Incredible Dracula is the first time management game I've been compelled to rate poorly. Considering the high production quality, you'd think that's a pretty tough thing to pull off; but when it comes to the genre, it's ALL about the gameplay. The best titles are those that reward strategy and smart play, the worst will have you pulling your hair out from unending frustration. Unfortunately, Incredible Dracula: Chasing Love is most definitely the latter.

There are a few things that a good time management game needs: responsive controls, the ability to chain tasks, and interesting level designs that allow for creative solutions. Then there's the tuning which should be tight, but not so tight that absolute perfection is needed to achieve your goal. This is where Dracula fails. Early on, getting 3 stars on Multit-Click Mode (which is basically Expert in every other game) becomes rage inducing as the levels are not only long, but leave no room for error. It may not be an issue on Casual Mode in which you have unlimited time, but I play these games to challenge myself. Learning the levels, devising a strategy and nailing the execution is what makes time management games so enjoyable. But when I'm following the in-game strategy guide to the T and still come up sorely short on time, there's something very, very wrong.

To make matters worse, restarting the level (which you'll end up doing several times) is bogged down with a forced tutorial that you have to click through every time it's replayed. You can opt to skip it within the level itself, but then you're required to click through a large confirmation box for it. While this may sound like such a little thing, when you're focusing on figuring out a level, having to jump through hoops every time you restart is disruptive to the thought process. The ability to turn tutorials completely off in the options would have greatly improved the experience and eased some of my frustrations, but it's conspicuously absent.

The story itself is unique but may be off-putting to some (Dracula is on the run from his overweight, ugly and lovesick admirer). The graphics are pleasant enough, and the monster theme has some cute ideas, but nothing ultimately memorable. The best part of the game is the soundtrack which features lovely classically-styled orchestral themes. I could listen to it for hours, but forcing myself through more of the gameplay would have me suicidal by the end.

I really wanted to love Incredible Dracula: Chasing Love. Alawar is one of my favorite casual game developers and they consistently put out great products, but I simply could not get past the insane difficulty and logistical annoyances. While plenty of games in the genre are generic and uninspired, at least they provide enjoyable gameplay - that's not the case here. I'll likely swap over to Casual Mode to 100% the achievements so I can move on. No challenge, no strategy, just going through the motions to finish what I started. Perhaps some of the problems were fixed in the sequel, but I'm not sure I'm willing to give it a chance after this disappointment.

Oftentimes, the first judgement players will make about a game is what its name is. Thus, when I heard of this game, called "Incredible Dracula: Chasing Love," I knew I had to play it. I expected a funny game and hoped for enjoyable gameplay. Much to my delight, it shot beyond both of those desires and kept me hooked for two days straight to finish all of the levels.

Let me be upfront here: I have never played a resource manager game. I tend to be awful at real-time strategy games, and there is indeed a time limit for ranking purposes. Thank goodness it does not result in game overs, or I would have gotten frustrated with it. Instead, I found it a lot of fun to piece together how to best beat the levels and gather a ton of resources. This was my first experience with the genre, and I could not have asked for a better introduction.

Pros:

• Hilarious dialogue and story-telling. Check out the character profiles for some really amusing writing. The story sections in each level are also quite short, so a few clicks can easily speed you through it if you don't want to reread it (or read it in the first place, but you're missing out if you do).
  
• Fantastic tutorial that holds your hand for the first level, and then pops in to explain new mechanics as they arise.
  
• New mechanics are introduced throughout the entire game. Many of them can be linked to old ones with a slight change, but others are completely new. Both are welcome changes when they arrive, keeping the game from getting stale.
  
• There are forty-five levels with no two being quite the same. Fifteen more are added to the collector's edition, making for sixty levels total. This length is great, with it taking me about seventeen hours (of my current eighteen) to beat them all. People used to this genre could probably be quicker at it.
  
• Rather than having to play through the game again to get to levels, you can choose to replay each level from the map. It's great if you missed one of the hidden objects or want to try getting a top rank for a stage.
  
• Despite being very easy to learn, it is difficult to master. I love games like this. It lets casual players have fun with simply playing it, and it has the difficulty needed to entertain those who want a challenge.
  
• It ran smoothly for me without much lag. I played on Windows 7. It's not a huge game in terms of MB size, either, so that's a bonus.
  
• The art is charming, and the graphics are pretty good. You even get some full-fledged art screens during important parts of the story.
  
• Most of the voice acting is great. The one exception for me is so hilarious that I forgive it by default.
  
• There are hidden collectables in each level. With four different types to look for, and at least one being in every level, this is great for people who enjoy hidden object challenges (like me.) They are just for fun, so anyone who does not want to can safely ignore them.
  
• If you need help, there is a very handy strategy guide included in this edition. I did not use it for my run, but I checked it out after I was done and found it to be quite useful.
  
• The achievements are, for the most part, not too difficult to obtain. I enjoyed collecting them and am glad they are here.
  
• You have a zombie butler named Rufus. Really, that should be the only justification you need for buying this game.

Neutral:

• There are only five music tracks in the game. I actually like all five. However, they can get repetitive at times.
  
• Some of the pop culture references could be seen as either amusing or groan-worthy.
  
• The "man runs from woman because she is ugly" cliche could be considered present here. However, given the personality this woman has, I can understand why Dracula is freaked out by her. His fault for trusting a dating site.
  
• There are no trading cards. Some people might care about that. I am indifferent to it.
  EDIT (2/24/16): Trading cards are now available! Props to the developers for adding them in.

Cons:

• There is one gimmick where guards can delevel/destroy your buildings. I found this to be really annoying and not much fun. Thankfully, this only occurs in two levels and never shows up again.
  
• For me, it is difficult to tell which ruined buildings are which without hovering over them. It is a small matter to be picky about, but it would have been nice to make it easier to tell them apart. That being said, I am not sure if many other people would have this problem.
  
• Only a few scenes have the amusing voice acting. The zombie noises when you give them commands get tedious after a while.
  
• There are no names for each level. It would help if they had names to make it easier to remember which is which, instead of trying to find "the one with crabs on strike" (no really) by number alone.

Overall experience:

I planned to play Incredible Dracula: Chasing Love about five hours to write a solid review. Then it kept throwing new mechanics at me. I felt it was only fair to see them through for the most accurate review I could give. But I also admit that I was glad for the excuse, because I was hooked. I even plan on going back to try and get some better ranks in the levels. I had an absolute blast with this game, especially with it having legitimately good humor.

Rating:

9/10. No really, I tried to find a justification for rating it lower than that and I couldn't. That's how much fun I had. If you do not absolutely loathe resource management games, get Incredible Dracula: Chasing Love. You won't be disappointed.

Looking for more great indie games? Check out my other reviews on Indie Games Treasure Trove!

A fun and amusing resource and time management game with colorful detailed backgrounds. This game in places requires some well thought out strategy even in relaxed casual (not timed) mode. The biographies/profiles of the characters are worth the read.

Storyline: Count Dracula decides to get modern and look for mate using an online dating system. Having found "the perfect one" he goes to meet her only to discover she is nothing like her online profile. (That should be of no surprise! LOL) However, the Princess has matrimony on her mind and chases after Dracula, who runs away from her.

45 levels in the main game, 15 levels in the bonus chapter, and 3 modes, normal timed, relaxed (not timed), and timed multi-click (This is where the player can click on as many items as are available forming an item pick up cue). What makes this game different for others is 1) interactive tabs for potions. crafting, and magic (3 each by game end), 2) clothing with a bonus ability attached (awarded during gameplay), and 3) powerups used for increasing supplies which upgrade during gameplay. Late in the game there is a powerup upgrade that allows for upgrading all supply buildings at once (That is so nice and such a resource saver). There are also "finds" that occur over the course of gameplay (main and bonus): princess statues (60, one per level), gift boxes (30, gives in-game 'stickers'), princess posters (6), and black cats (13). Plus there are 3 extra 'secret' finds - death's scythe, alien, and sheep-king - found somewhere in the game. (Yes, I know where they are, and no, I am not telling, that would be a spoiler.)

Most, if not all, achievements can be earned during gameplay. (Note: Once a level is open the player can go back without having to play the entire game over).

Plays well and fast, the upgrades keep the gameplay fresh, the "finds" are a fun extra, and the storyline is amusing enough to keep the player interested. Excellent game. I highly recommend it.

While Incredible Dracula has a lot of good ideas and mechanics for a time management game, it is difficult to completely enjoy it with all the idle time and subpar level design all around.

Incredible Dracula: Chasing Love is an ambitious game. It falls into the more cartoonish Dracula depictions, where the count spends 45 levels trying to escape from a rather enthusiastic bride-to-be he met on an online dating service (plus 15 bonus levels where he tries to get his son to school somehow).
Since the chose genre is time management, escaping in this case means using his zombie-like servants to clear the road ahead for him. This is achieved by collecting five resource types, which are then either used to remove obstacles, or to craft various potions and constructs (or whatever the level may come up with).

Although this variety in mechanics shouldn’t make any game repetitive, Incredible Dracula somehow managed to slip up in this regard: level design feels bland. Even worse, if the player accidentally chose classic difficulty, the game removes the command queue, meaning no orders can be assigned beforehand; this gets incredibly annoying on later levels, where travel distances are so vast that players will spend most of the time waiting for the workers to return.

But, if you are a patient type, like time management games, and stick to Casual mode, then Incredible Dracula’s humour and game mechanics can entertain you for quite a good while.

This game makes two design choices that are in direct opposition to each other. First, the time margins are very tight. Second, there's multi-layer crafting required (that is, you collect some stuff to make parts, that you then mix with other stuff, and then use). The time margins are far, far too unforgiving for you to be able to process the crafting needed. You end up having to heavily optimize and then memorize that optimization and if I wanted to do that I would just go play puzzle games.

Fun time management game. It has many different mechanics, cute story and nice music and graphics. It's not too difficult on normal difficulty, though sometimes having gold time requires a bit of effort. It also has some hidden object elements, only important for achievements.

Good choice for this type of game.

cool grinding game

Hum... Mediocre. This is a time management game. The graphics are cartoonish good. The music is adequate. The story is Okeish.

No bugs or crashes.

Overall, it's a somewhat entertaining game but poorly designed. It kinda does nothing quite right. The story should be funny but is not. The strategy aspect is weak. The levels are often too long and some stuff it's confusing, not to mention that the timer is pretty unfair and almost impossible to beat... and that, for a time management, casual game, is basically a disparate. On the positive side, the amount of content is very good for the price, many levels to play. It includes cards and achievements. More humble, similar games are far better on the fun side of things. I will see what the second part of this franchise looks like but for this one, let's just say the vampire crashed and left a red spot.

Outside of Relaxed mode, this is one of the most challenging games of this type you'll find. And that's a good thing for those looking for a challenge, right?

Well, maybe not.

If you're looking to make quick decisions about where best to assign your workers based on the information available, ready to change strategy on a dime if need be... you will not achieve three stars past the first few levels playing in that way. If you hone your strategy, figuring out the optimal order to construct buildings and pick up resources... well, no, that's still not going to be enough. Finally micro-managed where and when each worker should go? Now you're getting there.. if you use your bonuses correctly. And how many times have you attempted the level by now?

Or you could just consult a video guide - you probably won't be able to succeed on your first try anyway. The timings are that tight.

None of this would be so bad if the game was actually as engaging as other road-clearing games of this ilk though - and Dracula is an absolute slog in comparison. There is little variety to be found here - many of the unique gameplay features are quite uninteresting window dressing - and most of your time will be spent watching your too-slow workers plod across too-long, winding paths, leading to very long levels that will take even longer to replay those aforementioned several times if you want the best result!

I can't recommend this to anyone who isn't looking to struggle and min-max their way to success - such people would be better off learning to speedrun games, as it seems more rewarding than this!

Game Information

"Incredible Dracula: Chasing Love" Collector's Edition is a Strategy game. The game was developed by New Bridge Games and published by Alawar Entertainment.

"Chasing Love" is the first episode of "Incredible Dracula."

Since this is a collector's edition game, it comes with extra features that are not available in its counterpart; the standard edition.

The Game Review

Game Visuals

I want to mention that the visuals in the game are well done. The visuals can be adjusted in the game's option menu.

Game Audio

I want to mention that audio for the game is well done. Even though the audio is somewhat simplistic and repetitive. The audio can be adjusted in the game's option menu as well.

Gameplay

This is a strategy game, where careful planning is required, due to the limited amount of resources that are available.

There are three different difficulty game modes to choose from: Normal; Multi-task; Relaxed. The difference between these difficulty game modes are: Timer Speed and Scoring. The normal mode, the timer speed and scoring is low. The multi-task mode, the timer speed and scoring are moderately high. The relaxed mode, the timer speed is frozen and scoring is moderately high.

There are five different landmasses with the total of forty-five levels in the main story. There are fifteen levels in the bonus chapter. All levels have objectives assigned to them that need to be completed within the given timeframe. All tasks can be chained together as long the path is not blocked.

All levels have a three star rating system. The stars are earned from playing the game. The star rating system represents how fast the level has been completed. Three Stars (Gold;) Two Stars (Silver;) One Star (Bronze.) There is an opportunity to replay levels for better star rating.

There are several different special power ups to help complete the level faster. These special bonus power ups come with a time limit. But they can be used again after they have been recharged overtime.

There are three sets of collectibles in the game: Black Cats; Figurines; Stickers and Posters. There are scattered throughout the game for the player to find.

Since this is a collector's edition, there is a bonus chapter, but it can be accessed only after the main story is completed.

There are thirty-four different achievements that can be unlocked from playing the game. Each of these achievements does come with some requirements that need to be completed before they can be unlocked.

Miscellaneous

There are extra features in the game: Bonus Chapter; Wallpapers; Concept Art; Soundtrack and Game's Strategy Guide. Most of these extra features can be accessed only after the entire game is completed.

There are eight different trading cards to collect. Only three of those cards are given out by the game. There are several ways to get the rest of the trading cards: Purchased from the Steam's Community Market; Trade with friends; Booster Pack and its Booster Pack Creator.

Final thoughts: I have found the game enjoyable to a certain extent. The replay value for the game is low. I would recommend this game, but not at the game's full price value.