If you haven’t noticed, pumpkin spice everything is here, signaling the start of the Halloween Season. While cinnamon and nutmeg are typically the only indicators of the greatest time of the year, they are now accompanied by another harbinger of the haunt-pocalypse in 2024. The Castlevania Dominus Collection, consisting of Castlevania titles that were originally released on the Nintendo DS, is now available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Steam, and Xbox Series X|S. The collection and its reveal trailer were both dropped on August 27.
The collection consists of the three main games:
- Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, the sequel to Aria of Sorrow;
- Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, the distantly-related successor to Castlevania: Bloodlines;
- and Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, which isn’t directly related to any other Castlevania title.
Despite all three titles being highly esteemed by fans, it is challenging to determine if one stands out above the others, making this collection a strong choice of games. Additionally, the collection also includes a remastered version of the first Castlevania arcade title, Haunted Castle Revisited, which can still be played in its original format.
The collection boasts a variety of additional features for playing its games, such as a convenient quick save option and a powerful rewind function. While the primary purpose of the rewind feature may be to recover from a boss battle defeat, it can also come in handy for situations such as a despawning item or getting lost in Dracula’s intricate castle. As the three main titles in the collection were originally designed for the Nintendo DS, they utilize dual screens. The Dominus Collection provides multiple display options for these screens during gameplay, and even allows for touchscreen controls to be executed through controller inputs.
The Dominus Collection would not be complete without its art gallery and music player, a staple of any Castlevania collection. Players can create playlists with the game’s music, and the art gallery will showcase both official and previously unseen concept art, providing an enjoyable glimpse into the development of the beloved characters.
Despite being connected to other games in the Castlevania series, both Dawn of Sorrow and Portrait of Ruin can be enjoyed as standalone titles. For those who are interested in playing the older games, they can be found in separate Castlevania collections – Aria of Sorrow is part of the Castlevania Advance Collection, while Bloodlines is included in the Castlevania Anniversary Collection. However, if you have already purchased the Dominus Collection, there is no need to wait or play the older titles, unless you have a strong desire to do so. It could be a fun idea to play through them leading up to Halloween, but it is not necessary.
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