Status shinespark Sep 3, 2025
Totally forgot that the marquee new power Soma gets in this game is the incredible ability to... throw a puppet like two feet horizontally. Gotta be one of the least exciting metroidvania powerups ever.
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (2005)
4.06 from 735 ratings
1592 members have it in their collection · 39 playing now · 401 backlogged · 323 wish listed
How long? Main story 9h · with extras 15h · 100% 10h (from 17 logged playthroughs)
Draw the correct magic seal quickly, or your enemies will never die! Fight and explore through one of the largest castles ever seen in the series! Race another player through custom-made castle rooms in versus mode!
A year has passed since Soma Cruz discovered the evil of Dracula hidden inside his body. Now, a mysterious cult wants to release the …
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Draw the correct magic seal quickly, or your enemies will never die! Fight and explore through one of the largest castles ever seen in the series! Race another player through custom-made castle rooms in versus mode!
A year has passed since Soma Cruz discovered the evil of Dracula hidden inside his body. Now, a mysterious cult wants to release the power of the Lord of Darkness. As Soma, you must do everything in your power to stop them before it's too late.
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Details
- Developers
- Konami
- Publishers
- Konami
- Genres
- Adventure, Platform, Role-playing (RPG)
- Themes
- Action, Fantasy, Horror
- Franchises
- Castlevania
- Series
- Castlevania
- Event
- Nintendo E3 2005 Press Conference
Release dates
- Aug 25, 2005 (Full Release) (Japan) Nintendo DS
- Sep 29, 2005 (Full Release) (Europe) Nintendo DS
- Oct 04, 2005 (Full Release) (North_America) Nintendo DS
- Oct 06, 2005 (Full Release) (Australia) Nintendo DS
Related
Ports
- Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (Dec 2009) · Mobile
- Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (Aug 2024) · NSW, PC, PS5, XSX
Featured in lists
Rating distribution
5 stars
239
4 stars
339
3 stars
128
2 stars
23
1 star
6
Community All Reviews Statuses
Status shinespark Sep 2, 2025
I love Aria of Sorrow, but always bounced off of Dawn because of the touch screen inputs required for beating bosses. Turns out there's a mod that removes all of those, restores Ayami Kojima's lovely character art from Aria, nixes the grind for monster souls, and also speeds up Soma's basic movement! Excited to give it a try.
Status TheBeautifulEric Apr 3, 2025 Completed
Julius mode in this game is pretty interesting. Instead of playing as an absolutely busted character that has insane mobility, you are pretty limited as Julius alone. Finding the other characters and learning their respective strengths and weaknesses is pretty neat. This one is unlike the others in that there is a bit of plot along with level progression.
Status TheBeautifulEric Dec 23, 2024 Completed
This was my second playthrough, but I think I repressed my memories of my first because I did not remember much about this game. Was way harder than I remember, both in some boss fights and knowing where to go. Map design was pretty overwhelming because it's more wide-open than other metroidvanias I've played are. Instead of an obvious critical …
Read moreThis was my second playthrough, but I think I repressed my memories of my first because I did not remember much about this game. Was way harder than I remember, both in some boss fights and knowing where to go. Map design was pretty overwhelming because it's more wide-open than other metroidvanias I've played are. Instead of an obvious critical path, I found it easy to wander aimlessly until I stumbled into the right direction. The touch screen mechanics didn't really add much. The ice block sections are few and far between and felt underutilized. The magic seal felt gimmicky and punishing if you didn't perform that correctly. From what I remember, Aria is the better game, but this is still a fun experience despite some annoyances.
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Status ArthasFordragon Aug 28, 2024
No. Frickin. WAY!!!! I had no idea DS games were on Steam... holy crap.... all THREE Castlevania DS games available for only $25!!!!!!!!!! And the GB Advance games for $20!!!
DUUUUUUDE. As a die hard metroidvania fan and only beaten Super Castlevania 4 and Symphony of the Night, this is gonna kick butt. Must buy now!! 
Status CreepyCajun Jun 24, 2018
Classic, unassailable brilliance. Maybe the best entry since Symphony of the Night.
