tl;dr, it's like Simon's Quest with modern sensibilities, but an authentic game feel for Classicvania's style. Including being married to your jump arcs. And it's not just a carbon copy of Castlevania 2 with the serial numbers filed off, much like the free Classic Mode was with the OG Castlevania.

In other worlds? It's the quality, gameplay and challenge you'd expect from Curse of the Moon 1 & 2. Mostly. At the time of my writing this, the game could seriously use a bugfix patch. I didn't encounter anything game-breaking, but I do sincerely hope that this final update to Bloodstained: RotN won't be literally the final update.

To be honest, I wasn't sure if I was going to like this one. Given what happened in the main story with Dominique, I thought I was going to hate her guts and hate playing an edgelord villain like her. As an unexpected gift from a friend, I decided to boot it up anyway and... I had way more fun than I'd expected. Like the rest of Bloodstained, you can feel the core of its inspirations as a spiritual successor to Castlevania, and yet it stands on its own as something unique. Dominique's Curse is a fair challenge in my mind, but don't expect it to be a breeze either. And if you know bits and pieces about Simon's Quest, that knowledge may still prove useful here, too.

Innovations? Of course. You can carry up to three of various consumable items to use from the pause menu: HP, MP, turning the clock to day or night (or Limbo's equivalent), better drops temporarily, and more. Even then, three of each item is a soft cap; if you find one of those items as treasure and have a full stock, picking them up lets you temporarily break the limit of three per item. You just can't buy any more of them till you dip below 3+ of that item.

Classic subweapons from Castlevania return, as well as a few new moves. Being able to backtrack is necessary, but having Waystones makes this much easier. Any and all hints you get from NPCs will also be recorded in a pause menu journal of sorts, and most of their advice is actually useful. Though, considering all the NPCs are demons who will totally try to kill you during "nighttime", it's wise not to trust certain advice at face value. Trust me, you'll know.

Death is a lot more forgiving here, too -- losing a life returns Dominique to the last door she'd been to in a dungeon, and a Game Over only cuts her coinage in half. Even better, a secondary currency are Remains, which can be exchanged for Gold with specific NPCs. Remains are commonly dropped from enemies, and there is no way to lose them unless you exchange them for money. This adds a sense of security that you don't have with the Hearts of Simon's Quest, even when some merchants will only deal in Remains.

Even as someone who sucks at Classicvanias, I never felt that frustrated with this DLC adventure. It's entirely possible to play it blind, and I recommend you do. I only got stuck at one point in the late game, though by now there are resources like YouTube playthroughs and the Bloodstained subreddit to gain advice. The final dungeon is ruthless, though if you get that far, I implore you to hold onto your items as best you can till the final fight.

If you're willing to give this side-story a shot, perhaps you may lead Dominique to get something much more than the revenge she seeks.

tl;dr, it's like Simon's Quest with modern sensibilities, but an authentic game feel for Classicvania's style. Including being married to your jump arcs. And it's not just a carbon copy of Castlevania 2 with the serial numbers filed off, much like the free Classic Mode was with the OG Castlevania. In other worlds? It's the quality, gameplay and challenge you'd expect from Curse of the Moon 1 & 2. Mostly. At the time of my writing this, the game could seriously use a bugfix patch. I didn't encounter anything game-breaking, but I do sincerely hope that this final update to Bloodstained: RotN won't be literally the final update. To be honest, I wasn't sure if I was going to like this one. Given what happened in the main story with Dominique, I thought I was going to [spoiler]hate her guts and hate playing an edgelord villain like her[/spoiler]. As an unexpected gift from a friend, I decided to boot it up anyway and... I had way more fun than I'd expected. Like the rest of Bloodstained, you can feel the core of its inspirations as a spiritual successor to Castlevania, and yet it stands on its own as something unique. Dominique's Curse is a fair challenge in my mind, but don't expect it to be a breeze either. And if you know bits and pieces about Simon's Quest, that knowledge may still prove useful here, too. Innovations? Of course. You can carry up to three of various consumable items to use from the pause menu: HP, MP, turning the clock to day or night (or Limbo's equivalent), better drops temporarily, and more. Even then, three of each item is a soft cap; if you find one of those items as treasure and have a full stock, picking them up lets you temporarily break the limit of three per item. You just can't buy any more of them till you dip below 3+ of that item. Classic subweapons from Castlevania return, as well as a few new moves. Being able to backtrack is necessary, but having Waystones makes this much easier. Any and all hints you get from NPCs will also be recorded in a pause menu journal of sorts, and most of their advice is actually useful. Though, considering all the NPCs are demons who will totally try to kill you during "nighttime", it's wise not to trust certain advice at face value. Trust me, you'll know. Death is a lot more forgiving here, too -- losing a life returns Dominique to the last door she'd been to in a dungeon, and a Game Over only cuts her coinage in half. Even better, a secondary currency are Remains, which can be exchanged for Gold with specific NPCs. Remains are commonly dropped from enemies, and there is no way to lose them unless you exchange them for money. This adds a sense of security that you don't have with the Hearts of Simon's Quest, even when some merchants will only deal in Remains. Even as someone who sucks at Classicvanias, I never felt that frustrated with this DLC adventure. It's entirely possible to play it blind, and I recommend you do. I only got stuck at one point in the late game, though by now there are resources like YouTube playthroughs and the Bloodstained subreddit to gain advice. The final dungeon is ruthless, though if you get that far, I implore you to hold onto your items as best you can till the final fight. If you're willing to give this side-story a shot, perhaps you may lead Dominique to get something much more than the revenge she seeks.