Introduction
Within an isolated castle, perched atop steep mountainous cliffs, Dracula rules this land from the shadows. You’ve made the long journey here to finally drive a stake through the nosferatu’s heart and put an end to his reign, but must brave battle against his minions who stand to protect their master from intruders.
Review
Tekedon originally intended for the level to be part of a larger campaign and based on this experience alone, has caught my curiosity as to how that project might have panned out. WOC creates a solid foundation for its singular adventure oozing with a haunting gothic atmosphere. You start inside a cavern I assume after finding another route leading up to the castle, just outside stands a gatehouse showing signs of dilapidation. Ascending from the never ending chasm is a wide stairway having collapsed away over the years becoming an impossible path to venture from. Anyone choosing to come here now is doing so with a purpose. The portcullis might be shut tight but getting inside won’t be a problem thanks to neglected maintenance. A crumbling wall provides two options, either crawling below through a rat infested tunnel or blowing a hole into a haunted tower. Taking the upper path may prove to be a quicker solution but does pit you up against foes without effective firepower for a short while, while a lower path leading inside the roofed building provides an easy shotgun acquisition that’ll help push back those phantoms loitering above. Everything prior to walking beyond the gates almost seemed like a sneak peek of things to come and got me a little hopeful for similar cases. Turns out progression is more linear than it first lets on, but options dealing with a situation are still placed on the table, designed around combat encounters more so than routing. Progress is tied to key acquisition and often relies too much on backtracking to fill time, the Flame and Eye locks never serve much purpose besides a minor skirmish to grab another key. These small rooms might as well have been side ventures while scouting out, leaving only the important routes locked.
WOC reveals its cruel nature with some spiteful enemy placement, cultists are a particular pain point lurking just around corners ready to blast at a moments notice. You’ll learn the hard way going unprepared into the library as they love hiding behind bookshelves, in-between nooks and shooting through gaps. Tekedon must have expected players may take it slow and steady in response, so other monster types are thrown into the fray all to disrupt your positioning. Being forced to dodge aside as a phantom shrieks toward your face is an opportunity cultists will gladly exploit. You could also take a risk leaping across the shelving to rush past everything, consequences be damned. The library is a personal highlight for its hostility, effective at showing Dracula’s minions play dirty to defend the castle. After successful milestones enemy reinforcements may arrive so that backtracking through prior areas will be met with new challenges considering how confined most sections are. There’s still ample space to weave from attacks, but limited enough that even a small opposition making a stand can remain dangerous. During the whole run I grew extra cautious by peeking every corner. Hellhounds were especially scary to encounter, chasing you down hallways without a vertical hiding spot to exploit for protection, Instead I’d often attempt a retreat and slamming face first into an autoclosing door at the worst possible timing. Around midway there’s a fight against Cerberus outside, a murky courtyard setting that’s seen better days with a ruin at the centre. Proximity mines placed beside a few explosive barrels rig the arena, free to disable before pressing on or luring the mutt into them. Of course due to the nature of explosions in BLOOD the favourable odds could still swing in either direction. Resources will be spread thin and health is frugal, encouraging conscious usage of any equipment available and planting traps of your own. Finding hidden stashes will be valuable, a single voodoo doll comes in clutch during the boss encounters.
The castle is dripping with ambience and a slower pace helps to appreciate these visuals. Even while showing signs of falling apart, there’s still an air of dominance as the castle stubbornly clings to the cliff edges, its massive size looming above a deep chasm isolated from outsiders. The gatehouse side offers a great impression with distinct shapes, from the curved stairway leading up to a nearby tower with roofed section all housed within rocky terrain. The main entryway has a long stretch of wall emphasising its scale, adorned with staggered pillars across the length. Fire sconces sit atop each of these, drawing the eye to realise a sense of importance, but didn’t strike me quite like the earlier scene composition. Interior design picks up well and has a great sense of place, minor additions like a sloped ceiling denote a walkable ramp above. Lighting adds depth using contrasting wall shading and convincing gradients from sources, warmer palettes applied on surfaces nearer to flames. The castle doesn’t quite appear like your typical living space, which doesn’t surprise me based on its owner. You have rooms like a fancy bedroom chamber, tidy office study and a huge library, but something always seemed off as if these places are only for show. The kitchen next to the dining room isn’t standard either, instead looking more like a simple butchers shop with a single chopping table. Two giant furnaces here are probably used for burning away evidence of victims, or excess meat and unwanted corpses are later dumped out into the courtyard as feed for Cerberus. Your journey will eventually lead into the castle’s dark and damp lower levels, with a trapped catacomb and creepy cellblock. Dracula can also be found resting down here inside a unique chamber, another highlight scenario which will involve a three stage encounter against his guardians as you break each chain one by one holding up a spiked pillar conveniently placed above the coffin. I guess even he needs some danger in the un-life to keep things interesting, making for a pretty satisfying conclusion.
Conclusion
WOC could have easily been split into two levels reserving more resources for the castle and lower sections respectively, allowing both segments room to breath perhaps by reducing some of the linearity or ensuring meaningful progression without key fetching filler. The library section being a particular highlight showing off the dangers when up against tricky cultists, along with a trapped arena while fighting against Cerberus and great finale sequence to finish off Dracula in the most humiliating way possible. Along side those were options for taking risks or easing the encounter using the environment or finding vital tools. These set pieces offered substance to the experience despite the linearity and made for compelling action, Wallachia is a good adventure with punishing combat while reliant on using equipment consciously.