, but with a sword and spear.
i prefer the platformers where you get to progress through them without having to repeat the same area 100X in futility.
ive played G&G and several of the castlevania games all the way through multiple times, you dont get stuck in those like you do in this.

Hmm...At the same time though, I do like Roguelike games as well. (You die a lot in those with next to no progression each death.)

Still notable though, thanks for the points. (Still gonna get this game though, I'll just see it as a level 1 Castlevania run without saves.)

[Radical Rat]

I wouldn't compare this to Castlevania.
It's more like old arcade games - Rastan, Black Tiger, Magic Sword, Astyanax etc.
Game is pretty hard, but very rewarding.

Personally it's one of my favourites =)

Btw if you are looking for games like Castlevania, you should also check Odallus.

[Taron]

This game was specifically modelled after 3 titles, in the following order of how much influence they had:

1) Super Ghouls N' Ghosts (SNES)
2) Rastan (Arcade)
3) Castlevania 1 (NES)

In the case of CV1, we also paid particular attention to all the details laid out for why it was awesome by a popular YouTube video at the time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aip2aIt0ROM

These 3 titles were directly addressed in the game's original kickstarter video, with some examples of what was pulled from each title (starting at 2 minutes into the video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJ8-7f2Xbvw#t=2m

It doesn't use modern design ideas at all really, particularly the idea of "constant progress" that's so prevalent in today's games. Instead, the real progress is in YOU, the player, getting better at it. Hence, just like in the above-listed games, you are expected to have to play the same level over and over until you get good enough to beat it. By the time you beat a level, you'll have the whole thing memorized and probably will never forget how to do it.

I would argue its a tad easier than the games its inspired by though (no time limit, infinite lives, more attack options, rolling, no evil traps inside of chests, no getting screwed by picking up the wrong sub-weapon, actually usable shield that can block attacks, etc etc).

Its not at all like modern "Castleroid" games either (i.e. Symphony of the Night and onward), so if that's the main thing you are into, this will be quite different. Sorry :(.

Its also not really like Super Meat Boy which has tons and tons of super-tiny levels and thus is actually much easier to make some progress in than this. Also not really the same style as IWTBTG since it doesn't depend on surprise insta-deaths you had no way of knowing were there if you hadn't already played before. Just take the time to look around and you'll always know what's ahead in Volgarr. There's only a handful of spots in the game that has auto-spawning enemies preventing you from stopping and assessing the danger in front of you, though unfortunately one of them is right at the beginning as an homage to how Rastan, SG&G, and CV1 all had their first levels start out with auto-spawning enemies that charge at you (zombies in SG&G & CV1, Lizardmen in Rastan).

To be fair some other titles also acted as minor inspirations, notably Magic Sword (World 6's unique layout is a direct reference to it) and Zelda 2 (certain enemies), and probably a few other things here and there I'm forgetting.

[Dark Meta Knight]

Originally posted by rusty-double-oh-seven:

I wouldn't compare this to Castlevania.
It's more like old arcade games - Rastan, Black Tiger, Magic Sword, Astyanax etc.
Game is pretty hard, but very rewarding.

Personally it's one of my favourites =)

Btw if you are looking for games like Castlevania, you should also check Odallus.

Still a platformer, and I like platformers. :)

Thanks for the second suggestion too.

Originally posted by Taron:

This game was specifically modelled after 3 titles, in the following order of how much influence they had:

1) Super Ghouls N' Ghosts (SNES)
2) Rastan (Arcade)
3) Castlevania 1 (NES)

-snip-

Thank you for the very detailed answer, I'll be getting this game if it goes on sale for winter. (Even if it doesn't I might.)
Seems like a platformer I'd really like, I always liked precision platforming and dodging. (Megaman, Spelunky, Castlevania etc.)

[kaay]

Originally posted by Taron:

This game was specifically modelled after 3 titles, in the following order of how much influence they had:

1) Super Ghouls N' Ghosts (SNES)
2) Rastan (Arcade)
3) Castlevania 1 (NES)

Im an old gamer.
I played super ghouls and ghosts on both snes and genesis when they came out, and i played Rastan in the arcades...no castlevania 1 though.
For some odd reason Volgarr does not feel like Super Ghouls n Ghosts at all, and only remotely like Rastan arcade.
Im not sure i understand what you tried to do, so i might be completely off.
For me Volgarr has nothing to do with old console or arcade games, it is a modern title based on raw player skill (seems to be all the rage today), but in my humble opinion, it is missing the magic of old titles.
Difficulty and skill alone can not make a great game....at least not for an old timer like me.
Volgarr is great for players who want to prove something, who just want to challenge themselves, but i have doubts its great for players that are looking for more than just a bare challenge.
While in my many years of gaming i played and finished some very challenging titles, i never played for the challenge alone, its more like i accepted the challenge because that was the only way to experience the content the game offered.
Volgarr for some reason never gave me a reason to tackle the challenge.
Volgarr is challenge for the sake of challenge.
Definitely not a bad game, just not for me, and im looking forward to your next releases, will buy on impulse on day of release :)

[Airk]

Volgarr is challenge for the sake of challenge.
Definitely not a bad game, just not for me, and im looking forward to your next releases, will buy on impulse on day of release :)

exactly, the dev can throw those names around all he wants, this game feels nothing like those.
im 2 hours in still repeating the same areas... neither castlevania or G&G are remotely that difficult...
the dev replied to me saying soemthing like how they didnt want modern infulences like a since of progression.... thats not modern, there are a plethura of oldschool titles that dont rely on making you memorize every single segment 1000X, in fact i cant think of a single old school game that is this difficult, maybe 8 eyes, maybe P.o.w...( both of which were extremely challenging but progression was there). but certainly none of the castlevania or g&G installments.
if youre spending 2 hours on the same level of g&g something is wrong... but that seems to be the standard for volgarr.
i dont hate the game, but it certainly feels more like one of those arcade cabinet games designed to suck quarters from your pockets.

[Taron]

Originally posted by Coathanger:

i dont hate the game, but it certainly feels more like one of those arcade cabinet games designed to suck quarters from your pockets.

You mean like this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ENZcJTk9bw

You're right, its MEANT to feel like one of those!

If you think that CV1 and SG&G offered constant progress and you didn't need to repeat the stages over and over to get past them you must be some kind of super gamer (though in that case why are you finding Volgarr hard?), have faulty nostalgia memory, or didn't actually play these titles. Maybe you are confusing them with their much-more-lenient sequels?

It took me over 15 hours to beat SG&G Stage 7 the first time, after several hundred attempts. The entire game can be beaten in around 30 minutes by a pro but it took me 2 months of regular play to finally accomplish it myself, and I'm pretty good at video games.

There's a guy in japan who does a popular show called Game Center CX where he plays difficult games. This is what he does all the time, so he has lots of experience. It still took him over 2 hours and dozens of attempts to beat the FIRST stage in SG&G, and he only really managed to get halfway through the game in the end:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1wgA6LV1AU

And SG&G is generally considered much easier than the original G&G that you are talking about, which AVGN called one of the most difficult NES games of all time and that "games this ruthless and unforgiving should be ILLEGAL!":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94Y6y1MOoEo

I mean seriously, anyone that watches the above video should be able to see how G&G is leagues harder than Volgarr.

I understand you think the game is too punishing and difficult, and that's fine and perfectly normal. It is, for most people. That's why the description of the game says right up front that its a tough game based on arcade games (i.e. quarter munchers, as you said!). Its targeted at a small niche audience that likes that kind of thing. But I find your claims that its significantly different from SG&G and CV1 in terms of difficulty and needing to repeat the same segments over and over to progress to be pretty off-base.

[kaay]

They didnt just throw those names around, the inspiration is pretty obvious but the feel of the game is completely different, Volgarr feels very modern to me for some reason.
Its also like a very concentrated version of those games.
The sheer number and diversity of challenges in Volgar dwarves the older games, and how well balanced, tight and precise everything is executed demands respect. A lot of work must have been put into that.
The problem is that the challenges are too many and too tightly knit together so to me it felt like i was taking a skill test, not playing a game.