3.5/5 ★ – boat's review of Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin.

Charlotte Jonathan Charlotte Jonathan This was baby's first metroidvania for me, and it was certainly a fine first foray into the subgenre. By this time in the series, the formula that had been established by Symphony of the Night and others had been well refined, and what we see here is a game that delivers in many of the same areas as its precursors. The game is set apart by the whole portrait situation going on, allowing the player to explore beyond the castle they would otherwise be confined to. In my experience this was hit and miss in its implementation, but as a variation on a by now familiar formula, it worked well enough.