Curse of the Moon 2 is one of those games where I really wish you could leave a "Mixed" review on Steam. There's a lot of charm to this game, but it falls short of its predecessor in some areas that really hurts the experience.

Pros:
- Overall tight controls
- A wide variety of playable characters
- A fantastic "Episode 1"
- Challenging boss fights

Cons:
- Other episodes fall short of the first one, partially due to pure tediousness and repetition. The game expects you to play through the game 4-5 times for the full experience, and the only difference is SOME paths through the levels

- The design is less carefully handled than the original Castlevania games. The existence of a character with channeled invincibility makes the developers feel justified to insert insane clusters of enemies in certain areas

- Checkpoints are incredibly far apart, and losing a character on the Veteran mode (i.e. Normal) can be so devastating in certain areas (especially if you want to grab a permanent upgrade item no other characters can reach) that you need to retry from a checkpoint just to get back to grab the item

- The downside of some bosses being so difficult is that while you're learning the boss, you should be prepared to hike fifty miles back to the boss when you die. This is a problem when you enjoy the difficulty but don't have the time to spare going back over and over through slow, tedious levels

- The Final Episode has sloppy execution with all the backtracking you may be required to do for all upgrades

The first game has a simpler design, but it's both cheaper and more enjoyable than its sequel.

Curse of the Moon 2 is one of those games where I really wish you could leave a "Mixed" review on Steam. There's a lot of charm to this game, but it falls short of its predecessor in some areas that really hurts the experience. Pros: - Overall tight controls - A wide variety of playable characters - A fantastic "Episode 1" - Challenging boss fights Cons: - Other episodes fall short of the first one, partially due to pure tediousness and repetition. The game expects you to play through the game 4-5 times for the full experience, and the only difference is SOME paths through the levels - The design is less carefully handled than the original Castlevania games. The existence of a character with channeled invincibility makes the developers feel justified to insert insane clusters of enemies in certain areas - Checkpoints are incredibly far apart, and losing a character on the Veteran mode (i.e. Normal) can be so devastating in certain areas (especially if you want to grab a permanent upgrade item no other characters can reach) that you need to retry from a checkpoint just to get back to grab the item - The downside of some bosses being so difficult is that while you're learning the boss, you should be prepared to hike fifty miles back to the boss when you die. This is a problem when you enjoy the difficulty but don't have the time to spare going back over and over through slow, tedious levels - The Final Episode has sloppy execution with all the backtracking you may be required to do for all upgrades The first game has a simpler design, but it's both cheaper and more enjoyable than its sequel.