Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow - Gameplay

Gameplay

During the game, the player controls the onscreen character from a third-person perspective to interact with people, objects, and enemies. Like previous games in the series and most role-playing games, characters level up each time they earn a set number of experience points from defeating enemies; each "level" gained increases the character's statistics, thus improving their performance in battle. Statistic examples include hit points, the amount of damage a character can receive; magic points, which determine the amount of times a character can use magical attacks; strength, the power of a character's physical attacks; and intelligence, the power of a character's magical spells. Upon encountering an enemy, the player can use a variety of weapons to attack and defeat the enemy. Despite the game being set in 2036, the weapon choices are largely medieval, including swords, axes, and spears, although handguns and a rocket propelled grenade are available. These weapons differ in their damage output, the range of the weapon, and the speed of the attack.

Dawn of Sorrow, similar to most games in the Castlevania series, is set in a castle, which is further subdivided into various areas. Areas of the castle differ in their composition, including monsters and terrain features. In addition, each area has its own unique piece of theme music that plays while the player remains in that area. The character moves around the environment based on the player's choices; however, the areas the character can move into are restricted based upon the items the player has, similar to most platform games. Progression, however, is not linear, as players are free to explore the parts of the castle they have access to, and can backtrack or move forward as they see fit.