Rich environments and insane combat lands this Castlevania title as one of the greatest in the series.
Story
Order of Ecclesia takes place in the early 1800s when the Belmont clan has vanished and secret organizations have begun to rise to discover a way to counter Dracula's return. You play as the emotionless memory-deprived female protagonist, Shanoa who has the power to absorb and use glyphs. And once again you must destroy the Dark Lord (but its never for good).
Gameplay
Shanoa has the ability to absorb glyphs and utilize their powers in battle. Glyphs can appear after defeating an enemy to use their power or be found in hidden locations. Three glyphs can be equipped to one set of glyphs and you can seamlessly switch between three sets during the game. Along with the glyphs, armor and accessories can also be equipped to Shanao to increase her stats. Glyphs may range from melee weapons, to elemental spells, to support glyphs, and to transformation glyphs. One huge noticeable change is being able to attack more than once at a time. You can also combine glyphs and perform a special attack. But limits exist, MP in this game is depleted by your attacks (so you won't abuse double hitting) and hearts are depleted by special attacks. These things also allow a further increase in the difficulty of the game. You would need to adjust your strategies for every enemy and utilize all of Shanoa's acrobatic skills to not die. Their are also many great challenging boss fights that are just so fun to triumph. The feel and look of combat is just perfect and will provide numerous entertaining moments.
Exploration
Thankfully this adventure allows you to roam and explore though the grotesquely beautiful world outside the castle. You'll visit underwater caverns, decaying forests, treacherous mountains, haunted manors, and even a monster-infested prison. You'll start out in Wygol Village where you must rescue every villager who has been kidnapped by another member of Ecclesia who has a deep relationship with you, named Albus, before preceding into Dracula's Castle. Some areas though are very small and some are even clones of each other. But the landscapes are still glorious to explore and conquer.
Replayability
Order of Ecclesia doesn't have to end after Dracula "death" due to the extra content in the game. In the game there are extra areas where the difficulty is pumped to max. A map that is just strait up platforming and a map that is just surviving insane enemies. After completing the main story you have a chance to play it again with Albus and on varying degrees of harder difficulty. There is also a challenging mode called Boss Rush where you face of against all of the bosses again. Wi-fi and download connectivity can also be used to shop and race. Every villager you save also have their own side-quest which will reward you with valuable items upon completion.
Appeal
This game is certainly appealing in art, music, and gameplay. The art style in this game is simply powerful and shows off the darker more occult side of Castlevania. Enemies and bosses range from creepy and disgusting nightmares like floating demon heads with slimy long tongues to gracefully evil water spirits. The musical scores in this game feels excellently nocturne and lives up to its predecessors' standards. All of these things will give you that hard to define, but feel good mood that Castlevania games always have.
Conclusion
Order of Ecclesia has an everlasting impact as a one of the most revolutionary titles in the Castlevania series. It's amazing art style and wonderful soundtrack greatly adds on to the already fantastic gameplay. With areas never before seen and behemoth bosses to overcome you'll be sucked into the new adventure. Not to mention the replay value provides more content to spend your countless hours to enjoy. Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia is an experience overflowing with the things that makes the Castlevania series an evolving masterpiece.