Common Sense Media Review
By Marc Saltzman
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Average gothic adventure for series fans only.
Parents Need to Know
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Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's It About?
Those who miss playing a new Castlevania action game over the past many years have something new to sink their teeth into with CASTLEVANIA: GRIMOIRE OF SOULS. It's virtually the same game as the short-lived game app which originally debuted for iOS and Android in 2018, but was discontinued in 2020 and then relaunched in the Fall of 2021 for Apple Arcade. But unlike the original game which featured advertisements and the option to buy in-game currency and support microtransactions, this new version doesn't offer this as part of the Apple Arcade service ($4.99/month). Also, the original game included a variety of single player and multiplayer modes (co-op and PvP), while the new game is only a single-player experience (but with weekly challenges and seasonal content). Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls is a side-scrolling action game set in a gothic universe. At first, you play as Alucard -- but eventually unlock others, each with their own weapons and abilities -- and as the son of Dracula (a half-human, half vampire) must face off against various demons and other supernatural enemies to complete levels. Over 60 levels for the main campaign, the story is set after Dracula has been sealed away. Alucard is shown the Grimoires, magical books which contain info on all the past events of Castlevania, and is asked to restore order to this growing dark power. Much of the game has you navigating 2-D levels by avoiding traps and using swords, whips and magic to defeat enemies, but there are also role-playing elements, such as a leveling-up system, earning Ability Points (AP) to upgrade abilities (plus improving weapons, sub-weapons, equipment, etc.), collecting magic orbs, finding trunks full of useful items, unlocking new quest paths and trials, summoned objects, and more.
Is It Any Good?
Only major fans of this gothic franchise will likely get a kick out of this refreshed mobile game packed with lore. But Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls really doesn't offer anything new in this genre, and there's quite a bit of repetition here in the side-scrolling action. It attempts to offer a lot of depth in upgrade abilities, bonus missions and challenge modes, but eventually falls flat and gives you very little reason to log in day after day (even though there are "login" bonus rewards). After you go through a load-out screen, of sorts, you're thrown into the action and move through mostly small-ish 3-5-minute levels (not large set pieces) to remain alive (including traps), avoid hits by enemies, and so on. It's easier to use a controller (yes, even on an iPhone and iPad) but even touchscreen controls grow familiar after a while. Seasonal play, which is broken up into various levels with quests related to those stages, don't break this monotony. Players can complete a quest, making progress while facing tougher enemies. Adding even more of a challenge is the fact that you can't change equipment once you've begun a challenge (and your characters' hit points and magic points carry over into the next quest). That makes collecting special coins to exchange for new weapons, items, or skins more important.
Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls isn't a bad game -- and the developers had a lot of work to do to change it from a microtransaction-centric game to a platform that doesn't allow for that. They also had to balance the need to still grow the characters you play as, work to get as much gear as possible, and keep giving you a reason to return. If you're a fan of the series or have some nostalgia associated it, and you're already an Apple Arcade subscriber, go ahead and spend an hour with this game to see if it's gratifying enough for you. But it's certainly not worth buying a subscription for, with better action games and experiences on Apple Arcade to be found.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about violence in video games. Is the impact of the violence in Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls affected by the fact that you're fighting a variety of monsters without blood or gore shown? Would the impact be intensified if there rere more realistic visuals? What if you were fighting people instead of monsters?
Does a game that's part of a franchise make you more interested in checking out the other games in that series? Why or why not? Would you find yourself interested in checking out other games if the one you played was very good to see how the other titles fared? If the game was bad, would you play the other games to see why they seemed so popular?
Game Details
- Platform : Apple Arcade
- Pricing structure : Paid
- Available online? : Available online
- Publisher : Konami
- Release date : November 4, 2021
- Genre : Action/Adventure
- Topics : Fantasy ( Magic ) , Adventures , Animals ( Wild Animals )
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : September 30, 2025
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