
Konami Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
It's hard to believe Konami's vampire hunting franchise has been around for 20 years.
Pros
- Multiplayer
Cons
- Reloading a game is inconvenient after you die
Bottom Line
It would have been easy for Konami to be lazy and release an underwhelming remake or compilation to celebrate its 20th anniversary. Instead, they released Portrait of Ruin, a game that not only reaffirms the series' greatness, but is easily once of the best handheld games released this year.
-
Price
$ 79.95 (AUD)
It started as a simple feud — the Belmont clan against Dracula — but its now evolved into a grand tapestry that comes to dizzying fruition with Portrait of Ruin.
Dracula's Out to Lunch
First things first: although it's a Castlevania game, Portrait of Ruin (PoR) doesn't follow in the footsteps of its predecessors. First, Dracula is nowhere to be found — the story is focused instead on another vampire named Brauner. Also, the main characters aren't named Belmont: Jonathan Morris, who is the son of the main character from Castlevania: Bloodlines, and Charlotte Aulin star in this title. Each character possess unique abilities — Jonathan, for example, excels in melee combat and Charlotte is a spellcasting wiz — and you can choose to control one character at a time or have both on the screen at once. It's important to call on the one that not only best suits your objectives but also your style of play.
We should also mention the updated multiplayer mode: you can play co-op locally or through Nintendo's Wi-Fi connection. You also have the opportunity to buy or sell items found in the game through Shop mode. Regardless, the multiplayer component is impressive enough that you'll keep Portrait of Ruin in your DS long after you've beaten the game.
Castlevania is King
All these changes make for a better game, but the genius of PoR is that it retains the elements that made the previous titles so much fun. Despite the removal of the touch screen functionality, the core gameplay is still a total blast and upgrading weapons and abilities keeps things from getting dull. The only real complaint we had with PoR is that the process of reloading a game once you've died is incredibly inconvenient.
Brand Post

Most Popular Reviews
- 1 Dell U3223QE review: A winning debut for an IPS Black monitor
- 2 HP Spectre x360 16 review: The right 2-in-1 at the wrong time
- 3 Asus ProArt PA279CV monitor review: The go-to for content creators on a budget
- 4 Lenovo Yoga 9i 14 (2022) review: The pinnacle of design
- 5 Netgear Nighthawk M5 mobile router review: Probably too expensive, but nice
Latest News Articles
- Fortnite returns to the iPhone (sort of) courtesy Xbox Cloud Gaming
- This real-life “aimbot” uses a physical mouse to cheat at shooting games
- Bethesda’s classic Elder Scrolls games arrive on Steam—for free
- We tested 22 different RPGs on the Steam Deck
- Steam Deck’s first major update adds a lock screen, Windows 11 support
Resources
Macworld
What's new, plus best mac-related tips
and tricks

Business Centre
The latest business news, reviews, features and whitepapers

Videos
Watch our video news and reviews from around the world

Guides
Comprehensive buying guides, features, and step-by-step articles

PCW Evaluation Team
Pedro Peixoto
Aruba Instant On AP11D

Set up is effortless.
Cate Bacon
Aruba Instant On AP11D

The strength of the Aruba Instant On AP11D is that the design and feature set support the modern, flexible, and mobile way of working.
Dr Prabigya Shiwakoti
Aruba Instant On AP11D

Aruba backs the AP11D up with a two-year warranty and 24/7 phone support.
Tom Pope
Dynabook Portégé X30L-G

Ultimately this laptop has achieved everything I would hope for in a laptop for work, while fitting that into a form factor and weight that is remarkable.
Tom Sellers
MSI P65

This smart laptop was enjoyable to use and great to work on – creating content was super simple.
Lolita Wang
MSI GT76

It really doesn’t get more “gaming laptop” than this.
Featured Content
- 100 Great PC Games You Should Play Before You Die
- Best Click Frenzy mobile and Internet plan deals
- Microsoft’s iconic browser Internet Explorer is being killed off in June
- Everything you need to know about Smart TVs
- What's the difference between an Intel Core i3, i5 and i7?
- Laser vs. inkjet printers: which is better?