Lords of Exile Review - A Love Letter to Classic Castlevania Games!

[@malcolmar]

Great review! I was an original backer of this game and I just bought it on Steam. We must continue to support passionate indie developers.

[@IDreamofIndie]

Please do!

[@cesarhernandez6861]

Nothing is better than a "old" new game!

[@IDreamofIndie]

Thanks for watching!

[@nonentity2574]

With so many games to play, it’s nice to see a game that can be played all the way through in one night. No metroidvania is a big positive for me.

[@IDreamofIndie]

Thanks for watching as always!

[@Estorium]

As someone who is juggling PoP: The Lost Crown, Persona 3 Reload, Mass Effect 3 and Lies of P NG+, games like this are perfect for the evenings when I just want to play something short and sweet.

[@hypnos9336]

so I should pay $20 for a game I can beat in one night? seems a little steep to me.

[@mythias]

A dev response to a review mentioning the crash on the Xbox store page says that they are aware of the problem and are working on a fix for it.

[@wiremesh2]

Besides certain aesthetic qualities, this doesn't remind me of Castlevania at all. And those visual bits are really more Bloodstained than Castlevania. Looks cool though. Actually getting some Shatterhand vibes with the familiars and wall grip.

[@deathproof8732]

Bloodstained was developed by the ex Konami guy who made Castlevania games. So they were Castlevania games without using the license locked away by Konami. HIT THE LEVER! HIT THE LEVER!

[@wiremesh2]

@@deathproof8732 Of course, but I would argue that the Bloodstained games have their own aesthetic that has veered away from Castlevania. Lords of Exile also has more of an eastern influence, rather than the more European look of both Bloodstained and Castlevania.

[@brandonkruse6412]

It’s such a shame they never made a Curse of the Moon 3. I’ve followed this game for a couple of years now and happy he finally got it to release.

[@IDreamofIndie]

That's an awesome series at least we got 2 of them!

[@brandonkruse6412]

@@IDreamofIndie For sure! I don’t know what it is about these games but I am addicted to the true 8-bit clunkers. My wife just got me an OLED Deck so I need to fill it up with more retro style games.

[@IDreamofIndie]

@@brandonkruse6412 congrats on the OLED model hearing it is awesome!!

[@peterc504]

So happy this is awesome. I loved the demo so hoped final product is awesome!!

[@peterc504]

Maybe they are still working on it lol

[@KrsJin]

Thanks a ton for this review! First time seeing this channel but your review came off as very objective with knowledge of the genre 👍 Tbh, the difficulty and length is actually appealing to me after some recent games. Thanks again!

[@IDreamofIndie]

Welcome to the channel!

[@thunderstashgaming]

Nice I’ll pick this up!

[@IDreamofIndie]

Enjoy!!

[@alucard624]

I've been waiting to play this on Xbox for quite awhile now and I'm glad it finally released. I love these types of games and I'm glad we have indie devs keeping them alive since Konami refuses to anything worth a damn with the Castlevania series.

[@plastikloser]

The correct way to play. Pretend you went to (insert video rental store), get your favorite snack and soda. Then game like its friday night 🎉❤

[@Daniel-pm6nl]

Now you're talking!

[@MotherKojiro]

I grabbed the demo for this, and though I haven't gotten to play it yet, hearing that it's not punishingly difficult is a definite plus in my book. I've put my time in with the likes of Dante Must Die Mode, I Wanna be the Guy, and most of the Battletoads games; a lighter challenge isn't such a bad thing to me anymore.

[@matt_stowball]

As a Kickstarter backer, I'm glad I got this game. It's just a fun little throwback. Although the level designs are a litte bland and most of the enemies too easy, the bosses do give me some challenge.

[@kennyryan4173]

Very solid game. Worth the price.

[@psycholuigiman]

For $15, I can accept a short little fun game. Maybe I'm being unfair, but I feel like a similar game from the likes of Konami or EA or Capcom or whoever else woulda been sold for $30+.

[@IDreamofIndie]

Not a bad price at all for a really fun game!

[@hzafary]

thanks for the prompt review! Had my eye on this one. Does it have the option to disable screenshake/ flashing?

[@silviuamuza3902]

Glad it's good. Waiting for the PixelHeart PS5 physical edition.

[@IDreamofIndie]

Very nice way to treat yourself!

[@GyobuTheDemonOniwa]

Sorry to let you down but I'm pretty sure this game is only getting physical version on pc with collectors edition.

[@silviuamuza3902]

​@@GyobuTheDemonOniwaPretty sure PixelHeart said on Twitter they're bringing a PS5 copy, also for Demons of Asteborg. Maybe they changed their plans.

[@JerBearGaming90]

So i am currently running through this game (Level 4). The fact that the game is easier is honestly a breathe of fresh air. Way too many of these games use difficulty almost as a crutch and it shows. The game is great for a moderate challenge. Especially after i started Cyber Shadow & Infernax. Those two are tough as nails. This game difficulty is on par with games like Super Mario Bros. 3 and that's a good thing in my eyes. I'm enjoying my time with this game and i hope others will as well.

[@IDreamofIndie]

Glad you are enjoying it!

[@xxthecreativekitsunexx7966]

This could easily be mistake more for Bloodstained curse of the moon 3 then castlevania, the whole time watching this review that is all I could think off as even the main character sprite design looked WAY too much like Zangetsu. I also heard the soundtrack and instantly thought of Sega Genesis so while the aesthetic does replicate to an extent an NES game the music is far from it, even then a ton of the sounds in the music just would not have been possible on NES hardware. Curse of the moon 1 and 2 faithfully are closer to what the NES was capable of in sound and in presentation. Still I cannot deny the game does look fun even if its over way too quickly.

[@Daniel-pm6nl]

I agree on the bloodstained part completely

[@alexmendez3681]

Yea same. That's the reason why I'm skipping on this game. Indie developers copy older titles which I think is lazy. Please make something new. But that's just my small humble opinion.

[@GregDJames]

How does it fair against say CURSE of the Moon 1&2?

[@TheT3rr0rMask]

Scratched such an itch. A game to just go through. No RPG elements, no Rogue elements, no backtracking. Just action platforming. Up there with Bloodstained.

[@leonardoyramm1856]

This game along with Curse of the Moon (1 and 2) are the kind of games that make my heart to beat with a retro feeling. Hopefully developers will continue to create these games. Btw! Does anyone know of a game just like this one, that I can play on android? Thanks in advance.

[@ScottPiwinski]

Does anyone know will this come to switch as a physical release?

[@kennyryan4173]

It will. Been speaking to the dev, and it's in the works.

[@GyobuTheDemonOniwa]

If not we should beg limited run games until it does.

[@kennyryan4173]

@@GyobuTheDemonOniwa I'm a KS backer who pledged for a PC physical. Plans changed, and Switch and PS physicals are going to be made.

[@goissilva]

looks great despite i dont like this art style, the gameplay makes it worth

[@issakabeer1535]

I am boss of the 7th level pretty cool right?

[@issakabeer1535]

Check 1:24 mark

[@xombiemike]

Bloodstained Curse of the Moon?

[@marcosdheleno]

not gonna lie, im kinda tired of love letters to classic castlevania titles. pretty much every single 2de plataformer is basically a love letter to classic castlevania. even metroidvanias, have the vania from the nes era. i would be happy if 1 of those hundreds of love letters was actually to symphony of the night or aria of sorrow...

[@alexmendez3681]

I agree with you. I'm tired of seeing these games copy the old school. I want something new and fresh. I'm skipping this title.

[@handserf]

A SotN-esque game requires at least 50 times the budget or 50 times more development time. It's unfeasible for solo developers and small indie studios, and even medium-sized studios would struggle with it.

[@marcosdheleno]

@@handserf gonna call bullshite on that one. 50 times the budget? WHY? you telling me making a string of rooms, that are connected is harder than making a shitton of rooms filled with gimmicks? yeah, pure nonsense there bruv.

[@handserf]

@marcosdheleno It's not just the interconnected rooms or the RPG elements that cause the budget to skyrocket, my friend. It's primarily the sheer amount of assets required for a 32-bit metroidvania compared to an 8-bit game. I don't know how familiar you are with game development, but google "Trevor Belmont NES spritesheet" and then "Alucard SotN spritesheet." Alucard alone likely has more frames than every entity from Castlevania 3 combined. That's where the bulk of the budget goes. There's plenty of old-school 8-bit-styled metroidvanias if that's what you're after, though.

[@NintenPizza]

​@@alexmendez3681 It's easy money when these indies just rinse and repeat/cut and paste from popular franchises, blending mechanics together from multiple older retro games, while giving the game their own artistic touch. It's getting beyond stale. Reinventing the platformer-wheel with unique beautiful visuals with grade A imagination is a rarity these days.

[@carn9507]

Sure climbs fast for someone that walks slow.

[@IDreamofIndie]

Haha

[@hypnos9336]

I'm sorry, but it feels a little silly to spent $20 on a game that some people say they're beating in one day